So yesterday I go to Ray’s and I walk up to him and I am greeted with,
“F^(K! all the days you decide to show up this week and it’s the one day I wanted to take off”
Heartwarming as always.
I gave him a hand with a couple things for about an hour and left to allow him to rest his ol’ ache joints. On my way home I came to a realization…
“IT’S WEDNESDAY! WEDNESDAY OF MY LAST WEEK IN LEETON! Oh crap…”
So I swung by the Fruit Shack to say bye to my pimp on my way home. Spoke to Michael for about an hour about various topics. Then the realization that he was losing his favorite hoe came to my pimp’s mind. And so, as the dam began to crack, my handler and I had a very emotionally driven, heartfelt and tear filled goodbye which consisted of:
“Well Edward, I gotta get back to work, see ya online and give ya a call next time I’m in California, good luck and safe travels, talk to ya later” (insert hand shake and walk away here)
So I got home and continued my battle on the area in front of “the Swamp”. Then I made dinner. Chicken fajitas! Grilled lemon-pepper coated chicken with a pinch of paprika mixed with tomato, green bell pepper, and onion. Yes ladies… I not only do yard work AND house work… I can cook. And if the fajitas where not quite enough… I mixed up some mojitos to go with them.
I feel my Latino heritage calling me!
On the topic of my heritage… so, those of you at home enjoyed the joyous wonder that are funnel cakes! (oh ya, and the rest of the stuff that goes on at the Strawberry Festival) a few days ago. Well… while you all recover from your strawberry hangovers today… I actually planted strawberries. I did find it slightly self racist how at one point during the planting process… I had the absolute biggest craving for a Romoe’s carne asada burrito with rice, beans, lime, and CILANTRO!!! Oh precious cilantro… how long has it been since I tasted your goodness. Yes, it is possible to get “Coriander” here, but I keep forgetting that is what white people (outside of CA) call it. And so, there was no cilantro on last night’s fajitas, NOR was there any on tonight’s Nachos that I made for dinner. Ryan… when I get home, you, me, Bix, #10, G, and anyone else, are TOTALLY going to Rosa’s Café on the mesa.
All in all… a good couple days if you take away the pain in my shoulder. Actually, if you took the pain in my shoulder away they would be great days.
Just a couple more days of work before I can rest my shoulder and relax it… but then again, I’ll probably hurt it surfing in Sydney.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Plato, Plutarch, and Paul
No, not the Apostle, or even the Beatle this time… Paul the guy I live with. But more on that to come…
My right Trapezius muscle hurts like one would not believe. I was going to go back to work for Ray today, but I suppose that is not going to happen after all. Perhaps tomorrow.
Today was a fairly wasted day in my opinion. Not being able to move as much as I’d like to. I finally asked Jan for some pain killer. After that, I was able to take a nap. After said nap, I managed to do some clearing in the kitchen in prep for cooking dinner tonight.
Post dinner, Paul logged onto Facebook and Jan gave him a tutorial. Then my blog was brought up, and I asked Jan what she thought of “A Whole New You”, her reply, “I gave up!” Paul was curious as to what was going on, and as I began to explain what the topic was about, Jan decided to cut in and explain it simply as, “he tried to baffle them with bulls#!t”.
So… what do Plato…
Plutarch…
And Paul…
…have in common?
Well… quite obviously… bitchin awesome beards to start with…
2ndly: Truly great philosophers.
You see… after Jan’s explanation, I continued to explain what my blog was about, and we began to talk about the Ship of Theseus Paradox.
Theseus was one of the early heroes of Athens who defeated the half-man/half-bull Minotaur of Crete.
After Theseus’s successful return to Athens, the Athenians kept his ship in the Athenian harbor as a memorial for many centuries.
“The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their place…”
The ship was used every year for the Festival of Apollo at Delos, and so, needed to maintain seaworthiness.
Here is what makes it a Paradox:
“As the wood of the ship wore out or rotted and was replaced, it was unclear to philosophers how much of the original ship was actually remained, giving rise to the philosophical question whether it should be considered “the same” ship or not. Such philosophical questions about the nature of identity are sometimes referred to as the Ship of Theseus Paradox.”
If one then was to take the wood taken away, and was to make a replica with the original timber over the years, which one would be the actual ship of Theseus? Would it be the one taken every year to the festival of Apollo? OR would it be the one re-assembled with the same wood that returned from Crete with Theseus?
So as I was talking about how yesterday’s blog of “A Whole New You” was in some ways a discussion on the Ship of Theseus. When I posed the question to Adam and Paul to see which they felt was the actual ship.
Paul’s response:
“If these boards had to be replaced because something was wrong with them and they were all furry and maggoty, and then you took all the boards and made a boat out of them… that thing must be quite a bucket of shit… so I think I’ll stick with the one with the new boards.”
I’m going to miss his wisdom on a regular basis.
My right Trapezius muscle hurts like one would not believe. I was going to go back to work for Ray today, but I suppose that is not going to happen after all. Perhaps tomorrow.
Today was a fairly wasted day in my opinion. Not being able to move as much as I’d like to. I finally asked Jan for some pain killer. After that, I was able to take a nap. After said nap, I managed to do some clearing in the kitchen in prep for cooking dinner tonight.
Post dinner, Paul logged onto Facebook and Jan gave him a tutorial. Then my blog was brought up, and I asked Jan what she thought of “A Whole New You”, her reply, “I gave up!” Paul was curious as to what was going on, and as I began to explain what the topic was about, Jan decided to cut in and explain it simply as, “he tried to baffle them with bulls#!t”.
So… what do Plato…
Plutarch…
And Paul…
…have in common?
Well… quite obviously… bitchin awesome beards to start with…
2ndly: Truly great philosophers.
You see… after Jan’s explanation, I continued to explain what my blog was about, and we began to talk about the Ship of Theseus Paradox.
Theseus was one of the early heroes of Athens who defeated the half-man/half-bull Minotaur of Crete.
After Theseus’s successful return to Athens, the Athenians kept his ship in the Athenian harbor as a memorial for many centuries.
“The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their place…”
The ship was used every year for the Festival of Apollo at Delos, and so, needed to maintain seaworthiness.
Here is what makes it a Paradox:
“As the wood of the ship wore out or rotted and was replaced, it was unclear to philosophers how much of the original ship was actually remained, giving rise to the philosophical question whether it should be considered “the same” ship or not. Such philosophical questions about the nature of identity are sometimes referred to as the Ship of Theseus Paradox.”
If one then was to take the wood taken away, and was to make a replica with the original timber over the years, which one would be the actual ship of Theseus? Would it be the one taken every year to the festival of Apollo? OR would it be the one re-assembled with the same wood that returned from Crete with Theseus?
So as I was talking about how yesterday’s blog of “A Whole New You” was in some ways a discussion on the Ship of Theseus. When I posed the question to Adam and Paul to see which they felt was the actual ship.
Paul’s response:
“If these boards had to be replaced because something was wrong with them and they were all furry and maggoty, and then you took all the boards and made a boat out of them… that thing must be quite a bucket of shit… so I think I’ll stick with the one with the new boards.”
I’m going to miss his wisdom on a regular basis.
Seoul 5,135 Mi.
Or 8,265 km for the rest of the world.
It is faily safe to say that M*A*S*H is Paul’s favorite tv show. The shipping containers were given the name “The Swamp” based on the tent that “Hawkeye” stayed in. Paul once made a reference to how he would like a post similar to the one outside “the Swamp” in the show outside our “the Swamp” in the back yard.
Being the creative person that I am, I considered how to get it done.
I happened upon this website:
http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm
Using it, I figured out the distance and direction to various places. For example, from the front door of my Aussie home to the front door of Home is 7,694 miles (12,383 km).
My research having been completed… yesterday (ANZAC Day) we began construction and painting of our own distance pole.
I somehow managed to mess up “London” 3 times. It turned out in the end. Today, the signs all being dry, we proceeded to attach the cities to the pole and conclude our project:
Also completed today was quite a bit of clearing of the area near “the Swamp”
Paul and I were not the only ones to accomplish something awesome today though.
The Mitchell family has a new addition to their collection of sheep:
Cute lil guy isn’t he.
And of course, where there is a new born there is placenta!
Of course I poked it.
On a much less gross note, I thought I would take this time to also display the size of ants here.
That is a “small” ant hill. This is a “small” ant:
I know I have nothing else in that shot to compare it to, but my camera was a good distance away, and I was not zoomed in at all. On the topic of my camera… I thought I would take an opportunity to use the panoramic setting and show you the rest of the herd.
And of course… my favorite of the bunch… Macca:
With all the talk of sheep, when Jan asked if I would cook dinner tonight, when I had to pull an Iron Chef like maneuver of taking stock of what was available, the immediate thing that came to mind was… Shepard Pie.
I’ve only had it once before, and have never made it, so it was a fun experience, also in the kitchen with me was my sous chef Adam taking up one of the last chances to cook together that we will have in a long time
A good day.
It is starting to dawn on all of us however that at this same time next week… I will be 448 km to the east.
It is faily safe to say that M*A*S*H is Paul’s favorite tv show. The shipping containers were given the name “The Swamp” based on the tent that “Hawkeye” stayed in. Paul once made a reference to how he would like a post similar to the one outside “the Swamp” in the show outside our “the Swamp” in the back yard.
Being the creative person that I am, I considered how to get it done.
I happened upon this website:
http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm
Using it, I figured out the distance and direction to various places. For example, from the front door of my Aussie home to the front door of Home is 7,694 miles (12,383 km).
My research having been completed… yesterday (ANZAC Day) we began construction and painting of our own distance pole.
I somehow managed to mess up “London” 3 times. It turned out in the end. Today, the signs all being dry, we proceeded to attach the cities to the pole and conclude our project:
Also completed today was quite a bit of clearing of the area near “the Swamp”
Paul and I were not the only ones to accomplish something awesome today though.
The Mitchell family has a new addition to their collection of sheep:
Cute lil guy isn’t he.
And of course, where there is a new born there is placenta!
Of course I poked it.
On a much less gross note, I thought I would take this time to also display the size of ants here.
That is a “small” ant hill. This is a “small” ant:
I know I have nothing else in that shot to compare it to, but my camera was a good distance away, and I was not zoomed in at all. On the topic of my camera… I thought I would take an opportunity to use the panoramic setting and show you the rest of the herd.
And of course… my favorite of the bunch… Macca:
With all the talk of sheep, when Jan asked if I would cook dinner tonight, when I had to pull an Iron Chef like maneuver of taking stock of what was available, the immediate thing that came to mind was… Shepard Pie.
I’ve only had it once before, and have never made it, so it was a fun experience, also in the kitchen with me was my sous chef Adam taking up one of the last chances to cook together that we will have in a long time
A good day.
It is starting to dawn on all of us however that at this same time next week… I will be 448 km to the east.
A Whole New You
Every seven years is a whole new you!
The Backgound:
Whenever I am working on something I tend to have my iTunes playlist on, being CDO (like OCD but in alphabetical order – the way it should be) like I am, I play my iTunes playlist in alphabetical order according to song. Today I was going through “E section” the “Elephant Love Medley” from the “Moulin Rouge” soundtrack started playing, which happens to be a favorite of mine. I posted a comment on Facebook about it, and several replied:
Yvonne kept bringing up whether or not I was in love, I brought up the fact that it is actually debatable if I am or not. Most of you consistent readers know I refer to “my own Dr. Cuddy” using the Dr. House analogy. So you would think that would mean I am right? Not exactly though… here is what I mean…
(Continuing on with the protection of identities, I will refer to the person in question as “Cuddy”.)
I have (off and on but fairly consistently) liked the same girl since the beginning of 7th grade. Nearly 12 years now. In that time I’ve like (to varying degrees) a number of other women, but always seemed to come back to Cuddy. Can’t say why I never actively went for her, no time ever seemed right I guess. Since college though, we of course have drifted apart, last time I could really truly consider her as one of those people I trust with everything was about when we were 20, nearly 21. Since then, truth be told, we have been fairly mediocre friends.
I have not actively pursued her nor do I plan to until attaining at MINIMUM the rank of E-5, and she has made it quite clear that she if perfectly ok with that and leaving our current status as “friends”.
The Debate:
So what part of this is a debate? 12 years of my 24 years so far I’ve liked one person, or have I? Have I really liked just ONE person? And what do I/we mean when I/refer to Edward?
The Science:
Every seven years is a brand new you! There is not one part in your body that is over seven years old. Or so the old saying goes. According to “MDinfo.com’s” answer to the question, “Does the human body regenerate every 7 years?” the given answer was:
“It is true that all cells in the human body are replaced over a period of roughly seven years (thecells in your bones take longest, some living for up to 10 years). It is perhaps misleading to say that your body “regenerates”, as it is not a whole process of actively renewing your body, but simply a result of the fact that every cell in your body has a limited lifespan and, when it dies, will be replaced.
This process of replacing cells, while remarkably complex and fascinating is not perfect. The replaced tissue damage (the rate at which cells need to be replaced) by such things as smoking, drinking, exposure to environmental pollution etc. all accelerate this process.”
Using this then for our basis, one can argue that…
From 0-7, 7-14, 14-21, 21-28, 28-35, so on and so on… are all different versions of you. I for example, being 24 years, 2 months, and 26 days old, am nearly at the half way point of Edward 4.0 and have had three previous Edwards.
Using this argument, allow me to present Josef Scheungraber:
Who is Josef? Well, Josef 12.0 is a 90 year old German man who has just been given a life sentence. Why?
Well, because Josef 4.0 was a Nazi officer in WWII who ordered the execution of 11 civilians.
But 1944 was EIGHT Josef’s ago?! He is a totally new person now then he was back then!
Even one of the witnesses at the trial talked about he would never go into details of what happened in Italy, but he seemed to speak with guilt.
Using Science then… It can be argued that just like Josef 12.0 did not order 10 murders and one attempted murder, this then can also be argued about whether or not I love:
You see, from 7th grade until 20 years old which is the height of my proximity to Cuddy, nearly all falls under Edward 3.0 just like if falls under Cuddy 3.0.
But I am Edward 4.0 right? Edward 4.0 has not had a lot of contact with Cuddy 4.0
That means that I am basing my opinion of Cuddy 4.0 on what I know of Cuddy 3.0. ALSO, is Cuddy 4.0 really refusing to give Edward 4.0 a chance? OR is she also refusing Edward 3.0 a chance which is affecting Edward 4.0?
I (Edward 4.0) honestly do not know what Cuddy 4.0 is like, so, do I really like her? Cuddy 4.0 does not know what Edward 4.0 is like (though thanks to this blog has a marked advantage) so, does she really not like Edward 4.0?
Or is she just like the jury who sentenced Josef 12.0 to a life sentence because of something Josef 4.0 did EIGHT Josefs ago?
Mental and Emotional Cycle:
There is OF COURSE a corollary. Not ALL brain tissue regenerates like the rest of the body does. Also, not ALL of your central nervous system goes through the tissue regeneration. Mentally then, your brain for the most part then IS the same that it was 7, 14, 21 years ago, at least in terms of tissue.
There is another argument that can be made by psychologist.
Rudolf Steiner the teacher of Anthroposophy, “The knowledge of the nature of man”, said that we as humans have a seven year cycle to our mental and emotional development. This is also where the “A child’s personality is established by the age of 5” thing comes into play. The Holy Roman Catholic Church says that if they can have the first seven years of a child’s life, that is all that they need to insure a lifelong influence.
Stage 7-14 is of course marked with physical and mental foundational growth.
Stage 14-21:
“The period is a time of adding maturity, dignity and poise to the person. If these changes have not occurred by twenty-one, then the person has in some way not covered necessary aspects of development, and both psychology and the law recognises that they are lacking maturity…
"…The emotional development at this age is possibly seen as initial uncertainty or clumsiness concerning emotional and sexual contact. It often involves desire to explore many relationships, unless there are forces of introversion or personal and social uncertainty at work. We are still finding out what our boundaries and needs are, and the sexual drive as at full flood.. Any partner we have at this time may be loved for ones own needs - rather than out of recognition of who the other person is. Great romantic feelings and spontaneous love which are often difficult to maintain in face of difficulties.”
To sum all of that up… usually Human 3.0 is an idiot. That though is what Edward 4.0 knows of Cuddy 4.0, what Cuddy 3.0 was. And VERY unfortunately, that is what Cuddy 4.0 knows about Edward 4.0, what Edward 3.0 was. We do have an agreement to see what the 29 year old version of ourselves are like if we are both still single. 29 will be the 2nd year of Edward and Cuddy 5.0.
According to this argument though, the terms “3.0”, “4.0”, and “5.0” do not refer to different people, but rather, different phase of the same person. As opposed to buying Office 98, 03, 05, XP, Vista, etc.; this is more like just downloading the updates and actually learning how to use the new features.
So what do I have to look forward to in the next three and a half years of development of Edward and Cuddy 4.0:
“The cycle that follows from twenty-one to twenty-eight, can more or less be called a process of enlargement and refinement. It is the period that we mentally and emotionally enter into adulthood. We start to build the foundations of our careers and intimate relationships with a driving energy that we hope will gain us entry and respect in the larger world.
“One of the most marked features is the developing sense of discrimination. The faculties of insight, intuition, judgement and understanding begin to come to the fore. The personality softens and begins to mellow. The sparks of interest that were awakened in the previous cycles begin to be developed along more definite lines. The abilities of the last cycle also flourish. The adult emotional age may begin to emerges if one has successfully grown through the previous levels. This shows as a growing sense of recognising needs of ones partner yet not denying ones own. It is followed by an ability to be something for the partners sake without losing ones own independence or will. One becomes more aware of the issues that colour or influence relationship, and meeting them in cooperation with others. Independence and connection can appear together instead of opposite ends of a spectrum. You move toward becoming caring sexual partners through discovering each others needs and vulnerability.
“In this period you will begin to confront the issue that you were either born with, or arose through the challenges and pains of your infancy and childhood. These usually show as the way you handle intimate relationships, whether you can really meet in partnership with the opposite sex, and how you respond to the external world, its challenges and opportunities.
“At this time what is revealed may not be addressed as a personal problem or issues to be healed or re-evaluated. They will be faced more directly later if they are not dealt with now.”
Lewisian Theology:
The above can also be grouped together with what one of my favorite theologians, C.S. Lewis once said,
“We don’t have a soul, we ARE a soul, we have a body”
This quote can be used with either of the above arguments to create its own that we do not change.
Either it is like a driver who drives various cars over a period of time and the driver’s technique stays the same but is adjusted only based on the model of car, for example, handles the new sports car different than the vintage muscle car different than the fried out combie.
OR
It is closer to the 2nd argument, where mentally and emotionally we are the same person who just has different stages, but we still don’t change, we simply develop different traits at different times.
In this case the use of the terms “3.0”, “4.0”, and “5.0” refers more to the stages of development of the exact same person rather than either a new person or phases of a person’s life.
By this argument, it does not matter what age Cuddy and I are in. I (as in the soul that lives in this physical body) like CUDDY (as in the soul that lives in her – beautiful may I add – body) and that does not actually change, nor does it change that she only likes me as a friend. By this argument, Edward 4.0 is an older, hopefully wiser, version of Edwards 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 as is the same with Cuddy 4.0.
Conclusion?
I suppose it comes down to “hard” science, “spiritual” science, and/or faith to determine if you are the same person that you where 7, 14, 21, or more years ago.
Being a person who follows Lewisian theology, I agree that our bodies are just vehicles for our soul. However, I also believe in psychology. Being one of the Christian’s that does not deny the amazingly great benefits that science can give us, I am also open to the suggestion that perhaps, we are different people as the years go by.
BUT!
I the writer would like to read what you the reader believes.
Are you one who follows the first argument and says that Cuddy 4.0 should give Edward 4.0 a chance and also allow Edward 4.0 to see if he shares the same taste as Edward 3.0 did or if the new version is different? After all, Edward 4.0 is a completely different and changed person from Edward 3.0.
Are you in the 2nd group who thinks perhaps waiting to see how the developments of Edward 4.0 and Cuddy 4.0 lead to the 5.0 phase of life. (For further reading on this group to see what is said about your and other phases see: http://www.dreamhawk.com/7.htm).
Are you and the father of Narnia in agreement that, “Well Edward, if you where a dick in High School, I’m pretty sure you are now, and always will be” and that if I liked her then, I theoretically still will now, and after becoming a Petty Officer I should stop this ridiculous wait for the right moment?
Or do you have a completely separate idea completely?
So… really, what do YOU think?
The Backgound:
Whenever I am working on something I tend to have my iTunes playlist on, being CDO (like OCD but in alphabetical order – the way it should be) like I am, I play my iTunes playlist in alphabetical order according to song. Today I was going through “E section” the “Elephant Love Medley” from the “Moulin Rouge” soundtrack started playing, which happens to be a favorite of mine. I posted a comment on Facebook about it, and several replied:
Yvonne kept bringing up whether or not I was in love, I brought up the fact that it is actually debatable if I am or not. Most of you consistent readers know I refer to “my own Dr. Cuddy” using the Dr. House analogy. So you would think that would mean I am right? Not exactly though… here is what I mean…
(Continuing on with the protection of identities, I will refer to the person in question as “Cuddy”.)
I have (off and on but fairly consistently) liked the same girl since the beginning of 7th grade. Nearly 12 years now. In that time I’ve like (to varying degrees) a number of other women, but always seemed to come back to Cuddy. Can’t say why I never actively went for her, no time ever seemed right I guess. Since college though, we of course have drifted apart, last time I could really truly consider her as one of those people I trust with everything was about when we were 20, nearly 21. Since then, truth be told, we have been fairly mediocre friends.
I have not actively pursued her nor do I plan to until attaining at MINIMUM the rank of E-5, and she has made it quite clear that she if perfectly ok with that and leaving our current status as “friends”.
The Debate:
So what part of this is a debate? 12 years of my 24 years so far I’ve liked one person, or have I? Have I really liked just ONE person? And what do I/we mean when I/refer to Edward?
The Science:
Every seven years is a brand new you! There is not one part in your body that is over seven years old. Or so the old saying goes. According to “MDinfo.com’s” answer to the question, “Does the human body regenerate every 7 years?” the given answer was:
“It is true that all cells in the human body are replaced over a period of roughly seven years (thecells in your bones take longest, some living for up to 10 years). It is perhaps misleading to say that your body “regenerates”, as it is not a whole process of actively renewing your body, but simply a result of the fact that every cell in your body has a limited lifespan and, when it dies, will be replaced.
This process of replacing cells, while remarkably complex and fascinating is not perfect. The replaced tissue damage (the rate at which cells need to be replaced) by such things as smoking, drinking, exposure to environmental pollution etc. all accelerate this process.”
Using this then for our basis, one can argue that…
From 0-7, 7-14, 14-21, 21-28, 28-35, so on and so on… are all different versions of you. I for example, being 24 years, 2 months, and 26 days old, am nearly at the half way point of Edward 4.0 and have had three previous Edwards.
Using this argument, allow me to present Josef Scheungraber:
Who is Josef? Well, Josef 12.0 is a 90 year old German man who has just been given a life sentence. Why?
Well, because Josef 4.0 was a Nazi officer in WWII who ordered the execution of 11 civilians.
But 1944 was EIGHT Josef’s ago?! He is a totally new person now then he was back then!
Even one of the witnesses at the trial talked about he would never go into details of what happened in Italy, but he seemed to speak with guilt.
Using Science then… It can be argued that just like Josef 12.0 did not order 10 murders and one attempted murder, this then can also be argued about whether or not I love:
You see, from 7th grade until 20 years old which is the height of my proximity to Cuddy, nearly all falls under Edward 3.0 just like if falls under Cuddy 3.0.
But I am Edward 4.0 right? Edward 4.0 has not had a lot of contact with Cuddy 4.0
That means that I am basing my opinion of Cuddy 4.0 on what I know of Cuddy 3.0. ALSO, is Cuddy 4.0 really refusing to give Edward 4.0 a chance? OR is she also refusing Edward 3.0 a chance which is affecting Edward 4.0?
I (Edward 4.0) honestly do not know what Cuddy 4.0 is like, so, do I really like her? Cuddy 4.0 does not know what Edward 4.0 is like (though thanks to this blog has a marked advantage) so, does she really not like Edward 4.0?
Or is she just like the jury who sentenced Josef 12.0 to a life sentence because of something Josef 4.0 did EIGHT Josefs ago?
Mental and Emotional Cycle:
There is OF COURSE a corollary. Not ALL brain tissue regenerates like the rest of the body does. Also, not ALL of your central nervous system goes through the tissue regeneration. Mentally then, your brain for the most part then IS the same that it was 7, 14, 21 years ago, at least in terms of tissue.
There is another argument that can be made by psychologist.
Rudolf Steiner the teacher of Anthroposophy, “The knowledge of the nature of man”, said that we as humans have a seven year cycle to our mental and emotional development. This is also where the “A child’s personality is established by the age of 5” thing comes into play. The Holy Roman Catholic Church says that if they can have the first seven years of a child’s life, that is all that they need to insure a lifelong influence.
Stage 7-14 is of course marked with physical and mental foundational growth.
Stage 14-21:
“The period is a time of adding maturity, dignity and poise to the person. If these changes have not occurred by twenty-one, then the person has in some way not covered necessary aspects of development, and both psychology and the law recognises that they are lacking maturity…
"…The emotional development at this age is possibly seen as initial uncertainty or clumsiness concerning emotional and sexual contact. It often involves desire to explore many relationships, unless there are forces of introversion or personal and social uncertainty at work. We are still finding out what our boundaries and needs are, and the sexual drive as at full flood.. Any partner we have at this time may be loved for ones own needs - rather than out of recognition of who the other person is. Great romantic feelings and spontaneous love which are often difficult to maintain in face of difficulties.”
To sum all of that up… usually Human 3.0 is an idiot. That though is what Edward 4.0 knows of Cuddy 4.0, what Cuddy 3.0 was. And VERY unfortunately, that is what Cuddy 4.0 knows about Edward 4.0, what Edward 3.0 was. We do have an agreement to see what the 29 year old version of ourselves are like if we are both still single. 29 will be the 2nd year of Edward and Cuddy 5.0.
According to this argument though, the terms “3.0”, “4.0”, and “5.0” do not refer to different people, but rather, different phase of the same person. As opposed to buying Office 98, 03, 05, XP, Vista, etc.; this is more like just downloading the updates and actually learning how to use the new features.
So what do I have to look forward to in the next three and a half years of development of Edward and Cuddy 4.0:
“The cycle that follows from twenty-one to twenty-eight, can more or less be called a process of enlargement and refinement. It is the period that we mentally and emotionally enter into adulthood. We start to build the foundations of our careers and intimate relationships with a driving energy that we hope will gain us entry and respect in the larger world.
“One of the most marked features is the developing sense of discrimination. The faculties of insight, intuition, judgement and understanding begin to come to the fore. The personality softens and begins to mellow. The sparks of interest that were awakened in the previous cycles begin to be developed along more definite lines. The abilities of the last cycle also flourish. The adult emotional age may begin to emerges if one has successfully grown through the previous levels. This shows as a growing sense of recognising needs of ones partner yet not denying ones own. It is followed by an ability to be something for the partners sake without losing ones own independence or will. One becomes more aware of the issues that colour or influence relationship, and meeting them in cooperation with others. Independence and connection can appear together instead of opposite ends of a spectrum. You move toward becoming caring sexual partners through discovering each others needs and vulnerability.
“In this period you will begin to confront the issue that you were either born with, or arose through the challenges and pains of your infancy and childhood. These usually show as the way you handle intimate relationships, whether you can really meet in partnership with the opposite sex, and how you respond to the external world, its challenges and opportunities.
“At this time what is revealed may not be addressed as a personal problem or issues to be healed or re-evaluated. They will be faced more directly later if they are not dealt with now.”
Lewisian Theology:
The above can also be grouped together with what one of my favorite theologians, C.S. Lewis once said,
“We don’t have a soul, we ARE a soul, we have a body”
This quote can be used with either of the above arguments to create its own that we do not change.
Either it is like a driver who drives various cars over a period of time and the driver’s technique stays the same but is adjusted only based on the model of car, for example, handles the new sports car different than the vintage muscle car different than the fried out combie.
OR
It is closer to the 2nd argument, where mentally and emotionally we are the same person who just has different stages, but we still don’t change, we simply develop different traits at different times.
In this case the use of the terms “3.0”, “4.0”, and “5.0” refers more to the stages of development of the exact same person rather than either a new person or phases of a person’s life.
By this argument, it does not matter what age Cuddy and I are in. I (as in the soul that lives in this physical body) like CUDDY (as in the soul that lives in her – beautiful may I add – body) and that does not actually change, nor does it change that she only likes me as a friend. By this argument, Edward 4.0 is an older, hopefully wiser, version of Edwards 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 as is the same with Cuddy 4.0.
Conclusion?
I suppose it comes down to “hard” science, “spiritual” science, and/or faith to determine if you are the same person that you where 7, 14, 21, or more years ago.
Being a person who follows Lewisian theology, I agree that our bodies are just vehicles for our soul. However, I also believe in psychology. Being one of the Christian’s that does not deny the amazingly great benefits that science can give us, I am also open to the suggestion that perhaps, we are different people as the years go by.
BUT!
I the writer would like to read what you the reader believes.
Are you one who follows the first argument and says that Cuddy 4.0 should give Edward 4.0 a chance and also allow Edward 4.0 to see if he shares the same taste as Edward 3.0 did or if the new version is different? After all, Edward 4.0 is a completely different and changed person from Edward 3.0.
Are you in the 2nd group who thinks perhaps waiting to see how the developments of Edward 4.0 and Cuddy 4.0 lead to the 5.0 phase of life. (For further reading on this group to see what is said about your and other phases see: http://www.dreamhawk.com/7.htm).
Are you and the father of Narnia in agreement that, “Well Edward, if you where a dick in High School, I’m pretty sure you are now, and always will be” and that if I liked her then, I theoretically still will now, and after becoming a Petty Officer I should stop this ridiculous wait for the right moment?
Or do you have a completely separate idea completely?
So… really, what do YOU think?
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Lest Aussies Forget…
… Like American’s have.
Today is ANZAC day. What is ANZAC day? Well, “ANZAC” is Aussie, it stands for: Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Remember, unlike us, they are still part of the British Empire… OH… wait… I’m sorry… that is not politically correct… I mean… “Commonwealth of Nations”.
Australia Day, which was in January, was a celebration of the 7 states and territories being unified into one nation in 1901. On the 25th day of April, 1915, the fairly new nations of Australia and New Zealand, as part of allied assault, where led to a slaughter by the Turks on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The campaign was a brutal blood bath of a failure. The true tragedy is not that they were defeated by the Turks; they were defeated by their own commanders (bloody Red Coats). It was a slaughter that with better planning could have been avoided. So why celebrate it?
For this reason: it was the first time both these nations appeared on an international stage and declared, “we are here… and we are willing to kick your arse!”
ANZAC day, though originally in memorial of the specific battle of Gallipoli, has grown to include celebrating and giving tribute to the memory of ALL of Australia and New Zealand’s fallen heroes.
To try to make a comparison of the magnitude of today for a Yankee…
Picture in your mind… a day in which we not only celebrated the War of 1812 (which was arguably our first appearance to the world in such a manner after the revolution); but also a day which combined Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, and to some degree Pearl Harbor Day.
That’s right, I mentioned the War of 1812, how many of you know what that was about?
I mentioned Memorial Day… how many of you can tell me why we have chosen the last Monday of May for that?
I mentioned Veteran’s day… anyone know why 11 November is important to Veterans? Or was that date randomly chosen because it fit well in between Halloween and Thanksgiving?
How many people without thinking of a Michael Bay movie with Ben Affleck can tell me what day Pearl Harbor was bombed?
ANZAC day is not just a meaningless memorial on the Australian calendar. There where celebrations in towns all across the country today where they remembered those who fell in service of their country. One thing I’ve noticed in my time here, is that just about every town no matter how big or small, at the very center has a memorial/monument dedicated to the ANZACs of WWI, WWII, and the conflicts that followed.
My brother-in-law just got back from Iraq, and I have a few of you friends there or in Afghanistan right now. I know you are there, I pray for you. I either want you to be home, or I want to be with you in the gulf. Mainly though, I want you home. But, above that, I want you to successfully do your duty to country. That is why I am proud and honored to call you friends.
It pisses me off how little we as a nation look back on our own military heroes. We are the World Leaders. Do you realize that? Think about it for a second. WE pay for most of the United Nations budget. WE are a member of nearly every treaty organization. And WE police the world.
For those of you who disagree with us doing this… It is the way it is. We are the ones with the POWER to do something, and as Edmund Burke said, “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do NOTHING”. So for my pacifist friends amongst you who bitch and moan… guess what, the same military that you criticize… is the EXACT SAME military that allows you the first amendment right to criticize. Therefore I will not tell you to shut up since I will soon be enlisting to defend your right to say whatever you want, but out of professional courtesy, I ask that you give some thought to your words.
I think the old World War II era poster is quite applicable to today’s Media:
I agree, we should not be the school yard bully that pushes the little guy around, I think we should be the guy who hangs out with the little guy to make sure the other bullies don’t push him around.
I am not Australian, I am a proud American, but… in our gang of friends who helps us look out for the little guys on the playground… besides the ol’ Empire we sprung from of course… Australia is by far one of (if not our best) Allie not simply from WWI and WWII, not simply during the “police action” in Korea, or the “conflict” to block the spread of communism in Vietnam… but also! In our current War on Terror.
Regardless of the situation, we in America could ALWAYS count on the ANZACs to have our back in a pub brawl. They always have been, and I very much hope always WILL be in our corner.
We in the United States of America, owe a great deal to our younger sister in the south, the Commonwealth of Australia.
So, although I plan to enlist into the same Navy that gave the Red Coats a beating in the end of the 18th century… I am more than happy to salute the men who have lost their lives in Her Majesty’s Service as part of the former British Empire’s Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.; Royal Australian and New Zealand Air Force; and of course, Royal Australian and New Zealand Navys.
Happy ANZAC Day Mates!
Today is ANZAC day. What is ANZAC day? Well, “ANZAC” is Aussie, it stands for: Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Remember, unlike us, they are still part of the British Empire… OH… wait… I’m sorry… that is not politically correct… I mean… “Commonwealth of Nations”.
Australia Day, which was in January, was a celebration of the 7 states and territories being unified into one nation in 1901. On the 25th day of April, 1915, the fairly new nations of Australia and New Zealand, as part of allied assault, where led to a slaughter by the Turks on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The campaign was a brutal blood bath of a failure. The true tragedy is not that they were defeated by the Turks; they were defeated by their own commanders (bloody Red Coats). It was a slaughter that with better planning could have been avoided. So why celebrate it?
For this reason: it was the first time both these nations appeared on an international stage and declared, “we are here… and we are willing to kick your arse!”
ANZAC day, though originally in memorial of the specific battle of Gallipoli, has grown to include celebrating and giving tribute to the memory of ALL of Australia and New Zealand’s fallen heroes.
To try to make a comparison of the magnitude of today for a Yankee…
Picture in your mind… a day in which we not only celebrated the War of 1812 (which was arguably our first appearance to the world in such a manner after the revolution); but also a day which combined Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, and to some degree Pearl Harbor Day.
That’s right, I mentioned the War of 1812, how many of you know what that was about?
I mentioned Memorial Day… how many of you can tell me why we have chosen the last Monday of May for that?
I mentioned Veteran’s day… anyone know why 11 November is important to Veterans? Or was that date randomly chosen because it fit well in between Halloween and Thanksgiving?
How many people without thinking of a Michael Bay movie with Ben Affleck can tell me what day Pearl Harbor was bombed?
ANZAC day is not just a meaningless memorial on the Australian calendar. There where celebrations in towns all across the country today where they remembered those who fell in service of their country. One thing I’ve noticed in my time here, is that just about every town no matter how big or small, at the very center has a memorial/monument dedicated to the ANZACs of WWI, WWII, and the conflicts that followed.
My brother-in-law just got back from Iraq, and I have a few of you friends there or in Afghanistan right now. I know you are there, I pray for you. I either want you to be home, or I want to be with you in the gulf. Mainly though, I want you home. But, above that, I want you to successfully do your duty to country. That is why I am proud and honored to call you friends.
It pisses me off how little we as a nation look back on our own military heroes. We are the World Leaders. Do you realize that? Think about it for a second. WE pay for most of the United Nations budget. WE are a member of nearly every treaty organization. And WE police the world.
For those of you who disagree with us doing this… It is the way it is. We are the ones with the POWER to do something, and as Edmund Burke said, “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do NOTHING”. So for my pacifist friends amongst you who bitch and moan… guess what, the same military that you criticize… is the EXACT SAME military that allows you the first amendment right to criticize. Therefore I will not tell you to shut up since I will soon be enlisting to defend your right to say whatever you want, but out of professional courtesy, I ask that you give some thought to your words.
I think the old World War II era poster is quite applicable to today’s Media:
I agree, we should not be the school yard bully that pushes the little guy around, I think we should be the guy who hangs out with the little guy to make sure the other bullies don’t push him around.
I am not Australian, I am a proud American, but… in our gang of friends who helps us look out for the little guys on the playground… besides the ol’ Empire we sprung from of course… Australia is by far one of (if not our best) Allie not simply from WWI and WWII, not simply during the “police action” in Korea, or the “conflict” to block the spread of communism in Vietnam… but also! In our current War on Terror.
Regardless of the situation, we in America could ALWAYS count on the ANZACs to have our back in a pub brawl. They always have been, and I very much hope always WILL be in our corner.
We in the United States of America, owe a great deal to our younger sister in the south, the Commonwealth of Australia.
So, although I plan to enlist into the same Navy that gave the Red Coats a beating in the end of the 18th century… I am more than happy to salute the men who have lost their lives in Her Majesty’s Service as part of the former British Empire’s Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.; Royal Australian and New Zealand Air Force; and of course, Royal Australian and New Zealand Navys.
Happy ANZAC Day Mates!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Fun in Finley!
I am staying with Kiger family as you all know. More specifically I am staying with Andrew’s Grandma’s family. Last time I was here with Andrew though we also visited his other family on his Grandpa’s side.
Well, with my time coming to a close, and not having had a chance to visit with them, I decided I should take a Saturday and go on a road trip out to see them.
Twas a nice stormy day. In between the showers, the drive was nice. I went around about way of getting to Finley and a long way back. The drive did kind of remind me of going to Bakersfield a little bit.
I got to the farm, said hello to Andrew’s Aunt and Uncle then walked across the road to the old farm house to have lunch with Andrew’s cousin Doug and his girlfriend. Talked for a bit about his move back home, his footy team, and my time in Australia. Then we went to the main house and spent some time with the rest of the family where I met one of Andrew’s cousins I didn’t get to meet last time in June 09.
Doug was off to his football game and a little while later I decided to make the drive home. At first it was a nice drive with beautiful contrasts in light.
Then I started driving into another patch of storm…
Note to self:
Scenic route on a dark stormy night = sucks
At one time I was driving 50km in a 100 km zone in the middle of the road alternating between high and low beams in order to see at what point I would steer off the road. The rain pounded as hard as the rain in the Tropical Depression I had been through in Miami. The first time I had driven with only being able to see about 5 meters in front of me.
It thankfully did not last long, but it was quite an experience while it did. I made it home safely and enjoyed the rest of the evening with the family in Leeton.
All in all, a long but good day.
But also, another day in Australia gone to the calendar. Yes, I still have a bit over 2 weeks in Sydney before I leave, but as beautiful and great of a city as it is…
…It is not the same without (adopted) family there.
Well, with my time coming to a close, and not having had a chance to visit with them, I decided I should take a Saturday and go on a road trip out to see them.
Twas a nice stormy day. In between the showers, the drive was nice. I went around about way of getting to Finley and a long way back. The drive did kind of remind me of going to Bakersfield a little bit.
I got to the farm, said hello to Andrew’s Aunt and Uncle then walked across the road to the old farm house to have lunch with Andrew’s cousin Doug and his girlfriend. Talked for a bit about his move back home, his footy team, and my time in Australia. Then we went to the main house and spent some time with the rest of the family where I met one of Andrew’s cousins I didn’t get to meet last time in June 09.
Doug was off to his football game and a little while later I decided to make the drive home. At first it was a nice drive with beautiful contrasts in light.
Then I started driving into another patch of storm…
Note to self:
Scenic route on a dark stormy night = sucks
At one time I was driving 50km in a 100 km zone in the middle of the road alternating between high and low beams in order to see at what point I would steer off the road. The rain pounded as hard as the rain in the Tropical Depression I had been through in Miami. The first time I had driven with only being able to see about 5 meters in front of me.
It thankfully did not last long, but it was quite an experience while it did. I made it home safely and enjoyed the rest of the evening with the family in Leeton.
All in all, a long but good day.
But also, another day in Australia gone to the calendar. Yes, I still have a bit over 2 weeks in Sydney before I leave, but as beautiful and great of a city as it is…
…It is not the same without (adopted) family there.
Friday, April 23, 2010
2nd to Last Leeton Week
Most of this week I have spent doing projects at home.
I did not want to fully give up on Objective 5 of Operation Nova Aquila. I have earned enough money working with Ray to get me by for the remainder of my time in Australia, so I decided I could afford to spend some time at home and try to accomplish as much as possible.
I cut off quite a few branches of a tree in the back yard which covered an area that Paul wanted cleared. It is amazing how just bringing light to an area can take away how overwhelming something can be. Having cleared the brush, there was not a whole lot that actually had to be moved.
I added to Paul’s burn pile and tied up Macca to various spots to “do some weeding”.
I re-organized both refrigerators and a good portion of the pantry.
I finally finished cutting through a log that I said I would cut through when I first got here.
I nearly filled the box for winter time fire wood.
Twas a good week overall. Except that the spazaming muscle in my back is still hurting at night and keeps me up. Other than that though, I do feel quite accomplished this past week on Objective 5.
One more week to go!
I did not want to fully give up on Objective 5 of Operation Nova Aquila. I have earned enough money working with Ray to get me by for the remainder of my time in Australia, so I decided I could afford to spend some time at home and try to accomplish as much as possible.
I cut off quite a few branches of a tree in the back yard which covered an area that Paul wanted cleared. It is amazing how just bringing light to an area can take away how overwhelming something can be. Having cleared the brush, there was not a whole lot that actually had to be moved.
I added to Paul’s burn pile and tied up Macca to various spots to “do some weeding”.
I re-organized both refrigerators and a good portion of the pantry.
I finally finished cutting through a log that I said I would cut through when I first got here.
I nearly filled the box for winter time fire wood.
Twas a good week overall. Except that the spazaming muscle in my back is still hurting at night and keeps me up. Other than that though, I do feel quite accomplished this past week on Objective 5.
One more week to go!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Always Something New
A day I have never expected has come…
I made friends with a shoop. Edward… a what?!
A shoop.
Ya, you heard me (read technically). It is a new word I am trying to coin, it is the singular for “sheep”. That rant to come another day.
Anyway…
A while ago the family got 4 new sheep, for some reason though, I kept calling them goats the first few days they were here, and I wanted nothing to do with them (big surprise right). Then, the other day I was working around the house, and I decided to do “some weeding”, in other words, I got one of the shoop on a leash (they are very quite behaved) and tied him up next where I was working.
The band “Cake” does a song called “Sheep go to Heaven, Goats go to Hell”. This is of course in reference to Christ being the good Shepard yada yada yada.
I thought about how often I kept calling Macca a goat, and how often other people where calling the new 4 sheep goats. Then I realized something…
“How many people do I know consider me a goat instead of sheep?” I am of course referring to the song by Cake.
I know of at least one teacher from VCA who publicly criticizes me as a goat. Who else do “true born again ‘sheep’” criticize to be “goats”? Rev. Jerry Falwell was quoted in saying that Mother Teresa was not a true Christian. Why is that Jerry? Because she didn’t have her own TV show or a multi-million dollar non-profit organization like you did or like Joel Osteen does today?
Walking back and forth past “Macca the Shoop” who is often accidentally called “Macca the Goat” I realized the pain of being judged by others into being called something that I am not.
I am not the best example of a faithful shoop of the Good Shepard as was displayed during my “Seven Deadly Sins” series. The fact that I consider myself a Non-Denomination and jokingly call myself a “Roman Protestant” which throws off many people must also add to the bias and stereotype that perhaps I’ll be standing on the left of the Good Shepard and not the right during the judgment.
Not only the thought of how Christians judge other Christians in general bothered me, more personally however, what side of the Shepard must my “Dr. Cuddy” think that I will be standing on? I have given her plenty of reasons to think it will be on the left.
So, having considered my own segregation from some of the more judgmental amongst “my own kind”, something happened that I never foresaw happening.
I made friends with a shoop.
I feel bad about accidentally calling Macca a goat so many times.
“Do onto others, as you would have them do onto you”
-The Golden Rule
I made friends with a shoop. Edward… a what?!
A shoop.
Ya, you heard me (read technically). It is a new word I am trying to coin, it is the singular for “sheep”. That rant to come another day.
Anyway…
A while ago the family got 4 new sheep, for some reason though, I kept calling them goats the first few days they were here, and I wanted nothing to do with them (big surprise right). Then, the other day I was working around the house, and I decided to do “some weeding”, in other words, I got one of the shoop on a leash (they are very quite behaved) and tied him up next where I was working.
The band “Cake” does a song called “Sheep go to Heaven, Goats go to Hell”. This is of course in reference to Christ being the good Shepard yada yada yada.
I thought about how often I kept calling Macca a goat, and how often other people where calling the new 4 sheep goats. Then I realized something…
“How many people do I know consider me a goat instead of sheep?” I am of course referring to the song by Cake.
I know of at least one teacher from VCA who publicly criticizes me as a goat. Who else do “true born again ‘sheep’” criticize to be “goats”? Rev. Jerry Falwell was quoted in saying that Mother Teresa was not a true Christian. Why is that Jerry? Because she didn’t have her own TV show or a multi-million dollar non-profit organization like you did or like Joel Osteen does today?
Walking back and forth past “Macca the Shoop” who is often accidentally called “Macca the Goat” I realized the pain of being judged by others into being called something that I am not.
I am not the best example of a faithful shoop of the Good Shepard as was displayed during my “Seven Deadly Sins” series. The fact that I consider myself a Non-Denomination and jokingly call myself a “Roman Protestant” which throws off many people must also add to the bias and stereotype that perhaps I’ll be standing on the left of the Good Shepard and not the right during the judgment.
Not only the thought of how Christians judge other Christians in general bothered me, more personally however, what side of the Shepard must my “Dr. Cuddy” think that I will be standing on? I have given her plenty of reasons to think it will be on the left.
So, having considered my own segregation from some of the more judgmental amongst “my own kind”, something happened that I never foresaw happening.
I made friends with a shoop.
I feel bad about accidentally calling Macca a goat so many times.
“Do onto others, as you would have them do onto you”
-The Golden Rule
Monday, April 19, 2010
Hair & House
I was recently messaging back and forth with a friend from High School. A few different things where mentioned. One thing that came up is the changes I am currently undergoing and the means of the changes.
In a way, it can be comparable to this last season of House. I’m going though all my old characteristics and deciding which to keep and which ones I could probably do without. What I should add, and what is probably best not to.
Of course, I am still waiting for Cuddy to give me a proper opportunity to show that I am a different person than she probably thinks I am or remembers me as. She is a fair person for the most part, which is one thing I like about her, but is also rather stubborn, which is one thing I like about her. It is however rather frustrating.
Along the topic of frustrating… my hair…
I have Asiany hair. Which I suppose would be alright if I was in fact Asian. The closest thing to Asian in my blood would be when the Indians crossed over the land bridge from Russia into the Americas, and when the Mongols settled in Hungary.
Big frustration #1 (besides dealing with Cuddy of course):
Don’t know what to do with my hair. It is short, therefore there is little that I see can be done with it. The frontrunner in this decision is a hybrid between how Val and I had our hair in Jr. High / a semi-fohawk / how Joey had it in season 4 and 6 of ‘Friends’. I’ve experimented with it a couple of times, there is a problem however, which leads us to…
Big frustration #2:
My goatee or lack thereof. I will go back to blaming the Indian blood (feather, not dot) on this one. The fact that it takes forever to grow was quite a plus in a High School where we had to stay clean shaved. Now that I am actually testing various looks though… it is a bit vexing to have the whole “Cantinflas” look going on. For all you white people… picture the reverse of the “Hitler/Charlie Chaplin” look. Thankfully it is not to the extent that I make it sound, it is just about a centimeter, but still… looks funny.
These two attempts at a look combined on top of my excellent tan… well… I’m afraid I too closely resemble a gay Mexican like I should be whispering to dogs (speaking of, I’m glad to know one of my old friends from HS has moved back to SM).
Ashley C… I’m totally going to see you when I get back for some help in the decision making process. Just, nothing to weird like one of those pansy-ass emos in one of the bands you like. Daniel, I might also get you to play an advisery role in my quest for a new wardrobe to fit my thinner size when I return.
If there is one thing I remember from the BSA Scoutmaster Woodbadge Course it is this:
“Change happens!”
Whether we like it or not, might as well go with it.
In a way, it can be comparable to this last season of House. I’m going though all my old characteristics and deciding which to keep and which ones I could probably do without. What I should add, and what is probably best not to.
Of course, I am still waiting for Cuddy to give me a proper opportunity to show that I am a different person than she probably thinks I am or remembers me as. She is a fair person for the most part, which is one thing I like about her, but is also rather stubborn, which is one thing I like about her. It is however rather frustrating.
Along the topic of frustrating… my hair…
I have Asiany hair. Which I suppose would be alright if I was in fact Asian. The closest thing to Asian in my blood would be when the Indians crossed over the land bridge from Russia into the Americas, and when the Mongols settled in Hungary.
Big frustration #1 (besides dealing with Cuddy of course):
Don’t know what to do with my hair. It is short, therefore there is little that I see can be done with it. The frontrunner in this decision is a hybrid between how Val and I had our hair in Jr. High / a semi-fohawk / how Joey had it in season 4 and 6 of ‘Friends’. I’ve experimented with it a couple of times, there is a problem however, which leads us to…
Big frustration #2:
My goatee or lack thereof. I will go back to blaming the Indian blood (feather, not dot) on this one. The fact that it takes forever to grow was quite a plus in a High School where we had to stay clean shaved. Now that I am actually testing various looks though… it is a bit vexing to have the whole “Cantinflas” look going on. For all you white people… picture the reverse of the “Hitler/Charlie Chaplin” look. Thankfully it is not to the extent that I make it sound, it is just about a centimeter, but still… looks funny.
These two attempts at a look combined on top of my excellent tan… well… I’m afraid I too closely resemble a gay Mexican like I should be whispering to dogs (speaking of, I’m glad to know one of my old friends from HS has moved back to SM).
Ashley C… I’m totally going to see you when I get back for some help in the decision making process. Just, nothing to weird like one of those pansy-ass emos in one of the bands you like. Daniel, I might also get you to play an advisery role in my quest for a new wardrobe to fit my thinner size when I return.
If there is one thing I remember from the BSA Scoutmaster Woodbadge Course it is this:
“Change happens!”
Whether we like it or not, might as well go with it.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
101
No, I’m not just going to start numbering my blogs, I have way to much creativity than to do that.
Paul and I just watched Sideways, and I thought it was rather fitting that as I write my 101st blog, my beloved Fwy 101 is on my mind.
As the song says:
“We’ve been on the run
Driving in the sun
Looking out for number 1
California here we come
Right back where we started from
Hustlers grab your guns
Your shadow weighs a ton
Driving down the 101
California here we come
Right back where we started from”
Watching a movie almost completely filmed an hour from my house… sigh… Val, Phil, and I had our last meal together at the ihop a few booths down from the one shown in the movie while we waited for the shuttle to LAX.
And on the topic of Phil, I had to laugh when I heard Paul Giamatti praising the Hitching Post II
Why? Well, Papa Phil has worked at the ORIGINAL Hitching Post for like ever. So, Phil is a bit of a purist and thinks that HP2 is just a filthy wanna be. Though convenience to the Freeway is in favor of HP2, I would still take the small town feel and cooking of HP1 over them any day (that I could actually afford it)
I am not as homesick though as one might think. In fact, it is a weird balance right now. On the one hand, I know that within two weeks I will be back in a city that is near the ocean. On the other…
A couple days ago I was working at Ray’s and I heard sirens. It was weird. In that moment, I realized… I cannot remember the last time I’d heard a siren of any sort. I mean I see the ambu all over town, I occasionally see the fire department, and every once and awhile I see a cop. I have yet to hear a siren here.
I thought that was interesting… a bit of a contrast from being caught in the middle of a high speed chase on the way to the beach with Andrew.
Where ever I am in the world, no matter how far, the Central Coast will always be home.
Paul and I just watched Sideways, and I thought it was rather fitting that as I write my 101st blog, my beloved Fwy 101 is on my mind.
As the song says:
“We’ve been on the run
Driving in the sun
Looking out for number 1
California here we come
Right back where we started from
Hustlers grab your guns
Your shadow weighs a ton
Driving down the 101
California here we come
Right back where we started from”
Watching a movie almost completely filmed an hour from my house… sigh… Val, Phil, and I had our last meal together at the ihop a few booths down from the one shown in the movie while we waited for the shuttle to LAX.
And on the topic of Phil, I had to laugh when I heard Paul Giamatti praising the Hitching Post II
Why? Well, Papa Phil has worked at the ORIGINAL Hitching Post for like ever. So, Phil is a bit of a purist and thinks that HP2 is just a filthy wanna be. Though convenience to the Freeway is in favor of HP2, I would still take the small town feel and cooking of HP1 over them any day (that I could actually afford it)
I am not as homesick though as one might think. In fact, it is a weird balance right now. On the one hand, I know that within two weeks I will be back in a city that is near the ocean. On the other…
A couple days ago I was working at Ray’s and I heard sirens. It was weird. In that moment, I realized… I cannot remember the last time I’d heard a siren of any sort. I mean I see the ambu all over town, I occasionally see the fire department, and every once and awhile I see a cop. I have yet to hear a siren here.
I thought that was interesting… a bit of a contrast from being caught in the middle of a high speed chase on the way to the beach with Andrew.
Where ever I am in the world, no matter how far, the Central Coast will always be home.
Friday, April 16, 2010
C is for Centum
No, not like the vitamin company...
Centum, as in the Roman name for "100"
100 is:
…the basis of of percentages (literally “per hundred”)
…the boiling temperature of pure water at sea level on the Celsius scale
…the atomic number of Fermium
…the number of years in a century
…the number of tiles in a standard Scrabble set
…the largest U.S. bill in print
…the number of blogs that I have typed
99 of them being related to or during my time here in Australia, and the premier being on Honduran Independence day.
If my blog where Popes, this one would be Valentine who succeded Pope Eugene II in August of AD 827.
If it were a TV series it would be viable for syndication (the 100th episode of a prime time TV show usually occurs in its 5th season)
Anyway, thank you to all my readers who make me feel loved by taking an interest in my life, thoughts, and adventures. I hope I can keep coming up with new and clever ways of keeping you all entertained.
Centum, as in the Roman name for "100"
100 is:
…the basis of of percentages (literally “per hundred”)
…the boiling temperature of pure water at sea level on the Celsius scale
…the atomic number of Fermium
…the number of years in a century
…the number of tiles in a standard Scrabble set
…the largest U.S. bill in print
…the number of blogs that I have typed
99 of them being related to or during my time here in Australia, and the premier being on Honduran Independence day.
If my blog where Popes, this one would be Valentine who succeded Pope Eugene II in August of AD 827.
If it were a TV series it would be viable for syndication (the 100th episode of a prime time TV show usually occurs in its 5th season)
Anyway, thank you to all my readers who make me feel loved by taking an interest in my life, thoughts, and adventures. I hope I can keep coming up with new and clever ways of keeping you all entertained.
Orion ol’ buddy!
I looked up in the sky… and there you where!!!
When I posted that last blog about goodbye, it was pre-daylight savings switch over AND I was thinking like a Northern Hemisphere person. We enter the summer up there, they are going into Winter! The sun goes down sooner! This is the latest that I can remember seeing Orion in the year.
I know, weird thing to get excited over, but, not only am I into Astronomy, I am also a fan of Greco-Roman world mythology.
Ok… moving on…
So, I did some price checking, and here is the deal:
I have 2 weeks left in Leeton, then 2 weeks in Sydney before my return to California.
Here are the details:
Aussie Wine $20 a bottle
Stuffed Koala approx. 5 inches (with or without a boomerang) $7
Stuffed Kangaroo taller than the koala (baby in pouch with a boomerang) $10
Aussie flag (full size) $6
2 Aussie flags (car window hang size) $4
Anyone who wants any of the above mentioned things… well, get the amount to my Madre, my sister, Greg Phillips, Mom Liz from camp, or Val/Phil whichever one you have access to. Make sure they have the money by the 25th of April, and send me a message on Facebook or email telling me which one.
If you want something other than those things (shot glass, t-shirt, boomerang) you'll have to get in touch with me quick and let me know what so I can find it and price it.
IF it is a wine that you want, let me know your taste, and I will do my best to match it (yes, it means me doing field research in the winery tasting room… I’m VERY willing to do).
Keep in mind, I have to pack all of this in a sea bag with my own stuff, so, first 10 wine requests win.
It will be fun to look at the custom officer as he sees my army of Koalas.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Aries
The Ram.
20 March – 20 April.
The very first of the Zodiac signs. Arians like to be first.
A few famous Arians (as in born in the sign of Aries, not Nazis) born on this day are:
Abigail Breslin (14) – that one girl that is in EVERYthing now-a-days
The very beautiful very lovely Sarah Michelle Gellar (33)
…and “Raymond’s older brother” is 50
But really, I don’t care about famous actors/singers and all that jazz to much... unless we are talking about Shakira of course!
(do you blame me?)
No, who I do care about are the actors in the Epic series that is… my life.
One cast member who has had FAR too few appearances and is MUCH too much a side character at this time, and someone who I would love to spend some more time with in the future is Elyse AKA “Creeper” to her fellow rugby girls. Since I cannot be in California for your party this weekend though, have a shot (or 2 or 3) for me.
Another Arian whose entrance into the world I also celebrate today is one of my favorite girls who went to VCA. She is on the short list of women who could distract me from my primary target (only other women on that list are Shakira, Giada di Laurentis, my High School Geometry Teacher, and a friend’s cousin in LA). Ashley May :) I don’t even know where to begin with trying to describe her, so I won’t even try. She is just amazing and I miss her terribly.
Someone else that I miss is my Step-Grandpa Gerry. He was one of my heroes’ hero. He was a wise man with little to say, which, actually said a lot about his wisdom. As Mark Twain once said, “better to keep quiet and have people think you a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
By far though… the birthday that holds the most weight in my life on April 14th is, my Father. What would I be without my Father? Obviously I wouldn’t actually exist. Beyond that though, many psychologist believe a person’s personality to be formed by the age of 5. My Father died when I was almost 6. That means, if he had to go while I was young… at least it was after that 5 year mark.
I love Dave my stepdad, do not get me wrong, but I must admit… I do sometimes wonder how different my life might be had my Father not died when he did…
What if he was still alive now, what kind of relationship would we have?
Hmmm… perhaps…
Whatever it might have been, I know what it is now. A lot of my personality traits are derived from him. After 18 years and an indepth series of conversations with my sister… I have finally moved past mourning his death day, and really celebrating his Birthday.
Life is beautiful, and I am thankful for all the people that God has put in mine, today especially, I’m happy for the above mentioned four.
Happy Birthday.
Amendment 17 Apr 10:
I forgot that the 14th is also Dave's sister's birthday, so, throw my Step-Aunt Carol on the list also
Nomenclature
From the Latin. Nomen: “Name” and Calare: “Call”.
“What is in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet”
-Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)
Shakespeare… I like you and all, even though you were not who you said you where (if you are like me, you believe it was Duke Edward – but I’m bias) but in this one scenario… a bit of a dumbass thing to say.
A LOT! Is in a name.
A name says where you come from.
In Roman times, one had three names. A given one, to show individuality; a clan name, to show your group of families; and a last name, a family based name to show your ancestry. For example, had I been born in the Empire, my name might have been:
Antony Hispanus Belium.
Antony the Romanized form of my given name Anthony. Hispanus was the Romanized term for “Spaniard”. “-ium” was the term for “town”, just like anything ending in “-ton” is the shortened form of English “towns”.
See, right there, says what my parents taste was, the fact that I not only come from the Northern most part of the Empire near the border with Scotland, but also have Spanish ancestry.
On the topic of the Spanish. They gave people two last names. Why? To show a person’s pedigree. A person receives one of their Father’s last names and one of their Mother’s last name to then create a new last name combo. The trend was to pick the last name with the most weight, the most authority and money behind it.
By that definition, my mother and I got gypt on our last name. Instead of Belton Jessell, I should rather instead be Belton Andino given that I am related to the President of Honduras during WWII by the name of Carias Andino.
Those are last names. Those are planned, given to an extent in that there is a choice, but still fairly planned.
Given names give some insight into what our parents were thinking.
“Edward Anthony”
Edward: originally from the old English. It means either, “Wealthy Guard” or “Guardian of Prosperity”.
Anthony: the Anglo version of the old Roman family name Antonius which means “Worthy of Praise”
Combined, my name means:
“Guardian of prosperity who is worthy of praise”
Anyone dare called me “Ed” or “Eddie” infront of my Father, and they would IMMEDIATELY be corrected…
“I did NOT name him that, I named him Edward!”
I share a name with some of England’s most successful Kings. I also share a name with twenty saints and twenty blesseds (almost saints) of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.
For a couple years after my Father died people still did not call me anything but Edward.
We had a friend of the family however named “Ed”. He was the Baloo to my Mowgli after my Father died...
I loved hanging out with Ed like you wouldn’t believe. During parties when I would be with him, I started introducing myself as Ed also when hanging out with him. Sooner or later, all my parent’s friends started calling me Ed and my parents started to. Which was alright at the time, why? Because it was in reference to Baloo of course :)
Then, right about Jr. High… I remembered my Father and his ways. It no longer was ok to go by Ed or Eddie. After all, that is NOT what my Father put on my birth certificate.
One day when I was with a group of friends, something in me just snapped, and I said, “you know what… if you guys are so friggin lazy that you can’t say my full name! FINE! Just shorten it all the way… just call me ‘E’ if you want!”
And they did…
FML
It was not so bad after all, most all of you who knew me in my High School years call me “E” for that reason. There was neither a stereotype nor a standard for me to live up to. So I went with it.
When I got to Hancock however, it was MUCH easier to get the professors there to call me the true and proper name.
SO!
For clarification:
The name of preference is “Edward”
Also acceptable that I answer to are “Anthony” and “E”. Yes, I really do answer to “Anthony”. I answer to “Eduardo” but, I much prefer it to be accompanied by “Antonio” to complete the Spanish/Italian influence in my name, “Eduardo Antonio”.
I will sometimes during a Covert Opp go by "Tony", so if I ever say "introduce me as Tony" (or something like that) that means I have some plan up my sleeve so just go with it (wink wink nudge nudge).
So why all this talk about my proper name?
Well, details are to come next time as to why… but it was a topic on my mind today.
To quote the band Everclear in their song “Father of Mine”
“…my daddy gave me a name…”
“What is in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet”
-Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)
Shakespeare… I like you and all, even though you were not who you said you where (if you are like me, you believe it was Duke Edward – but I’m bias) but in this one scenario… a bit of a dumbass thing to say.
A LOT! Is in a name.
A name says where you come from.
In Roman times, one had three names. A given one, to show individuality; a clan name, to show your group of families; and a last name, a family based name to show your ancestry. For example, had I been born in the Empire, my name might have been:
Antony Hispanus Belium.
Antony the Romanized form of my given name Anthony. Hispanus was the Romanized term for “Spaniard”. “-ium” was the term for “town”, just like anything ending in “-ton” is the shortened form of English “towns”.
See, right there, says what my parents taste was, the fact that I not only come from the Northern most part of the Empire near the border with Scotland, but also have Spanish ancestry.
On the topic of the Spanish. They gave people two last names. Why? To show a person’s pedigree. A person receives one of their Father’s last names and one of their Mother’s last name to then create a new last name combo. The trend was to pick the last name with the most weight, the most authority and money behind it.
By that definition, my mother and I got gypt on our last name. Instead of Belton Jessell, I should rather instead be Belton Andino given that I am related to the President of Honduras during WWII by the name of Carias Andino.
Those are last names. Those are planned, given to an extent in that there is a choice, but still fairly planned.
Given names give some insight into what our parents were thinking.
“Edward Anthony”
Edward: originally from the old English. It means either, “Wealthy Guard” or “Guardian of Prosperity”.
Anthony: the Anglo version of the old Roman family name Antonius which means “Worthy of Praise”
Combined, my name means:
“Guardian of prosperity who is worthy of praise”
Anyone dare called me “Ed” or “Eddie” infront of my Father, and they would IMMEDIATELY be corrected…
“I did NOT name him that, I named him Edward!”
I share a name with some of England’s most successful Kings. I also share a name with twenty saints and twenty blesseds (almost saints) of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.
For a couple years after my Father died people still did not call me anything but Edward.
We had a friend of the family however named “Ed”. He was the Baloo to my Mowgli after my Father died...
I loved hanging out with Ed like you wouldn’t believe. During parties when I would be with him, I started introducing myself as Ed also when hanging out with him. Sooner or later, all my parent’s friends started calling me Ed and my parents started to. Which was alright at the time, why? Because it was in reference to Baloo of course :)
Then, right about Jr. High… I remembered my Father and his ways. It no longer was ok to go by Ed or Eddie. After all, that is NOT what my Father put on my birth certificate.
One day when I was with a group of friends, something in me just snapped, and I said, “you know what… if you guys are so friggin lazy that you can’t say my full name! FINE! Just shorten it all the way… just call me ‘E’ if you want!”
And they did…
FML
It was not so bad after all, most all of you who knew me in my High School years call me “E” for that reason. There was neither a stereotype nor a standard for me to live up to. So I went with it.
When I got to Hancock however, it was MUCH easier to get the professors there to call me the true and proper name.
SO!
For clarification:
The name of preference is “Edward”
Also acceptable that I answer to are “Anthony” and “E”. Yes, I really do answer to “Anthony”. I answer to “Eduardo” but, I much prefer it to be accompanied by “Antonio” to complete the Spanish/Italian influence in my name, “Eduardo Antonio”.
I will sometimes during a Covert Opp go by "Tony", so if I ever say "introduce me as Tony" (or something like that) that means I have some plan up my sleeve so just go with it (wink wink nudge nudge).
So why all this talk about my proper name?
Well, details are to come next time as to why… but it was a topic on my mind today.
To quote the band Everclear in their song “Father of Mine”
“…my daddy gave me a name…”
Monday, April 12, 2010
Wilson
The title of episode 10 of season 6 of House MD. The episode is uniquely centered on Wilson instead of House. In fact, House’s team is barely shown, including House himself. Sure, he ends up still being right in the end, but Wilson is the focal point in this one. You only see House’s patient once.
A bit of a shame really since the whole overweight Mexican screaming out slurs in spanglish ended up having a whole bunch of excess gasses in his system due to a popcorn diet where he ate 10 bags of popcorn a day but that’s all.
I digress.
Also while watching this episode last night, I was reading some of my friends blogs, after all… why expect all of you to read this, and yet I not read any others. So, went through my facebook list, and found any blog links I could. If anyone else has one but not posted on their facebook, send me the link.
Digression #2.
Ok, so, one of my friend’s blogs had a mention to having “guest writers”
Well, from May 4th – 11th I will be away from my computer. My first of two weeks in Sydney before my return to California, I will be conducting a social experiment. Details I will not go into now, but I will write a full series of the results when I am done. Part of the experiment will involve how long can I stay away from Internet WHILE being in civilization and have access to it.
So, I say all this to say… from May 4th – 11th, Andrew will actually be writing my blog instead of me.
Oh, and Andrew, if you are reading this… well, now you know what that favor I was going to ask you about is :)
A bit of a shame really since the whole overweight Mexican screaming out slurs in spanglish ended up having a whole bunch of excess gasses in his system due to a popcorn diet where he ate 10 bags of popcorn a day but that’s all.
I digress.
Also while watching this episode last night, I was reading some of my friends blogs, after all… why expect all of you to read this, and yet I not read any others. So, went through my facebook list, and found any blog links I could. If anyone else has one but not posted on their facebook, send me the link.
Digression #2.
Ok, so, one of my friend’s blogs had a mention to having “guest writers”
Well, from May 4th – 11th I will be away from my computer. My first of two weeks in Sydney before my return to California, I will be conducting a social experiment. Details I will not go into now, but I will write a full series of the results when I am done. Part of the experiment will involve how long can I stay away from Internet WHILE being in civilization and have access to it.
So, I say all this to say… from May 4th – 11th, Andrew will actually be writing my blog instead of me.
Oh, and Andrew, if you are reading this… well, now you know what that favor I was going to ask you about is :)
Weeds…
What fun. Tis what I got to battle against all day Friday. Not weeds in the “Grandma in the backyard” sense of the word, no no no… this is much more like trail blazing. I was armed with a hatchet in order to fully wipe out any bush that was not a cherry tree.
Friday evening, I felt like I usually do just before getting sick.
Saturday I get to the farm, and as I am putting on my boots, Ray comes over. Do I get an “g’day” or a “bon giornno” no… instead…
“You look like shit”
“thanks Ray, is it the lack of a shower with the bed head, or the poor half-ass attempt at a goatee?”
“naw… THAT looks ‘shitty’. YOU look like shit. There is a difference. You sick?”
“I might be getting there.”
“hell… go home and rest… I need you healthy so I can work you to death on Monday”
“Righto, fair enough. You sure”
“ya ya, I’ve been doin this for 50 years before you came along remember”
“ok, well, I’ll finish that row and go home”
And so… I finished that row, and went home, then slept, slept for a very long time.
Then slept Sunday. Oh ya… twas good. Very good.
Last night I worked out for the first time in awhile, I mean, I exercise while working, but that is slightly different.
36 sit ups, considering I cannot remember the last time that I did a sit up, I think that is not too bad of a start. Though I felt like I was going to die last night, this morning on the other hand… I could conquer France by myself. Yes, I know, it is only France, but hey, even Hitler had an army when he did it.
Friday evening, I felt like I usually do just before getting sick.
Saturday I get to the farm, and as I am putting on my boots, Ray comes over. Do I get an “g’day” or a “bon giornno” no… instead…
“You look like shit”
“thanks Ray, is it the lack of a shower with the bed head, or the poor half-ass attempt at a goatee?”
“naw… THAT looks ‘shitty’. YOU look like shit. There is a difference. You sick?”
“I might be getting there.”
“hell… go home and rest… I need you healthy so I can work you to death on Monday”
“Righto, fair enough. You sure”
“ya ya, I’ve been doin this for 50 years before you came along remember”
“ok, well, I’ll finish that row and go home”
And so… I finished that row, and went home, then slept, slept for a very long time.
Then slept Sunday. Oh ya… twas good. Very good.
Last night I worked out for the first time in awhile, I mean, I exercise while working, but that is slightly different.
36 sit ups, considering I cannot remember the last time that I did a sit up, I think that is not too bad of a start. Though I felt like I was going to die last night, this morning on the other hand… I could conquer France by myself. Yes, I know, it is only France, but hey, even Hitler had an army when he did it.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
CASTITAS
Chastity.
“Abstaining from sexual conduct according to one’s state in life; the practice of Courtly love and romantic friendship. Cleanliness through cultivated good health and hygiene, and maintained by refraining from intoxicants. To be honest with oneself, one’s family, one’s friends, and to all of humanity. Embracing of moral wholesomeness and achieving purity of thought through education and betterment. The ability to refrain from being distracted and influenced by hostility, temptation or corruption.
1. The condition or quality of being pure or chaste.
2. Abstention from sexual intercourse; virginity or celibacy.”
Right off the bat, not even going to hide it… I don’t feel I have any right to talk about this Virtue to be perfectly honest.
Along the lines of honesty… I don’t even know who to talk about.
I suppose I could make a shout out to those in my graduating class who got married… THEN popped out a kid (in a non-shotgun wedding sense)
Val, Jessica, Nancy, Hannah, Nic, and Wes.
Aside from their order of marriage and kids though, I can’t really say much else about them, because that would be infringing on their Chuppah (more on that to come). There is however one girl I know from a drama class that I took who has given her word of purity and swears that she has never even been kissed. THAT is will power. Rachel, you amaze me in this sense.
Contrary to popular belief, Christians are NOT against sex. God created sex. He also put certain rules that go with it. The reason marriage is so important in sex is that, when you have sex with someone, your souls merge together.
C.S. Lewis once said, “We don’t have a soul, we have a BODY, we ARE a soul”.
Think about it then, if what you are is a soul, and your body nothing more than a housing for that soul, and every time your body has intercourse with someone and your souls merge, that really means… YOU merge with that person. Jewish custom says that until someone is married, they are only half a person.
There is not much that I can say upon this topic that I don’t think Pastor Rob Bell has not covered in significant detail in his book, “Sex God”.
It has become one of my favorite books, in it you will learn what the Chuppah is all of you Goyim :)
There is so much I would love to say on this topic, I just really do not know how at this point in time.
I will say this much when it comes to myself:
#1 I am only like St. Paul in that I think myself the chief amongst sinners.
#2 I think a Jewish wedding would be awesome to have. Not just for the fun that goes into it, but also for the symbolism between it and the Bible and how our relationship to God can be displayed in the relationship between the bride and groom.
#3 Unlike certain friends… I am not going to do seminary (or at least not getting ordained) until I am married. Which… does create a bit of catch 22 in the sense that my primary target… kinda sorta has a thing about being a Pastors wife. Which makes it interesting since I don’t want to be a Navy Chaplain until after marriage. Sigh… FML.
#4 I sincerely hope that the Cuddy to my House (or whoever I end up with in the end) can focus on my present and future views on Chastity and not those of the past.
I do feel a tad bit like St. Augustine of Hippo however…
Friday, April 9, 2010
HUMILITAS
Humility.
“Modest behavior, selflessness, and the giving of respect. The courage of the heart necessary to undertake tasks which are difficult, tedious or unglamorous, and to graciously accept the sacrifices involved. Reverence for those who have wisdom and those who selflessly teach in love. Giving credit where credit is due; not unfairly glorifying one’s own self. Being faithful to promiss, no matter how big or small they may be. Refraining from despair and the ability to confront fear and uncertainty, or intimidation.
1. The state or quality of being humble
2. A disposition to be humble; a lack of false pride.”
Yesterday I left off with First Christian Church’s former Children’s Director Christie, today I’d like to start with her former 2nd in command Michele. Arguably every military wife can fall under this category. “The courage of the heart necessary to undertake tasks which are difficult.” Some of you might think to yourself, “ya, stationed in Hawaii… REAL hard life”. It is actually. Moving around, needing to re-root your family.
It takes a special type of woman to be a military wife. It also takes a special type of woman to be a military Mom. Throw being an active scout Mom on top of that, and it is a bit to handle.
That though is what one of my favorite Scout Adviser’s does. Mom McC as I call her is by far, a poster woman for being Humble. This is a person who drives a four our round trip multiple times in one weekend for not only her own sons, but her sons’ friends also. She is VERY “faithful to promises, no matter how big or small they may be”. Though a great Adviser herself, she is constantly praising other Advisers for their service, “Modest behavior, selflessness, and the giving of respect. Giving credit where credit is due; not unfairly glorifying one’s own self.”
Without Mom McC, I could not have been half the Lodge Chief that I was,Mom McC has ZERO problems being a stage hand in the theater of life, she is one of the main people who allows limelighters like myself to take center stage in the theater of life. Although lead actors take center stage, they really can only be as effective as their supporting actors, like Charlie has Alan (Two and a Half Men) and House has Wilson, so… I have Andrew.
Andrew has been my primary (non-turtle) partner in crime since December of 2003. In the last 6 and a half years I have witnessed him display every definition of humility more times than I have the time or energy to list here. I will however give you two fairly recent examples. The above picture when Andrew and I came to Australia together in June of 09 and him and his aunt went to visit his ancestors. It was a touching moment that I felt blessed to witness. Also, just a week or so ago, Andrew sacrificed his Spring Break to go on a short term Mission trip to the Crow Indian reservation in South Dakota. Most people I know, would not have done that on their college spring break. I personally… without a doubt… if I was going to school in Missiouri, would be headed down to Florida for Spring Break, certainly not South Dakota. He went though, cause he is different than me. “The state or quality of being humble”.
This is something I struggle with EVERY day. It is one of the three Heavenly Virtues I have the most trouble with. It is even harder when I have a friend like Andrew who enables me :) Actually, truth is, it is hard to be humble when you have a friend like Andrew, because how are you going to out humble that? He already has an upper hand in this, he is a middle child and I am an only child, totally unfair advantage. The fact that I view it as a competition I guess just shows how much work in humility I truly need. I am not the only one however, a large portion of the population could take some lessons from Michele, Mom McC, and Andrew.
Just like Andrew can quote Dr. Wilson’s comments about House toward me… I can do the opposite…
Dr. House (to a patient): “This buddy of mine, I gotta give him ten bucks every time somebody says ‘Thank you’. Imagine that… This guy’s so good (so nice), people THANK him… for telling them that they’re dying… I don’t get thanked that often”
Thursday, April 8, 2010
PATIENTIA
Patience.
“Forbearance and endurance through moderation. Resolving conflicts and injustice peacefully, as opposed to resorting to violence. The ability to forgive; to show mercy to sinners. Not killing or being violent in any way to any life form or sentient being; to practice vegetarianism and consistent life ethic. Creating a sense of peaceful stability and community, rather than engendering suffering, hostility and antagonism.
1. The capacity, quality, or fact of being patient.
2. Tolerant and even-tempered perseverance.
3. The capacity for calmly enduring pain, trying situations, etc.”
Patience, the Heavenly Virtue to counter act the Deadly Sin of Wrath. Needless to say… this is one of three Virtues I have a hard time with. It causes me to worry how good of a Chaplain I will be.
Two groups of people I know that are blessed with this Virtue are Teachers and Nurses. I am just in utter amazement at how they can do their jobs. I use to deal with Cub and Boy Scouts, and was amazing as a counselor, but part of that was I teach a segment, then move on to another group, then move on to another group, and if one group still needed help, I would send a subordinate to help them out. Unlike a teacher, I could not be in a class room full of whiney lil assholes day in and day out listening to all their pithy comments and such. I am honestly afraid I would go postal. Kids always asking for help all the time, needing to think about so many multiple things at once. Honestly teachers! What is your secret!? How do you do it?! I sit back and watch in amazement like it is some sort of superpower!
Nurses are the other group that completely amazes me. They put up with so much shit (figuratively and literally) from ego driven doctors who “practice” medicine and play God. They put up with the patients they serve. Out of all of God’s creations… I vote that Teachers and Nurses are by far the most patient of them all. In just about every sense of the definition. Take the blood factor out of it. And never mind the crazy amount of schooling it takes to get to that point. PLUS all the different drugs you have to know, and the fact that you have deal with needles and worry about the stress of contamination... Forget all that other crap... JUST the human contact part of the job alone would probably have me quit in my first week. I love people, I want to be a philanthropist... but whiny complaining people just piss me off, I don't see how any of you can manage to deal with it either.
Patience, or the lack there of, I think is the greatest challenge to me becoming a sniper. Certainly not an eye thing or the morality debate between loss of life. Nope… Patience. That would be the main thing keeping two of the other turtles from being snipers. Not Luke though. Luke has the ability to “resolve conflicts and injustice peacefully, as opposed to resorting to violence. The ability to forgive.” In this sense, Luke is the best of us.
But just as good as my friend Luke is at “creating a sense of peaceful stability and community”; my friend Ryan is probably just as equal in this Virtue.
Ryan is one of my Santa Barbarian friends from scouts to all you Civies in Santa Maria. Me and him went on the Indiana and Iowa trip together (yes, the one with the corn). He was a Chapter Chief and a Committee Chairman while I was Lodge Chief, but even more important, he was in my inner circle. He was one of the guys whose opinion I listened to more than others. Whenever I wanted to go into a situation guns blazing, he was usually there at my side with “tolerant and even tempered perseverance” to help keep me in check.
I think though, the people with the most amount of Patience by far… Mothers. Maybe not all of them, but certainly a vast majority. One mother that I know that stands above others, not just because of the great Patience she has with her own children, but also with how she deals with other children and volunteers (who can act like children). Christie, the Children’s Director at Element Christian Church was the one keeping tabs on me when I use to teach Sunday School. Sunday after Sunday, I would watch her be called in twenty different directions at once and still be able to keep up with all of it. “Forebearance and endurance through moderation.” When it came to her staff of volunteers, no matter how frustrated we might have gotten her, she never really showed it… “Not killing or being violent in any way to any life form or sentient being…” Then there was the hands on work with the children themselves… “the capacity for calmly enduring pain, trying situations.”
Christie, for years now, has been an amazing example of Patience, and Charity, to me. As seen above, dealing with other people’s kids does not get in the way of taking the time to listen to her own read. I don’t know if I will ever have that degree of Patience, I would like to. I have gotten better than I was, but there is always room for improvement. Teachers, Nurses, Luke & Ryan, and Christie, though not perfect have their flaws in other areas, are great role models when it comes to suppressing wrath and treating people (especially idiots) with the kindness and compassion which they “deserve”.
For those of you however who confuse Meekness with Weakness… consider this:
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong”
-Mohandas Gandhi
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
TEMPERANTIA
Temperance
“Restraint. Temperance. Justice. Constant mindfulness of others and one’s surroundings; practicing self-control, abstention, moderation and deferred gratification. Prudence to judge between actions with regard to appropriate actions at a given time. Proper moderation between self-interest, versus public-interest, and against the rights and needs of others.
Dictionary:
1. Moderation and self-restraint, as in behavior or expression.
2. Restraint in the use of or abstinence from alcoholic liquors.”
A Scout is…
*Trustworthy
*Loyal
*Helpful
*Friendly
*Courteous
*Obedient
*Thrifty
*Reverent
Eight out of the twelve points of the Scout Law are very applicable to this Virtue. Arguably all twelve points of the Scout Law apply to all Seven Heavenly Virtues, but these 8 I think are special to this 1, and it kind of shows in the four people I think best exemplifies this virtue.
That last part of the first definition, “Proper moderation between self-interest, versus public-interest, and against the rights and needs of others.” About 2 years ago I went on a short mission trip to Mexico with some of the youth group from First Christian Church Santa Maria. It can be a very long drive when it is in a school bus, it gets even longer once you are on the Mexican side of the border. It can be even worse driving into the sun with that giant windscreen if you are a white guy who burns easily. My and the Kiger’s friend Bill is just such an easily sun burned guy, yet he is also a very carrying person who happens to have a bus driver’s license. Bill is always willing to help others. Why? Because he loves doing it, it must be the Boy Scout in him. He is helpful, friendly, courteous; all of those are character traits found in someone who can control their tongue. “Moderation and self restraint”.
Along these same lines would have to be the Robin…
…to my Batman…
Matt was my Vice Lodge Chief when I was Lodge Chief in Scouting, my right hand man, and the 2nd in command of the Lodge. “Restraint. Temperance. Constant mindfulness of others and one’s surroundings…” Before a meeting, speech, or any other occasion really, I would usually turn to him and ask him the following question, “who am I going to piss off today if I say this?” Yes, it is true I had my Advisers to ask that question to, but it was a bit different when I asked Matt. He has “prudence to judge between actions with regard to appropriate actions at a given time.”
If Matt can best be described as my “Robin”, and if he has such ability with Temperance, I think he got it from our “Alfred”. Wayne is by far without a doubt one of my favorite and most trusted Advisers. I now realize that him keeping me from running through the corn prevented quite a bit of itchiness, chemical or no chemical. Wayne is the Adviser who taught me how to be a Chaplain (Sohaila, he is the one to thank, and you can hunt him down on my Facebook if you really want to let him know how good of a job he did). For those of you who think I make inappropriate jokes at awful times… you should have seen what I was like before spending so much time learning from Wayne.
Matt, Wayne and I have had quite a few adventures together, hence us being Batman, Robin, and Alfred :) Someone else I have spent quite a bit of time learning from in recent years though is outside of the “Gotham trio club” but is still a good Boy Scout (despite how many years it has been since earning his last merit badge).
As for as analogies go… with Jay I think I’ll have to switch over from the DC Universe to the Korean War. Jay is the “Col. Potter” to my “Hawkeye” (except I’m not as liberal as Hawkeye).
A bit of an easy comparison to make, not simply because of my humor and his wisdom (and humor) for example, something that Jay would say that Col Potter has said: “Never insult seven men when all you have is a six shooter”. But also because the majority of the time that I have spent with him has not been sitting around comfortably sipping coffee, it has been hard at work. You see… Jay was the chairman of the World Outreach Department for our church for a few years, and during his time in office, he led both the Thailand and Kenya trips that I went on (the highlight picture was taken on our Thailand trip - my room mate for the trip, Matt D., is on the Left). I have sat through meetings with Jay where I can’t help but look over and be like, “Chief!? How can you put up with this cowboy’s shit?!” he however gives everyone a chance to speak their mind for better or worse.
This could very well be classified under “Patience”, but it is much more than just how Patient he is. He allows “justice” to occur, he has “proper moderation between self-interest, versus public-interest”. The first time I read the definition of Temperance, Jay was the first person that came to my mind. I honestly wish that I was a better writer so that I could fully explain how many times I have witnessed him exemplify not only the twelve points of the Scout Law, but also the Virtue of Temperance. Maybe you will just have to go on a mission trip with him for yourself to see what I do in him.
Temperance... that whole self restraint, self control, abstention, moderation and deferred gratification. That is what keeps Batman from killing the Joker. That is what keeps him going out night after night to fight crime and evil. That is a tough one for me. Christ showed it while being tempted in the wilderness and while hanging on the cross. At any moment he could have called it off, but he didn't, he hung there sacrificing himself for us. Through the example of my 4 fellow Scout’s temperance… I see Christ.
Robin: “Self-control is sure tough sometimes Batman!”
Batman: “All virtues are. Indeed, that’s why they’re virtues.”
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