weird.

I guess lack of sleep catches up with you.

I got home from work today, ate at Highland, and by 6 pm was in bed to take a "little afternoon nap." I was supposed to go to the Gathering at 9 pm. I didn't wake up til 10 pm. I missed the Presidential debate at 7:30, the "mandatory" floor meeting at 8 pm...but worst of all the Christian fellowship I so look forward to every Thursday from 9-11. I felt like crap...I feel guilty about having missed it. I know I didn't willfully miss it...but still. Ironically, I just told a guy earlier, "I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

I think God spoke to me through my poor body tonight. The message is simple: "Get more sleep you bonehead!"

(i.e. stop talking and laughing with people in East Laville in the wee hours of the morning...one apparent problem with "study groups" by the way...)

Anyhow, while on the subject of Chi Alpha, which I missed tonight, I'm going to the state-wide retreat this weekend...believing for God to do great things and to have an awesome time...meeting many new people and catching the vision since I will be here for 4 years laboring in XA...

"KEEP SWIMMING!"

It's been a weird cool evening.

I had "bubble tea" at Highland. I can't describe it but it was good...and me and several people I met were talking about it. It's weird how something as simple as tea can bring people together. But then again if I made that statement in Britain, I'd be stoned. (Pardon me, that was so stereotypical and dumb.) :o)

Anyhow, then I went to the Rec Center to (guess what!): watch Finding Nemo on a big screen...while in the swimming pool! That's right! They showed Finding Nemo at this pool party thing...they had pizza, we played volleyball in the pool, floated around on fish floats and hung out in the pool to watch Finding Nemo. I know. I'm strange to go to something like that. It was a blast though...finding Nemo is awesome. I met some more people from near St. Tammany Parish...

...now I'm watching Blast From the Past, which is HILARIOUS. This kid lives in an underground bunker from the 60's to the mid 90's because his parents keep him down there. they thought America was being nuked in the 60s and went down into this bunker and come up exactly 30 years later, when they think the radiation has worn off...and the kid wanders around...thus he's a blast from the past...it's just hilarious. It's keeping me from my homework and it's almost midnight. ARGH>.

Power-up

Last night's XA prayer meeting was an hour long and very powerful. It was truly Spirit-led. I would write a long essay as usual but it's the morning after and I'm barely awake. All I can say is that my expectations were exceeded and I was highly encouraged to realize this is a group of students that can invoke God's presence...the prayer was intense. Not your usual "youth" casual prayer...intercession rather.

The picture didn't make it that evident...I am even redder now that when I took this picture. I got a huge sunburn across my nose from being at the football game in Tiger Stadium in the middle of the day. We beat the Miss. State Bulldogs 51-0!!! Geaux Tigers! (if you're not from Louisiana...ask and I will explain that expression). 

Rollercoaster Day

It seems I went back and forth from moments of extreme tiredness (i.e., sleep) to moments of extreme energy (i.e., working out).

After getting like 3 hours of sleep for the 2nd time this week (and not much more the other nights) I took the econ exam first thing this morning...

of course I was up late last night studying for this exam.

...so, yeah. It's been a hell of a week at times. A helluva week.

God has been consistently faithful, of course.

Anyway poor guy runs into the classroom panting halfway through the Econ exam...he apparently overslept. I'd have to say that'd be my greatest concern about college. Poor guy must have woken up late, said, !@#$%^&*, sprinted across campus...he didn't even have a booksack, pen, or scantron sheet. Someone gave him some stuff. The prof let him take the test...he was apparently amused.

I tried so hard to not fall asleep in Calculus. It's been a couple weeks since I had a calculus lecture I didn't fall asleep in at some point. I was so determined today I wouldn't nod off...but on this little sleep, folks...

I talked to this guy afterward and he's proud of himself. This was the first lecture he didn't nod off at all.

I ordered Dan Hames' CD Double Yellow Lines. Check their awesome band Daylight (and their EP) out at http://www.daylight.org.uk. I hope to get that in the mail soon...but not too soon as it's a UK import.

I got a nap, then woke up to lift weights at the REC center. I went back to my room for an hour, then went back to the REC to play racquetball. I actually won a game...and then looked to see if the moon was blue.

Then later I went to the XA Cafe to hang out. We kidded around and played a game. Then we went to the Quad and played sardines from 10:30-12 am.

FYI, Sardines is: one person goes ahead of the group and hides. Then the group leaves and tries to find him/her. Whoever finds him/her hides with him/her. So it's like reverse hide and seek. Only 2 people out of like 20 found the guy. It was fun and spooky playing on the campus late at night...the security guards looked at us like, "huh?"

I was able to get a ticket from Mica's friend for Ryan. So we'll both be going to the game.

Joy, Great Happiness!

I think I smoked the Economics exam...after studying my butt off last night (and getting quite wigged out)! We shall see...

Plus Thomas sold me a ticket to the game against the Bulldogs tomorrow! Am listening to LSU fight song right now! Geaux Tigers!!!

It Might Be Today...

Could this be the day?

The day that Christ returns?

Oops

Woke up at 8:30, went over to Bryan's and John's room...Patrick came, too. Bryan cooked eggs, bacon, and toast for us. Wow, what a way to start the day..and he can cook! He cooked Spaghetti one time, too...delicious.

Then I went back to my room at 9:00 a.m....and went to sleep. I set my alarm for 10:15 so I could be on time to seminar at 10:30. But apparently I hit the alarm off...

...and then woke up at 10:38, 8 minutes past 10:30.

AAAAAAHHHHH!

Literally "threw" some clothes on, swished the toothbrush across a few teeth, quickie deodorant fix, basebal cap on, grab wallet and keys, run in flip-flops (a hard thing to do) out of the dorm and across the lot to the French House. At least this class is right next door. Luckily, Prof. Holmes was running a little late. Then into a discussion about Thucydides...which almost put me to sleep reading last night. No, really. Thucydides' approach of not simply narrating history but setting forth rousing speeches by the major historical figures invovled keeps it thought-provocative and entertaining.

Anyhow...here I am at work, tired, and bored with nothing to do...Ms. Jacki said she was falling asleep...so I said I'd wake her up and gave her a 2-second opera impression...to which she said she was thoroughly scared...and now she is awake. Looks like it's going to rain.

Hmm. I wonder if I can find a reasonably priced student ticket for the game against Mississippi State tomorrow. I must catch up on sleep this weekend WHATEVER I DO.

And I must study HARD for the Economics exam tomorrow. Ugh.

First Exams

First exams in courses today...

Smoked the calculus exam...did not need to study as much as I did...I aced it.

The Western Civ. exam...I don't know. It was hard but I think I probably got an "A." How can that be? In other words, I probably did well, but it was hard enough to where every minute I studied for it counted. I wrote non-stop for 45 minutes. Essay/identification test.

The only academic disappointment was getting my first W.C. paper back...a "B." Not a horrible grade...but I worked for over 4 hours on it easily...I don't know how much more...and I thought I had a good paper...I could tell by this other girl's sigh that she had figured the same thing about hers. At least I can do a revision...but the prof. says my basic thesis is cloudy...I hope that doesn't mean a rewrite of the whole thing...

...that would basically mean Western Civ. owns one of my weekends. :-(

I'm sure God's grace will be sufficient whatever happens though. Believe, Josh, believe... :-)

************************************ 

!@#$%^&*

What happened to watching for pedestrians at crosswalks?! I almost got mowed down by a car doing probably nigh twice the speed limit as I was biking back to my dorm from work! And the guy in the car looks angry as if I friggin' did something! I didn't just dart out in front of anyone either...he must have seen me a 1/2 block away!

Well, thank God for divine protection.

Deep Breath

Notice: this evening's plans have been cancelled, ladies and gentlemen. Due to inclement having-to-cram-for-western civ.-test, there will be no staying up socializing in East Laville tonight. I shall stay in "West side" and studyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...

For a friend

It seems as though most people I know...and most people in general these days are going through heartache. I know I've had my fair share...
This song is for all of us who have wept bitter tears. God has stored them up and remembers them and desires to bring us comfort, ... if we can trust Him to take off the bandage we tried to cover the wound with and apply his own ointment.
While this applies to men, too...God sees your sorrow and is there for you...

This is in memory of God's daughters. God sees the tears you cry. Though the rush of tears is inevitable, don't spill them on the floor this time. Spill them on your Father's shoulder. As men, we are touched by the tears you cry, but frustratingly can't adequately provide the comfort you need. This is for you. Hear your Savior singing over you today:

Won't you come away with me tonight?
We can fly past the moon and the starlight.
It doesn't matter where you've been before
On a night like this
It doesn't matter where you've been before
I'll love you like this
(And she cries, she cries, yeah)

Can't you see, I won't leave
But you have to open your eyes
Here I stand, take my hand
Let go of the fear that you hold

Don't throw your pearls to the swine tonight
Don't let them take your innocence
Just remember the times that I held your hand and kept you close
Remember the times I held you up and now(She cries, she cries, yeah)

She Cries, East West.
"As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

For more information on this song, e-mail me at jclayt4@lsu.edu.

Home

I caught a ride home with Thomas Friday...he was headed to the Auburn game in Alabama and dropped me off at my house in Slidell, Louisiana. Got home and pretty much crashed (as in sleep).

Hung out with the family that night and watched all of The Wizard of Oz for the first time in ages. My favorite quote (hard to choose since there are so many in the movie) would have to be the great Oz's reply to Dorothy's question, "Weren't you frightened?":

Frightened? You are talking to a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe. I was petrified.

Classic movie. Awesome.

Then I stayed up and *cough* made some "music videos" that were funny at my expense...

Saturday I voted for the first time (yay!). Not much on the ballot, but I had to vote once before the Presidential election this November, and GWB is going to need all the help he can get. At least there was one thing on the ballot that counted this time: voting in favor of a marriage amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman.

After that I got back just in time to watch the LSU v. Auburn game. The two schools are age-old rivals. It was a great game, stuck at 9-3 in LSU's favor till the end of the fourth quarter. A touchdown and a field goal put Auburn in the lead. The angering factor was that the announcer is going on and on about how good Auburn's kicker is...then he actually misses the goal (yay!, maybe at 9-9 we're going into overtime!)...only to have a foul called on LSU (BOO!!!). So with them one point up LSU was running the ball like heck down the field with less than 2 minutes left in hope of at least going for a long range field kick for 3...but then Auburn intercepts it, I yell, etc., etc...Final score Auburn 10 LSU 9. Sob sob. We'd have to win all our remaining games to win the championship again this year, I think. Oh well. It's only a game....NOT!

Then I cut the grass...haven't done that in a while...went to sleep...went to church today...

Went with Ryan in his truck back to LSU, got a smoothie on the way. We stopped at Chili's and splurged because we had gift cards from our aunt and uncle. Those fajitas and that choco fudge were wi-ked yum-my. Mmmm. The weird thing was neither I nor Ryan's gift cards were working right and for the first time ever the waitress came back and said, "Ok, I need some more money from you." How erm...embarrassing. But hilarious...let the hilarity begin...as she would run back and forth from her gift card swiping thing to us to let us know the current update...those cards were new, there shouldn't have been anything wrong with them! She probably had us figured for Chili's con-artists whose big scam was fake, used gift cards or something. I was handing $3 to Ryan for...I don't know what...I don't think I was cheated out of any money except for that...and I payed $30 in gift cards for a $20.99 meal...but at least we got out with our wallets fairly unscathed. Poor Danielle. It wasn't her fault. It was the doggone bar-code society we live in that demands we use these cruddy swipe things that never work right. Seriously...Ryan and I laughed very hard...it was hilarious. You would have to have been there.

Got back to the dorm, unloaded, set out this nice area rug Dad got for my room...played my heart out on Super Mario World...I had to stop at the Vanilla Fortress. I've got homework to do. Anyway...college goes on, my friends.

Homework Update (see last post)

Ha ha. I actually did do homework. I've done close to 5 hours worth of homework today. See? The positive thinking helped. (Of course don't think I'm the world's most studious...that 5 hours was the result of me realizing I better make up for some lost time this week).

But ah...it feels being good and caught up. Now on a map I can point to Halicarnassus, or the Hellespont, or many other locations in ancient Greece. I don't know how much I actually retained from those 34 pages of notes in Western Civ...but I read them all diligently. I finally showed derivatives who's boss. I figured out the economist's way of calculating price elasticity of demand...and what that term actually meant...and what the heck the various graphs pertaining thereto meant. I learned a little bit more about MS Excel. Ah yes. Warning: actually doing your homework may lead to a sudden feeling that you have saved the world.

Bah. I've almost accomplished as much tonight staying up til 2:30 am doing homework as staying up past 3 a.m. last night playing Super Mario World on an SNES emulator.

(Disclaimer: College does weird things to you like this post demonstrates.)

Hurricane?

Hurricane? Was there a hurricane? Not here there wasn't.

Yesterday I woke up pretty late...12:30 p.m. Greate work-out with Pat. Went for a walk and had a much-needed talk...ending in an intense prayer time. Thank God for this friendship. Like my friend Patrick, God has invested so much time in me. God has invested so much in me. Lord, please help me give you a return on this investment.

After hanging out with my new East Laville Lobby friends and other people, I went back to my room to work on my ISDS MS Excel tasks for about an hour and a half. Then I went back to Super Mario Bros. 3...to find out the Sky World was just too hard...so I switched to a new game of Super Mario World and made it to the Vanilla Dome but can't get past the friggin' castle.

Whereas I thought I'd slept late yesterday...it was nothing compared to today. My eyes just popped open at 3:50 p.m. Can you believe it?! I slept for like 12.5 hours!!! Catch-up sleep; my body must have needed it. I played racquetball for the first time today for over an hour...very fun but like most sports, harder than it looks. Thomas and I went over to the union to get a wrap/pizza, but Sandella's was OUT OF FOOD!!! So we walked into Tigertown to Subway's...can't beat a fresh sandwich there, that's for sure. A guy walked up to me asking for money. I felt like this time I had to give him something. I handed him $5 and told him God loves him and Jesus wants him to give his life to Him and left. Sometimes "witnessing" like that feels so vain. Oh well. Did my part, God does His.

I'm going to study tonight. I'm going to study tonight. I'm going to study tonight...Economics, Western Civ., Calculus....I'm going to study tonight...I'm going to study tonight, I'm going to study tonight...

(it's called repetition. Positive thinking. If I think it enough I'll do it...)

Hurricane

It's been wild and crazy around here at LSU. Everyone's in a riotous party mood because the next 2 days of classes have been scheduled due to Hurricane Ivan. Ivan probably won't really affect Baton Rouge that much, so I'm not really sure why they cancelled class...

...Hurricane Party for us though.

It's just been a crasy day today. Crazy seminar...I tried to compare the Persian invasion at Thermopylae to the final battle against the machines in the Matrix Revolutions. My professor was like, "okaaaay" and some people laughed.

Work was crazy. I didn't do much work for the first part...just kidded around with Matt and...what was the guy's name?...oh yeah, Travis. I forgot his name and threatened that Matt and I would jump him and steal his ID card so I could find out his name. It was just crasy...even our boss, Ms. Jacki, looked over at us laughing and was like, "okaaaaay, chill out." Then as punishment I was relegated to shredding paper for almost 2 hours. Ok, so it wasn't really punishment.

Then it was crazy...I tried making my own Meant to Live music video complete with jumping off my bed and serenading the camera, etc...it was pretty wild, but my computer is infected with Spyware and junk so the webcam cut in and out and screwed up the video...cut like a minute off of it. Then I took a nap and woke to Thomas coming in and us going psycho about classes being canceled...I ate spaghetti at Bryan's and discovered Thomas has Mario 3 on his computer...

Mario 3 people it's the bomb and always will be! I'm so going to play it!

We had wacky floor "emergency" meeting where everybody made fun of the R.A...and everything's just in a party atmosphere...

soo waheey wahoooo!!!!!!!!!!..............

Milk and Cereal

A friend shared this with me and it's too good to not pass on. The word is there are bored college students during mid-terms, I think, lip-singing. I laughed pretty hard.

You will need a high speed connection to view the "music video."

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/milk.php

Um...

I had trouble staying awake in Calculus today. And, uh, furthermore, the prof showed us how to use this concept and derive the desired answer...

...but can anyone tell me...

What exactly is a derivative?

Resurrected Blog

If you visited my blog in the last couple days, you probably noticed it was in a miserable state. I daresay, it was quite infirm.

That is until Dr. Isaac Phillips in Colorado fixed it.

The problem is I had downloaded Halsocan for comments for my blog...but apparently my blog didn't take things so well and sabotaged all my posts. Now that Isaac has straightened things out, blog readers, you will be able to comment in a much easier manner. By clicking "comments," you will bring up a pop-up that allows instant commenting. I believe you will like it.

Other than that, there is no news to report than that I got through the Matrix trilogy this weekend and was only disappointed with Revolutions. What a half-baked attempt to bring closure to such a cinema craze. Now I know why the third installment flopped at the box office. I mean, you can't tell what the heck happened at the end! I got to the point where I understood the confusion of the first two...then Neo...becomes the Agent Smith at the end...or does he? That looked like the oracle lieing dead on the ground to me! And what a crappy way to kill off Trinity and Neo. That final discourse between them was so forced...and unnecessarily so as they were so natural together for all the rest of the time in the other 2 segments. I could go on and on. I was NOT happy. Can anybody tell me what actually happened at the end? Where the oracle and the Matrix creator are talking the park...is this a new, perfect matrix that's been created because of the deletion of the Agent Smith virus...or did the end of the war with the machines mean the actual end of the matrix? The more I think on it, we wouldv'e been better off if the Wachowski brothers had left us with the original "do your own ending" end to the original. NOT the way to bring closure to such a work of philosophical importance. Forgive the rant. Ok, so the special effects were pretty good. That and the little girl at the train station was so cute!

I have laundry, western civilization and calculus to do anyhow.

Gameday Part 2

I didn't think I'd make the game today because I hadn't gotten a ticket...yet I walked around Tiger Stadium holding one finger up (not my middle one). FYI, that's the sign that you're looking to buy a ticket. You hold your finger up and walk through the crowd. I had offers from $50 (for student tickets? are you nuts?) to what I actually finally paid...$15, face value being $7.

Crazy...I see Mark everywhere. Sat next to him in the stadium...and a bunch of nice girls. This one girl kept asking us to reserve seats for her two girl friends who were coming. Mark and I rolled our eyes as more and more people took seats but we tried to keep our world to this girl and reserve the seats, which we did...but our row ended up being cramped: breathing room only.

How ludicrous it is to spend $10.50 on concessions...$3 for water, $4.50 for a soft drink, and $3 for a hot dog. And you really can't help it...I was in the stadium for 5 hours so I had to eat/drink.

Anyhow, the game was fun...just not as much as last time, because it was not as much of a cliffhanger...and it was normal. No streakers, no rain, etc. We won 53-3. Yeah, we smoked the Arkansas State Indians. But it's always fun to do all the various cheers and yell and scream till I'm hoarse and give people high-fives and all. Gameday is always just awesome.

Anyhow, I need to cut tonight's post short so I can watch Matrix Reloaded...I'm trying to get through the trilogy this weekend...and I need to be in bed so I can go with Patrick and Mica to church tomorrow.

Psalm 121 folks...keep looking up.

She Cries, He Cries

She Cries refers to my last blog post...a music review.

He Cries is me...just kidding.

Ah! But seriously...everyone I called was busy or broke, so I couldn't bum a right to catch a movie with anyone. Eventually I went by Kirby-Smith hall to leave a note for Ryan...I need to get my Bible back from him. He wasn't there. As I was riding my bike back...lo and behold it's Mark Talley. I see him everywhere. We went down and ate at Jack in the Box...I'd already had supper...but then again I'm always hungry. I know...it's funny. The whole E.Coli jack in the box fiasco in the 90's. But actually this book I read, Fast Food Nation explains that now it's one of the safest fast food places because the fiasco resulted in strict safety regulations. The food was pretty good really.

Then we biked over to play pool...which I quite frankly suck at. Although I've only played a handful of pool games in my lifetime...i want to really learn how to play at College...it's such a fun game.

Oh yeah and at jack in the box we met a couple Christian guys and encouraged each other...it was really awesome. They had been witnessing to this guy one on one who'd gotten out of prison and we shared...I shared my recent prison outreach experience. Cool.

Anyhow, after pool, I came back to my room where I am now and I'm going to watch a DVD. Hopefully my weekends will soon get more exciting.

The Light in Guinivere's Garden, EastWest 

The Light in Guinivere's Garden

ALBUM REVIEW
The Light in Guinivere's Garden, EastWest

I think I may have heard the mention of a band named EastWest, but had never heard any of their music...when on my LaunchCast player came one of their songs. I came to love that song after having heard it on several other occasions. It was more of a ballad, and I found out E/W was a metal band...which is not my style. I turned the issue of whether or not to buy an album for one song over and over again...until I purchased it on a whim one evening. Tearing open the package and holding my breath, thinking I would give the album at least one good listen before I abandoned all of the songs except for the *one* I liked.

Almost immediately, my attitude changed. I've listened through 3 times and still loving it.

The first thing that strikes you about The Light in Guinivere's Garden is the name...long, poetic, and catchy. I've tried to search for information linking the Guinivere of Arthurian legend with some sort of light in some sort of garden...but to no avail. The meaning of the album is still a mystery to me...perhaps I'm grasping at straws and Guinivere is a friend of the band who's been through a rought time or something. After all, bands often do incorporate highly personal themes and stories into their music.

The next thing that struck me even more...upon seeing the album cover...is the fierce, stone lion with blazing eyes. There's something captivating about it...several people have told me it reminds them of C.S. Lewis' Aslan from his Chronicles of Narnia. Classy artwork.

In any case, to describe EastWest's offering here is difficult. It's definitely hard rock with a definite leaning toward metal...but there are so many diverse moments it's hard to pigeonhole it absolutely genre-wise. It's an album of extremes. Understatement and overstatement. Screaming and whispering. Thrashing guitars and touches of acoustic guitar, piano, strings. Rockers and ballads. One thing's for sure: if you're looking for some feel-good bright up-tempo Christian rock this is not for you. These are the frustrations and triumphs, hopes and fears, anguish and salvation of this generation. There are only a couple of songs that break from the musings on darkness and struggling to be in the Light.

There are two ways to view Guinivere's Garden.
1. It is just great head-banging material, music to shake things up.
2. The lyrics and music work together to present an honest, forthright in-your-face look at the evils and toils faced by people, especially millenials, in the modern world....and an attempt to provide a Solution.

I personally think both views are correct.

WAKE What a way to kick it off. A low rumbling, like a wind, blows for about 30 seconds, joined by a ticking clock, until the guitars kick in and the vocalist whispers the verse. The starting and stopping guitars in their intensity contrast starkly with the whispering, until the guitars gain momentum with some electronica noises and the screamed chorus. The song is obviously about being awakened by new life. It's a song of contrasts, starts and stops. The most interesting moments are when in the chorus he stops yelling "all I want from You"...to whisper, "is to see Your face"...and then yell again...

SONG-X Perhaps the catchiest song. Slow tempo, with awesome drum intro and bass riff. The verses are semi-whispered rap until the guitars kick in on the chorus. Song X is a song about generation "x." Young people are being murdered, etc. There is something rotten in the state of Denmark. "Your mind is blind and your eyes can't see!!!" End of song=the return of the jam session.

NEPHESH This is my favorite heavy song. The guitars are greatly spacedThe tempo is perfect...the vocals are tremendous. The verse vocals are soft and pretty...with Mike Tubbs screaming himself into nonexistence in the chorus. In the verse, the the lyrics are a bit difficult to understand...but it's obviously a Christian trying to be free of some sin or other form of oppression and failing. The chorus is satan screaming insults at the believer: "You're only gonna be what you see/You're never gonna jump up/You're only gonna be what you see/You're never gonna become just like Him!" Again, it sounds dark and like something you wouldn't want to listen to...that's what I thought...but it's something that can only be experienced...as is the whole CD. Listening to the songs can sometimes be a relief...like a facing of reality and dealing with it. Nephesh ends with a 20-second spot of soft guitar...for reflection. That's what I love about the album. Everything is properly placed so you can get the import of the message.

CLOSURE We finally get a song complete with actual singing. Lyrics a bit tricky, but about not accomplishing what we try to accomplish and basically "turning upward...falling to our knees" because what what we see of ourselves is "only half of who you are," etc.

DISTURBED My least favorite. The weird noises are neat...and accompany the song's quiet feel pretty well...until the chorus screams in. With the chorus being "You, You're the reason, You're the one that's stealing my freedom!" it seems this a Christian mad at God...and the cure in the bridge is "refresh me, renew me..." Whether the speaker is a Christian or not...he/she obviously is being lied to by satan and has a flawed view of God...and is therefore disturbed.

PICTURES This is a very likable song. The opening melodic guitar makes an immediate change in pace for the album. We even get a brief acoustic tasty bit after the first chorus. The song is just a great change of pace with some new sonic offerings and hooks. It's about seeing a flawed view of reality. The singer is singing to someone else who would rather walk in darkness than light. "You see only what you want to, close your eyes and sleep. Your hear only what you want to, clinging to your lies."

DED If there's a "screamer song" on the album, this is it. When I first heard a clip I figured I'd dislike it. However, it stands alongside "Nephesh" as my other good heavy song on here. The song is apparently about the utter moral decadence of our world...and the singer is screaming (apparently) at sinners, "How's this, is this what you wanted?"
"Open up your eyes/and face what is to come/These lies they're gaining ground/and we're just buying time/We stand our backs are braced/Our feet are firmly planted/Come quickly God we cry/Come quickly oh come quickly! It is so neat to hear mid-song the yelling stop, a soft guitar plod as the Christian softly sings, "I see Your face, Your hand so close, Your voice so clear." The beginning of the song is also interesting, as it's a recording of a naturalist, who's hunting the brown recluse spider...and he talks about the kind of habitat that sustains them...just as the song roars in to talk about the sinful habitat surrounding us.

SHE CRIES This is the song that got me to the buy the album. It's frankly the best ballad I've heard...ever. Period. The softest song of the album, it's creatively placed after the most raucous, the screamer, "Ded." The first time I heard the song, I got slightly (I admit) choked up...which never happened as a result of music before. Frankly, if you haven't heard the song...whatever your musical background and likes...you need to. The soft ballad almost seems out of place on such an album. But it goes to show that E/W is the real deal musically. The song is about a girl who has been beaten down by her past/a cruel world...and the song is God singing over the girl, telling her to release her fears and confide in Him. I can't even describe the song musically...it's just beautiful. The verse music is based on a soft repeated guitar riff that has got to be some of the prettiest guitar I've heard...with a another background guitar...eventually joined by cymbals. There are bits where you can hear strings, wind noises, and other effects...but the verses are based on this repetitive, simple, emotional guitar riff. The end of the verses always bring in a chorus with added volume...but maintained beauty, mainly kept through the vocals. Here let me say a word about Mike Tubbs' vocals in this song and on the album as a whole. In my opinion, Tubbs' voice isn't the best out there. Yet it's perfect for this album. His screams and whispers are great...but his singing is wonderful, too, especially on the song. His vocals are "unpolished", so to speak. They are soft...and because they are left raw and unpolished...as he sings the verse culminating in his fragile declaration, "and now...she cries"...the result is a tenderness that melts the heart. Following the second chorus is a gem of a guitar solo. The song ends as quietly as it began. I just can't say enough about this song. It's ironic to me that a metal band would produce one of the prettiest songs ever. It's a true gem, though...and has been recognized as such in both the Christian and secular world for its sheer beauty. "Won't you come away with me tonight/We can fly past the moon and the starlight/It doens't matter where you've been before all night like this/It doesn't matter where you've been before/I'll love you like this/And she cries. ... She cries, yeah./Can't you see/I won't leave/But you have to open your eyes/Here I stand/Take my hand/Let go of the fear that you hold/Don't throw your pearls to the swine tonight/Don't let them take your innocence/Remember the times I held your hand and kept you close/Remember the times I held you up and now.../She cries...she cries, yeah."

SUPERSTAR This is yet another chance for E/W to display its diversity. Here we get something more along the lines of U2. The message of the song is basically identity in Christ. "No matter what they do, never let them take what you have/What they say, never gonna change who you are." Nice melodic, smooth, guitars. There's even a section in the middle with techno beats where E/W explores dance music, followed by some tasteful piano bits.

BREATHE I guess this is E/W's final chance on the album to show you "we gave you a couple softies, but we still rock." The verses are rapcore with more overt lyrics about faith and the chorus is a simple screamed "Breathe on me!" with some of the album's catchiest guitars. I'd say the song is 2nd in catchiness only to "Song-X."

LET YOU GO I said my two favorite heavy songs on the album were "Nephesh" and "Ded." My two other favorites are ballads. There's "She Cries"...and there's "Let You Go." "Let You Go" is in ways even more emotionally riveting than "She Cries." It seems like the singer has lost his wife...whatever the case, there's been a death and he's letting her remembrance of her slip away...since she's in heaven. This song probably has a personal story behind it. The guitars are beautiful like She Cries but with more bite to them. The strings section toward the end is very tasteful. "Got to let you go...just like we said before." When Tubbs keeps singing that...it could almost make you want to cry...because it's equally pretty and melancholy the way he keeps singing it. It's so melodic when he says "got to let you go"...and then there's a tinge of pain in "...just like we said before," almost like he's about to cry. The album closes with strings and then what sounds like a xylophone.

I didn't mean for the review to be this long.

I don't know about you, but I go through phases with music. I'm sure that my fascination with this album is a mere trend. However, what's impressive is the way the album blew my expectations out of the water...hopefully I will never again pigeonhole an album...or anythinig for that matter. This isn't the kind of album you'll want to casually listen to...and you probably won't listen to it very often. But The Light in Guinivere's Garden is the type of album that, once you're in the frame of mind, can be a real catharsis and painfully relieving view of the darkness we encounter in our fallen state on this planet...and it's from the perspective of guys who in the credits write things like, "All praise and glory to my strength, my peace, and my refuge, Jesus Christ."

EastWest drummer Bob Vergura says, "East West comes from the verse Psalm 103:12 "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." That was an attractive promise we wanted to share."

College Life #10: Bed. The best friend a college student never had. 

College Life #9: Yes, I DO bleed purple and gold, folks. 

College Life #8: Okay, the song's over. What did you want? (See also College Life #7.) 

College Life #7: I'm done with class and listening to Switchfoot. Leave me alone for a moment. 

College Life #6: C'mon. You know you've always wanted to see my closet. Okay, it's time for an actual camera, rather than a webcam for pictures... 

College Life #5: Mirrors are cool... 

College Life #4: It freaks me out that my mobile phone somehow interferes with the TV's reception and causes the TV to give off a beeping noise. 

College Life #3: My "punk" shorts. When I do go to the laundromat once a semester, these will get washed. (ok, exaggeration on the once a semester part). 

College Life #2: "KEEP THE PIZZA AWAY OR IT'S GONE! It's 2 am, and I'm studying...and your pizza is therefore in danger." 

College Life #1: "Oh man. I guess I should start on that Western Civ paper soon." 

Oh Happy Day

...when Jesus washed my sins away, it doesn't get any better than that...but today is looking pretty good, too...

Pat and I made another resolution at lunch today. We've both been reading a chapter in John everyday. We both were talking though and mutually agreed that each of us has simply been maintaining in our walk with God and not gaining any ground...running through the motions.

Pat is a real friend...the kind that makes demands on your spirit. So as (I admit) I groaned inwardly, he said we need to wake up earlier and give God the firstfruits. Something people have been telling me and telling me...but I just smile and stick with my afternoon crash-on-the bed pick-up-the-Bible deal. Uh-uh. We're waking up earlier so we can put in like a half hour of quiet time with God before we start the day. And accountability...we're going to call each other to make sure the other one is up. Yeah. This is rough...and wonderful. I'm loving it.

After lunch and a nap...I woke up to feeling like a pile of...something not good to be feeling like. Yuck.

Then to workout in the gym with "P-swoll" and Bryan...yay-ah. I don't feel like I'm making any progress but yay-ah anyhow. I must be helping my body somehow though I feel like a 2-bit nothing lifting barely any weight. Then Bryan and I grabbed a basketball afterward...I joined a game. Hey, at least I made one shot (in a 15 shot winner game). Hey, hey, I haven't picked up a ball in a while folks. :o)

Then...Powerade. Yay-ah.

Then...post office. Yay-ah.

Apparently, Jenn, although she is also a Switchfoot fan, did not steal my mail package. I got 4 things in the mail today. One has 2 CDs...EastWest's The Light in Guinivere's Garden and Switchfoot's The Beautiful Letdown. I haven't opened it yet...or the package with my checks in it...I did open the letter from my wonderful grandmother (which I bought some stamps so i can reply)...and the 4th package I'm not expecting and don't know what it is yet.

So off I go to open my packages. Yay-ah.

The Pizza Society

Last night my intentions of studying were interrupted by...distractions.

When I went to the computer lab to type an outline for a paper, a couple extroverted girls started a lengthy conversation...the one cool thing is that Jesus kept coming up in convos last night...with these girls and other people to follow...

One of the things that's cool about college is meeting people of all shapes colors sizes...but more importantly...personalities and outlooks. I'm constantly tripping out...humored by talking with different people...often with far-out ideas. I also keep in mind that for every ideal I hold...each and every ideal I have will be foreign and outlandish to at least one other person.

Anyhow.

Then I got distracted listening to music...one of my major pitfalls while studying nowadays. Any music lovers in the house?

Then I went to TRY to study Microeconomics over in East Laville's lobby. I live in West Laville..."West Side"...home of the "Ghetto Lobby." I won't go into why...just trust me..it's worth the walk over to East Laville's lobby when studying. The lighting is awesome, the ceiling fans work better, the room is much more attractive...and whenever you go there, there are ALWAYS people studying...which gives you a greater urge to focus on your books than daydream.

But this night I was destined to not do very much studying. I started talking with this guy...then I was distracted by another couple guys eating pizza...I went over and offered a dollar for a piece...I was starving...although I'd eaten enough for an elephant already that evening...

...the short of it is that I went back to talking with this other guy...and we decided to pool our money and get a couple pizzas. It started off with just 4 guys...but then more and more people came. I suppose that where this pizza, people will assemble. That could be a proverb, couldn't it? "Where existeth pizza, people shall assemble."

So we decided we were the "Pizza Society"...then after a while most people left...and for the better part of an hour talked with this girl out of the blue about some deep stuff. We went from talking about college to...religion...my "ultra radical conservative Christianity"...her encounters with religion...her search and leaving agnosticism...

And I was like, "It's so cool Shelby to find someone who will actually open up and discuss something like this." Strangely, we agreed it's easier to unload on someone newly met than an old acquaintance...because there's nothing to lose.

Anyhow...the point of this being...I did not sleep as much as I should have last night. I really had every intention of studying. If I never would have mentioned pizza this wouldnt' have happened. Oh well.

At least I didn't do what the other guys did and go back to their room and watch The Exorcist and stay up ALL NIGHT.

Labor Day

Yesterday and today have been pretty slow days on campus...a lot of people went home for the weekend.

Yesterday I went to an evening service at the Chapel on Campus..."The Refuge." It was okay...the message was pretty good. I Peter...our motivations for serving God:

Love
Holiness
Fear
Etc....

Oh...and I did my laundry...finally...last night.

Today I slept late again...picked up my bike, which is now repaired. Yay!!! Ate at McDonald's. I went to East Laville to try and teach myself the limits (calculus)...I fell asleep while studying...let's put it that way.

I then went and attacked it again...and I have at least a 1/2way comprehension of it, I hope. I tried to go for a run...but lo and behold...my legs are STILL sore from Friday's squats...so I was back after only 10 minutes...I was so stiff.

So now I have some more work to do and only a 4-day week of class ahead.

Also...

I forgot to mention this in my last post.

Pre-game I heard a song that seems to follow me everywhere I go...

...it always comes on when I work out in the REC center...

...I'll have the CD it's on any day now...

...I love it to death...

..."Meant to Live," Switchfoot. When I hear that opening guitar...it's like "yah. Sah-weet."

GAMEDAY, BABY.

Two words.

Gameday Rocks.

I got in at 3 am last night, so I slept until 12:30 in the afternoon today. I threw a cap on my head and walked over to the French House where they were serving free jambalaya...which served as my breakfast. Then I walked across campus to the gift shop so I could buy my gameday PJ's.

Let me explain.

Years ago, freshman were humiliated in many ways by upperclassmen...males were required to shave their heads, etc...(which can't be a bad thing as I shaved mine voluntarily this summer...)

Anyhow. They were also forced to go to the first football game in the stadium barefoot and in their pajamas. Well, now, it's a tradition. And everyone goes to the first game in a special pair of striped purple and gold pajamas now. So, I went to by mine at the gift shop about 1:15.

It took me literally close to an hour to get through the gift shop and make my purchase. They only allowed a certain amount in at a time. It was packed, standing room only. I got my PJ's and jogged back to my room to get a quick shower, and a quick bite to eat, only to power walk back to the stadium.

Just to give you an idea of the atmosphere on gameday at LSU...it's unbelievable. Everywhere the eye can see are tailgaters...tents with people barebecuing, etc...blaring music...chilling...getting pepped up for the game. The campus is jam packed with wild and crazy fans.

I got to the stadium at 3 pm when gates were supposed to open (5 pm game to start). I had to walk all the way around the stadium because parts were blocked off. As the gates opened and we walked in, the shouting began..."Go tigers...LSU", etc. The cool thing is that the students have a "student section." So as students, we cheer together, yell together and watch the game together.

It was 3 pm...and the sun was blazing hot as...just hot. Which it would continue to do for 2 hours. The first thing that struck me about Tiger Stadium...is its vastness. It's HUGE.

For the next 2 hours till the game started we did the wave, did a whole bunch of different cheers, acted like the crazy college kid desperately devoted LSU football fans we are. Then the "Golden band from Tigerland" comes marching in. If that drumline don't get ya I don't know what will.

For the first time attending a college football game...I quickly began to experience the awesome phenomenon many have experienced. You feed off the energy of not just the person next to you, not just the band and cheerleaders, not just the size of the stadium, ...but the people across the stadium...the DEAFENING roar assaulting your ears, the floor literally shaking beneath your feet...the shrill scream in your ear of the girl next to you...

As a side story here, the floor of the stadium apparently once shook so from students stamping up and down...that it registered as a small earthquake on the richter scale in an LSU science building. True story.

Near 5 pm, as many of us had been doing much screaming before anything happened...the band came out...it got very very...cloudy.

Everyone starts cheering...no more sun. Everyone was drenched with sweat.

They started throwing free stuff to the crowd. I got a free t-shirt in a toss yesterday...well I'm getting good at this getting free t shirts thing...i got another one today. The chick next to me was ticked off though. She obviously thought she deserved it, whereas I didn't. What can you do with girls like that? Just smile and hope their mood will pass.

The next hour would drench us all with a Noahic-era flood of a rain that was nothing short of...cool.

As they were doing the star spangled banner on the field...it started to drizzle...more...and more...until it was a complete downpour. Of course, we all cheered. Why? Why not.

Off and on it poured for the next hour...we all were chilled to the bone...I danced in the rain a little on top of the bleacher seat...the cheering continued...the band played some...but eventually it looked like they might call off the game. The field was getting huge puddles, the bleachers area was beginning to flood for crying out loud. Some serious rain.

Of course, we cheered, "we won't go home *clap clap*"...

Eventually, some guy without a shirt ran onto the field, then abandoned by coaches and refs and the band, who'd run for shelter...he ran as the students section approvingly screamed and he slipped belly first down across the slippery field. The police carted him away. I found myself cheering along with all the students, "LET HIM GO! LET HIM GO!" After all...he wasn't hurting anything. Just having a bit of fun...and entertaining all of us...and it was a peaceful protest that we as insane college students weren't leaving the stadium...if we got sick standing soaked in an incessant rain.

As ESPN started putting away its equipment, individual guys (and one girl) would one by one run across the field, slipping through the gates and temporarily dodging police officers trying to stop them...doing the slip and slide thing across the center of the field. Poor suckers. We were laughing...but they were getting arrested. But then again...they had a free will.

Three guys slipped through the gate and belly flopped together...and then turned themselves in. Kind of like, "ok, take us away. We're done." And yet some guy in a yellow polo grabbed one of the offenders...which was unnecessary force...as the student gave himself up willingly.

Now here's where things got out of hand...and I witnessed something...bad...but fascinatingly crazy. I'll never know how this streaker managed to take all his clothes off on the side without being noticed and then from nowhere...to run out onto the field with his buck naked self for all the world to see. Of course...you can imagine the crowd's reaction to that. Really not fair to families present...aside from the fact it was a sinful act. I will admit...although I don't agree with the actions of people like that...I do have to chuckle over the brazenness of who they are. As the police carted him off...at least he got a baseball cap to temporarily cover up...ahem. Anyhow.

Eventually...the rain came to a drizzle just before 6 pm...and an hour late...as we screamed our approval...out ran our beloved Tigers in purple and gold...out came the band...out came Mike V (Mike the Tiger...real live tiger) in his cage, with the cheerleaders perched on top...

And from here...there's nothing much to be said...but the next 3.5 hours I constantly screamed clapped and blah blah as everyone did. I stood up the whole time, too.

I failed to mention I'd picked up a foam Tiger claw hand thing earlier...which I waved around. The cool thing is there's a different cheer for 1st-3rd down...there's Hey Fighting Tigers...the fight song...other songs and cheers...each has its own "vocals" and hand motions...

I don't have much commentary on the game itself as I'm not an avid football fan (I often cheered just because everyone else was) ... but I'll just say I had the time of my life screaming and such.

We almost lost against Oregon State Beavers. It was quite a game. The Beavers got one touchdown in the first quarter. By halftime it was...I think...15-7, in favor of the Beavers. And it stayed there until late in the fourth quarter.

Therefore, from the middle of the 2nd quarter till about the 2 minutes were left in the 4th, they were dark hours for the Tigers. Some people left...it looked like we were going to loose. But we kept cheering...and when the QB got injured. It's just awesome cheering with 15,000 other students (that's a guess...the stadium holds almost 92,000) ... you have the sense you're a part of something huge...and you cheer together the team...even when they're losing.

And sure enough it was tied up 15-15 at the "eleventh hour" of the game. When when we got that extra 2 point conversion...everybody lost it...including me. It was unreal to think that our losing game had come to overtime. Both guys and girls get ecstatic when something like that happens. But girls have the tendency to not do the male thing (give off a testosterone-latent, fake scream). They get emotional.

Which turned out good for me...I got a free hug. "I don't eve know you but *hug* ...I'm soooo happy!" she said. Sounds good to me.

Of course...whoever still had a voice utilized it more than ever in overtime. We got a touchdown and field goal. The Beavers get a turn and score the touchdown...but miss the field goal...that's it...more screaming. We've won.

"YEAH-YA BABY!"

A few minutes later...as we're leaving the stadium singing and all...I walk over to the parade grounds...where ESPN is set up and about to do a live broadcast with Sportscenter. I jumped into the crowd hoping to get onto TV. As I watched the TV...I realized I was on TV...not really. Actually I was hidden by other people...I just waved my Tiger Claw...and there it was on TV. No one else noticed...but my Tiger Claw was there, I saw it. And there was much rejoicing. Yay.

I then went back to the dorm. I tried calling a couple people...no one picked up. So I walked into Tigertown...many people were at the Varsity or the Chimes getting boozed up. I by-passed that and tried a little place I've heard rave reviews about but never tried before. Raising Cane's chicken fingers. A happening place...with awesome chicken fingers. I'm a fan of the restaurant affectionately known as "Cane's" already...I bought the Cane's mug. I walked back after eating, met some random people, screamed with them...chatted about the game...chatted with Thomas...Jeremie called...talked to him.

Here I am at 1:28 am tired but satisfied.

Now THAT'S what I call gameday. That was wild. Who would've though so much could be contained in one day...

Jambalaya breakfast, getting rained on for an hour and loving every minute of it, seeing a streaker, jumping and screaming through a nail-biter of a game that we'd ultimately win, getting on T.V. (sort of), becoming an instant Cane's fan...oh yeah...and I forgot to mention...

...spending $8.50 just for nachos and a drink.

As you can tell...I had the time of my life today.

Tiger Bash - Late Night LSU. Some highlights were: free pizza, the Molly Ringwalds (I don't know if it was the original band or not or their look a likes...but it was great to hear them do Pride (In the Name of Love), playing in a game show with a couple guys, and waiting for over an hour to get a wax hand done...but they ran out of wax. And there was what is shown in this picture here...getting my picture taken with Mike the Tiger, our mascot. 

For an explanation of this picture, see the post below. *never give up*. 

Never Give Up. Never.

I did take a nap, as I said in my last blog post.

But, a lot has happened since then.

I awoke at 7:37 pm to the ringtone of my mobile phone. It was Pat. He thinks he knows someone who can sell me a ticket to the game at Tiger Stadium tomorrow.

Now, realize, my friend, I have been asking everyone I know and even random people if they know where I can buy a student ticket to this game for the past week. Now, the skeptics would tell me…”if you do get a ticket, you’ll have to pay a fortune for it.”

All I can say is “never give up.”

So Pat gives me Michelle’s number, Michelle, a girl I’ve never met, but she’s from XA. Actually it’s someone else’s number, Brian, who was there at the time.

I call and she gives me directions.

I pull street clothes on and go out into the night, wander off campus, about a 25 minute walk through this neighborhood to an apartment complex.

I was at the apartment complex for the better part of a half hour.

There were two complexes…and I couldn’t find the right room for the life of me. Turns out I had one of the digits in the apt. # wrong anyhow. I was asking random people for directions…one of them turned out to be my Microeconomics teacher, Professor Roy. He appeared to be hanging with homies…interesting to meet a prof that way. Of course, as only professors have the ability to do, in the midst of his night of recreation or whatever he was doing, he did remind me to study for the quiz next Wednesday.

I kept calling this phone number back…to no avail. Until I got Brian, he says, “yeah man I’m in the area, near where you are.” I get off the phone and lo and behold he walks up to the side of me, we find Michelle’s room, I find Michelle, I find a ticket for ONLY 10 DOLLARS, I leave, Brian drives me back so I don’t have to walk another 25 minutes…I am ecstatic.

I’m going to Tiger Stadium tomorrow to watch the Tigers beat the Oregon State Beavers. Oh yeah…and the Golden Band from Tigerland…oh yeah baby. Oh yeah.

I don’t know if I should stick this thing under lock and key or what…this ticket. This is awesome.

Anyway…point being:

1) Never give up.
2) More importantly: God intervened, knew I wanted to go, and he set up a series of circumstances and people to allow me to get a ticket. God is good. Awesome.

Anyhow, my stomach’s full with coke, chips, and a yummy fajita wrap…and I’m off to the Tiger Bash tonight. And tomorrow’s the day people. Tiger Stadium.


In case I failed to mention it…

OH YEAH.

Week 2 of Class is Over

Ach. I felt it this morning...the tiredness.

Being sleepy didn't help in Calculus today. The lesson was an introduction to limits...I sort of understand the concept, but I don't know how to appropriate it. The professor goes through stuff quickly...and since it's a class of 500 students...I feel this method of teaching mathematics is highly ineffective.

Fall Fest on the Quadrangle was mildly interesting. It was a college student's dream come true...free food. Therefore, after going through line and eating a hot dog, chips and powerade...I figured if I am willing to go through that long line again...I should get another round. So I got another powerade, chips and hamburger.

I even caught a tiger and a free t-shirt in a giveaway...whatever they call it where they throw stuff to the audience. The punk rockers that looked Zeppelin-era were quite a spectacle.

After Fall Fest, (little more than free food)...I went to the info desk in the Union to ask where the Ofc. of Financial Aid was. They said 202 Himes. So I walk to Himes Hall...lo and behold they tell me, I should actually go to 108 Coates. So I walk to 108 Coates. Lo and behold I should actually go to 125 Thomas Boyd. Okay..so I got some walking in.

Back at the dorm, I filled up my rear bike tire with air, hoped it wouldn't deflate through the hole before I got to the bike shop...and pedaled furiously. I took it in the shop and then walked over next door to the XA Cafe, where lifegroup leaders were meeting to discuss the vision for this year. We had a powerful time in prayer afterward which ended in spellbound adoration. There's nothing like having a group of guys (as opposed to girls, predisposed to outward displays of spirituality) able to pour out their hearts to God in sincerity and utter senseless words of affection for an invisible King.

Then Pat and I went to the REC to work out. I discovered today that squats can really give the legs a good workout...as well as all the other stuff we did. I knew something was weird when I went for the second set...and going down, my legs gave out. :o)

Anyhow...looks like I won't be at the football game tomorrow...I couldn't find anyone to buy one off of that wouldn't scalp me (figuratively). I'll probably end up watching the game on the big screen on the parade grounds...unless I can buy a student tickets for less than $30 from some random person walking around tomorrow. I'm not going home for labor day weekend. It's too much. I need to stay here and do some work...like that West. Civ. paper *cough cough*.

Anyhow...I'm going to get some stuff done in my dorm...take a little nap...go catch some Pizza Hut in the union...

...and then go to the Tiger Bash in the union from 10 pm till 2 am. Hopefully I'll get some sleep this weekend.

And I'm not sure what will be at the Tiger Bash. Stay tuned for details.

I am SOOOO bad.

I didn't have much homework tonight. Just one chapter of the Iliad to read. Yet here I am at 2:20 am about to get ready for bed.

The weird thing is I'm up late because I was socializing...not a usual thing for me.

But hey...I mean...The Gathering (chi alpha) didn't end till 10:30...

Okay so I 'dissed Homer to chat with a couple random guys in the lobby...

...then Pat came along, so I had to talk, no questions asked...

...then this new guy Chris who plays guitar for XA walked in and we hit it off from there...he was astonished I've never eaten Raising Cane's before...and he said let's go right now and eat some, I can't believe you've never had any. I said no but was inwardly saying yes. We're going to go next Thursday after XA so I can finally experience chicken fingers at Cane's. Chris is a really cool guy and a Christian though...very insightful.

So then I stopped and talked with this guy from seminar, Trey...and hey, I needed a laugh. We laughed at the world around us. There's plenty to laugh at this late at night. For example, several lobby rats...

OK. Here I need to stop to define a term.

The term Lobby Rat refers to a group of supposed students who hang out in the lobby of a dormitory seemingly 24-7, with the exception of the wee hours of the morning apparently. As I talked with Trey, I realized that many of them in fact are not even students. They are graduates who come and just live in the lobby playing X-box on the big screen TV, Magic the Gathering, and Risk 2010 A.D.

Anyhow, just a few minutes ago, several of these guys walked by...one was wearing a suit, at 2:00 am in the morning...one was wearing a shirt that Prozac...it was strange.

Anyhow...it all gets back to a moment of epiphany in worship tonight.

I was fretting again. And I can always feel God like, "No, stop fretting Josh" and me like, "I know God I know. I'm trying."

And after I went over to Bryan for prayer...I returned to my seat to hear God tell me, "Smile." What a revelation. Smile.

Bryan prayed an awesome on-target prayer for me. I can tell you these XA guys (and girls) are the real deal. They have a true love for Jesus and for their bros. and sista's.

Anyhow, it's been an amusing night hanging out procrastinating and chatting with and observing the various types of people in the lobbies of East and West Laville...

...let's see. I can still get...uh...over 5 hours of sleep!

La la la bum de dum

I'm having trouble coming up with new titles for ordinary journal entries about my college days, as you can tell.

After I took a quickie afternoon nap, I woke up @ 1:50 p.m...only to try to hit the off button on the alarm clock...only to accidentally hit the cup of water...only to spill water all over the desk...and INTO my printer. I'll omit what I said at that point because it's something I had to repent of to God and regret. Anyhow, I tried printing a page later and miraculously it appears to work...although it took a while.

After I walked outside to hop on my bike and go over to CEBA where I work, I realized something putrid. Bad. Stupid. I had filled my bike tire with air before my nap. And lo and behold, less than an hour later, all the air had seeped out. As I was running late, I still hopped on the bike and prayed I wouldn't have a blowout as I pedaled the 5 minute ride to CEBA.

At work today I had a change in schedule. I will now work 9 hours instead of 10 per week.

There is a pro and a con. The pro is I'm just working Tuesday/Thursday 12-4:30 pm, which frees up time the rest of the week. The con is that I will sometimes feel like a starvin' man on these days. I wake up and am in class till 12 pm...then go directly to work...which means no food till 4:30...unless I can sneak to the vending machine. Oh well. I'll survive.

I was still sore today from my workout 2 days ago! Actually...I could barely even put on my booksack. My biceps were THAT sore. I couldn't move my arms...for real. But still I went with Pat and Brian to the R.E.C. to lift. The funny thing is the pain got worked out during the work out. But sure enough, as I ate supper at Highland, the pain came back. Pat and I decided to both read a chapter of John each day and discuss what we've read each Wednesday at lunch.

And here's a highlight of my day:

While at the REC Center, a certain song came on. Don't get me wrong, the music they had playing was good blood-pumping stuff...but couldn't compare to this little song that came on...

Meant to Live by the beloved Switchfoot. Ah! Rock on...I'll have the B.L. album in my P.O. Box in a few days...as well as EastWest's The Light in Guinivere's Garden, with the beautiful ballad She Cries.

Well I need to read some online Bible (since I left mine at home last weekend) and get to my homework.

Oh and read The Reveille.

Did I ever mention Dr. Pepper is the nectar of the gods? Actually, as I was reading The Iliad last night I discovered that Zeus made it part of his daily serving of ambrosia for effective thunderbolt-throwing. Maybe I was reading a modern translation (?)

The LORD bless thee, and keep you. The LORD make his face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. The LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

You may know that I've been reading Homer's The Iliad for Western Civilization class. It literally really made my day when I checked my P.O. Box right after Prof. McMahon's deep lecture on the work...I mean right after I get out of class, I get this in the mail from my parents. I love their sense of humour. I was tickled pink...well, I don't wear pink, but you know what I mean. 

Flat Tire

Apparently the bike guy who supposedly gave my dad's bike (which I am using as transportation at LSU) a "well check-up" neglected to do anything with the rear tire.

It must have a leak and keeps going flat while I'm out and about on a daily basis. I guess I'll just keep filling it up 2-3x day for now. Having a bike is THAT helpful that I'm willing to go through that.

Hopefully, it won't go flat when I'm returning from the CEBA building across campus.