To Prove I Don't ONLY Work at Cracker Barrel This Summer...

Thanks to Natalia, who doesn't even know I stole these pictures from her...yet.

Anatomy of a Breakdown

One of the reasons I so love having a blog is the ability to tell others' stories. It's so boring to tell my own.

Sometimes I feel as if the life I live is not my own. I feel like I'm here watching a bigger story. It's as if I don't have a story of my own, but I'm really here to tell the stories of others, lessons that need to be screamed from the rooftops, when no one else listens. And whenever I tell these stories, I feel like my life is attached to theirs, making one unstoppable loop, repeating itself over and over again.

The subject of my thought tonight centers around the failure of love.

I'm angry with the bastardly and asinine ways of my gender. We testosterone-belching, heartless, selfless fools are to blame for much heartbreak in this world. Do not mistake me. I love testosterone; I love being a man. I do not, however, understand or relish in our inability to be heartless toward women and be so selfish.

Enter a friend of a friend I just met. She tells her sad story of the first boyfriend she really loved and gave herself to. When the guy found out how much she loved him, he broke up with her, much to everyone's dismay ...and confusion. Why on God's green earth would a man who has everything screw it up and kick a lady to the curb?! I'm looking at this girl thinking, "Someone did not appreciate the blessing they had!"

Later on that evening, ironically enough, we watch "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," a comedic drama in which a man divorces his wife and remarries a woman he's been having an affair with. One theme of that movie is just this: Why do men reject having the perfect woman and either ditch them / cheat on them for some low-life substitute?

I think the root lies in selfishness. Men think only for themselves. We have wandering eyes, never content with what we have. Always looking at the grass on the other side of the fence. But still, selfishness seems too simple an explanation. Whenever I meet a girl who goes through something like this, I want to help pick them up to their feet, assure them that there is someone out there who will be willing to even lay down his life for them...

Don't get me wrong. Women are not faultless ...and I'm totally pro-man. This is what I am, I am a man...that rhymes. All jokes aside, this is crawling beneath my skin.

Once again, I am telling the stories of others here. For some reason I've only been in love with one woman and never been heartbroken or broken any hearts. Maybe this is why I feel so strongly the whiplash of the failure of commitment...the breakdown and inability to satisfy that is inherent to love.

I know what C.S. Lewis would say. Love is a decision, a conscious choice. There's the feeling of being "in love" that lasts for a time, and then there's the commitment later on. I asked my parents what the best part of their marriage is at this point in time. They won't deny that the sex has been great, having kids is an adventure, the tender-eyed moments are precious, and companionship is comforting...but the best thing is just having that simple commitment there. Of slapping each other on the butt and saying, "I'm committed to you...and whatever happens in joy or pain, we're doing this together."

A Dichotomy

The Death of the Saints

My mother told me a story this evening. Her good friend, Rachel Gruber, passed away at the age of eighty-nine recently. She was a devout woman of faith, whom my mother turned to for spiritual wisdom often. She was known as a woman of great intercessory prayer and constant study of the Bible. Upon the day of her passing, her daughter observed her reading the Bible in her room. Her daugher returned later that day to find her Bible neatly placed to the side and Ms. Gruber lying on the floor. The coroner's report shows that she did not slip and fall, but that she apparently simply lay down on the floor.

As soon as I heard this story, I thought of Psalm 116:15, which reads, Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Who knows? I am curious to know what she was reading before she passed away. Maybe God told her to lie out on the floor. Whatever happened, she passed peacefully and is in eternal bliss. Life is such a funny thing. The more we live, the closer we are to dying. And yet, if we have been renewed inwardly, the closer we are to dying, the closer we are to really living.

Ethan and Levi Callaway!

Everyone say "hello" to Ethan and Levi! They are the beautiful twin sons that my LSU Chi Alpha campus pastors, Nick and Becky Callaway, were blessed with about a month ago. Check out more pics at their website.

Snakes on a Plane: 8.18.06!

I thought my friends were joking when they first mentioned this upcoming movie, Snakes on a Plane starring Samuel L. Jackson. I couldn't believe this is a real movie that will be released. The plot is centered around time-released snakes popping up in various areas of a passenger plane, killing off people. They did 5 days of additional filming in June to up the rating from a PG-13 to an R to give the film more publicity. Purportedly, they simply added two uses of the "f-word" to achieve this. I was almost teary-eyed with laughter at some of the hype this silly movie is receiving...and some of the fake, mock advertisements that have been circulating around the internet...

A Wikipedia article giving a general background into the movie. Good if this is the first time you've heard about it. Lots of useful info.


Official Website


Fake Ad #1


Fake Ad #2


Snakes on a Plane Emergency Checklist

I AM IN LOVE (revisited)

December 16, 2006.


Seven months later. A friend asks me when I knew for sure that I loved Amanda. My answer is this:

"When I went back home. I couldn't go on with my life. It happens when you can't imagine your life without this person any more. It was a bit scary. That's the test of whether or not you love someone. It's whether or not your world keeps turning. When we were apart, my world stopped turning."

So that's my advice, whatever it's worth. If your world turns as normal, proceed cautiously. If a physical separation causes your world to stop turning, you're hopelessly lost. Lift up your head toward heaven and give thanks. As another friend of mine told me, once you've fallen in love, you've lived half of your life already.

Some Statistics

I am exhausted. I worked 13 hours at the Barrel today. I sold $917.11 worth of food and made $165.00 in tips. When you average in the money I make per hour, that's an average of $14.80 per hour in untaxed income. Also, the percentage of tip:food sales is an average of 18%. I feel terrible. This has been, like, the best worst work day ever. Goodnight and sweet dreams.

Summer Pictures

A picture Matt took when he was fishing on Lake Pontchartrain. Quite the National Geographic quality isn't it?!

Matt and I have a new passion. Rock climbing at the local gym! We have also discovered (or I have in this picture, rather) that the climber is at the belayer's mercy when descending. It's fun letting the climber hang for a while.

Mochasipis at CC's Coffee after climbing.

Yep, that's Jessica for you. Adorable and wacky at the same time.

This is what it looks like when I get off work. For whatever it's worth.

Amanda and my siblings making t-shirts.

Isn't Hannah's pet hamster Charlotte the cutest?!

Back Again

After dropping off the edge of the cyberworld map again, I'm back. What have I been up to?

I'll summarize: summer job, time with Amanda and her family in Houston for a week, watersliding, eating out, hanging out with friends from work, some movies, Pirates 2 (great movie), running over a 12-foot alligator in the road at around midnight with some friends, late nights on the phone, ending the Blockbuster movie pass, some reading, seeing relatives, spilling nine drinks all over the floor one night and then taking a bow and demanding applause (which was granted by everyone in the restaurant), pretending to know how to play tennis, and what I'm doing right now (which is twirling my hair in my finger, yes, just like the main character in the movie The Count of Monte Cristo).

There. As you were.