Tagging

On the road back down to Southern California just yesterday, we stopped at a stop for some gas. After I fill up, I decide that it might be a good idea to go to the bathroom. So I walk into a stall and do the customary toilet seat inspection. "Are there any stains? Are there any drops of liquid... etc.?" What do I see? Tagging. Somebody grafitti-ed the toilet seat. You know, the kind that requires a knife. The tagger doesn't use spray paint as his weapon of choice but instead carves out the tag on the toilet seat with a knife.

Who ever thought that it'd be a good idea to tag on a toilet seat? On a wall or a sign I can understand. You're marking your territory like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant. You put it out in a public spot so all can see. But a toilet seat?! People sit on those things with their bare butts. Your tagging name gets defamed by another man's gluts... repeatedly... in a public bathroom... oyy. I just don't understand.

Surpised

I'm home now for the week. It's good to be home.

I just read the cover story for this week's Newsweek magazine. It is one of the best pieces of Christian apologetics I've read in a while. Surprise! On Newsweek. It's written well, in a story telling format, and it is clear that the author did his research. It's a bit long on the webpage version... 6 pages or so, but well worth the reading. Enjoy!

Done!

Currently working on: Church growth paper

The Day o' Accomplishment

Yesterday was my day o' accomplishment. Started off by taking my New Testament: Acts-Revelation final exam. Came home to watch ESPN's pre tournament coverage of NCAA basketball. Then proceeded to finish off my exegesis paper on the parable of the shrewd steward. I'm finding that I really don't like doing these exegesis papers. It's not because I don't like going through the process of writing it (ambivalent). Neither is it because I don't like exegeting scripture (I do). It's simply because I get convicted at the end to practice what I preach, err write. Blast this Holy Spirit! My last paper, 1 Timothy 5:23, prevented me from buying some Diddy Riese cookies. Now, after Luke 16:1-9, I'm compelled to give generously to the poor. Am I allowed to shake my fist at the Holy Spirit?

Anyway... after finishing the paper I watched a little bit of the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Two classes finished. NCAA basketball watched. If only I had a bracket to fill out... that would have made yesterday a super day o' accomplishment.

One class remains on my path to Spring Break. One paper remains standing. The 20 page church growth paper. I really should have started this monster a while ago. Verdict: Very doable.

Currently working on: Getting ready to go to church.

Ben Tao's over. He cooked for me. All throughout the labor, he would squeal "I'm cooking!" just in case I didn't know. Almost took advantage of some Mormons on Huntington offering to wash people's cars. Saw them (white with starched white shirts and dark ties... kinda wondered how they'd wash my car with that kind of dress) on the way to get some food with fairly large cardboard signs saying "Free Car Wash". After we ate our burritos, we drove by the temple with both of our cars only to see that the Mormons disappeared and Huntington once again returned to the careful racial equilibrium consisting of Asians and Latinos. A missed opportunity.

Registered for the CBEST. Why? To substitute teach next year. Like Pokemon, I'm trying to catch all the certifications I can. So far, I'll be a substitute teaching, bartending, clergyman. Had dreams of flying airplanes too, but I don't know if that'd be a good idea with the bartending. Any other ideas?

Currently working on: Exegetical paper on Luke 16:1-9 (The Parable of the Shrewd Steward)

The pooping lady

Taking a break for a few minutes to write about the pooping lady. There's a lady who lives in the apartment complex next door. Everyday, she comes by, taking a walk with her little dog. Perfectly normal. Well, except while normal people might walk their dog around the block with a leash, the pooping lady walks her dog to our lawn and back without a leash. Actually, I think I'd be mistaken to say that she takes her dog for a walk. She takes her dog out to poop. Her name's the pooping lady. What would you expect?

Does she bring a plastic baggy with her? Of course not. She takes her dog out, walks it out to our lawn which is like 20 feet away, the dog poops, and they go back inside to the apartment complex. This happens everyday. One time I was out on the front porch with Alinna, working on a paper, and the pooping lady comes by. As usual, she comes out with her dog, walks it to our lawn right in front of us, looks at us, and looks back at her dog. Nothing. The dog does its business on the lawn, the pooping lady looks back at us with a look that said something like "What? I'm old. What are you going to do about it?", and they walk back to the apartment.

Currently working on: Wasting time/procrastinating/emailing (the fateful trio)

In-between classes, should be working on one of my papers, probably the evangelism final project, but what can I say? I'm not. I'll do it later. Maybe after I get home from school. Work on it for a good 2 hours or so. At the current pace of that paper, that'd be equivalent to about 2 1/2-3 pages bringing the total to 5 pages. It's a maximum 10 page paper. I doubt it'll go that long.

Just a little out of sorts today. Could be just the wear and tear of the quarter coming to an end. More probably a combination of a whole lot of things. A bit heavy of heart, just praying for refreshment in the midst of it all.

The Home Stretch

That's the title of one of my stickies on my computer right now. It's a list of the assignments I have left until the end of the quarter. Yessir, next week is the last week of instruction which is then followed by finals week. After going out to Santa Monica to drop of some CDs and eat some Diddy Riese, I stopped by at a Coffee Bean and finished off one of the items from the home stretch: A hermeneutical paper on 1 Timothy 5:23. That leaves a 7 page evangelism paper due this Friday, New Testament final exam next Tuesday, 7 page exegesis paper on the Parable of the Shrewd Manager next Wednesday, 15 page church growth paper next Friday, and a 3 page "I feel" paper that same Friday.

Status: Still managable.

Some good news:

I just got an email today from a scholarship fellowship I applied to. I made it as a finalist. What does this mean? I'm going to North Carolina for the weekend of the 15th of April to be interviewed and considered for a nice scholarship for up to the next three years.

Side note: I'm planning on graduating in the next two but it's nice to know that there's the option for the third year!

Random thoughts...

When watching the post-Oscar night coverage, Ben and I both noticed that Clint Eastwood's got a whole lot of botox going on. A LOT. I definitely have more wrinkles on my face than Mr. Eastwood. But then, I don't have the turkey gobble thing on my neck like he does... at least not yet. I'll take the trade off.

Related... I've finding my chin again. For a while, my chin was disappearing. My face was getting rounder. It was especially noticeable in photographs... by my "fat face camera" as Alinna likes to call it. It's a fat face camera because it makes people look like they have fat faces. In my case, it didn't make it look like I had a fat face. I had a fat face. But my chin is coming back.

And I learned today from my often purportedly heretical school that the rapture isn't Biblical. After looking at the evidence, I may have to agree. Does this then make me heretical? I don't think so. And no, my school is not heretical either. But no rapture... makes ya think doesn't it?

Have no fear, I am still alive.

After a very hiatus, I'm back. The month of February just didn't exist in my blogging world. Ahh, if only it were that simple in the real world. It's been rough. Just haven't had the energy to post anything up on my webspace. Why? Just a crazy school schedule. I don't think it'd be advisable for me to take 5 classes in a quarter again. I'm just constantly reading some book for some class. Don't really have time to digest all the information I'm imbibing. Tip back, open up the throat, and just let the liquid learning flow down.

This week's the second to last week of the official quarter. Then there's next week, the last week, and the following week after that... finals week. In this span of time, I'm expected to write 5 papers totalling 45 pages and take a single final exam. Very managable... at least I think so, pending that I don't suddenly freak out from the pressures and rigors of higher education.

Yes, mama, I'm eating fruit. Actually, I don't know if she reads this thing. Regardless, I picked up a half flat of tangerines at Ralphs for cheap... if anybody else wants to know. I have no idea why anybody except my mom would want to know that kind of information, but, tough, it's my webspace.

I'll be back soon.