Desert Girl

Leaving

2009-07-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

I am leaving for America very soon. So much is happening and so much needs to be done that it makes me want to stay in my apartment all day do nothing. It's happening really fast. But, at the same time, it's happening too slowly and I just want to rip the band-aid off like when I was a kid. I'm still working on a project for my job. Crazy that in the middle of packing and saying good bye I'm also typing up facts for a school publication. I'm sad. I'm really sad. The last time I left Africa, I confess, I was thrilled. I wanted to leave so much. This time is different. I will miss so much here a great deal. I love it here, love the people, love my friends and especially love the community that I've come to have here.

Yet, I'm happy. I'm of course looking forward to seeing family and friends again. I'm looking forward to being back in a culture that I understand, to not be constantly feeling like I have to be "on" or in some way trying to understand, fit in or work within the culture. I'm looking forward to the familiar. It's not that I love places like Starbucks and Target all that much, though I do like those places, it's that I'm used to those places. I know what to expect in those places. I'm looking forward to that.

But, having come back before, I realize that there will be things that I think I will understand and yet be overwhelmingly surprised at when confronted by them. When someone lives overseas, they return changed, no longer fitting in to their home culture and never having fit in to their host culture.

I'm overwhelmed at the prospect of starting a new job so quickly after returning from this one. I love this job, but think my new job will be great too. I hope I don't start any sort of comparison games with myself. Comparison steals joy quicker than most anything else.

European Vacation (Sans Chevy Chase)

2009-07-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

I'd like to try and share some of my recent vacation here, but since I'm pretty sure you guys would fade out at neverending paragraphs about museums and cobblestone streets, I'll try to make it more reader friendly.

1. I went to four countries: Switzerland, Italy, Hungary and Austria. I don't normally like to split my time up between so many places, but I only spent about 24 hours in Italy and Austria.

2. I've realized in the last years that I take fewer and fewer risks. I know some of you might think that's on the side of bogus, but it's true. So, I spent a hefty roll of US presidents and went paragliding in Switzerland. I figured there wouldn't be many places prettier on earth to do it. The ride was spectacular, so beautiful, and way more relaxing than I thought it would be.

3. While walking down an empty street in Vienna, which happened to be cobblestone, I saw a car with a rose laying across the windshield. I didn't think much about it, but then the owner of the car walked out and was suprised to see said rose laying on the windshield. Surprised is wrong, perhaps clueless is more like it. So of course he looks at me and thinks that I'm the stalker that put it there! Hilarious!

4. Hungary makes these really yummy cream cheese chocolate cannoli type things. Amazing.

5. I spent time learning about Communism in Hungary. I've never wanted to lean right so much in my life after that. I normally don't discuss my political opinions in a venue such as this, and realize that a political ideology isn't the answer to any of life's ultimate questions. Nevertheless, learning about people who didn't have a say over when they heated their homes, or even with whom they lived, and walking through cells used to torture people who were turned in from anything from disagreing with 'the cause' to their neighbors simply wanting their food rations definitely left an impact on me.

6. Vienna might be my all time favorite city. I loved just sitting in the grass at the palace parks in Vienna. I can't believe that people get to chill in front of such architectual beauty. I couldn't afford much in Vienna. I ate a brothy soup for dinner because it was the cheapest thing on the menu. It's ok, the city was so beautiful it was worth it.

7. Switzerland makes the world's best chocolate. Ragusa is the best of the best.

8. I saw the movie Australia and the next day met an Australian! I never meet Australians! This Australian, however had not seen the movie.

9. I still feel like Europe is somehow under my skin. I would love to live there again someday. Scotland is still my favorite place in Europe.

10. I got on a train with no seat reservation (but had a ticket) and had to sit in the food car the whole time.

11. It took a few days for the beauty of Switzerland to sink in. I just couldn't wrap my mind around all those mountains. Finally, I went out by myself to look at the mountains, and asked God to help me to see what was in front of me. Only then did I truly start to see the beauty. It's like God was waiting for me to share it with Him. I'll never forget those moments alone with Him.

Shadows

2009-07-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

Can I get a blog post done in nine minutes? Weĺl see. I´ve been in Europe for a bit, spent some time in Switzerland, some of the most beautiful land in the world. I´ve been thinking about heaven a lot lately. Itś amazing to think that even in Switzerland all we see are shadows of what is to come. Thatś wild.

More to come....

Bright Light

2009-06-13T14:47:00.001-07:00

It's really bright here. It's like walking around looking at an overly-exposed picture. Squinting all the time, trying not to look into anything directly white--that's normal. The sky is blue, the buildings are brown, men's jalabia's are white and women's dresses are all colors. But none of it do I see with the sunlight I'm used to. I have this theory that you can recognize any region of the world just based on how the sun falls on it.

Weather affects us and our cultures so much. I don't think we realize how much it shapes our societies.

I can't believe I'm leaving so soon. I'm sad, excited and everything else. It's been a hard month and a half. I've been coaching the debate team and that has consumed my time. The girls are fantastic for sure, really hard workers who deserve their successes. But, I'm exhausted.

I confess that I'm terrible at staying in touch. I'm bad at maintaining relationships from far away, and so many of mine are.

Moments

2009-06-12T06:10:00.000-07:00

You know those moments just after you wake up, especially just after you wake up from having been exhausted? Those moments when you aren't sure of where you are, what you are doing, what day it is? I love those moments.

HOT

2009-06-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

I'd like to give you a glimpse of how hot it is here, and particularly, how batcrazy hot my aparment is. The other day we had some friends over for dinner. We served cake for desert. The guests nicely commented on how the cake was still warm from the oven. The cake had been made the day before.

In Memory of my Beloved Aunt Shirley

2009-06-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

Friday I heard of my Aunt Shirley's passing. I still am processing the departure of this amazing woman of God. She wasn't even related to me by blood, she was my mother's best friend of about 40 years. I've known her my whole life. I didn't even know that we weren't related by blood until I was about 10. Aunt Shirley was one of the kindest, most generous, joyful, gentle, modest and accepting woman I've ever known. Maybe that's why she became a nurse. She was always that nurse who stayed late and worked extra hours. She truly cared about her patients. Even after she retired, she looked in on her housebound neighbor every day. We didn't know that the cancer had returned, and we are only now making the assumption that that was what happened. I guess she didn't want to bother people with the news. But, the disease bothers her no longer. She is rejoicing with our Lord. And, though we miss her very much, we know she is not only in a better place, but in THE better place, and I cannot wait to see her again.

In My Neighborhood

2009-05-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

In my neighborhood boys play soccer in the unpaved street in front of my house. They play at dusk, which is still hot, just less hot than the rest of the day. Little ones watch and try to play.

In my neighborhood an old man stands under the shade trees next to the community water pots for hours of the day. He seems mostly normal, greets us, often in English. However, he often stretches in the street and clearly holds a flexibility level higher than any average person. I don't know why he does this. Maybe because he can.

In my neighborhood, children walk down the street, hand in hand, arms around shoulders. They know everyone else on the street, know every little one there is to play with.

In my neighborhood there is the most honest butcher and vegetable vendor. He greets me as I walk by, asks after me when I'm sick and never cheats us. There's also the most gentle convenience store owner. He has a graceful way about him, always smiles, and takes care of my roommates and me.

In my neighborhood people walk down the street selling fruit, vegetables, eggs, bread and even cotton candy. It's very convenient.

In my neighborhood a bakery sells fantastic sweets, mostly pastry paper soaked in sugar water. Three dollars buys about a pound of these tasty treats.

A Typical Day

2009-04-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes people want a day in the life. Those are difficult these days, because I'm still not sure what a normal day looks like. However, I'll try. I wake up sometime in the morning, turn off my A/C unit which costs me a significant though worthy amount of money and check my email, hoping for emails from my friends around the world. Note that the previous sentence was not a shameless plug for more emails from you, but also note that this one is. However, should the power have already gone out before I am out of bed, I skip most of the second sentence from this paragraph. I leave my cool bedroom and enter the sauna that will be my day. Lately I've been fixing oatmeal for breakfast, in an attempt to make healthy choices. I am, after all, close to 30. However, I have to let the oatmeal sit for a while as eating hot oatmeal in a sauna is less than comfortable, which I'm sure you can imagine.

After getting ready, I head out to work, Ipod plugs in my ears, normally listening to an old playlist in need of some tweeking. Lately, I've been picking Andy Gullahorn's "That Guy" quite a bit for the walk to work. The walk is a good 15 minutes and helps me mentally prepare a bit for my day. Once I get to school, I drink about half a liter of water, enter my classroom and prepare to teach some of the most amazing students you'll ever meet. Yes, they often drive me crazy, but at the end of the day, at which we have yet to arrive, I realize that I am the one priveleged to teach them English as a foreign language.

My day is broken up by eating lunch, which locals would call breakfast, because they did not eat oatmeal in the early morning like me. They probably just had tea with a biscuit or two. So, together with friends or alone, I eat something from the outdoor cafeteria, usually a bean, falafel or eggplant sandwhich. Trust me, all of them are really tasty. I often end up in the library at some point in the day. It is one of the places that is not a sauna as even if the elecricity is out as they have a generator, so I am just about guarenteed to have temps at the most around 85. I use that time to grade papers, prepare for classes, listen to sermons on my trusty Ipod (Mark Dever is a fave), or talk to friends. I realize that some of you might find it inappropriate to talk to friends in a library, but I figure that if the university choral group can rehearse in there, then I can whisper with a coworker.

I guess evenings are the most diverse of my days. Once I make it home I might stay in for the evening, during which I will probably do a combination of reading, exercising, surfing the internet or the very criticized-but-lets-face-it-we-all-do-it, TV watching. I like to do that last bit while exercising. The best investment I made here was the purchase of an exercise bike. It has a funny smell, which permiates my room when the door is closed. Still, I love it. If it were cooler I could get on it more these days. I miss the cool days, the days of non triple digit temps.

However, I might go on a visit in the evenings, to a student or friend's home. In these cases, we normally have tea and chat it up about a great deal of topics. Tonight I visited a friend with my roommates and we spent some time trying to convince our friend that our respective states were better than any other state. I find that such a fruitless debate. Everyone knows Texas is bigger and better. I suppose I can handle inferiority complexes for the sake of my beloved roommates (see earlier blog post).

And now, I am on the internet, a bit late, realizing that the wisest decision for me is to go to sleep. The internet has truly changed overseas life for ex-pats. It's good, but it's also not good. Minutes turn to hours lost keeping up with life back home. And, I don't mean keeping up with people back home, but rather those things from back home that we simply like. I'm also a big fan of Wikipedia, which my roommates often use as teasing fodder--never like something more than Michael Scott. But, I love to learn and don't have a lot of books, so Wikipedia works great for me. All around, I'm so thankful for the internet, but know that it is also a source of distraction for me at times.

And, that's a regular weekday for me, weekdays being Sunday through Thursday of course. Maybe someday I'll talk about Fridays and Saturdays.

Much Love

My Big Truck

2009-04-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

Hey there friend,
Can't you see,
The glimmer of a splinter seen so easily?
It's swelling your eye!
Making you blink!
It bothers me so much that I can hardly think!

It's all I see
From behind this truck.
This truck full of tinder in my eye that is stuck.
But I don't understand,
It's what's blockin' my view.
Cause I'm only thinking 'bout that splinter in you!

Seriously brother,
You gotta get on this.
That splinter might just blind you if you stay so remiss.
So don't put it off,
What's that you say?
You can't see my face with all the logs in the way?

I guess you're correct.
I'm losing my sight.
I'm gunna need some time to get everything right.
Cause now I know,
What really bothers me,
Is my eye is too infected with all this debris.

OK friend,
Now their out.
But you've got a splinter I haven't forgotten about.
But this time I tell you
Because I love you so much.
I want you to live without nasty splinters and such.

Soul Windows

2009-04-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

A proverb states, "The eyes are the window to the soul." It's true. So was Thoreau when he claimed, "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation."

I recently returned from a trip to the Gulf. What a crazy and exciting place. Full of foreigners, there is something for everybody in this wealthy and thriving part of the world. An economic boom has led thousands of South Asians to leave their homes to work in construction, malls, salons and more, in order to send money back to their families. I loved asking people in shops and restaraunts where they were from, because I always got somewhere different. However, I never talked to someone actually from the Gulf. After finding out about their home country, I normally asked if they liked living there in the Gulf, to which they almost always replied no. I don't blame them. They aren't treated all that great, make even worse money, live in labor camps and are away from their families.

I encourage people I know to thrive professionally if possible. If one is going to be doing something for so much of his life, he should enjoy it. But, I'm not sure if this isn't just a lofty ideal. So many of people work in these rough conditions just to help their families get by--families that they don't even get to see all that often. And you can see it in their eyes. Desparation. Clothes, language, even facial expressions can hide earnestness, but eyes most often cannot. Having to cater to the rich so that they can remain poor, if only a little less poor, I very often saw that look in their eyes. It doesn't seem fair.

I got to talk to a brother from the Phillipeans while in the Gulf as well. He didn't have the desparation. He had joy in his eyes because he had the Son in his heart. But so many don't.

Lest we think ourselves better, we do well to remember that we are not without our own similiar systems. Chinese immigrants built our railroad and were all the while treated with disdain not too long ago. And, in general, the rich will often find ways in any country to try to strip the poor of their dignity. We do well to remember that if we are rich enough to be sitting at our own computer, then we certainly fall in the rich person category by normal standards. However, I don't assume we all treat poorly those with less money than us. Even a camel can go through the eye of a needle when its Creator sends it through. And even the rich can be generous and gracious with God given gifts. But, I certainly understand better why it is otherwise impossible for the camel to make it through that needle.

Life

2009-04-02T15:19:00.001-07:00

If breathing is hard then life is impossible.

I realize I write about how much I love life here and rarely give you glimpses of this life that make you understand why I love it so much. I guess I can't explain it exactly. I love speaking another language, which I could manage easily enough in San Antonio, though not Arabic to be sure. I love walking to work, saying hello to the people on the street, seeing the beautiful dresses that the women wear, which carry their owners down the street. I love that someone you don't know will go out of your way to give you a ride across town when you really need to get somewhere.

I guess I love it here because I was made to love it here. My Creator wants me here now, and He gives grace for me to thrive in Him and see His beauty all around me. And the truth is, if I didn't love it, He would still give me the grace to thrive in Him, and that would be enough. For sure there are the hard days, the days when you have a problem at work and would know exactly what to do if you were back home, but have no idea what to do here and want to curl up and watch a movie in your air conditioning rather than deal with the problem in one billion degree heat. There are the days which make those rough days at work seem easy. There are days when you just want to see your family and friends and let them see you and your heart, hear your voice and your passion, allow for comfortable silence over a pizza rather than manage so many relationships via letters on a computer screen. I miss comfortable silences with my far away loved ones. Just being able to be with someone and not say anything works so much more out than so many things I might want to say.

I have great roommates. I love them so much. I know for sure that I do not deserve them. They too are gifts from our Father.

There is Cool. She is so positive and giving. She loves to give and care for others. She's beautiful. She's full of grace and shows me how to give it. She's supportive, a great cheerleader.

And there's also LL. I love to bounce things off of her, listen to what she has to say. I don't share a lot of my strong opinions with many people, but she hears most, because she will never be angry if we disagree, and will always listen then respond, rather than simply wait to respond.

In case you didn't catch it, I'm J. Together we make LL Cool J. Catchy, I know.

I have a family here too, besides the roommates. Jane and Charles are like a brother and sister to me. Their recent addition to the family, Sweetie, is my niece. I realized that I wanted to be friends with Jane when I watched her selflessly love people around her. What a great person to learn from. She shows me how to be more like Jesus.

I have great coworkers, who love me when I am for sure a monster, and honestly share their lives with me. One is like a big sister. I'm not sure if she would like that, since I don't know if I would like my age thrown out like that. But she is, and only in the best way. I know I can go to her for advice and wisdom and she has years of experience that go behind her answers to my questions. Another is new, and I'm really thankful for her too, and how she has become someone I work with so much. She brings much wisdom and encouragement. I hope one day she gets to marry John Krasinski for as much as she loves him. If he ever meets her and doesn't realize how awesome she is, then he doesn't deserve her.

Another couple bring great wisdom and insight into life here. They have extraordinarily good perspective. I recently read The Cost of Discipleship and several times realized that what Bonhoeffer was saying was what these people lived and showed me in real life.

How am I going to leave these great people? I can only trust that the grace that brought them into my life will be enough to say goodbye as well. Saying so many goodbyes has been hard the last ten years or so. I'm tired of it, to be honest. One day we'll all be together, we'll all be at the throne, we'll all rejoice. And it will be for forever! One day.

I didn't mean for this post to turn out like this, but I guess it did.

Much love

Death by Spider--Probably Not

2009-03-27T15:11:00.000-07:00

If death should come soon,
Know that a spider caused my swoon.

For while I was standing near his home,
He found my leg free to roam.

He cared not of my plans for life,
He saw me only as his strife.

So down I will go six feet underground,
So that worms might defile my burial mound.

But what will that matter to me?
I'll be with God finally free.

And there I will live out eternity,
With no stupid spiders to bother me.

Eternity

2009-03-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

It's come to my attention that I haven't blogged in a while. It's true. I actually have quite a few drafts saved, I just haven't refined them.

Work is going well. It's been a bit slow now that the high school has finished classes. I'll start teaching summer school next month. I love those kids. The high school here is so much like an American high school. There are the popular kids, the jocks, the princesses, the suck ups, the picked on, the class clowns, the hard workers, the geniuses.

Sometimes I still have a hard time believing what I do. I'm so blessed.

I was overwhelmed at God's faithfulness today. Overwhelmed.

I wish I were faithful all the time. I wish I were more steadfast. I wish I kept God's promises always at the forefront of my mind, never forgetting what lies ahead and always forgetting what lies behind.

I only have four and a half months here. It's hard to think about that. I love this place so much. My heart aches at the thought of leaving it. I know that's a good place to be. I've been in other places when four and a half months seemed like an eternity.

I've been thinking a lot about eternity lately. It's a pretty huge theme in Luke, which I've been going through for a while now. I suppose another thing that I wish is that I would always think about and base my decisions on eternity.

I reread the story of the centurion who sent word for Jesus to save his servant the other day. I gripped me so much. Honestly, every other time I had read it, I wondered why Jesus marveled at his faith. Almost everyone seemed to know Jesus could heal. That's part of the reason why people spent time with him. Why would Jesus think that was so extaordinary? And then it occurred to me that it was not that the centurion believed that Jesus could heal, but that the centurion knew he was entirely unworthy of such a gift. This guy, who the other leaders insisted was indeed worthy, because he built a building, felt the emptiness of his works, and their uselessness to create a credit to his name in the eternal ledger. He was humble, and God exalted him, just as was promised.

The One

2008-11-28T11:43:00.000-08:00

I stare at you from across the room.
I know you are watching.
I sit, still, wondering.
Will you be the One?

You've been watching me for sometime.
Debating how to make your move.
Part of me has forgotten you
But I question again, will you be the One?

You want to rest your hand on mine. You try.
But I do not want you.
You ignore my rejections, which come even violently.
And I have to wonder, will you be the One?

I wish you would just go away
I know what you want, but I cannot be that for you.
Nevertheless you stay, and I wonder
Will you be the mosquito that gives me malaria?

What do we do Now?

2008-11-15T10:57:00.001-08:00

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement." Romans 13: 1-2

I don't imagine anyone needs my opinion on the recent elections. Everyone seems to be sharing their own completely independent of me. Nevertheless, I will. People seem to be upset about President elect Barak Obama winning the election. I suppose it's fair enough not to like that one's candidate did not win the election. It's also fair to wonder what will happen now that his policies will be our policies. It's even fair not to like him. But the bottom line is, he DID win the election. And the Bible clearly tells us to submit to earthly authority. Like it or not, God has ordained Obama to be our leader (for those of you who are American) and we must submit to him and respect him. And, that's not so much my opinion, that's the Word of God. And, how bad do we look when we squabble and complain in public about this anyway?

Everyday

2008-11-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

Man I guess it's been a while since I posted. The month of fasting has come and gone. I had some good food during the evenings to be sure. I have definitely come to love falafel. I suppose I've spent too much time lately thinking about myself and my own struggles. Here is something I wrote during my walk with Him through the valley.

Here I am again
Poster child of unfaithfulness
Letting circumstances take away my heart
I've hidden from you and feared evil instead.

Thank you for the covenant.
Thank you that you bless anyway.
Thank you for not letting go
Even when I struggle from you.

I wish I were a perfect person
But right now just better than this.
When people see a hero and someone special in me
They forget you wouldn't have come if we all weren't wretches.

So help me Jesus.
I want to do great things, forgetting I'm called to greater.
I forget you've called me first to walk humbly with you.
I want to love the world but fight loving my brother.

Whatever it takes,
Bring me back to you.
Restore to me the joy of salvation.
Help me walk humbly with you.

As I think about life's journey, and consider that I am about halfway through my time here, I'm really convinced that it's everyday that matters the most. Whenever we embark or finish something we are filled with emotions, nostalgia, romantic ideals. But, it is when we stay the course when things are mundane, difficult and frustrating that matters. What does it matter if we are sincere at the end or beginning of something if our love isn't genuine and walk isn't faithful during the in between times. Moreover, some say that it's how we react to adversity that defines us. But how we live our lives everyday affects how we react to adversity. We wont be ready for the smallest hill if we aren't daily spending time with Him. We wont love intensely serious enemies if we don't love the man who cheats us over the price of a kilo of tomatoes.

And that's all for now.

Fruit

2008-08-17T23:41:00.000-07:00

I have a story that happened a while back here (and by here I mean Africa but not this country, and by a while back I mean about five years ago). But, it's hilarious, and if I had had a blog then, I would have written about it.

I was riding up to the capital city with some national friends in public transport. Along the way, we stopped and a friend bought a bag of fruit that I had never seen before. She politely handed each of us a fig sized piece of fruit. I began to eat mine and became overwhelmed with the disgust of its taste. It was horrifying. I didn't want to be rude and not eat it, and couldn't just throw it out the window because that would seriously be wasting food. So, I was resolved to keep trying to eat the thing even though each tiny bite sent me into internal convulsions. Everyone had finished theirs long before, so finally, I offered mine to the guy in front of me, figuring he would enjoy a second helping. He, however, took one look at it and said, "this is bad" and threw it out the window.

loving africa. finally

2008-07-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

My relationship with Africa had a rough start. I hated my first year. I could find nothing in common between myself and the people. I cried a lot, and wanted to go home nearly everyday. It was only after I nearly died in a middle of the bush and middle of the night house fire that things started to change for me. Humbled by the overwhelming help that went above and beyond our standards for assisting one's neighbor, I slowly began to change my thinking about the place. For starters, I focused on what I had in common with the people, that we were made in His image, fallen and in need of grace. Seeing people through those eyes, and becoming used to life in general on the continent helped me get to the point of gracefully learning to live and at times enjoy Africa. That was my second year. I've nearly finished my third year. I found that my third year I really liked Africa. This continent is somewhere I would chose to be, simply for fun. I became very comfortable and content here. I love my neighbors, friends, job, colleagues and students. And even as I start my fourth year, I can see an even better change. I love Africa. I did not know I could love it this much. I still love seeing people on the street cutting up vegetables for breakfast, love watching kids walk to and from school, love speaking Arabic, love the hospitality of this culture. Though it is often difficult, I love this place very much. I love my life, and sometimes I'm overwhelmed at the fact that I am so blessed, blessed beyond measure just to live here. And, more importantly, I love what I have the privelege of doing, and the kind of people I have the privelege to be around.

Winter

2008-07-11T11:06:00.000-07:00

There's a scene from the movie Pretty in Pink that often comes to mind here in this land of sand. Andy is talking with her mother-figure about going to the prom. The mother-figure recounts a story of a woman who would every once in a while look around and wonder what she was missing, if she had forgotten something. she would count and look for everything important and then she realized that nothing was wrong, but she had never gone to her prom. A true story, even for the movie, doubtful. Nevertheless, that's how I feel all the time. And when I realize what is missing missing, I realize that it's not having had a winter last December-March.

Under the Surface

2008-06-25T11:38:00.000-07:00

I am back home now. I suppose home is a fairly relative term here on earth. I didn't know how thrilled I would be to return. Now it seems as if I hadn't left. I had an amazing vacation in Egypt. Seems I'm incredibly gifted at sitting on the beach with friends and a book. The Red Sea reef has to be among the most beautiful places I've ever seen. To be sure, heading out there wasn't much to look at. Wilderness, as it is described in the Old Testament, is in my opinion a gentle term for the Sinai Peninsula. Though the mountains make a remarkable landscape, the barrenness of the soil leaves much to be desired compared to the world's greener places. I see how the Israelites hated it so. But, did they realize that only a few feet under the surface of the water was so beautiful? I doubt it. The corals were bright pink, red, orange, yellow and even purple. And the fish! Just about every color anyone could imagine could be found on those amazing fish! They were all sizes, some swam in huge schools and some by themselves. I've never seen anything like it in all my life. I kept thinking about the creativity, the complexity and the attention to detail that our God has. The ocean, what we call the abyss, contains within it a creation so beautiful that Egypt made it a national park. Not to mention, I seriously doubt the fish have any idea of how remarkable they are as they swim about finding food from the reef.

The Red Sea reef served a good lesson for me about God's activity on the earth. Some people, places or situations seem left alone by the Sovereign, and as we ache to see Him move, we forget that we are only catching a small glimpse of the surface of it all. We can't put on snorkels and explore situations, but we have to trust that He IS working, He IS moving, and He IS bringing all things to glorify His name. I struggle with this fact nearly every single day. He continues to teach me to accept His promises as true, even though I can't see them coming to fruition from my vantage point. He continues to teach me to run this race with endurance. He works in ways that I cannot see. He is doing things that I cannot imagine, I only must believe and continue running. The more I try to wrap my mind around it, or see all of His activity, the more likely I am to put off belief and trust in His promises until I fully understand. I can't pursue seeing how He is working more than trusting His promises to be true and being involved in His work. Perhaps in seeking results I am merely seeking a reward, a recognition of my own work, rather than His own glory. And in turning my efforts towards seeking those results, I pull energy and efforts away from being the instrument that I am. And that has got to be among the things those things that hinder and we must set aside (Heb 12).

Speaking of running, I used to do it a lot and sure wouldn't mind picking it back up. Please remember my left foot (not the movie) as a doctor recently told me I have had some nerve trauma and possible cartilage damage. I feel far to young to be modifying my work out regime as much as I have had to do. I don't imagine I'll be sticking my feet into climbing shoes anytime soon either. The good news is that there isn't a wall here for me to wear my climbing shoes. But, in what world is that good news?

Does anybody read this thing?

"A god comprehended is no god." Chesterton

Universal drinks

2008-04-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

There is a universality to coffee/tea. I haven't been anywhere yet where people didn't engage in some sort of socializing that centered around one or both of these drinks. In England, whenever I entered any sort of dorm/home/flat someone, no matter what, offered me a cup of tea. And if anyone was upset, then tea was absolutely necessary. In France one could sit and watch people and chat with friends for hours over a single espresso. Coffee drunk closest to the street cost more, because it was closest to all the people there were to watch. Italy, it could be an espresso, or a cappuccino. In Austria, coffee served with water to combat dehydration. In Turkey, a strong cup of thrice boiled thick coffee mixed with cardamon. Go farther east in the same country and the coffee becomes as thick as oil.

In Senegal we had three cups of tea after lunch and dinner. The first was strong; the second, made using the same tea leaves as the first, was much sweeter; the third was practically sugar water. This progression of sweetness symbolized how friendships grow sweeter over time. It took between one and three hours to get all three glasses. To leave before the second cup was rude.

Here, guests are always served tea, it's normally basic black tea with two scoops of sugar. If you are lucky, you get mint. Women, tea ladies as we call them, set out stands and sell tea. They make a fantastic tea with milk, which I rarely drink because normally only men sit in public like that with tea. Too bad for me.

American culture has it's own way of expressing this tea/coffee social experience. The coffee shop culture is in. And, we don't just have tea with a few variations, one lump of sugar or two; we have all kinds of drinks, lattes, macciatos, caramel macciatos, iced blended beverages, iced beverages. Some are borrowed, some are variations of the borrowed and some are so far from the original I feel just fine calling them our own as much as anything else could be. Yes, our culture loves having options, and in that, we have made this universal of coffee and tea our own as much as anything else. We also love other cultures, and that is obvious in the myriad of coffee shop options as well. Just read the backs of all the Tazo Tea boxes.

Perhaps this anthropological playground shows us a few things. One, we need people. Truth is, we can drink this stuff on our own, but we like to drink it with others. We like to sip, and take our time, savoring taste and relationship. We like to talk while holding a hot drink, laugh with something in our hands. We like the community built around it. We like going to a cafe where people know our names, where we feel familiar and comfortable. We like being able to sit and relax in public, not just our homes.

Inuit peoples have 26 words for snow. I think that we should develop more words in our vocabulary for coffee. To be sure, we have quite a few already, but we can do better. It would make life easier for a coffee shop employee if he could call out a vanate instead of vanilla nonfat latte. And to any major corporately owned/former employer coffee company reading this, this blog is time stamped. You'll need to pay up if you want to use it.

TV

2008-04-02T03:39:00.000-07:00

I watched TV today at my friend's house. Normally we watch English TV, but today it was all Arabic. I thought you might be interested in what we watched. We started with the Martha Stewart of the Arab world. She taught us how to prepare a WHOLE sheep. So she had an entire skinned sheep on her counter. To keep from getting her arms dirty, she wrapped them in tin foil. I imagine that if I had been at her house that night, I would have loved the meal that she prepared. But, my eyes are not conditioned to watching that kind of cooking on Jaime Oliver's show (my favorite cooking show).

Then we watched a soap opera from the UAE.

Then we watched Egypt's old movie channel, though I did not know there was one. We watched some movie from the seventies about a young engaged woman who wanted to be a singer. She somehow got on some kids' show dressed up as a kid, but fell in love with the producer of the show (also engaged). It was.... interesting.

Then we watched a soap opera from another country.

Then we watched the cooking lady make juice.

Then we watched Tom and Jerry.

Then we ate. I LOVE local food.

Superhero

2008-03-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

I don't necessarily like the fact that I can say, "When I was young...." followed by a slew of different ways that things used to be, but I can, so I might as well embrace it. When I was young, and people watched TV, they normally just watched it if they were home at night. If they had some shows that they particularly enjoyed, they might have taped them so they could watch them later. But, they didn't watch their favorite shows all at once, but over the course of a year.

Also, when I was young, as now, I had extreme difficulty in putting down a good book. Books that grab me take me well into the night with their plot twists and character development. Take A Thousand Splended Suns, for example. Hosseni writes such a full, eloquent and gripping story, that I could not put the book down and finished it in less than a day.
Now, the problem is, there is such a thing nowadays called as DVD box sets. DVD box sets have entire seasons of TV shows on just a few CD's. So, what would normally be watched over the course of many months, can be watched in a significantly shorter time period. There were not a few popular TV shows that I didn't watch in America. I wasn't home, and didn't mind that I was missing out on what everyone was talking about at Starbucks the next day (though my roommate and I did have our favorites that we would watch faithfully). But here, my life is different, and there are these DVD box sets just sitting around when I have free time, particularly this week. I was crazy sick, and after the first couple of days of solid sleep, I still had to stay in, but needed something to do. So, I started watching the DVD box set of Heroes, popular in America, but never seen by me. And, wow, that show has a great story line going on with fantastic plot twists. And, as you know from above, I like good stories. So, I've become a little bit addicted to this show, and don't know how normal people waited each week to watch each episode. But, that waiting kept them normal too, I suppose.

So, I of course had a dream about super heroes the other night, and dreamt that I too had a super hero ability. What was it, you ask? Could I fly, become invisible, have x-ray vision? No, much better. Whenever anyone in the world was late, I could get them to wherever they needed to be on time. I could use any super hero ability necessary to get someone to an engagement on time. At any moment I might be pulled from my everyday normal life and hear someone from far away lamenting about running late for work. I would of course shout, "GO, GO GET PEOPLE THERE ON TIME," and off I would fly to save the day. I suppose a bit of the local culture crept into that dream, as events rarely begin on time here.

He has gone

2008-03-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

We drove through the village, saw the heavy awning and knew we were close. We walked in, I had not prepared myself, but should have done so, knowing that I was going to a funeral. The house was full of somber ladies. We shook each of their hands, saying blessings to each of them. Walking through a labyrinth of outdoor hallways, we greeted more women and finally arrived to the room of his widow. I rarely see sadness displayed in this place. Anger, frustration, even laughter I see daily, but rarely sadness. But it hung all over me today; it looked me in the eye as I looked at many of these women, as I looked at his widow. She wore the customary white dress, and sat on the bed with a white sheet. She wont leave the house for four months. Yesterday morning she was married to a 42 year old man who made beans everyday. By the end of the day she buried him. I saw her tears, her grief was heavy, I thought it might suffocate her. I wished blessings on her, and kept going, like everyone else. We sat outside with more women and I saw his mother. Her face was deeply scared with the marks of her tribe, full of wrinkles which showed that she had lived a long and difficult life in the desert, and covered with her mourning. She too wore the white dress. She looked empty, and no one talked to her. Women came in and greeted the others with high pitched crying. The air was stale. I was relieved to leave, but carried their burden with me to the car, then to the house.

Tricky Weather

2008-03-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

So, I try to walk a good bit most days, because it's good for me, and it makes me feel good and there isn't much other exercise I can get without having to play a DVD, which I don't really like. It's been getting hotter, but only less than a month ago it was relatively comfortable. So, on one of these daily walks I found myself getting thirstier faster and just feeling hotter than normal. But, I thought, it can't be that hot because it was just nice the other day. No, it was definitely 110 degrees. Moral of the story--when you live in the desert and you feel like it might be hot outside, it's probably not all in your head.

I still await the hot season.

Walking

2008-03-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

I should go to sleep. I find that I need more sleep here than back in the good ole USA. It's like the heat zaps a button on the top of my head that sends me to my bed/couch/floor like one of those toys I always wanted from Six Flags that collapses when you push up underneath it. That's how I feel. And the crazy hot stuff is still yet to come.

I loved reading Anne of Green Gables when I was a kid. Anne and Diana were more than best friends, they were kindred spirits. I've come to understand better what kindred spirits are. They are those people that understand your soul. No, they aren't people that will never have a conflict with you, will never hurt your feelings, will never drive you crazy, will always know exactly what you are thinking so you wont ever have to say it. But, they are those people that will smile, embrace you and walk through all of that with you, loving you no matter what, even when you are sure that you are unlovable. I'm thinking about the handful of those that I have had in my life. I am so thankful for them.

I'm not at a place where I can say I have a bosom friend. Because that is weird, even for Anne of Green Gables. Maybe it's just the culture difference between now and early 20th century Canada.

I wear my Chacos nearly everyday, and I walk A LOT (and I do it on purpose, so don't feel sorry for me about that). So, I find it odd that yesterday of all days I got two blisters on my heels. Strange.

I'm going to sleep now.

Test

2008-02-17T11:18:00.000-08:00

Background information for this post: There is lots of trash on the ground here.

So, I had to get an HIV test the other day in order to get my stay visa. I will spare you the details of the actual test, but will express that standards many westerners are used to are not employed here (standards such as not digging phlegm out of one's mouth after drawing blood from one person and before drawing blood from another--I digress and have given you details). Anyway, after getting my test I still had the cotton ball the tech gave me to stop the bleeding. I didn't know what to do with it, and I refused just to throw it on the ground. Finally I saw a large metal trash can outside. So, I walked through a large pile of trash in order to throw my cotton ball in an empty trash can.

HA! Victory.

And also irony.

Today, and yesterday

2008-02-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

I have to get a new passport, as my current one has nearly expired. I have to say, I am sad to be giving up my beloved passport. We've been through a lot together. I look at the girl in the photo and think back. I had no clue about anything. I hadn't any idea of what I was getting into when that photo was taken, so I could go to Europe on a whim with my best friend. Other than Spanish, which doesn't count as a foreign language back home, I never had to communicate in another language, let alone pay an electric bill, cross borders or have even more important conversations in one. I sure didn't know, or even dream that I would spend so much time in Africa in my future. I had no idea of the great amount of blessings that were in store for me, the amazing people I would meet. I didn't know of the difficult truths about myself I would encounter while in the desert, nor of the amazing and wonderful truths about the Sovereign One, which I initially learned in Sunday School as a child, but went deeper than I ever knew possible. Yes, I had no idea of how wonderful He would be to me.

I took another passport picture today. I would wonder what I will say about the person in that picture the next time I renew, but I sense that I need to be careful about spending too much time thinking about the future these days. I will miss the abundant life available to me now if I worry about that.

I can't sleep. I listened to an hour of the Braveheart soundtrack, which normally helps me fall asleep, and here I am still awake. The above ramblings are the ramifications of that.

I had to pull my hair behind my ears for the photo, by the way. I know that rarely is anyone satisfied with their passport pictures, but I really think I appear to have a mullet in this picture. Oh well.

Off day

2008-02-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

I took today off and watched fall 2006 season of The Amazing Race. That is the only reality show I would ever go on.

I have been thinking about the future lately. I'm not sure what has brought it on. I suppose the nature of a time commitment encourages that. I haven't come up with much, except that I'd like to keep seeing new places. I'm happy here, so I'm not thinking on it as a form of escape. I think I was just born with an urge towards travel and adventure. And I can't help but wonder what the next great adventure will be. I love the feelings combo of sleep deprivation, jet lag, early morning excitment, looming adventure and even disorientation. Perhaps I have a Peter Pan complex. Maybe I am a travel junkie. I wonder if there is a job that consists of backpacking around the world and seeing new places.

It's been cool lately. Not Eastern Europe in the winter cool, but cool enough. The weather has been in the fifties. I am enjoying it, as I know hot weather is coming soon enough.

I miss the Canon that I left at home. I need to get on to ordering another one. What was I thinking coming back to Africa with just a point and shoot?

I've got two months left of language before I start teaching. I must say I am ready to be on the other side of the classroom. I wish I knew more Arabic.

My climbing gear has sat on a shelf for nearly four months. I look at it sometimes, and miss my favorite wall at Dynorock. If I wouldn't freak out the neighbors so much, I might consider climbing my apartment building.

This has not been a very worthy post. Apologies.

Rainforest Deforestation

2008-01-31T04:43:00.000-08:00

I miss learning English. Really, it was about the lowest pressure in language learning yet. I had no responsibilities, I hung out with people who took care of everything I needed. I learned by listening to people talk or hearing people read me stories. Whenever I said something, like, "mommy, or cracker, or dada," everyone cheered and applauded like I'd ended rainforest deforestation. And then I had a huge sense of accomplishment.

Nowadays things are different. I learn by going to class, studying and hanging out with people, who often have greater expectations on me than mommy, cracker and dada, which I've actually been able to say for sometime now. In order to have a noteworthy sense of accomplishment and a similar response from listeners, I think I'd have to have a conversation about how I am actually personally ending the rainforest deforestation.

And there I am folks, sitting on my language plateau.

Static

2008-01-15T03:43:00.001-08:00

So, static electricity is king here these days. The weather is cooler, thankfully, and each night my blanket lights up the room everytime I move. My hair is dry. At first I thought it was just dirty, so I started washing it more, but that just made it more dry. Now I look like a science experiment when I try to brush my hair. I should buy a better shampoo. I pet the cat and he gets electrocuted. There should be someway to harness this power and use it to provide electricity. Somebody should work on that. I'll work on getting new shampoo.

Most everyday a man walks outside my window shouting about something he is selling. It's different everyday--tomatoes, fish. I can't always understand what he's saying. Sometimes he wakes me up. Ironically, the days when he wakes me up it sounds like he is shouting "Quiet, quiet, quiet." And that makes me chuckle. Someday I'm going to go purchase some fish from him. They come straight from the river, so they have to be ok right? He will even gut it for me :)

We never know when the garbage man will come, could be anytime. Normally someone preceeds him blowing a gym whistle, so we know to bring out our trash. I just have to condition my ears to make me think "I must take out my trash" everytime I hear a whistle.

There is an Indian restaurant here that is AMAZING. How are there not Indian restaurants on every corner in America?

I am refusing to continue being a ludite. I am trying really hard to enter the world of technology.

Well friends, I can't think of too much else that will interest you.

Happy Christmas--kinda late

2007-12-24T00:47:00.000-08:00

I love singing Christmas carols. They are so beautiful. One year we went to an Anglican Christmas Eve midnight sevice--that was one of the most beautiful service I have ever attended. It was so formal and reverent and full of awe. We sang every verse to each carol. And, a little trivia for you, my favorite carols are O Come O Come Emmanuel and O Holy Night. What Child is This comes pretty close though.

I spent this year's season making the best Christmas carol playlist. Now that it is Christmas day, I want songs that I don't have. I want the happy songs, not the weepy ones. I woke up singing I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. I should have thought ahead.

I went crazy baking this year. I think it was some sort of coping mechanism. It was fun, but no more late night baking sessions for me for a while. I think that might be a bit over the top.

Thanks to a some very kind people in my life, I got Starbucks Christmas Blend for Christmas. Today I drank some, from a french press, with a spice cookie. WOW. I mean WOW. It was sooooooo good. I didn't realize how much I missed drinking premium coffee. Verona, with dark chocolate, Sanani with cranberries--there is nothing like it. I might like black coffee more than a latte, or an Americano.

My life is full and good, immeasurably better than I deserve. Still, I wish there were more people physically in my life that knew me, that really knew me. I love you guys :)

The two stages

2007-12-17T09:48:00.000-08:00

Did you know that there are two stages of weevil life? Two. They live out their youth as small eggshell colored larvae. Then they ascend into adulthood as regular black weevils. If you knew this, you are ahead of me. I didn't even know how to spell weevil, but thankfully spell check did. I also thought that they were only black, and obvious in flour.

It is Christmas time. The season of advent needs no extra frills in order for me to appreciate its meaning. However, making cookies around this time of year is fun and generates a sweet feeling of nostalgia. And who doesn't like to eat cookies? So, I have gone a crazy baking. At least, I started baking and decided to enter into true insanity this evening by making an egregious amount of snickerdoodles. My plan has been foiled. It has been foiled by the first kind of weevil. The light in the kitchen shines dimly, and I did not check the flour closely until it was too late. Now I have a ridiculous amount of useless batter. I feel defeated.

I would make more batter, but I have nearly run out of butter, and cookies are not worth their salt without fat. I do not have the energy to go to the store to buy more butter. I planned to give my friends cookies tomorrow as a gift. Maybe I will do the unspeakable and buy store bought cookies.

"let your love rage like a lion" andrew osenga

Movement

2007-12-09T01:26:00.000-08:00

A good friend here has commented on how quiet i have been. Am I becoming a quieter person? I don't know. But I know for certain that there are times when I have no idea of what to say so I say nothing, times when getting across what I want to say would take more effort than I can give, times when I don't want to say anything at all, and times when I want someone around who will hear my words in the context of who I am.

I spend free time on the internet looking for great song writers and musicians. I keep "discovering" people that most people have known for years, loving musicians I merely liked before. I never did this in America--I even listened to the radio there but mostly because I had a very loved but very old car. I suppose it isn't the worst way to spend free time, especially since I haven't yet been able to watch a movie straight through. What has happened to my attention span?

Arabic isn't too bad these days. I still don't understand most of what people say to me, but I enjoy learning it and see progress in class. I might even characterize it as fun...

Two lists

2007-11-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

Things I miss (in no particular order):
Easy access to talking to and seeing family and friends
My Fort Worth apartment and my full of grace and mercy and laughter roommate inside the apartment.
All my DC peeps--you each deserve your own line on this list.
Dynorock--climbing partners and employees--think of me on the 45 wall.
Target
Friday morning rushes at Starbucks--but only when I was on the bar
Speaking of Starbucks--a rocking latte right after a shift--mmmm-nothing like it. Well, a rocking latte on a day off is pretty good too actually--when the weather starts to get cool, but is warm enough still to drink iced drinks.
Trinity Park
Tuesday night tea time
Cooking in a kitchen and culture of which I have a full grasp.
Wearing my hair down
Wearing whatever I want
South Texas sunsets
Tacos Ernesto and Rosas
Not having unattractive feet

Things I love here (again, in no particular order):
Music--more than in America--I don't really get it--and I have way more folksy taste here--bring on Sandra McCracken and Derek W--will there ever be a perfect playlist?
My park/zoo
Walking
Anytime I can speak Arabic
Being here
Shwarmas--kinda like tacos
Scarves--I feel like Grace Kelly in them.
Cooking--sorta--I will like it more once I figure out a few more things about shopping here.
Slumber parties
Right now the weather (this will change in a few months)
Juice stands
Community
Laughing with strangers
Fun long skirts that nearly cover my toes.
Dashes--apparently

Sarcasm

2007-11-17T09:30:00.001-08:00

I think I am going to ease up on the sarcasm for a while. Sometimes it creates walls between myself and people, and those aren't ever good. It isn't the first time I've put it aside, some of you may remember that I did so last spring, but it still isn't that much fun. I hope that it helps facilitate more genuine, honest relationships.

"Yesterday"

2007-11-13T10:04:00.001-08:00

Once upon a time there was a girl who lived in the desert. Somedays were tougher than others, especially those days which painfully reminded her that she did not yet really speak the language of this far off, exciting desert place. One of those days, let's call the day "yesterday" for the sake of this story, she also found herself locked out of her apartment late at night after watering the plants. She could not leave her yard for she was not wearing what some like to call, "culturally appropriate clothing." She called out for her kind and benevolent landlady to no avail. She then distressfully called out for the knight in shining armor/local store owner near her. He did not hear her either. Determined not to leave the yard, she feared she would have to spend the night outside. Finally a neighbor heard her call, and after a very long poorly communicated ordeal, the landlady came down with her son. The son broke down the door; more than an hour after the plants received their water, the girl reentered her house.

A few tears fell at some point in the evening for this girl, but she was reminded of the provision of her amazing Prince of Peace who always looked out for her, was always with her, even when she was locked out of her apartment in the desert. Her soul was restored. The next day, she also walked an hour in the heat of the day, and that felt great too.

The end

Also, she is still trying to figure out how comments work on her blog. She apologizes.

Community

2007-11-08T12:12:00.001-08:00

I love community. I don't just love community, I recognize that I need it, that we all need it. I miss my community from back in the States. Close honest relationships take time to build. I miss those who gave me that time, and allowed me to share my life with them. But, I am so thankful for the new community here. His provision of new community is a gift which I can't help but thank Him for many times over.

Blogs are interesting inventions of our day. Email and mobility created a society which generated large amounts of long distances friendships and even acquaintances. But, we tire of communicating the same update in individual emails and hate insulting people with too many mass emails, so we created blogs. Blogs invite an opportunity to keep in touch without having to keep in touch. We can know how our friends are doing without emailing them or talking to them, let alone sitting down with them and a cup of coffee and sharing life with them. Overall I like blogs, but I don't want to use mine as a replacement for relationships which require greater maintenance than posting or reading a few paragraphs. So friends, I commit to keep in touch with you. Please call me out if I don't, and let me hear from you personally as well. And come have coffee with me here--my treat.

The Park

2007-11-07T09:30:00.002-08:00

I've started spending time in a park near my house. While I do go there to meet people so that I can practice my still broken Arabic, I also genuinely enjoy going to this place. It has lots of grass to sit on and fun girls who often want to talk. I have to pay to get in, which I find interesting. An admission ticket is about 50 cents--really not too bad for a pleasant evening sitting in beautiful green grass. The weather hasn't been too bad either, that and maybe I've acculturated to it at least a little bit. Most of the evening one of the vendors plays American pop music, but I never know any of the lyrics. Maybe some pics will come, I need to procrastinate my self-aware computer system anyway.

Volleyball

2007-11-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

A volleyball game made my cultural experience of the evening. Apparently volleyball is a well loved sport around here, second only to the highly beloved football. Now, those of you who know me well, know that I only really enjoy sporting events for the social aspects they provide. Mostly, I enjoy talking to people and eating cotton candy. Tonight was not too much of an exception; and while there was no consession person selling cotton candy, I was not at a loss for sweet things to eat. Foreigners are much the entertainment around here, and my friend and I were quickly ushered to a front seat at center court. More than one camera was pulled out in the course of the evening, including a TV camera, in order to document our attendance. Who knows, in only a few short days I too could be an international super star. Just remember, never believe what you read in the tabloids. We were given snacks and bottled water, and met international referees, at least one of whom has refereed at the Olympics. My team won. Ok, I didn't have a team really, but a team won and I cheered on their victory.

I took pictures and maybe sometime I'll post some. My aspiration for creating a blog has been reached so I plan to enjoy that before moving on to greater technological accomplishments. After the pictures, I think I'll work on creating self-aware computers. Then I'll create even stronger self-aware computers to help us defeat the first set of self-aware computers when they take over the human race. So basically, my next technical task is to save the world. Where do I apply to receive the Nobel Prize?

I finally got a blog--hence the url

2007-11-05T11:01:00.000-08:00

Hey friends I finally got a blog. I love to write, but now I feel on the spot and can't think of anything. More to come.