Can't you just leave bad enough alone?

First off, some geek innuendo.

Is it selfish to get angry when people come to me with inconsequential problems and whine about them to me? As much as I like helping people through their problems, and just talking about them, I can't help but get indignant sometimes when people think their problems are worse than mine. Of course, there's a period when you have the right to complain, but when you exaggerate your problems to get a rise out of me, that's not cool.

People seem to be pairing up all over. I've always loved when you see a couple and think "they are perfect for each other". Like the guy I know, where him and his girlfriend both have red hair and the same face shape. One look at them and you can basically say they're made for each other. Some might call it "cute", others call it fate. I call it human nature. We are attracted to comfort, and what could be more comforting than a partner who is our total double, both mentally and physically?

Sorry for the randomness. But really, who am I apologizing to? My blog, my topics.

Ups and Downs...

So this weekend was either really boring or really fun. Friday consisted of Wario Ware and general fun. Saturday we won our homecoming football game, tailgated, then just hung out again. Around midnight we became incredibly bored, and that just wouldn't do for homecoming weekend.

Our solution: get some food.

On the way the 5 of us lit some cheap cigars (not bad for $1 a piece; really strong but no aftertaste) Pizza was out because the pizza places close at midnight (stupid). After grabbing some drinks we went to McDonalds and made the following order:
10 Double Cheeseburgers
1 McChicken sandwich
20pc. chicken McNuggets
1 McValue fires
And some waters..... 5
This order took about 2 minutes to place between our snickers, giggles, and flat-out laughter. Five guys ordering a ton of McDonalds food at midnight from a minivan that reeks of smoke just screams "Stoners", so it wasn't the most serious conditions. Afterward we came back to watch Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. What better movie for the circumstances?

Today Lew and Solo came to church with me, which was pretty cool. Then I spent most of the day lounging around. The Fencing Club watched Princess Bride today, then I just got finished doing my homework 15 minutes ago. Procrastination, yeah!

i'm bored, you're boarding the 504 out of town
it's late, so look straight, don't pull your eyes off the ground
you sit and wait across the gate, the minutes stretch themselves so long
you'll never be my destiny, because my destination's wrong

right coast, left coast
drifting round and round
i'm lost, always, and i know i can't be found

who made these customs i can't seem to get past?
it's no use, since you've been born into a higher class
when i want you, and only you, somehow your baggage comes along
and it never stops, no, it never stops, until i'm back where i belong

right coast, wrong coast
drifting round and round
i'm lost, always, and i know i can't be found

you can't see me across this great divide
i'm lost, always, if i'm not right by your side

back where i belong
back where i belong

That's the way you find your love...

Nevermind what else happened today. Tonight we watched Garden State. It's been on my list to watch for a while, and I finally saw it. It was un-freaking-believable. Normally movies like that make me feel all depressed, but this one made me feel optimistic.

First I thought about how I just need to wait for my Natalie Portman to arrive. Then I remembered that Ozma wrote the song Natalie Portman, which I listened to immediately upon the movie finishing. This made me even more optimistic, because Ozma has to be one of the most genious bands ever. More so than Jimmy Eat World, the Foo Fighters, and all other bands combined (even the Beatles, there I said it). Melodic rock has never been so good, and emotion never so raw (eat your heart out, Chris Carrabba).

This is how it feels to be happy...

I finally feel at ease, i'm on an eastern breeze
It blows me into shore
Come back to kiss my dear, come back to face my fears
It can't be worse than war
Unless you say that you gave your heart away (gave your heart away)
Unless you say that i shouldn't have returned (shouldn't have returned)
And in that case... i'll go

Every night i see a shooting star and wonder if it's landing where you are
If you can see it then you can't be far
And if that's the way you do it, that's the way you find your love

Now the air is cold and thin, i'm on my second wind
It blows me to your door
Lean into the bell and press
You're in a brand new dress i've never seen before
But then you say that you gave your heart away (i gave my heart away)
And then you say that i shouldn't have returned (you shouldn't have returned)
So i turn my face... and go

Every time i take a look around, i find myself looking out
To a place that looks a lot more round
I find myself feeling down

Every night i see a shooting star and wonder if it's landing where you are
If you can see it then you can't be far
And if that's the way you do it, that's the way you find your love

I Love you all.

Sideways...

I finally watched Sideways yesterday. I enjoyed it. Kinda like High Fidelity, just with a little less humor and a lot more wine. I haven't quite absorbed it yet, since there were a lot of distractions. This is the kind of movie that will throw me back into a depressed mood, although coming off the tail end of one, I shouldn't need to worry.

I put some more pictures on my Flickr, you can check them out on the right side of the page.

Sorry for the short, pointless post.

The Living Sword...

From The Living Sword by Aldo Nadi:
"Judging by American screen plays and even some literature, one has the impression that no male over eighteen can walk the streets in daytime anywhere in the U.S. without risking to be attacked by nymphomaniacs. It is not so, however, to hear it told by young and not so young American men. They will tell you instead that the American female of the species is interested in only two things: money and/or marriage. Very seldom indeed do you hear men speak of spontaneous impulses on the part of attractive females, let alone passion. In fact, in twenty years in the U.S., the word itself had hardly ever reached my ears. Little wonder therefore that so many American women are not only frigid, but also look, in their actual unquestionable beauty, about as warm and vital as an indifferent piece of crystal. William Faulkner has called them "brainless and sexless," but I love Hemmingway's splendid portrait of them, "They are the hardest in the world: the hardest, the cruelest, the most predatory and the most attractive, and their men have softened or gone to pieces nervously as they have hardened." Although I should hope exceptions exist, I am certainly not going to argue with two Nobel Prize winner. And though I know little (?) about American women, I nevertheless will say that when a woman, and she does not have to be necessarily American, thinks with anything but her heart - as a woman she is greatly diminished.
"'To fear love is to fear life,' wrote Bertrand Russell, 'and those who fear life are three parts dead.' Also, 'The sexual freedom the artist needs is freedom to love, not the gross freedom to relieve the bodily need with some unknown woman; and freedom to love is what, above all, the conventional moralist will not concede.'
"Talk of women naturally brings me to talk of children. But insofar as the upbringing of American children and adolescents is concerned, I must forgo any comments, for I am afraid they would be uncommonly severe. In fact, for that purpose the rich English language would appear to me thoroughly inadequate. I shall limit myself in stating that whoever denies the full responsibility of cowardly, ignorant parents for acknowledged million (and actuall who knows how many more?) juvenile delinquents in our United States, must be either weak-minded or in complete bad faith."

Found that interesting, and I agree with some of it. I think the exceptions he talks about are actually pretty common, just not at the upper echelons of society. Are all women dead inside? Certainly not. Are some of them? Yes.

We played some two-hand touch football today, and it was a blast. I got leveled by Kuhko, who's about 50 pounds heavier than me. Then I smashed knees with Evan. I ended up with a nice bruise, plenty of scrapes, and a good story to tell. It'll be interesting to see how our season works out.

While working on a poster last weekend I found what very well may be the best wedding pictures ever, so I figured I'd share them with everyone. Check the last four pictures in this set.

My favorite, though is this one:

Half Right...

I'm really tired today. Of course, there's a reason for that. Yesterday I had a quick lesson on soldering, including some really tiny resistors, then that night the Mythbusters came for a talk, then we came back to the dorms for margaitas and watched Cheap Seats until 5AM. I skipped church (it was the worship format I don't like anyway) and just read a few chapters (from John and Ephesians). After lunch and a little bit of homework I went to fencing where I help Sean teach the class and then had a relatively long bout with Adam. Then it was dinner and laundry, and that pretty much brings us up to date.

I've been in one of those depressed moods lately. The more I think about things, the sadder I get. It'll pass in a week or so and probably come back in a couple months. It's not a great way to live, but I'm stuck with it. Things could always be the way I want them to be, or they can be interesting, and I think it's better that they're closer to the latter.

I've spent my last nights
Strung up and pulled tight,
Holding out, sleeping proud
An answer comes without a please
Do what you want.

I wonder why I'm so caught off guard
when we kiss
I'd rather live my life in regret
than do this
What happened to the love we both knew, we both chased?
Hanging on a cigarette
You need me
You'll burn me
You'll burn me

Hushed with a finger,
don't say you'll never when you might
Oh, just another time
This poison comes instruction free.
Do what you want
But I'm drinking

Right, right?
Better next time
Stay on my side tonight
ohhh ohh ohh (x20)

I wonder why I'm so caught off guard
when we kiss
I'd rather live my life in regret
than do this
What happened to the love we both knew, we both chased?
Hanging on a cigarette
You need me
You'll burn me
You'll burn me

What happened to the love we both knew, we both chased?
Hanging on a cigarette
You need me
You'll burn me
You'll burn me

Closer...

The weekend has come back, and I couldn't be happier. I'm finally starting to get homework, which I'm expecting will continue to increase throughout the semester. I am looking forward to my enterprise research, though. Call me a geek, but working on cutting edge technology is really cool. Making something work is a great feeling, that of being a creator.

I finally saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith tonight, and thoroughly enjoyed it. What other movies have so many double-meaning jokes, especially sexual innuendos? It kinda makes me want to become an assassin..

Everyday I get a little closer dear
Will you love me darling,
when I get there?
I'll need sunshine
I'll need rest
Pour us whiskey, water, kiss

Remember me?
She says my name...?
Write my name
Somewhere safe
Touch and taste
Fades with space
I'll never be
who you dream

Everyday I try a little harder dear
But those things you do
I don't want to hear
You'll have yours
I'll have mine
No one guilty
No one right

Disintegration...

I got the new Jimmy Eat World EP digitally the other day. It makes me so happy. You can listen to it on their MySpace page, and I'd recommend it to everyone.

I found Sideways and Garden State at Walmart for $19. Those are this weekend's movies, since both have come highly recommended by those who's taste in films I highly trust. Tomorrow (today), though, I'm going with a group to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith, since I was never able to go over the summer (I somehow missed out every time people went...).

I'm not exactly sure what I should say
Everything I do is a mistake
Your attention is attention
(It doesn't matter if it's fake or real)
I'll take it if I get it
Ohhhh
I've made up my mind
I'll do it over anytime

You're over it, over me
Present just physically
The last words from a dying scene
You're over me
(You're over me)

I really need to hear how great I am
'Cause I can't even get up out of bed
Now say it like you mean it
(It doesn't matter how it really feels)
Sing it back softly
Ohhhhh
You've got to be strong
And I've been empty oh so long

Houghton...

So, the weather here has been crazy. It was stupid hot. Now, after a good two days of rain it's back to a decent temperature. Things are seetling back down. I enjoy myself every day up here, unlike like this summer. There's almost always something to do, and when there isn't I can find something to occupy myself. By the time I'd get bored of something there's something else to do.

Am I perfectly content, though? No. I still miss some of the the storng christian relationships I had back in Midland, as well as everyone at Sunrise. I've learned to cope, but it would still be a welcome addition.

The time has come, the song is over,
Thought I'd something more to say.

Not another week...

Another relaxing day in a relaxing weekend, cut short by Monday.

Now, the pictures I promised...

Swimming in Lake Superior (it's been in the 80's, so it was nice to cool down... a lot):


The fire:


Sitting:


Courtney getting her legs buried by K-Way:


Renee's friend, REALLY buried:


Carrying our largest log to the lake:


Add some fire jumping and two random drunk guys and that's my weekend.

Saturday, in the park...

I had a good day today. I fenced pretty well, although I was reminded of my blatent lack of skill in foil. It's just another reason why I've switched to epee. Our beginner's class group has a good number of left-handers, which is good so we'll all be trained in fencing against lefties. Fencing makes me so happy, I just wish we had more time.

We saw The Longest Yard today, and I loved it. I wasn't sure how good it was going to be, since it seemed like just another remake movie this year, but it was really funny and $2 is a hard price to beat. Afterward, we went to the breakers to swim and have a fire. We had a good amount of people and this was some of the most fun I've had so far this year. I'll post some pictures eventually.

Someone else telling you what your living for
been knocking you down now your looking for more
The only sound you hear is a closing door
Been looking for peace but they're bringing you war

There's a time...

Pictures of our amazing refrigerator, as shown by Lackey.

Went to K-Day and had fun with everyone. Lots of inflated play things (although that sounds dirtier than it should), and tons of horrible bands.

Not much else at the moment.

T'was the night before Keg Day...

Things are going quite well on the home front.

Turns out the organizer for the Midland fencing tournament is an MTU alumni and they're looking forward to having us.

I'm getting to work on a cutting-edge wireless technology called Zigbee in my Enterprise. It's really cool working on a technology that has yet to hit store shelves.

I have tomorrow afternoon off for K-Day. It started as "Keg Day", but when the University officially recognized it as a vacation day, it got "renamed" as Kewenaw Day. We all know what it really is, though.

Relive the magic... bring the magic home

It turns out there's a fencing tournament in Midland the last weekend of October. No final word on if I'll be able to go, but assuming I can still register I'll be there. If I do go I'd love it if anyone in town could come watch.

I'm very out of it as far as my schedule goes. I went to the wrong room last friday, thought class was 10AM this morning instead of 11, then went to a lab I don't have this week. I'm still settling in that aspect, but aside from that, I've been getting right back into the dorm life. Today was a little busy, but I still found a little time for recreation. It'll take me a little more time to get my work ethic in place, though.

Over the summer I tried to convince people that the male:female ratio here at MTU wasn't really that bad as far as dating is concerned. I think I was really just trying to convince myself of that. The root of the problem: most girls have already had their time monopolized. I've seen my two female friends from last time for less than 5 minutes each. The only other girls I've even talked to for longer than that are the girls in my hall and one of my friend's girlfriends.

It might be a longer year than I thought...

Here we go now...

I've been relatively busy this weekend. Between fencing, movies, weightlifting, and everything else, I've been keeping busy. I found out that I've gained 5 pounds since I got here, probably because of overeating. Since things are starting back up I should get back to a healthy weight. I'm actually still 2 pounds lighter than last year, but I need less fat and more muscle, so I expect something between 130 and 135.

I've enjoyed spending time with the people in the hall. Unlike last year, we actually do things as a big group on a regular basis. As well, everyone is really willing to just hang out. It's nice to get out of the room.

Sunday I was reminded of something that God has been whispering to me for a few years now. I think I'm being called into some form of teaching ministry. I'm thinking it will be something like teaching classes or leading small groups, but I'm almost completely sure that part of what I'm being called to is seminary. I doubt I'm meant to become a pastor, but I know God wants me to spend an extended period simply studying His Word so He can use me to lead others closer to Him.

My first sign was that I have a knack for explaining things and teaching. I think the biggest call to me, though, came through Todd Harmon. I was always amazed by the connections he was able to find in God's Word. I felt something inside me say "you can do that too, just let Me teach you". I'm not sure how things are going to work, but that's not what I need to be concerned about. God will take care of things for me. My best guess, though, is that in the years after I graduate I will somehow acquire the theological training I need.

Let it ride.

Global Dominaiton

So I just played one of the greatest games of risk ever tonight. Strategies ranged from controlling australia and creating a war machine, sitting in Europe, to hiding, and it ended with a card set of 50 reinforcements. It took about 5 hours to complete, but that's the magic of Risk.

First week of classes are over, and I'm thinking there are going to be plenty of times where I'm busier than I like to be, but all-in-all I'm happy with my schedule. Being up here with my friends has been welcome, since there's always something to do. Even when I'm playing a computer game, I'm either playing with people from my hall or otherwise being social. Really, though, I've gotten out of my room a lot more this year. Movies, road-trips, or just chatting, it's been happening a lot more this year than even last year's end. Still need to get to the sauna though...

Meg got her license today (yesterday?) so she can now leave the house. If you know my family, that's a very good thing.

I noticed that I actually know a lot of girls up here, I just don't know many of them (two) very well. And, since I'm not very outgoing those that I don't know very well tend to get to know any of the plethora of other guys better, not me. The one thing I actually like about Midland, the friendly estrogen.

I finally saw Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy today, and it was worth the wait. Most of the things that I heard were problems with the movie didn't make the movie bad, they just kept it from being completely amazing.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Getting Hitched...

So MTU now sells Jones Soda. We're all stoked. For now it's $1 a bottle, so I'm going to grab a bunch tomorrow morning once they get their next shipment (they sold out last night) and use my dining money to buy them out.

Watched Hitch today, and I loved it. It was like a less cynical version of High Fidelity. Of course, I really shouldn't watch those melancholy movies like Hitch, High Fidelity, or American Beauty. They always throw me into a cycle of thinking about them too much and then applying them to my life, and since they're melancholy movies I get stuck in a pit of melancholy. Maybe it won't happen this time, but who knows...