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Post by NµKe on Sept 27, 2013 1:37:03 GMT -5
Now, I'm not thinking of the coffee shop (some of you might know a Daily Grind). I'm thinking of simply the concept of the day-in, day-out regimen that we put ourselves through (or are put through based on whether you consider yourself a linking or action verb).
I'm creating this thread merely for the selfish purpose of having a place to post some thoughts every day. It's somewhat akin to the Blog concept; however, I'd rather be able to have some feedback and discussion if the opportunity arises.
I'm going to throw ideas, emotions, topics, arguments, events, and other nonsense up here. Pick, chat, or ignore at your pleasure.
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Post by NµKe on Sept 27, 2013 1:42:16 GMT -5
I want to get into the habit of writing something every day. I'm an English teacher for goodness sake. I know that I should be reading some sort of Educational Article every other day or so (possibly every day, but heavens, let's be reasonable); however, I believe that I don't push myself enough in the writing world.
I make my students write an essay with the wave of my hand. I make them create arguments, dismantle them, and analyze each others, but what I don't seem to do very often is force myself to write. I don't push myself to simply dive into my imagination, whatever fiendish creatures may be there, and wrestle words and thoughts down onto a keyboard or a page. ...a page, what an ancient medium...
Today I discuss Chai. It is a drink. It is lovely. I just had one whilst discussing Culturally Relevant Topics on the Radio Station that I occasionally speak on. I loved the chai that I had whilst I was there. I do believe that, almost more than any other drink, the chai causes a wealth of sensory memories to wash over me to an almost overwhelming degree. I'm drawn into a snow covered cabin that houses close family members, board games, and lots of laughter. Regardless of whether the temperature actually changed in the radio station, once I began to drink my beverage, I almost shivered! A drink that can cause that amount of emotional upheaval is definitely worth mentioning and considering. I'm not sure it's deserving of me breaking my "I don't buy expensive drinks at hoighty-toighty coffee shops" ethical mandate, but it's definitely make me consider it.
Fin.
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Post by Fendrik on Oct 10, 2013 15:22:27 GMT -5
I know you weren't asking, but I know how you feel. I have recently been try to get into the habit of working on a piece of art each day. (something I want to make, not something i'm told to) Usually it's just a sketch, or a photo edit of some kind, and I think something that helps is to take my sketch book with me everywhere. Something else that helps is to let myself be terrible. When I hold myself to making sure every sketch is gold, it hinders my creativity, and pretty soon, i'm not doing one everyday... Most of the stuff I sketch is just crap, but it's still practice, and sometimes I get a pretty good one. I don't share all my sketches, but I think it's good to see what other people think sometimes so I share certain ones with friends, and in a way that gives me even more drive to keep sketching.
I think for some writers it's a similar problem. You need to be creative, without the sense that everything you write is going to be judged. All the while there's a need to put it out there for others to enjoy.
I may have to go get a Chai now...
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Post by NµKe on Oct 14, 2013 7:55:15 GMT -5
Hahaha, I appreciate your encouragement. I think that you are right.
For me, I'm not sure that it is a fear of being rejected, mocked, or ridiculed -- I think it's simply a lack of remembering, being motivated, or having time.
Nevertheless, your reminder is a cattle prod to my proverbial backside. I shall continue to write.
Tonight I was reminded of how uninformed I am as a human being. Playing Trivial Pursuit creates such effects. Not only was I amazed by how much other people know, but I was slightly aghast at my own inability to pull random seemingly useless facts out of my nose to display my holistic grasp on the world. One day I might be able to tell you which child prodigy golfer won such and such a tournament against so and so; however, once I get there, I wonder if I will turn around and admit, "I wish I'd just learned Spanish."
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Post by NµKe on Oct 15, 2013 7:49:26 GMT -5
I'm tired. I have that strange out-of-body experience feeling that you get when your mind is not working fast enough to tell all of your facilities that they need to realize or appreciate something. I feel that this is the most dangerous time communicate with other humans. Your guard is down, your emotions are volatile, and your conscience is nay unto bed. Of course, now is when I start writing.
I'd like to be optimistic and pretend that now my imagination and my thoughts have wings to soar over crystal blue oceans and reverently green trees; however, I know better. Right now my mind is slogging through the mud and molasses of mere mollification. I'm tired. My brain slows down as my eyelids begin to lower themselves regardless of what my brain orders them to do.
I'd have written more concisely, but... I'm tired.
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Post by NµKe on Oct 16, 2013 7:45:08 GMT -5
I love brownies! I also love Micah's film reviews -- I'm planning on using them in class tomorrow. That is, if the tropic storm passing around our island doesn't threaten to rain enough to cause school closings.
We don't have snow days here. We have tropical rain storm days.
...well, if school decided that 60 MPH winds were dangerous to kids' health, then we would have tropical rain storm days.
I now am a bit more understanding in regards to teachers and school. Half of me wants a day off of school because humans appreciate relaxing and restoring the soul. Half of me dreads missing a day of classes because then it would throw my whole schedule off for almost all of my classes. Quizzes and tests that need to move frustrate me; however, God has a plan and I know His will is the best no matter what. I love falling back on that concept -- it encourages me greatly. God knows. He is Sovereign over all, and I don't need to worry in the slightest.
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Post by NµKe on Oct 18, 2013 9:44:09 GMT -5
So much Magic today. Did a 1,000 card draft with three friends. We each pitch in $10 for someone's birthday, and the birthday guy doesn't have to pay -- then we split up all the cards, make decks, and battle it out. Last time I had a flawless set of 5-0; however, I was playing against a newbie. Tonight, I proudly stand with a 0-4 record. We played 3-person FFA for the last two matches... I came in 2nd the first time and 3rd the second. Sometimes you just have to lose. It makes winning that much more enjoyable. Which leads me into my next point: there is a strategy to getting your friends to like games that you like. We like to win -- especially guys. We don't like losing; however, a great exercise in long-term enjoyment is choosing to experience temporary sadness with a loss or twelve in order to have your friends greatly enjoy a game and thus bring more long-term fun. After pwning my friend in five consecutive matches last draft, I realized that he wasn't super gung-ho to play Magic after that incident. Well, duh! This time he won almost every one of his matches tonight, and after we were done, he continued to fix and tweak his decks and build new ones in hopes of playing again soon. Hooked? I do believe so. Deceive your friends, make more fun opportunities for yourself, then evaluate your priorities. ...now I have guilt.
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Post by Fendrik on Oct 19, 2013 22:16:54 GMT -5
Ha, that is an interesting ploy... I'l have to watch out for that from you in the future. Now i'm questioning whether or not I really won any of those games we've played in the past... hmmm... The last few days I've been thinking about music, and how you really can't force a musical taste on someone. It's so funny how a certain song can effect someone so deeply, and how the same song can be almost painful for someone else to listen to... The perfect example of this is a song I recently came across by Sufjan Stevens called "The Age of Adz." (don't ask me what it means) Now, even I realize it is a very strange song, but I think it also has to be one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I've ever heard. The last few minutes of the song are so intense to me that it has brought me to tears. I played the song for someone else, and just as I suspected they did not like it at all... in fact they didn't even want to listen to the whole thing because it agitated them so much. I wasn't really offended by their response or anything, because I realize it's not everyone's cup of tea; it did make me think though. For me at least, it can be hard to separate myself from certain music. Maybe, it's because they represent a part of who I am, or my past, or a friendship. So when someone criticizes those songs it's interesting how hurtful that can be. It's made me realize that I really need to be more open minded about what people love or hate to listen to, and be careful with how I chose to respond to their likes and dislikes. Not because I need to have the same tastes as everyone else, but because I could be criticizing more than just a song for them. The aforementioned song for your enjoyment, or complete lack thereof
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Post by NµKe on Oct 20, 2013 8:09:56 GMT -5
I am very impressed with the wisdom and discernment that you displayed in your post! I'm listening to the song as I write (because, good grief, it's eight blessed minutes long!). It is unique, but I don't find myself disliking it yet. The picture is a bit bizarre, but it's nothing that would turn me off completely. I think it's definitely important to be aware of other people's preferences. The danger is being a bit too cautious about your opinions for fear of possibly offending someone. I guess I struggle with the flipside of what you struggle with. You, it seems, would be more probable to offer your opinion of someone else's preference without thinking of how it would affect them. I, on the other hand, would refuse to give my opinion or even skew my opinion in order to avoid conflict or discomfort. Both can be cowardly and lazy. We need to love people as Christ would love them, so, if He were standing there, what do you think He would say to them? I'm guessing it would bring the discussion back to the ethics or morality of the object being discussed. Good food for thought. --- We had a lovely tropical storm -- now typhoon swing around our island. I'm not exaggerating -- it swung around our island. Came from the north east down and dipped below our island, then continued on in a north western direction towards Japan. They are either feeling the effects of it now, or they will be soon. It's a category five beasty; I would not like to be there right now. We got Friday off because of 50-75 mph winds. No lies, I enjoyed the day off like a fat child discovering a donut on his dresser. Unexpected, but very appreciated. Tomorrow, however, I dive back into school. I'm okay with it though -- we have Friday off. Well, by off I mean multiple meetings meant to enhance and strengthen our teaching techniques and our interactions with the students. I'm okay with those meetings. Why? Because that's why I'm here on Guam: to teach and to build redemptive relationships with the students around me. Fighting and grunting about meetings like that would be akin to a soldier slapping the officer giving him ammunition or gun cleaning equipment -- ridiculous. PS3 game prices are dropping like manna, and I love it. I got Assassin's Creed 2 and Crysis 2 today for $10. At first I regretting not getting Fallout: New Vegas; however, I think that Crysis 2 will end up being a more enjoyable game. Plus, I bought Skyrim last week, so I will have an RPG to play for about... 17 years. Monday - Lawrence's Birthday Party Tuesday - Bible Study Wednesday - Prayer Meeting Thursday - Julia's Birthday & Birthday Dinner Date Friday - ...I think someone else has a birthday party, but hopefully it's a girl so that I can get out of it. Saturday - Forensics Meet in the morning -- maybe Daddy-Baby seminar after that. Who knows? However, any one of these plans could be swiftly swept to Swaziland if little Jace decides that he is going to be making a grand entrance. It's kinda bizarre having the little tyke make the first move. I reckon that's life though. --- The song finished -- I definitely like the last few minutes. The first four or five have some discord in them that is not as pleasurable to listen to; however, I definitely get what you're saying about the empowering, pleasant ending. I'm guessing it doesn't speak to me as strongly as it does to you, but that's the beauty of music. A song may speak to some and not to others. God is an awe-inspiring Genius.
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Post by NµKe on Oct 21, 2013 7:51:40 GMT -5
Yikes, what a massive post. I'm so tired, I could eat a walrus. Tonight I participated in the best game of Mafia for a long time. The recent ones have been with 7th graders mostly, so it's been bleak. Tonight I played with mostly teachers -- what a fun time. The final three people (mafia, doctor, and townsperson) had a showdown. The doctor was the host's wife, and the doctor was one of the birthday guys that the party was for (there were two who shared the same birthday). The townsperson (and final decider) was the Junior in high school that decided to play with us. Talk about pressure!! It was hilarious to watch. I was the moderator / narrator. I had such a blast -- crazy fun. Sleep time. I need to get my grades all submitted by Wednesday. I hope to get them all zipped up and shipshape by my first class tomorrow. That'd be nice. Downloaded all the books of DnD last night. Now I want to DM and play with my friendlies. Probably not until Christmas or at least until the play is over.
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Post by Fendrik on Oct 23, 2013 2:05:36 GMT -5
ooh DnD... I do enjoy that game. I recently had a funny conversation with a guy who DM's a lot of DnD matches. He told me he absolutely refuses to play DnD with people who don't have something better to do. At first, I didn't really understand what he meant by that, but then he explained to me how in the past he had played DnD with "neck beards," (no life) and all they wanted to do the whole time was kill stuff... no skill points no nothin'... just murdering npc's... anyways, the moral of his story was, if you play DnD with people that have the imagination of a caveman, the corpses are really gonna pile up.
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Post by Fendrik on Oct 26, 2013 2:47:33 GMT -5
Woow, long post! So I guess I really enjoy talking about music and song lyrics because here goes another one about a song I've been listening to lately.
The song is called "Modern Jesus" by "Portugal. The Man." It's a great tune, but the lyrics are really the more interesting part. Now, I know of a few other songs like this, but I feel like this one is a great example of what i'd like to call "The Power of The Listener." It's not what the song says or even what the writer may or may not have meant, but what the song makes YOU think when you hear it. Songs that can do this are some of the most powerful because they can mean something different to anyone.
I'm sure when a lot of people here this song they immediately think it's an anti-Jesus/anti-religious song, and maybe it is, but every time I listen to it I can't help but think it's the perfect example of how humans think, and how as Christians we need to be careful how we approach non-believers.
Some of the most powerful lyrics are right at the beginning when he states "Come on in/Take a seat next to me/You know we got/We got what you need/We may be liars preaching to choirs/But we can/We can sell your dreams." I think this is a good warning for Christians that we need to not try to "sell" people Jesus. It's not our job to sell people anything, especially not their dreams. We can tell them about him, but ultimately it's that persons decision to follow or not, and we certainly shouldn't be trying to make it look good, because that's a sure fire way to make someone doubt their faith later on when things get hard.
He then goes on to say "You don't need sympathy/They got a pill for everything." It's this line that really puts it past the point of being just an anti-Jesus song for me. I think pretty much everyone knows that taking pills (or too much of anything for that matter) to deal with your problems is probably one of the most destructive things a person can do, but I don't think it's a literal drug he's talking about here. I think it's a figurative religious drug.
As a christian I want to see people saved, but you can't just go around telling people they're gonna go to Hell either. That's exactly the type of attitude that turns people off to Jesus. I know some Christians have gotten so obsessed with the "religious" aspect of Christianity that they've forgotten the "love" aspect. It's like they've taken too much of their religion/drug. Even I have been burned by people like this in the past, and if I wasn't already a strong christian I can tell you that it sure wouldn't make me want to be one. I think there are plenty of Christians out there who need to step back and realize that they're a sinner too, and they're no better than any unsaved person.
I could probably go on and on about this song, and I suppose that the song itself can be taken any way someone wants, but when I hear it, it feels more like a warning for me to not cram my beliefs down peoples throats. If more Christians would live more like Christ, we would be attracting a lot more people to him than we do by just acting like everyone else. Yes, people need to hear about Jesus, but sometimes we need to step back and let Jesus come out through our actions, and less through our mouths.
I linked the official video, but really, it has about as much to do with the song as most of the comments on it.
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Post by NµKe on Oct 26, 2013 10:30:40 GMT -5
Interesting thoughts. I am going to refrain from commenting on them because I am tired, and I'm not sure that my brain is functioning above a four... out of two thousand.
Pretty good day other than the fact that I focused on myself more than anyone else. I did what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. I didn't give time for talking or communing with God. I didn't really study His Word. So... in the end, I think today was a rather fruitless day. ...perhaps not, but... perhaps it was. Eternally speaking, of course.
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Post by Fendrik on Nov 4, 2013 4:30:25 GMT -5
Got in a real weird mood today... I went to the mac lab in the basement of the ELC building to work on some homework, but pretty soon I started to get all anxious. I felt like my body couldn't stand to sit in there for a second more. I can see why some people must smoke. Must be nice to have a valid excuse at pretty much any moment to go outside and just have some time to yourself for a few minutes. That's exactly what I did, except I don't smoke, so it was slightly less stimulating... Still, it was nice to get out of that tomb and into the fresh air.
Anyways, while sitting outside I figured out my problem. I haven't really been putting in my best effort, and now I'm half way into a bunch of projects that I have no desire to finish. I know that I could be doing a much better job on them, and by continuing them i'm just putting more and more work into something that won't be as good as if I just start over. So that's exactly what i'm going to do tomorrow... I'm going to start over. I feel better already just thinking about it. Sometimes, nothing is more stimulating than a blank canvas.
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Post by NµKe on Nov 15, 2013 8:08:38 GMT -5
I concur with pretty much all those thoughts. Blank canvas stimulates but in quite a different way. It scares me into running away -- at least in the drawing arena. A blank page invigorates me even though I haven't written anything in months. Not enough white space.
I'm excited to have a son and keep writing though.
Tomorrow I want to play cards with my wife work on Spanish and practice my ukulele.
Life rocks.
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