Anyways, for your curiosity, sympathy, schadenfreude, or basic disgust, here are some pictures:
Thursday, October 21, 2010
For taj (Warning: Don't Look if Contact Dermatitis Freaks You Out!)
So, about a month ago, for the first time in my life, I developed contact dermatitis as a result of an encounter with a urushiol secreting plant (poison ivy). I have repeatedly noted the irony of getting this in metropolitan Atlanta after numerous years of tramping around California in some of the state's most poison oak-laden areas, without consequence.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Summer days
Taking a break from the deep contemplative stuff in this post. This has been quite a week, and I thought I'd regale you with some of the events that occurred.
First, I spent the Fourth of July in Fresno with Kindra and her family, which was super fun. We barbecued steak and had a little pool party at her grandma's house. Then the next day we had BBQ hot dogs. I was in BBQ heaven, I must say. I love spending time in Fresno. Kindra's mom has these really cute dogs that have grown on me, and I get to watch as much "Criminal Minds" as I want. Not to mention spending time with my girl 24/7 (almost). ;-)
On Tuesday evening, we went to Davis and had a few days to act like a non-long distance couple. She would visit me at work, I would go to her house to watch movies, and we went downtown together to eat frozen yogurt. Speaking of movies, while in Davis I finally watched Sabrina, a movie Kindra has been trying to get me to watch all year. It was an excellent movie, well worth the wait. I have developed an appreciation for films starring Audrey Hepburn. The way she talks reminds me of Kindra, but I'm sure the woman in question would beg to differ. ;-)
I am also excited to say we tried Ethiopian food for the first time with my friend Taj. We went to this place in Sacramento called Queen of Sheba. Ethiopian food is very similar to Indian food in the spices it uses, however they use a different flatbread. Indian food uses naan or chapati, whereas Ethiopian food uses injera, which is of a spongier consistency. I would describe it as a spongy vegan sourdough bread. It's delicious, and functional, as you eat the food entirely with your hands, using the injera to scoop it up. I also tried tej, an Ethiopian honey wine. I'm glad Kindra agreed to go with me, too. :-) She is a saint for indulging/supporting my weird impulses.
On Friday we left Davis and headed towards Menlo Park to spend the weekend with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. On Saturday we went down to Mount Hermon to pick up my brother from the camp he is working at this summer and spend a day at the beach in Santa Cruz. This ended up being a bit of an adventure. We took the main road to the camp, hoping to pick Aaron up and then take the road the rest of the way to Santa Cruz, pick up our pizza, and then go to the beach. Unfortunately, there was a accident that blocked traffic going towards the camp, and so we had to follow a crazy backroute that my brother laid out for me. It involved a lot of sharp turns and one-way roads. To top it all off my car lost traction going into the dirt driveway to pick him up. It was probably more than my poor Buick ever expected to endure in its life. Anyways it was great to see Aaron, and once we said our hellos we took the freeway to Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, there is a short merge from highway 1 onto 17, and a car that was trying to accomplish this merged right next to us in the lane. I moved over, but the driver was steamed and drove right behind me, honking loudly. He tailed me into down, even changing lanes with me, and I was seriously starting to freak out. I had my girlfriend and my brother in the car with me, and who knows what he was trying to do... Thankfully, I lost him, and even more of a miracle, I found a place to park. Then I was able to enjoy the rest of the day at the beach. It was a great time to catch up with Aaron, relax with Kindra, and listen to the soothing sound of the waves.
Once we dropped Aaron off, Kindra and I had dinner at The Crow's Nest. We both had the seafood fettuccine, which was delicious, and shared a glass of Pinot Grigio, also delicious.
After dinner we took a walk out to a lighthouse on the bulwark near the restaurant and watched an impromptu fireworks.
Might have been the perfect week.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Reflection
If you read the archive of my blog entries on the the right side of the screen, you will see that this is the first post I have made since January. The following six months can be described in several ways.
Financially: I spent an average of $200 per month on gas. I spent more money on plane tickets than I have in my life. My monthly income translated into a little less than $12,000 per year, a sum well below the poverty line in the US.
Geographically: I divided my time almost equally among Los Altos, Fresno, and Davis. I visited Boston, Atlanta, and San Clemente for the first time in my life. I went camping in Yosemite and spent my first day as 23 year old in Disneyland.
Emotionally: I grew closer to a woman than I ever have in my life. I also fell in love with the same woman.
Spiritually: I went through a period of spiritual dryness followed by a time of spiritual renewal. I experienced my deep need for God, and his demand for all of my heart. I also learned that if He has it all, the rest will follow. Or not. The point is all you need is not love, but Him, and in Him is true love.
I couldn't have made it through this year without the group of guys in my Bible study, who supported me as I swooped in as a brash young recent college graduate, and from whom I was able to learn so much about being Godly.
I also could not have made it through this year without my family, who despite our disagreements still supported me and loved me through a difficult time. I love each of them dearly.
Most of all God blessed me with an amazing woman who has been there for my lowest moments, while I worked at a job that was below my potential, and experienced separation from the community I had found in college. She carried me through this year, and I thank God for her every day.
This is starting to sound like an Oscar speech. But as I sit back for a little bit to reflect on this year. I feel proud. I made a tough decision to change course, and I realized that goal. I am now going to Emory in Atlanta to study Epidemiology. If I make it through, I will have a Master of Public Health, and from there, who knows?
So perhaps a cheesy Oscar speech is in order. So before the music starts playing to usher me off the stage...
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above Ye Heavenly Host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
The doxology is one of my favorites. It always makes me happy that they sing it at the end of services at University Presbyterian in Fresno.
Financially: I spent an average of $200 per month on gas. I spent more money on plane tickets than I have in my life. My monthly income translated into a little less than $12,000 per year, a sum well below the poverty line in the US.
Geographically: I divided my time almost equally among Los Altos, Fresno, and Davis. I visited Boston, Atlanta, and San Clemente for the first time in my life. I went camping in Yosemite and spent my first day as 23 year old in Disneyland.
Emotionally: I grew closer to a woman than I ever have in my life. I also fell in love with the same woman.
Spiritually: I went through a period of spiritual dryness followed by a time of spiritual renewal. I experienced my deep need for God, and his demand for all of my heart. I also learned that if He has it all, the rest will follow. Or not. The point is all you need is not love, but Him, and in Him is true love.
I couldn't have made it through this year without the group of guys in my Bible study, who supported me as I swooped in as a brash young recent college graduate, and from whom I was able to learn so much about being Godly.
I also could not have made it through this year without my family, who despite our disagreements still supported me and loved me through a difficult time. I love each of them dearly.
Most of all God blessed me with an amazing woman who has been there for my lowest moments, while I worked at a job that was below my potential, and experienced separation from the community I had found in college. She carried me through this year, and I thank God for her every day.
This is starting to sound like an Oscar speech. But as I sit back for a little bit to reflect on this year. I feel proud. I made a tough decision to change course, and I realized that goal. I am now going to Emory in Atlanta to study Epidemiology. If I make it through, I will have a Master of Public Health, and from there, who knows?
So perhaps a cheesy Oscar speech is in order. So before the music starts playing to usher me off the stage...
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above Ye Heavenly Host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
The doxology is one of my favorites. It always makes me happy that they sing it at the end of services at University Presbyterian in Fresno.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
New Year
I am sitting at a Starbucks in Davis, using my girlfriend's laptop to write this post. That statement says a lot about the course of 2009. I have had this blog for one year now. It has not taken form yet, and its nature is still full of possibilities. Some of my posts are attempts to comment on current events, others are a shot at being literary. Most are just my personal thoughts about my life, displayed for all who are interested to see.
In any case, my blog is very analogous to my life. It is still full of possibilities. I went to Mishka's yesterday with an old friend of mine and we discussed mutual friends and post-college life. Some of my friends still don't have a job, others have jobs well below their ability and potential. Still others have found jobs that suit them. Talking with my friend brought out an important aspect of human nature to which I am no exception. I like possibilities and fear finality. At some point, most of my life is going to be behind me, leaving me dealing with the consequences of my choices. Given that people are so bad at prediction (there is research that backs this up, though as my girlfriend wisely commented, there is research to back up pretty much anything), it sometimes seems like a cruel joke to give people the ability to make choices about their lives. Most of the time it is better to realize that even our best decisions have a bit of circumstance helping them out.
My point is this: I have made several decisions this year that affected my life in significant ways. I chose to participate in a short term mission trip to Kenya. I chose to defer my enrollment to grad school (and seminary). I chose apply to the PCMI program. I chose to work at Starbucks. I chose to start dating an amazing woman and friend (as of today, we have been dating for one month). Each of these decisions required (or provoked) deep thought and consideration, but I could not have predicted how they would affect me before I made them. It would be easy to say that this is where God fits in the picture. He is there because we are not omniscient. This would wrap things up well, and I would have made a nice little point to "hmm" at. Additionally, this is how I live my daily life. I pray for wisdom in the decisions that I must make. But something in me resists this explanation. It seems to reduce God to a divine janitor, cleaning up the messes of my bad decisions. Does God really shape the circumstances of my life, or does he give me the freedom to do this? The fun thing about these kinds of questions is that the answer is usually "both," and/or "you can't know." Is faith in God simply a change in your mindset? Can a change in your mindset be a simple thing?
In any case, as I go through my life, I will probably ask "where is God in all of this?" several times over. The only possible answer I can give is that I cannot find God in all of this. He is not the missing puzzle piece that causes my life to make more sense. Because life is full of mysteries whether you have faith in God or not. Before you go to thinking I have lost my faith, let me explain. I can find God when I realize that he is source from which all things grow. When you plug a light into the wall, it shines. When you pull the plug, the light goes out. When you have plugged into the source of life, circumstances become less important. I realize I sound like an odd combination of youth pastor and neo-Buddhist, but the thought helps me. And it is a thought, making it both terribly significant and insignificantly terrible. I believe that Jesus is the way to connect to life's source. Our faith in him, by some mystery, allows us to find that place where my decisions do not have to be perfect. My life can be shaped by me through Him.
As my old friend C.S. Lewis has written: Our faith gives us the ability to look back on our entire life and see that it pointed to heaven. Once disconnected from our faith, we will see that our whole life pointed to hell. This is of course a highly paraphrased version of his words, but it's all there in The Screwtape Letters. But don't take my word for it! ;-)
In the meantime, I work to keep a smile pasted on my face while I serve coffee to retired Los Altos citzens and find odd satisfaction in making a dry cappuccino just right. Living at my childhood home I grow closer to my younger brother and parents while feeling like a 12 year old again. I wonder if the gift of my girlfriend will last through my grad school and her med school, all the while sinking joyfully deeper into her beauty.
So I embrace the tension.
Happy 2010!
In any case, my blog is very analogous to my life. It is still full of possibilities. I went to Mishka's yesterday with an old friend of mine and we discussed mutual friends and post-college life. Some of my friends still don't have a job, others have jobs well below their ability and potential. Still others have found jobs that suit them. Talking with my friend brought out an important aspect of human nature to which I am no exception. I like possibilities and fear finality. At some point, most of my life is going to be behind me, leaving me dealing with the consequences of my choices. Given that people are so bad at prediction (there is research that backs this up, though as my girlfriend wisely commented, there is research to back up pretty much anything), it sometimes seems like a cruel joke to give people the ability to make choices about their lives. Most of the time it is better to realize that even our best decisions have a bit of circumstance helping them out.
My point is this: I have made several decisions this year that affected my life in significant ways. I chose to participate in a short term mission trip to Kenya. I chose to defer my enrollment to grad school (and seminary). I chose apply to the PCMI program. I chose to work at Starbucks. I chose to start dating an amazing woman and friend (as of today, we have been dating for one month). Each of these decisions required (or provoked) deep thought and consideration, but I could not have predicted how they would affect me before I made them. It would be easy to say that this is where God fits in the picture. He is there because we are not omniscient. This would wrap things up well, and I would have made a nice little point to "hmm" at. Additionally, this is how I live my daily life. I pray for wisdom in the decisions that I must make. But something in me resists this explanation. It seems to reduce God to a divine janitor, cleaning up the messes of my bad decisions. Does God really shape the circumstances of my life, or does he give me the freedom to do this? The fun thing about these kinds of questions is that the answer is usually "both," and/or "you can't know." Is faith in God simply a change in your mindset? Can a change in your mindset be a simple thing?
In any case, as I go through my life, I will probably ask "where is God in all of this?" several times over. The only possible answer I can give is that I cannot find God in all of this. He is not the missing puzzle piece that causes my life to make more sense. Because life is full of mysteries whether you have faith in God or not. Before you go to thinking I have lost my faith, let me explain. I can find God when I realize that he is source from which all things grow. When you plug a light into the wall, it shines. When you pull the plug, the light goes out. When you have plugged into the source of life, circumstances become less important. I realize I sound like an odd combination of youth pastor and neo-Buddhist, but the thought helps me. And it is a thought, making it both terribly significant and insignificantly terrible. I believe that Jesus is the way to connect to life's source. Our faith in him, by some mystery, allows us to find that place where my decisions do not have to be perfect. My life can be shaped by me through Him.
As my old friend C.S. Lewis has written: Our faith gives us the ability to look back on our entire life and see that it pointed to heaven. Once disconnected from our faith, we will see that our whole life pointed to hell. This is of course a highly paraphrased version of his words, but it's all there in The Screwtape Letters. But don't take my word for it! ;-)
In the meantime, I work to keep a smile pasted on my face while I serve coffee to retired Los Altos citzens and find odd satisfaction in making a dry cappuccino just right. Living at my childhood home I grow closer to my younger brother and parents while feeling like a 12 year old again. I wonder if the gift of my girlfriend will last through my grad school and her med school, all the while sinking joyfully deeper into her beauty.
So I embrace the tension.
Happy 2010!
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