oodles of things happening

i am starting a temp job at nelnet. my brother benjamin is coming to spend the weekend. we're going to have fun, eat like kings, play some paintball, putt a few rounds of mini golf, bowl a few games, and go to the mall and make fun of people making fun of people...i'm stoked. pending approval of our rental applications, ben taylor and i will be moving in about two weeks to 27th and capital parkway. it will be much nicer living closer to the epicenter of the bike trails and bus routes. a fountain is just across the street as a garden is also. and living only blocks away from the davy's is no bad thing, either. there are a number of concerts coming up that i am excited about. live music is just so awesome. i'm also planning a trip to kearney for a weekend and another, in norfolk for a weekend. fun fun. lots of things towards which to look forward. and it's summertime. ah summertime. long days and warmth. i'm off to bed all. cheers . . ..

31may07 today's quote

use what talents you posess. the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.

-henry van dyke-

30may07 today's quote

poverty is the schoolmaster of character.

-antiphanes-

brown sugar is very good indeed

i was preparing oatmeal this morning for breakfast and decided to put on it some brown sugar. when i opened the bag, the smell rushed straight to my nose. ugh! it smells soooooo good. and it tastes soooooo good too. here's to brown sugar! cheers . . ..

29may07 today's quote

first, it is necessary to stand on your own two feet. but the minute a man finds himself in that position, the next thing he should do is reach out his arms.

-kristin hunter-

just plain sad

the newest gallup poll is in.

"nearly two in three americans say they would never use mass transit as their main source of transportation, no matter how high gas prices get."

i find this statistic to be over the top rediculous. nearly 66.6% of americans polled said they would never, NEVER, use mass transportation as their main source of transportation. i guess it looks like i won't be seeing any improvements in the current bussing system. it won't be growing or becoming more efficient with statistics like this out. it really stinks that here in the states, i may not know the awesomeness of the bussing systems i experienced in germany. man! i loved paying the equivalent of $1.25 to ride the bus ALL day long as many times as i needed. and at any stop i waited no more than 10 to 15 minutes.

and you know what else? i feel bad for trains. they may just eventually fade into history as well as the idea of actually riding one. my grandparents rode trains. i've only ridden on once and it was just for leisure. will my younger siblings ever ride a train? will my children? it's too sad a thought for me.

there isn't a really huge push for alternative fuels right now. the majority of americans are out of shape and exercise little so walking or cycling to a destination probably won't be increasing in great numbers. maybe carpools will increase? heaven knows you could fit a ton of people in the vehicles that are coming out which are getting bigger and bigger all the time. but i see more single driven suv's than ones with multiple people in them, so the carpool idea probably is out. hmmm... that means people will just continue driving.

but what is it that keeps people continuing to drive? is it fear? are they scared of mass transit? do they see utilizing mass transit as a sign of weakness? perhaps it is somewhat of a humility issue. maybe people don't want to slow down or have someone else do the work of getting them where they need to go. or maybe too, americans just don't want to be with people. if you cycle, you're by yourself. chances are if you're driving, you're by yourself. but if you're on a bus or train, there are other people there. i guess it's a combination of many things.

but in the mean time, it's nice knowing that i'm on to something pretty sweet. if i take the bus to school or work, i get to talk to a real person. or persons! and i don't have to use cell phone minutes or worry about watching the road. i can read too. i can also take a nap. or simply take some time to meditate or pray. there sure are a lot of possibilites. my favorite is just taking it slow, thinking about this or that, eating a sandwich, and knowing i'm being chauffeured somewhere.

cheers . . ..

28may07 today's quote

because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are.

-bertolt brecht-

yeah sucka, that's what i'm talkin' 'bout

fo real, yo! 100% au natural. no chemicals or processies or scientific jibbity jabber. nothin' but all organic. yee-uh!

okay. that part might have been a little weird for y'all. i was just trying to say that my energy bars are real, they aren't manufactured somewhere, and yes they grow on trees. cheers . . ..

27may07 today's quote

honor is not diminished by being shared.

gemineye - poetic bloodlines

26may07 today's quote

two roads diverged in a wood and i,
i took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference.

where's the meat?

a lady friend and i were talking recently. we were discussing how many, many (too many actually) women find an obsecent need to be thin, thin, thin. f*** that was my lady friend's comment. amen to that, i say.

she recognizes something wrong in the picture. something that has gone awry. there's nothing wrong with being fit. i think we all can agree on that. i think we all can see that. what we all sometimes cannot see, is the obsessiveness that there is. there are people that are so thin that it's either disgusting, unhealthy, or both. and there are people that are not "thin" per se, but aren't fat by any means either. yet they stress over how unthin they are. arghhhhh!

i'm sorry. i don't want to see your rib cage. i don't want to be able to crack jokes about how i can fit a cheerio up over your bicep. skin and bones is NOT attractive. there needs to be something there for me to hold onto. some substance. do you know that softness is one of the most attractive things about women? they say the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. well, the most beautiful distance between two points is a curve, in my opinion.

my friend confessed she brought up the conversation out of bitterness to the fact that she was not herself thin. but she felt compelled to keep up with, or compete with the thin women. i asked her what women she was talking about. and if those women were, too, on a contest to get thinner. i believe the realization was made that her negative emotions and feelings sprang from her comparing herself to others. comparing, really, is about the only way to find difference in things. drop the comparison and you drop the worry, i told her. she said she's never felt accepted like this before. yeah for her! i got a good, warm and fuzzy feeling inside. goodnight all. cheers . . ..

25may07 today's quote

far better is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

-theodore roosevelt-

pick up lines and why they DON'T work

for those dreaming of saying some catchy pick up line to snag a lady, forget about it. they don't work. you'll never hear anyone say, "he had me when he walked up to me in the bar and said if i was a menu item at mcdonald's, i'd be a mc-beautiful".

you see, telling a pick up line in order to get the lady is a method. stop using a method. that's your problem. ever heard the phrase "you're trying too hard"? that's exactly what's going on here. stop trying to use some method and be real. true love is no method. it's not a strategy. it's honest, real, and true. there's something to be said about wearing your heart on your sleeve and not hiding it somewhere under fakeness or one's pretending.

guys, drop the idea that you're fishing. the ladies aren't fish and i'm sure wouldn't feel to highly of you thinking of them as such. quit casting your lures out there ie:trendy clothes, flashy stories, macho-ness, pick up lines, etc. because if you're only casting lures, then ask yourself what the "fish" was attracted to. NOT YOU, that's for sure. they were attracted to the lure. ever pull a fish out of the water after you've caught one? it doesn't seem super happy and excited and wanting to stay right there with you. nope. quite the opposite, it wants to get away. the fish is upset because it's been deceived.

be yourself.

be yourself.

be yourself.

and if you still have some pick up lines floating around in your head, then whittle the remaining few down to the absolute, most cheesy ones left. and save them up just for humor's sake, to give her a laugh. that's about the only good thing i can think of for pick up lines - to laugh at. cheers . . ..

24may07 today's quote

we must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

-joseph campbell-

benjamin's birthday!!!

my younger brother is 18 today. 18 is a HUGE birthday. i wish it to be the best one yet benjamin. keep your head on straight though. you're 18! w00t! cheers . . ..

some amazing panoramas

here are a few amazing photographs. click on the red link. you may want to open the link in a new window. once the photograph loads, you can click and hold the mouse button and move the mouse all over the place to see other parts of the photograph. it's awesome! i'll leave the website i found these on at the end.


church in north jutland:
http://www.panoramas.dk/church-murals/sulsted.html

new year's celebration in glascow:
http://www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen6/f52-glasgow.html

pushkar camel fair in rajasthan, india:
http://www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen7/f7-india-bikaner.html


http://www.panoramas.dk/ very cool stuff! cheers . . ..

23may07 today's quote

talk doesn't cook rice.

-chinese proverb-

stock up on the postcards now

so many people are leaving this summer. i know nearly a dozen people that soon will be gone for a while. the upcoming summer is going to be quite a different one. friends will be gone. there will be many weddings to go to like last year (weddings are always such a great celebration but can be hard too for the single guy). i will be much worried about my younger brother whom did not graduate from high school this year as he should. what will come of this all important time in his life? my older brother will be marrying in september and i worry about that. a new residency for me is just around the corner. school starts in the fall. and more.

phew! a lot going on. a lot to be thinking about. this will definately be a summer like no other, but my shoes are laced up tight and i'm ready to go. cheers . . ..

22may07 today's quote

the hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles. a shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. the realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard.

-sloan wilson-

steve coleman - i wanna hear a poem

21may07 today's quote

be fit for more than the thing you are doing. let everyone know you have a reserve in yourself, that you have more power than you are now using. if you are not too large for the place you occupy, you are too small for it.

-james a garfield-

where do i go to do this?

i feel like standing atop a hill and yelling. i feel like running, and jumping, and climbing and rolling until i'm exhausted completely and can only lay there. still. and quiet. defenseless and vulnerable.

yeah. that's what i feel like. cheers . . ..

20may07 today's quote

i ask you, god, to let me have two things before i die: keep me from lying, and let me be neither rich nor poor. so give me only as much food as i need. if i have more, i might say that i do not need you. but if i am poor, i might steal and bring disgrace on my god.

-proverbs 30:7-9-

19may07 today's quote

it is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper.

-rod serling-

while you were sleeping...

i was not. bedtime didn't come until 4am. my friend jenny invited me to help with a remodeling project last night. the invitation came a little after 1am. sierra, the rockstar hairstylist who used to work above the ozone, will be opening up a new salon above duffy's. the entire upstairs is in dire need of attention. it hasn't been used since the sixties. her salon will only occupy a small portion of the available space. i'd love to have a little shop up there selling knicky knacky things...and cards.

some drywall work had been done and mudding needed to come next. that's what i helped out with. i've done it before so it was a piece of cake and my height came in pretty handy too. 2 1/2 months is the goal for opening day of the salon. you'll HAVE to go there, if not to get your hair cut, then at least to see the coolness of the building inside. here are some pics i took throughout the night.



last night was fun. tiring, but fun. i came home COVERED in dust and drywall mud. and this morning i had breakfast with mike so i only had four hours of sleep. i'll try for a nap here in a bit before i head off to work and then to brook's for some hang out time with the peeps. have a wonderful friday everyone. enjoy the weather. smell some flowers or freshly cut grass today. cheers . . ..

18may07 today's quote

sweet mercy is nobility's true badge.

-william shakespeare-

some pics from the men's retreat

i awoke early saturday morning, around 5ish. after the sun came up, i took some photos with my mobile.



the weather was so perfect last weekend during the retreat. it was a good time to be loose and just hang out. i can't wait 'til next year. cheers . . ..

17may07 today's quote

an idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.

-arnold h glasgow-

HAPPY ANNIBIRTHARY MEGAN!

today we celebrate megan's birthday. at the men's retreat, there began a discussion on why we use the term birthday. we have only ONE birthday. each year after that is an anniversary of the birthday. ben welstead coined the phrase "annibirthary". anywho, today is megan's day. give her a hug or a high five.

HAVE A GOOD ONE MEGAN!!!

cheers . . ..

16may07 today's quote

a discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind.

-albert szent-gyorgyi-

some people just shouldn't

the famous people that wear crazy glasses? they shouldn't. i find it hard to believe that they wear them because they like them. boy do they look awful!

i have a manager at work that quite often wears high heels. without them, she walks normally. however, with them, she walks awkwardly. she appears to be putting forth much effort to be wearing them. i think her posture is being made bad because of this.

i once saw a man reading a book while riding his bike.

cheers . . ..

15may07 today's quote

but it is a cold, lifeless business when you go to the shops to buy something, which does not represent your life and talent, but a goldsmith's.

-ralph waldo emerson-

how often do you see three mini coopers at one intersection?

well. today i saw it. three, count 'em, three mini coopers at the intersection of 14th and old cheney. i was on my way to the coffee shop and i saw them. it was just an odd enough thing to post about.

i left work early today because my voice was hoarse, scratchy, and fading FAST. dave, ben, and i went to the nebraska baseball game yesterday afternoon. there was quite the display of bad calls from the umps and thus, the lack of voice today. i was yelling quite a bit as were many in the crowd. adding that to the normal rooting and cheering has caused my voice to go on vacation. having a terrible voice to no voice at all is not a good thing when one's occupation is speaking with people on the telephone. i sounded like a robotic monster from mars when i could strain enough to get words out.

the weather is looking to be bad again. weather.com is showing a long string of red and yellow coming towards and right through lincoln very soon. the wind outside has just picked up tremendously. people are standing outside making comments of tornados. "look! the clouds are rotating!" dude. they're not. chill out. good thing i went to a couple storm spotting classes with roark once. for i now can look at the skies with more knowledge and not prematurely freak out...as the patrons of the coffee shop are doing. let us hope, though, that tonight there isn't a tornado here or elsewhere.

i need to buy a battery pac for my rc car. i pulled it out of the closet recently and miss playing with it. the darn thing is soooooooo fast! anyone have some plywood lying around? i need to make a ramp.

it has just started to lightning. it is not directly above me, but a bit to the west. i predict it to be straight overhead soon.

i cleaned out my wallet not too long ago. in it, i found a couple of punch cards to juice stop. well, juice stop no longer takes punch cards. it seems the "reward" was abolished the first of the year. i also noticed something unfortunate last night while buying sun chips. the coupon on the back of the super saver receipt used to be good for $1.00 off a smoothie at juice stop. currently (and i imagine it's been for some time) the coupon is only good for $.75 off a smoothie. and to top off this rant, the prices at juice stop have gone up some. this all saddens me to a great degree. higher prices, less discounts, and no rewards are making juice stop a far less occurance for me now. blame it on inflation. blame it on higher gas prices. blame it on fewer customers. or blame it on whatever. the current state STINKS.

the clouds are pretty dark now, almost scary. i'm glad i'm not a helium-filled balloon that a child has just let go of. i'd be on my way up to all that scariness!

i miss you brittan. we've not hung out in a while. hanging out with jay on saturday night brought the missing to the forefront of my mind. jay, kayle, and i climbed atop a grainbin somewhat close to his house. innocent mischief like that was more than common when i was younger. i remember, brittan, we were talking about how we never got in trouble. you made the comment "we were just so good at it". lol. it's true. jay would have been a fellow mischief-er if he'd grown up with us, i'm sure.

the rain has started. falling down now are big, heavy drops. no hail. let's hope it stays that way.

this has been a pretty random post. and i'm done now. done because i could go on forever. go play in the rain. cheers . . ..

14may07 today's quote

maybe a person's time would be as well spent raising food as raising money to buy food.

-frank a clark-

a checklist of those i want to hang out with. one on one. mono a mono.

mike: i'd like to hang out. we should play pool, or better yet, foosball. food wouldn't be bad either.

spady: because i have only for brief bits of time. food is a must. perhaps some big game is to be had (baseball?). i think a movie would also do.

heather: because it's been too long. it seems i only say hi at church. and you are leaving soon.

scott and gina: again, because it's been ages. and you're a great couple with super cool attitudes. i always enjoy my time with you.

megan: because you are leaving soon too. i say over coffee, or iced tea, or ice-cream.

kyle and lori: just to keep up.

jake: to continue our conversation that started at the men's retreat.

roark: because we always have a blast. food, bowling, and a pint of beer are all a must.

mike hsu: the last time we hung out, my head wasn't on straight. plus, it's been too long. and i haven't seen the piranha in forever.

my brother benjamin: because he's graduating this year. i would like the oppurtunity to share some wisdom on things. bowling is out of the question, since you'd WOOP me. mini golf? fishing? paintball?

my grandmother: she's someone i could sit for hours and listen to. such a wise woman. such great stories.

kristen, my older brother's fiance: i don't know her at all. plus, i'm concerned.

steve allen: i see you at church and at old chicago, that's it.


that's the list so far. i'm done thinking out loud. cheers . . ..

13may07 today's quote

destiny is no matter of chance. it is a matter of choice. it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.

-william jennings bryan-

12may07 today's quote

it's better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to be on, than halfway up a ladder you don't want to be on.

let's get ready to ruuuuuuummmmmbbbbbblllllle!

the weekend is here! having to wait for the weekends gets harder when summertime and its nice weather roll around. so many things to do! i like it. be sure and spend time with friends this weekend, spend time doing things YOU like doing, use some energy - wear yourself out, and then rest. see everyone soon. cheers . . ..

11may07 today's quote

man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.

-william hazlitt-

today was a really good day at work

i thought i'd post about it. i got 8.3 hours in today. i only took 14 minutes of break time. made a decent amount of money. and i finished a couple of crosswords. time went by pretty quick. the day was done before i knew it. here's to good days at work!!! cheers . . ..

who's up for ice-cream?

it has been nice and warm. i think it's due time for ice-cream. anybody with me? i was thinking sonic or zesto's. oh...and of course, i'm driving (the fairlane). cheers . . ..

10may07 today's quote

every child is an artist. the problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.

-pablo picasso-

a revelation...or two

i haven't been myself lately. sure on the outside to everyone who sees me, but not on the inside. not in the heart.

after reading a section in a book elijah gave me, i have faced the truth that i've been living scared recently. and even looking back on my life, there has been fears that i've given into. the book was talking about owning up to them, seeing them eye to eye for what they are, and then facing them. i grabbed a cd from one of my favorite punk bands fifteen and went to track number two (on their lucky cd). towards the end of the song are some amazing words that i haven't heard/listened to in some time.

"hey kid, i hope you knooooow,
sometimes life is gonna SUCK.
hey kid i hope you knoooooooow,
sometimes everything's gonna be fucked up.
hey kid i hope you knoooooooow,
the only way around your problems, is straight through them.

the last line is what i haven't been listening to for some time. fears are tough. they are real. they have a certain control once you give in to them. they can suck. BAD. but i feel strong right now. i'm going to face them and am running at them head on. there are going to be some past wounds i carry that are going to reopen but they need to. WOUNDS DON'T HEAL UNLESS YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THEM. i've not been paying any mind to many of them because of fear.

today is good. i feel confident and strong. my eyes are open and i've realized some things that i've needed. time to get back living right and the way that fulfills me. i've been desiring many things as of late and some of them quite greatly. but god brought me back to the realization that i've been desiring all of them MORE than him. yeah. i admit it. and i feel ashamed for not giving god my all, for not paying attention to him fully. "love the lord with ALL your heart, ALL your mind, and ALL your strength". ALL of it. wholeheartedly.

cheers . . ..

09may07 today's quote

one of the advantages bowling has over golf is that you seldom lose a bowling ball.

-don carter-

it's moving time again

i've decided it would be best if i moved. paying too much for rent, living "too far from town", being a little bit annoyed by the neighborhood's lack of character and mature trees, and others, have led me to making the decision to move.

i would so much like to be closer to the center of things. it's just so much easier (and way less time consuming) to get places. i would like to live in a house again. an actual house, with a yard to be maintained, and a garden to be gardened would be to my liking. just having a lawn to run around in makes me happy. oh! and trees to climb would make it even better!

i'd settle for an apartment complex again. it would definately be my second choice. but the availability of a swimming pool is quite tempting since i LOVE water. there also runs a good chance of having a deck. decks are fun to lounge on.

so i've got my eyes open. there's a lot of excitement here. i get to look at everything that's available, make a list of what might do, and then check them out. i also need to keep my eyes open for roommates. we'll see what happens. as usual with me, nothing is carved in stone 'til it's just about done and over with. cheers . . ..

08may07 today's quote

the best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book.

i've been busy, so the posts have been lacking

i haven't posted much in awhile because things have been busy. it's been the best kind of busy though - busy being with people. i've also been busy working, working on side projects, and thinking about those all important life issues. i haven't minded it too much and hope you haven't either. time with people i love and care about is more important to me than keeping up with blog posts.

this weekend was another awesome one. it's always easier to start the week then. i am looking forward to a number of things and should be posting about those in due time. i need to hang out with jay before he's up and gone for a while. my foot needs to heal up too. i ran about 5 blocks while it was raining after ben and i saw a movie. someone by the coffeehouse and bison witches yelled my name. i was too busy going somewhere and trying to stay as dry as i could in a downpour. let me know if it was you who yelled because i'm clueless. have an excellent start to your week. cheers . . ..

07may07 today's quote

give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break.

-william shakespeare-

06may07 today's quote

**no quote today**

i had left the house at 7:50am and did not return again until 2:00am. therefor, i wasn't able to post. cheers . . ..

05may07 today's quote

ring the bells that still can ring,
forget your perfect offering.
there is a crack in everything,
that's how the light gets in.

-leonard cohen-

look at the size of that thing!

it was yesterday when i encountered the beast. it was perched on the door frame just waiting for me. somehow, i managed to get past the beast without awakening it. oh boy! i'd have been it's lunch for sure if it woke up! fighting through the tremendous fear i had, i made my way back to snap a picture or two. here is the beast!



monsterous, ain't it? cheers . . ..

04may07 today's quote

the reproduction of mankind is a great marvel and mystery. had god consulted me in the matter, i should have advised him to continue the generation of the species by fashioning them out of clay.

-martin luther-

spanish guitar

i've been listening to a lot of spanish guitar lately. it's really good stuff. if you get the chance, listen to the gypsy kings. they've got a really great sound.

hmmm... let's see. a bunch of mexicans playing guitar, throw in an accordian perhaps, a trumpet, and some margaritas, YEAH! then you've got a good time going. cheers . . ..

03may07 today's quote

the past is our definition. we may strive, with good reason, to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it, but we will escape it only by adding something better to it.

-wendell berry-

it feels warm, makes me sleepy

the sun is so wonderful. i can feel its warmth on my skin. i like that feeling a lot, to be warm like that. makes me sleepy. gives me a sleepy smile. i want an exotic island. and a beach. and a hammock. darn you warm sun! you're making me daydream. cheers . . ..

02may07 today's quote

you say grace before meals. all right. but i say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before i open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before i dip the pen in the ink.

-gk chesterton-

no may day baskets this year

though i really wanted to prepare may day baskets and deliver them today, i cannot. due to a low volume of work at gallup for a while, my paychecks haven't been too great. with no extra funds lying around, i can't purchase any goodies or treats for the baskets. and i don't have any crafty things here to make anything to put in the baskets. sadly, this year will be a break from the may day basket tradition. cheers . . ..

01may07 today's quote

we should all be concerned about the future because we will have to spend the rest of our lives there.

-charles f kettering-