it is the morning and i am glad

today is a new day, where outside my window there is sun bright sun. and this makes me happy. i learned something new recently about the weather as well.

it turns out that if we want our mood to be improved by good weather, we have to be outside in it for at least 30 minutes. i know, crazy. anyways, classes are done, this is our first reading day and life is good.

and are the content does it continue to get more good?



i wonder if i'll be laughing at my macbook pro 50 years from now...

you'll never guess what i did afterwards

it's almost friday. this class ends and it's practically here. i'm on call tonite and tomorrow nite, but i'm not gonna let that get in the way of my weekend fun! it's almost here! yay!

so, in a week, i've got this huge assignment due for poetry: i have to pick a poem from a list of poems that are about poetry. then i have to pick 15 poems from all the poems we have read this semester that i believe to meet this criteria and write a ten papge paper on it. with title page. with full works cited. basically, this means i'm going to turn in my rough draft as a final copy.

we did our presentation today. "they feed they lion" by philip levine was a huge topic. really, the only poem i read and really wanted to know more about. i enjoyed it.

and the story continues with a twist

i find it easy to ignore quiet people. i'm sitting in poetry and people are doing presentations. but hearing them is difficult, and now i'm tuning them out. maybe this is why i prefer more abrasive and loud teachers. or maybe i... just... like whatever... who knows?

there's a lonely guitar strap that sits in the corner by the fridge

i don't read enough, but i always do. there are so many books i want to read, i feel like i don't have the time to do so. i think that when i'm older and retired, and i have the time before i die, i would like to have read all i have wanted to before i do. i like to think this is possible for everything... but here, in our current condition, the fact that we are human... well, you know.

i am aware that i will never really finish everything. this is good. i am okay with that.

issues with writing i have found are not that it is

in any way having to do with spiritedness of prose or the moment of triumph, but also not of the breadth of the language i use. nothing has to do with everything, and everything is nothing. grammar matters everywhere and it doesn't matter all the time.

so when i write, i just do as i speak. if i stutter, i do. if i pause long i do. if i forget where i go. i do.

and it matters for everything and in everything nothing.

the pilot g-2 05 is an impressive pen to say the least

this week started off and continues onward as a strange week. i feel like this week is either a wave or a pendulum. it feels awkward, like it is building. but it's not. it's no more busy than last week. it's no more busy than next week. the week before finals seems like it should be different. but i sit here hanging in time.

it's an odd transitional phase as well. i'm moving from one place to another in so many ways. from school to home, but not yet. from my job as an ra, but not yet. from student to non-student, but not yet. from living on campus to living off campus... but.... not...... yet.

it's a time where i'm asking myself, am i happy where i'm at and with the choice i've made along the way, in order to move forward. it's a time where i'm wondering if i should be looking forward for things to come, or whether i should stay so content with the way things are and what is happening now that my eye for the future is blind.

it's an awkard week. but i've been enjoying it. and the weather is nice.

there are things i tolerate with great consternation

i don't tend to hate things. i don't hate cats. i tolerate them. i don't hate curly hair, i tolerate it. i go out of my way at times to gauge ways of how i can rid myself of the things i tolerate.

but i'll admit it:
i don't tolerate jean shorts.
i can't tolerate what i can't stand.

there are varying degrees of jean shorts. all terrible, one level is not sorse than another, but they all differ in one way or another.

we have to start off, the idea of jeans that have been worn out to the point of no longer being jeans. if they are no longer allowable as jeans, they should be replaced. they should not be modified into shorts. some people even use other people's jeans, or patch multiple pairs of jeans together to make a single pair of shorts. this should not be allowed.

next is the fact that jean shorts come... oh yes... pre-manufactured. people make them for the sole purpose of being jean shorts. we have an even further degradation of this concept: some jean shorts are made to look worn out on they day they're purchased. people either want to fake that these were once jeans, or make it seem like they LOVE them, and wear them ALL the time.

i find myself confused. i'll leave you with that.

oh, don't you worry miss... i'm wearing sunglasses

before i begin my dissertation on jean shorts... let me first start off with the fact that i'm so excited to see death cab on may ninth. so excited in fact that i've even been watching every single live death cab video on youtube that i can find. it's quite the experience. i can't wait to see them. here's another video.

old news new song

this has been around for awhile... but i feel like you should see it if you haven't.

more about the blog

this blog has served itself to me a lot of ways, but primarily as a journal. in older posts you will notice that the posts aren't as long, and most of them are addressed as letters, or the contents are poems, or short blurbs. i still want to continue the original intent of the blog, to be as real as i possibly can as an internet personality, and share a bit of my life with my readers, but a lot of the content has shifted. if you're bored, read through all the posts. :)

because i'm always changing, here is me now

forgive me if i'm wrong, but it's been a good amount of time since october. i feel like i've changed a bit.

i'm finishing up my sophomore year at uri. i am still a marketing major. i discovered a lot about myself since october, including that i am an infp personality type, according to the briggs-meyers personality assessment. i learned how to trust God more during the course of this semester. i learned how to love people better this semester. i learned that not being able to do certain things is not necessarily a bad thing, but a chance to allow other people to step into the situation and help.

i am a drummer. i play the guitar, and i sing. my day to day life is deeply influenced my music. i feel like something is missing from my day if i haven't engaged musically in some way or another. whether it's listening to music, tapping out beats with my hands on my legs, thinking about music, or actually playing music... i don't feel like i've had a full day. i praise God every day for the ability to enjoy music the way i do.

i remember how i used to say that i would rather be deaf than blind, because i used to be such a visual person. i used to love taking pictures of things, drawing things, and doing lots of work in photoshop. that drive has shifted from a visual drive to an auditory one. it's strange how that happens. art has changed form for me in the past few months of my life, in serious ways.

i don't share this often, and it's odd to be sharing it in such a public place... but i feel called by God to be a pastor. i have for a long time. and God's got a lot of work to do in me until i get to the point where i am able to lead His church, but He'll provide the means. I can't do it on my own.

i am currently in a dating relationship. i know it's a shocker. although we've been dating for over a year now, i don't think i mention her much on this space. and because she may choose to remain unknown, i will say that if you haven't met her, or gotten to know her, you should. she's lovely.

i am still an ra at uri, but only to finish off the year. next year i am living off campus. it's the best place for me to be next year, and in a situation where i can grow and service God with other people involved in kingdom work in the best way possible. i am very excited for next year, but this one isn't over either.

i have discovered that i enjoy dark comedies. my favorite pop tarts are smores. i prefer generic medication over brand name, unless it's something like toothpaste or deodorant. (although, i do use generic brand mouth wash) i realize also that i could do a better job of cleaning my ears. i don't mind one ply toilet paper, it's cheap, and it still works.

i use old spice deodorant. usually the original scent, but pure sport is an okay option too. i use the pure sport bodywash, but i think once this bottle is done i will switch to original scent. i wear hanae mori cologne. it's the only bottle of cologne i own because it was given to me as a gift for my birthday since i asked for cologne. i also received chocolate covered gummi bears, dave matthews concert cds and plaid shorts. if there were other things that i forgot, i'm sorry, but those were things that stuck out in my mind. i use rusk shampoo.

i'm the kind of person that lets food sit in a fridge until it gets way beyond moldy before throwing it out. i'll need to get better at not doing this before next year. i don't know how to cook. i don't do dishes often. some people might say i don't do dishes at all. i'm not a neat person, but i'm trying to be better.

i gave up meat for lent. i figured that after lent was over i'd start eating it again. when i tried an assortment of meats again on easter, i realized that i prefer being a vegetarian. i'm going to stick with it. to be honest, i've never felt healthier, more energized, or more aware of how the foods that i put into my body can have in influence on my whole day. i find that i enjoy eating a lot more, because now when i eat, i can be creative in my food selection, instead of just going straight toward the meat. i can't say that i will be a vegetarian forever, but i can say that right now, it's what works. i enjoy it.

i have never stayed at the same job for over a year. the ups store is the exception because my stepdad owned the store, and it was the only place i could work. i have trouble finding jobs that i like. but i think i'm better at it now. although when i need money i'll do almost anything for work... but when i feel like i don't need it so much anymore, i get tired of the job that i'm at. i realize that the best jobs for me are jobs where i interact with people on a daily basis. where the majority of the job is interacting with people, teaching them things, learning things from them, feeding into them, being fed. i have worked at a collection of places, including, but not limited to, the ups store (i packed packages, typed up invoices, helped customers, cleaned...) cartridge world (i typed up invoices, arranged inventory, helped customers, filled ink cartridges, remanufactured laser cartridges, was a mascot as a giant printer...), ram computers (i helped people fix their computers, fixed them for them, talked to people at dell on the phone for hours... that kind of thing) diane miller photography (i retouched photos with photoshop for a professional photographer), doyle sails (managed the cutter that cut the sails, and patched sails together) camp keswick (i was a camp counselor for the summer... this has been my favorite job so far) URI HRL (i'm an ra, it's my second favorite job ever), i've also trained people on how to use their computers. wow ... i feel like that's a lot, but i feel like i've missed some stuff too.

in the mac vs pc debate i would have to say, "yep." i use both. i enjoy both. i don't like being exclusively one or the other, but i do have phases where i definitely do use one more than the other for various reasons. they're both great, and they both run well. i have no complaints. although, macs are more pretty.

i try very often to keep a journal, but i generally lose interest after awhile. sometimes i wish i could just skip holidays entirely. i don't see my grandparents enough. i don't spend enough time with my dad. i feel like sometimes i'm too tired or too busy to engage certain people.

i prefer salty snacks over sweet snacks. i can polish off a family size box of wheat thins in a single sitting after a large dinner. half price appetizers make me sick. i enjoy the desert shooters at applebees. i plan on making them next year when i live off campus. pistachio pudding is my favorite pudding at uri. i've tried them all here. it's also my favorite dessert here. i'll miss the food here next year i think.

electronics include: canon digital slr camera, canon compact digital camera, macbook pro, 80 gig ipod, external harddrive, self-built pc, electronic drum set, electric guitar, hp printer, panasonic ipod-ready cd deck, altec lansing speakers, an electric razor, a cell phone, and some sweet lamps. i think that's it. i'll level with you: i feel a bit guilty sometimes about the stuff i own, at times i feel like i should live more simply, and i'm moving toward that, but it's a slow process.

when i'm interested in something, people know. i throw myself into it without hesitation, and fully.

i'm a lifelong learner.

i think i summed me up the best i can.

from poetry 1

if you haven't already, check out some poems by frank o'hara. he was born in 1926 and died in 1966. most of his poems were written during his lunch breaks while working at the museum of modern art. he was friends with a lot of painters during his life, including jackson pollock, whose art i am quite fond of. anywho, check him out. there's book we're reading called, "the vintage book of contemporary american poetry", it's an introduction to a lot of america's finest poets. in reading it through the course of the class i have discovered some poets i enjoy. check out allen ginsberg, he's interesting. wikipedia has a nice list of selected works for each of the poets i've linked to. scroll down on their pages. ginsberg's howl continues to be a haunting work.

from poetry 2

i feel like i could begin many of my posts like this each day: it was so beautiful today. i have extremely blessed by warm, wonderful weather for the past few days. there are three moon bounces on the quad today. also, there is cotton candy. human bowling looks fun too. all in all, i think i will participate once i get out of poetry. i can't wait.

today we were assigned a writing exercise, for which we are to write a poem in imitation of frank o'hara. have i mentioned already how much i like him? he pays attention to details in his moments of observation. he pays attention to time. he is sure to use concrete language when describing things. it's almost always literal, rather than metaphorical. he describes things that are actually happening. i am happy for this assignment.

wow

it's been over a week since i last posted. for some reason i've been less motivated to post on this thing in the recent months. but i will post more. maybe. i can't promise anything.

i'm going to start this post of with a belief i have. guitar is fun. i've been sitting here playing for probably over 3 hours now, and i've just realized that.

today was beautiful. i got to spend a good majority of the day out on the quad with friends. i slept until past 1 pm today. tomorrow i have class early in the morning.

next week i'm leading worship again at origins. there's a certain amount of stress in it, but a lot of good comes from it. i'm extremely blessed to do it, and i think the more i do it, and the more confident i am in the abilities that God has blessed me with, the better i'll be at it. it's hard to play guitar standing up... in front of a lot of people. i close my eyes a lot. which causes me to forget the words, or how the song is supposed to be played. i close my eyes with i play drums too. but at least i know where those are, and i can listen to the person leading.

this summer has a lot going on. i'm working in hartford with an organization called hartford city missions. it'll be an eye opening experience i think. we're learning to live simply. i'm living with a team of... i think 5 people. the packing list is quite sparse. it mainly contains clothes that i'll need for various activities, a bible, and a journal. i'm going to bring my guitar... (since i'm there 9 weeks, it would be poor stewardship to let all my practice go to waste) i don't think i'll be able to bring drums tho'.... sadly. but we'll see what God does with this summer. needless to say, i won't be blogging much... but i plan on keeping a journal/notebook on the ways i see God moving over the summer, and the things that we're doing.

posts from that journal will probably end up here. to a certain degree.

i'm still trying to figure out the fine line between blogging all my personals to blogging things that mean something to me that i want to share. in a way, i feel like i should blog everything, but in a way i feel like i shouldn't be blogging at all. i'm thankful for the blogs that my friends have. they become a blessing for me to read day to day, especially since i don't get to talk to them all the time. but blogging shouldn't be a substitute for genuine communication. these are just thoughts.

i've been working on a new blog. which has been distracting me from this one a bit. jeff.o had the idea for a not-so-hip hipster blog. i'm running with it now. i have to come up with a design and a format for it. i plan on getting co-writers in on the madness. it will be called, "yep. i'm hip." more info soon to come.

a lot of my friends' lives have been hit with tragedy recently. if you're a praying person, please pray for them. and pray for God to give me the right words to say to them in these difficult situations.

lisa taught tonight at origins about prayer. we watched a nooma video to kick it off. number 19 . i think. it was good. she talked to us about answered prayer, and not answered in the way we think it should be prayer, and prayer yet to be answered. she talked about a guy who prays all the time, and logs it in a journal. when prayers get answered he writes how they are answered. it's a beautiful concept. we learned about how when we pray, not only are we more connected with God, but the more we pray, the more we are connected with other people that we are praying for. it's interesting.

the whole reason i gave up facebook, and started a new account was so that i could have a list of friends to pray for every day. i kept up with it for awhile, but i slacked off about a month or two ago. praying for people is hard. especially when i don't see tangible results.... or haven't seen the person all semester and haven't been able to catch up on what God is doing.

i receive an email every now and again with prayer requests for a bible study i used to be in. since i started my own on the same night, i haven't been able to attend, although i miss the people involved dearly, and i can't wait until the death cab show to see them all again. it'll be great. anywho, there was a new person that started going about the same time i stopped, and he needed a job. so i prayed for God to provide him with work to do. i met the guy at sanctuary a few weeks ago. and when i recognized his name when someone said it, a bit too loud, i rushed across the room to say, "hey, you don't know me... but my name is steve, and i've been praying for you. did God provide you with a job?"

"yes."

anywho, we're continuing progress on our current bible study. i'm really enjoying it. and the relationships i'm forming with people through it. we'll see what God has for me next semester, but i'm pretty sure i'll lead one again. yay! co-ed is definitely the way to go... at least for me. i feel like we can talk about a lot of stuff in the study, and it's especially helpful outside of the study, because i can pair off with the guys and go grab lunch or something, and the person leading alongside me can do the same with the girls. it's been great to have a mentoring, and brothering relationship with these guys. i'm excited. very excited.

anywho, i'm not so sure what else to write, but i felt like at least writing a post would be good. :) hope ya'll are doing well.

tidbits of life

my friend liz was studying for what i think was a nutrition exam, a section on infants if i'm not mistaken. she was telling me how when an infant is born it's head is three times as large as it should be, in proportion to its body. this shocked me. what shocked me even more was the fact that our heads aren't actually proportionate to the size of our body until we're around twenty-five years old. WOW. that's incredible.

what's even more shocking about this is the fact that people who consistently consume excess amounts of alcohol (binge drinking... (actually, less drinks than you'd think)) can lead to growth problems. they can range from developmental issues, all the way to stunted physical growth.

i never thought about it. i always thought saying someone had a big head had to do with them being full of themselves... now when people tell me not to let my head get too big, i can honestly say, "oh, don't you worry... i'll be proportional someday." and i can mean it when i say it. in more ways than one.

comments

so... i welcome comments on my posts. but i realized today that i like to know where they're coming from, or rather, WHO they're coming from. so i disabled anonymous comments. from now on, you'll have to say who you are. i hope that it doesn't stop certain people from dropping a line every now and again... if it does, i'll never know, cuz i didn't know who was saying things in the first place.

yay!

today was a good day.

lots of things happened.

woke up. office hour. played guitar.
office hours > met jeff at starbucks. saw kevin and jake and bumped into chris p. hung out with jeff for a bit, went to visit chris at his new place... it's sweet. went back to school, ordered a calzone (eggplant parm) was on call. did rounds. played super smash bros. went to bed. zzzzzz

1984

i've never been a huge fan of books with futuristic totalitarian societies. maybe it's just me, but i've never been a huge fan of establishments and structures. but anywho, there's this book by h.g. wells called 1984. it's a fantastic book. if you haven't read it, you absolutely should. but onto the actual topic on hand.

in the book, there's people called the thought police. they're basically government officials that make sure people are thinking what they're supposed to, and aren't thinking anything that's particularly antigovernment, or anti... anything. conformity is their sole desire.

if you haven't checked out the blog on evolution of security, i urge you to do so. it's a rather informative blog about our nation's transportation security, in public areas. but one paragraph on their website stood out to me as being rather like 1984:
"This is also a good example of using specially trained Behavior Detection Officers to look for people with hostile intent as well as the items they intend to use. It's a further testament that the behavior detection program works."
on the whole, i feel a little more safe concerning this... but i also feel disconcerted. maybe "big brother" is watching out for us, but maybe he has other plans. anyways, what are your thoughts?

red

so i got an email today saying that a package was in my mailbox. i was really excited, i bought shoes last week on converse.com and they're finally here. so i went and got them. i opened up the box. and i'm greeted with a familiar smell.

a smell from my childhood.


a smell that i remember, but i can't quite place.

what is that smell?

it's not new shoe smell.

they're new... but that's not the smell commonly associated with new shoes.

i finally figured it out.


BRUSSEL SPROUTS.


yep.

those tiny little delicious cabbages we all have come to know and love like the plague. i don't know about you, but i actually enjoy them. the only problem i have with them is their smell. anywho. that's what these shoes smell like. it's not terrible though. they're pretty awesome.

if you wanna check them out... look up "hundred layer chucks" on converse's website, under all the product red shoes. i'd give you a link, but the whole site is created in flash, so they're unable to direct link.

or you can arrange a viewing. i'm free on mondays wednesdays and fridays... along with most saturdays and sundays. also, tuesday and thursday between the hours of 11 and 2... and after 3:30.

but seriously. this is exciting news people.

birds

so there's this little birdie in my head that keeps telling me, "steven, i know you finished your paper, now you just need to print it out. it's due at 2pm today. do it. do it. do it. do it. do it. do it. do it."



so i shot it.

but then i felt bad, cuz i didn't actually kill it. i just wounded it enough for it to be annoying. so i stepped on it, crunch.

the end.