i keep posting song lyrics... maybe it's because i have nothing else interesting to post about. anyway, me and a couple friends were jamming at the church office tonight and we wrote a song. it's sort of rock/disco song about being lost in space. the lyrics are pretty bleak but i was just trying to picture being lost in space, and that would be pretty bleak.... like jail without parole.......don't try to read into it or you'll be lost as well. haha.

The 7Up is falling up
I'm at the end of my rope
Home already far away
Now is getting farther
Farther, farther

The food is gone and CO2
Is forming in my plastic space suit
Hope is slim that they will come
And now I’m drifting farther
Farther farther

I’m sick of gravity, gravity
Please release me,
Please,
Release me,

Captain please just let me be
I’m sick of all your patronizing
I know that time has run out for me
I’m sitting here just waiting
Waiting waiting!!!!!!!

It’s coming
It's coming
It's coming
Coming

I’m sick of gravity, gravity
Please release me,
Please,
Release me,
Hope is so far away, far away
Please release me,
Please,
Release me,

weird lyrics but i actually really like them when combined with a groovalicious beat and some 80's alternative riffs.

i don't really intend to be forever posting song lyrics.... but they make an easy post. they would make an even easier post if i wrote some songs that were understandable at a glance-but i don't write that many songs of that sort. this song is one that i wrote last night. it's based off a quote that i heard somewhere sometime by someone who's name i can't recall, who said something like "if the sky was a dark blanket covering the universe you could imagine that the stars were just tiny holes where the light of heaven shines through'. so the song is basically about feeling a bit hemmed in by this world and wanting to catch a glimpse of the life to come. anyways. it's a bit more whimsical or even wistful than stuff that i typically write but i was in the mood so whatev>

looks like tonight
is just another night
snow falls in chaos
upsetting life's symmetry

it's sort of eery
how silence follows me
i wish i could run
through the clouds to the sky
where a part of you
shines through
a part of you shines through

maybe sometime
life will start to rhyme
in patterns that don't
take a genius to comprehend

the skylines a wall
the broadways like a hall
i wish i could run
through the clouds to the sky
where a part of you
shines through
a part of you
shines through

familiar pathways
through this awful maze
power is out take the stairs
up to floor nineteen

through the window
above the evening glow
i'll look through the sky
all the stars filled with fire
because a part of you
shines through
a part of you
shines through

stream.of.thought.weird.

strange things can happen when you're sitting in the back of your car parked in the garage, lightly strumming a guitar and randomly humming words that come to mind. this song is the product of time spent in the fashion that i just described:

do you ever
feel like you're a beaver
trapped beneath a pile you chewed yourself
cross and lonesome
playing texas hold 'em
all or nothing has come to nothing now

did you feel so bad?
when you weren't so sad?
did you feel so sad?
when you weren't so bad?

mom and pappy
think that you've gone crazy
and might just turn you in to the Fuzz
so here's to hoping
you'll ever stop moping
vitamin B and C
won't help you now

did you feel so bad?
when you weren't so sad?
did you feel so sad?
when you weren't so bad?

woooooooooohoo! woooooooooohoo!
it's not so bad, but you're so sad






woohoo!

this.is.the.end

my blog is officially finished. it's been good. it's been fun. but it's time to finish it.

>

Uh oh. bad news.

http://www.energyfiend.com/death-by-caffeine/

We would see Jesus; for the shadows lengthen
Across this little landscape of our life;
We would see Jesus, our weak faith to strengthen
For the last weariness, the final strife.

We would see Jesus, the great rock Foundation
Whereon our feet were set with sovereign grace;
Nor life nor death, with all their agitation,
Can thence remove us, if we see His face.

We would see Jesus; other lights are paling,
Which for long years we have rejoiced to see;
The blessings of our pilgrimage are failing;
We would not mourn them, for we go to Thee.

We would see Jesus; yet the spirit lingers
Round the dear objects it has loved so long,
And earth from earth can scarce unclasp its fingers;
Our love to Thee makes not this love less strong.

We would see Jesus: sense is all too binding,
And heaven appears too dim, too far away;
We would see Thee, Thyself our hearts reminding
What Thou hast suffered, our great debt to pay.

We would see Jesus: this is all we’re needing;
Strength, joy, and willingness come with the sight;
We would see Jesus, dying, risen, pleading;
Then welcome day, and farewell mortal night.

my respect for the musical talents of Stevie Wonder just skyrocketed.

watch Stevie go crazy on the drums.

WARNING> only musical geeks will be able to endure the whole thing. if you're not into music you can go watch TLC or do whatever people who don't appreciate music do. haha. umm that last part was a joke i think...

\

It's been a while since i've posted. i've been busy.

this psalm has been really affecting me of late:

63:1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.

5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

9 But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

i listened to a great sermon by matt chandler (get the podcast. its the first message in the "Heart Matters" series) which addressed this Psalm, and his main question was: why do we not have the passion and desire for God that these guys had? it's a heavy question. dig into it.

it's been a fairly long time since there was a new post here. recapping everything that has happened between the last post and this one would be a long and laborious ordeal, so i'll just briefly recap:

-Celebration: highlight of the summer. and mostly everyone knows what goes down at a celebration so i don't really feel like i have to explain the sweetness of it.

-Vacation: golf, sunburn, muddy water, stars, bugs, cows, jumping photo series, scooters, tim hortons, Korea, starbucks, and so on...

maybe i'll do a more detailed post later...

ok... i'm going to keep the blog going. i'm not going to switch to Xanga because there are a few things which i feel i can be justified in hating....er...umm...strongly disliking, a few of them being Windows, Xanga, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

so josh is coming home tonight, ceelebration starts tomorrow, vacation is after that. it's going to be a busy couple of weeks. i'm really excited for celebration, and i can't wait to see what God is going to do...

speaking of celebration (and to make this post a little longer), here are the lyrics to a song that my dad and i wrote for celebration:

(verse one / pre-chorus)

Before time You looked on us with favor
Predestined us in love
To be Your precious ones
Sacrificed Your Son to pay our ransom
Death exchanged for life
Because of Jesus Christ

Bought with a price
We will glorify
Our Savior and Lord

(chorus)
Jesus
This life is for You, All about You
To You be the glory
Jesus
This life is for You, All about You
To You be the glory

(verse two / pre-chorus)

Our desire is to reflect you glory
In everything we do
O Lord it’s all for you
May your name be in all praised the nations
By every tongue and tribe
Exalting Jesus Christ

Bought with a price
We will glorify
Our Savior and Lord


The theme for celebration is "It's All About You" so rather than bringing back and (re)over-hashing that slightly antiquated Paul Oakley gem we decided to write a new (and more upbeat) song with sort of the same theme.

is this blog lame? i was wondering today. is it worthwhile to keep one? i don't know. i've had a blog for a pretty long time. but if it's lame anyways then maybe i'll stop. there are probably better ways to spend my time.

bill murray has called twice today. not the bill murray in the photo above, but some other bill murray who happens to sound just like him. weird.

i didn't really explain in the last post, but the office was (and still is) shaking because of construction across the road. apparently they are building a new "cultural center". now don't get me wrong here, i'm not opposed to remembering the city's cultural roots, i'm just opposed to the sensation of constant shaking and loud hum that we're getting in the office.

i thought about picketing the construction site, but i didn't think that that would be particularly useful, or that it would serve the workers... but it got me thinking.... i really want to start a cause... not really seriously, but a funny cause. for example, i could campaign to save something that doesn't need to be saved because it isn't endangered, but unfortunately the NA folks already used that idea with the wheel.

so i'm not sure what to start a cause for... this is the best idea i've thought of yet: Liberate the Alpacas!

it's probably not practical, but that means that it fits in perfectly with every other environmentalist campaign.

anyways.... give me your thoughts.

Oh... one more thing, last week sean and i recorded a new version of the old hymn My Jesus I Love Thee. feedback is always cool, so if anyone wants to hear it just send me an email and i'll email it to you. if you don't have my email it;s on my profile thing.

just a few minutes ago here in the office everything started shaking. one thought came to mind: what if it is "The Big One"? It wasn't the big one (obviously, because i would probably be dead if it was), but it prompted me to think about what i will do when the big one actually does come. For those of you who don't know about the big one, read this:

There are two scenarios for Greater Vancouver, says the National Earthquake Support Plan (NESP), a study into the region's earthquake preparedness. The first is the most likely: a moderately strong 6 to 7 Richter-scale quake, similar to the ones that hit San Francisco and Los Angeles in the past decade. This would produce significant damage and deaths in Vancouver. Since the 1989 San Francisco quake, a lot of engineering work has been done to upgrade local bridges and dams against seismic hazards. But little has been done about the vulnerability of older, masonry-walled schools, hospital buildings and brick structures like those in Gastown and Yaletown. Some could collapse. Even in a moderate quake, soil liquefaction would likely break the dykes along the Fraser River and the Georgia Strait foreshore, producing widespread flooding. Similar soil liquefaction would also likely affect many structures on reclaimed lands, especially those built on the periphery of False Creek, the Arbutus lowlands, the riverbanks of the Fraser, Sea Island and the Burrard Inlet waterfront all the way to Port Moody. Landslides and underwater slumpages would drop shoreline houses and port facilities. Power, gas and water systems could be affected for days.

The second--and less likely--NESP scenario, based on an 8.5 subduction quake in the Lower Mainland, would produce severe destruction within 100 kilometres of the epicentre. Many buildings would fail. Liquefaction would likely damage the airport, the Fraser Valley dykes, the Massey Tunnel and those bridge supports sunk into loose valley soils. Western sections of the Fraser Valley would flood. Up to 45 per cent of Vancouver's schools would suffer moderate to total collapse. Tsunamis and underwater slumpage would damage shoreline facilities, producing almost inevitable chemical spills, fires and mass evacuations. The death toll would be in the thousands.

The reality is that when it hits, a major earthquake in the Greater Vancouver area would be a disaster. Most wood-framed homes would ride out the shaking with little serious risk to their occupants. Modern structures, including all highrises and office towers, would remain standing. The old and vulnerable water system would inevitably fail. Gas mains would break and fires would follow. Sections of bridges, port facilities and old masonry-walled buildings would collapse. Train lines, roads and electrical distribution systems would fail. Loose objects within offices, factories and homes would be hurled around. Cornices and chimneys would fall. Glass would fly. Many people would die. Earthquakes search out the most vulnerable sections of a structure. And the Vancouver area has many older buildings that have never been tested in a great quake. The longer the shaking lasts, the worse it will be--as small initial structural failures grow exponentially as the vibrations continue. Someday this will happen here. Nothing can protect Vancouver from things that go bump in the night.

-Some random website trying to make people freak out...

yeah, so basically some really large earthquake is scheduled to destroy Vancouver as we all know it within the next couple hundred years, which means it could happen tomorrow.

I decided that I have only one emergency plan: to run screaming out of whatever building I'm in (i don't think getting under the desk like they taught us in school will help if the building collapses.).

I've decided to start a photo series on my blog with sean and the truck... haha. I'm sure he'll enjoy that. Check out his hair in that second picture... after a few days of urban camping (essentially being homeless...) it wasn't doing so good. This is retaliation for him saying that i look "special" in one of the photos that i posted a while back. unfortunately i can't disagree with him, so my only other option (other than saying "your face is special!" but that joke is getting old) is to post some funny pictures of him.

i guess no one was all that enthused about the last post... haha. oh well. if none of you thought that was funny then i guess i have a lame sense of humor, but at least one other person was amazed.

hmm... so... it seems like when i have the time to post i don't have much to post about. i really feel like going golfing. if anyone feels like golfing this week let me know.

i have a soccer game on thursday night (take note of that sean. i know. it figures.((inside info))) which is unfortunate because i had other stuff planned and because my legs are in the most painfully sore condition that i can recall feeling within recent memory.

pic: sean (after being abandoned on the prairies.)

all your base are belong to us!

brilliant. watch it here.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.”

Come and see what God has done:
he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
you let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on [1] my tongue. [2]
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!
_psalm 66

be amazed at what God has done.

new header...

everybody should download the NA sermons. they're free.

just got back a little earlier tonight from the studio in kamloops. we finished the final vocals, and now all that remains is editing, mixing and mastering. the dog in the picture is charles. he's not my dog. i don't even really like dogs, but i like charles. he's really dumb and happy.

and on a more serious note...

one of my favorite hymns.

thy way, not mine O Lord
however dark it be
lead me by Thine own hand
choose out the path for me

smooth let it be or rough
it will still be the best
winding or straight it leads
right onward to Thy rest

Lord take my cup and it
with joy or sorrow fill
as best to Thee may seem
Lord choose my good and ill

not mine, not mine the choice
in all things great and small
be Thou my guide, my strength
my wisdom and my all

-horatius bonar

i was thinking about this hymn, and it reminded me of Ecclesiastes 3:11 which says "He has made everything beautiful in it's time," and i was thinking about the way that God leads us, sinners with nothing good or beautiful in us, choosing roads that we wouldn't choose to take, sending trials that we wouldn't choose to face, and through it all shaping us into something that reflects His glory. i want to write a song about that now, but it's a bit too late. i need some sleep.

back in kamloops recording. i've been pretty ill the last few days, but hearing the album start to come together has distracted me from it a bit. it's sounding really good. we're recording all the electric guitar parts today, and a few acoustic guitar parts.
\

here are a few random things that i've been thinking about the last day or so:

kamloops is my second favorite place in the world.

the third pirates of the caribbean movie is one that no one should see.

fast food can do nasty things to your stomach.

i want a kayak.

i want it to be the weekend.

when its 84 outside i start looking for water.

when its 87 i pretty much melt.



later>

sam walked downstairs this morning, turning on all lights and then paused in front of me. "joe, your hair is black..... where did you get new hair?"

Steve and I climbed that rock on saturday. My legs are still sore. I was just looking at a website that said that the hike is supposed to be "a brisk 45 minutes to the top" but i'm not sure what kind of caffeinated beverage they were on at the time. it took steve and i about 1.5 hours i think. that is the longest it has ever taken me. i think it has something to do with fast-food and a desk job. it was a good time. pretty much everything that could've gone wrong with my plans did go wrong, but the setbacks eventually caused us to reach the top at sunset which made the view pretty much overwhelmingly beautiful. I was reminded of the psalms where the psalmists talk about creation reflecting the glory of God. Being up there and seeing that instantly caused me to want to worship.

Apart from that escapade, not much has been going on. Mom, Als, and the two buggers are still away, and the house is annoyingly quiet without them all. Guitars are all over the house, there are amps and effects pedals in the living room, the stove hasn't been used in days, the laundry room has lost all purpose apart from being the doorway into the garage, and over all, i'm not too big on the atmosphere, so i hope they'll hurry up and come home.

I was just sitting here trying to write and it isn't working. I've decided that trying to force lyrics out of my head just doesn't work, so I decided to post instead. This afternoon Sean and I went and rode bikes (complete with mostly flat tires and uncomfortable seats) around a lake that is about an hour away from my house. There were no cougers, the fish weren't biting (or at least they weren't for the one unfortunate fellow that I asked), and the great path had been covered up with gravel to make it more city-dweller friendly, but it felt good to get out and breathe the mountain air.

((note: the picture isn't from tonight, but it is from another nice spot about 40 minutes away.))

If I could have a pet>

And his name would be Glen. Just because thats at funny name for an alpaca.

Lots of writing, guitar playing, singing, and so on. It's been a pretty sweet time. A great group of guys, and a great bunch of songs. We're recording a bunch of them tomorrow (just ghetto recording) and then patrick and i are hopping back on a plane and coming back west. I have to say, Maryland is much nicer in the summer than the winter. nice warm weather. it actually feels like summer.

One more day. On wednesday my dad and I are headed to the east coast. we're going to be at the motherchurch (covenant life) at a songwriters retreat. i like traveling.

some recent photos...

I don't have too much to say, so here's a song that I just wrote a few minutes ago...

Verse:
Lord You hold my life in Your sovereignty
And I accept the plan that You have for me
When this journey's goal is obscured by night
When my heart would fail, Jesus hear my cry

Chorus:
Let Your strength be shown in my weakness
Let Your grace be known when I fall
Teach my heart to rely on Your promise:
That You'll never let me go
You will never let me go

Verse 2:
Christ You bore the wrath that was meant for me
You sought my wayward heart and You set me free
You put me on the path that would lead to You
But how I need Your grace to follow after You

Chorus:
Let Your strength be shown in my weakness
Let Your grace be known when I fall
Teach my heart to rely on Your promise:
That You'll never let me go
You will never let me go

off to kamloops to do some recording in my cousin's studio. should be good. should be fun.

Lately I've been struggling with legalism. I've been trusting in my own works to find merit in God's eyes, and I've been frustrated to find that, for the hundred billionth time in my life, I can't do it. I can't. I couldn't today, I won't be able to tomorrow or the day after. I won't ever be morally capable of gaining some sort of merit in God's eyes. My best deeds are stained with sin, and they can never atone for the things that I've done. The question that I've been struggling with is: Why do I do it? I'm like Paul doing his monologue on the connection between our minds and our hearts in Romans where he says:

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Rom. 7:14-24)

There is a disconnect between my heart and my mind. In my mind I say "I know that all that I have to do is trust in Christ's death," but in my heart my sin continues to rage against such a surrender.

Thankfully there is hope. In response to his own question in verse 24, Paul exclaims "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!". There is hope. It is in Jesus Christ and his work on the cross. That is the only hope.

(sorry for that long monologue of my own, but I was feeling encouraged and felt like doing a serious post on my blog...)
((i was browsing through some of the archives for my blog and found this little poem thing that I wrote and posted up quite a while back. as far as poetry goes, i don't really like it, but it fits in with the post, and it is written in a very similar manner to the way that my mind functions, as far as the logic goes...))

what would life be like if I,
loosened my prying grip to rest,
in faith on One who's promise never fails,
who's love can surely keep me through the test?
this life, where in my strength I can't prevail,
i long to cast myself on Him and yet,
my will is not so easily subdued,
restless it cries, "I can yet succeed",
and won't rely on grace, though it is free.
yet where is rest if not in Him?
or hope, if not within His wounds?
life is only found beneath His cross,
and joy runs freely from that fount,
Oh teach me Lord to bow,
my heart, my hope, and will,
Oh teach now me to lean on grace,
Oh teach me to be still.
this path would be a easy climb,
if I would only trust,
that Your own hand will guide me safe,
that You know what is best.

post?

i am guest posting for joe. and i am out of ideas. so. joe i love you

als-

Hindsight is 20/20

New (real) post coming soon.

:Send Out Your Light and Your Truth:

43:1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people,
from the deceitful and unjust man
deliver me!

2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you rejected me?
Why do I go about mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?

3 Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling!

4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.

::truth is beautiful::

Sometimes you just have to go where the road takes you. Photographic recap of the roadtrip.

((some of them are my pictures and some of them are sean's))

Road trip begins today. I'm just guessing that it will be really cold. Next post probably won't be until monday>

Sam is cool. Railroad tracks and old bridges are also cool.

lights and arrows.

I don't know why, but blogger isn't letting me upload pictures right now.

the really lame thing about posting scarcely is that when you do post you have a lot to say, and no more time to say it than usual.

here are some of the things that are going on: My dad and I are doing a cd through sovereign grace, steve and I going on an alberta road trip next week, and......umm.....josh came and left, beth and her mom also came and left, and I've been writing a lot, and trying to think of good arrangements for songs.

I really wish the pictures would work. maybe i'll try again.

sam and I went driving today, and I took some pictures of him.

hmm... isn't working. there must be some kind of bug in the system.

I'll post them later.

I went snowboarding today. Matt and I really thrashed up the mountain. We grinded some rails, took some jumps, ate some powder, twisted some limbs in directions that they were never intended to be twisted, and ended up back at the Festiva some seven hours (give or take a few) later feeling really sore. This is a lame post. I realize that. But I really need to sleep now.

5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings [1] and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

Revelation 4:5-6

I wrote a song from this verse. I want to try writing songs from specific books in the bible. I think that would be a productive thing to do.

16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. - Malachi 3:16-18 -

I just got back from soccer practice. It was the first one of the year. I'm thankful for the opportunity to get back into shape, but the process of doing so isn't pleasant. Thankfully this practice was more technical and there wasn't a whole lot of hard running.

Now I'm at home eating waffles and drinking a coke.

I don't know where the rest of the family is. they could've left a note or something. gosh!]]

I've become a really lame blogger of late. Actually, almost all of the people who run the blogs that I go to have become lame bloggers. It must be an epidemic. Unfortunately excuses are lame, and I've decided that if I'm not going to fairly regularly post on my blog, I'm not going to keep it going. However, because my blog has been up and running for over a year and i would be sad to shut it down, I'm going to do a month long test to see if I can start posting a bit more regularly. If the test goes well, I'll keep the blog. If it doesn't then I'm going to shut it down.

i'm watching U2 live in Chicago right now. the edge rocks. i think his toque has magical powers. haha.

I'm off to school in an hour. peace.

Till Kingdom Come

Sean and I made a movie. EEEEEEY.

The west is great.... let's separate!

Who needs Canada?

More posts and hopefully a documentary to follow.

"Yo, Yo, Yo, what up Joe?"

There's this one client at work that greets me with that on the phone every couple of days. haha. I always laugh. Can't help it. I just do.

I've been sick for the last couple of days. Nothing really cool to report other than that. . . . . .

so here i am at 1:00 in the morning, writing my essay that's due tomorrow, thankful that 24 was taped for me. I don't have tons to say. life has been busy, I have to finish my essay for tomorrow, I work tomorrow morning then have a class at lunch. On wednesday I work half a day and then have classes, and I have a 8 page short story due for thursday.

On top of all that busyness, I get to lead worship at youth on friday. It's not a bad thing though. I'm pretty excited. I really enjoyed doing it last time and it'll be fun to go at it again and smooth out some of the cracks from last time.

On one final note to the guy in the photographs: Come back to the Motherland you hoser!!!

MY winter adventure....

The "MY" is capitalized because i'm copying sean, who also had a winter adventure, and happened to post about it first on his (really good, unlike mine) blog. Just so no one mal compris (misunderstood). With my explanation out of the way, I'll begin.

It started out like any normal day. I woke up a bit too late and quickly realized that I would need to rush in order to arrive at work somewhat on-time. As I ascended the stairs the typical melodies of the morning rather rudely greet my ears. Sam is running (stomping) across the hardwood and Kayla is screaming at a frightfully high pitch at something.... I couldn't tell if she was happy or sad at any rate. The only difference to note about this particular morning is that there is well over a foot of snow outside. My face fell as I realized that there was an even greater need to rush my routine, but I shook this troubling thought of and got to it. When I left home it was 8:10AM. When I reached 200th Street, the traffic was stopped dead. It took me an hour to get from my house to the highway, and for anyone who does not know the area, or does not live in the area, it should only be a five minute drive. Traffic in Langley was utter chaos, but once I was out in Aldergrove it slackened a bit, and the commute-stress-level returned to average levels.

ok-----now skip ahead to 2:30PM....

I have to leave work now in order to (hopefully) get to a class on-time. It has been snowing all day, and (in Abbotsford at least) it is pretty much a white-out. It takes just over an hour to get back to Langley (about double the normal time) and I reach the campus only to hear that all the evening classes have been cancelled. "Hmm....", I thought, "what to do now....."

I decided to go home. The only problem with that plan was that there wasn't a single road open in Langley by which you could get to my house. Cars were inching their way up, only to start sliding back down because of a lack of forward momentum. I tried a few times (unsuccessfully), and then parked and tried to think of what to do. I was all uptight. I'd been in the car too long. I'd been fighting the weather without any result. There was only one thing to do: Go to the mall.

The mall was basically the only place in Langley where the traffic wasn't too bad. Most people were feverously trying to get out of the city, so the mall turned into an unlikely fortress of solitude. (haha). I hung out for a bit and bought some jogging shoes.

Now I was ready for the final push, the climax of this epic tale of wintery weather woes. I got back into the car and proceeded to pound the steering wheel and shriek incoherently for five minutes to psych myself up. Then I drove one of the few roads that were open and leading up the hill. I pulled over to the side of the road and planned my move. I waited for all the cars to drive up and then slide back down in rejection, and then, when all was clear, I gunned it, picked up as much speed as I could, and burned up that hill without and issue. When I got to the top I pulled over again and shrieked and pounded on the steering wheel in my moment of triumph.

that's my winter adventure. pretty crazy....

iPhone

I know. I'm a geek. but I've been waiting for this day for a while. I'm going to stop before I start gushing in the language of nerds.

check it out at www.apple.com

/././././././ A new post. And it hasn't been 2 weeks since the last one.

Starting school this week. On tuesday. It's been a long time since I've been in a classroom. I'm excited. Should be good.