The "Harmonica Man"(Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Top Ten Tuesdays
On a rotational basis and based purely on my own opinion, I shall start "Top 10 Tuesdays". I figure this will get me to post more regularly. Topics will vary depending on whatever I feel like at the moment.
Top Ten Things to do during Finals Week (if you're not a student)
1. Catch up on sleep
2. Read for pleasure
3. Take time to cook dinner
4. Have a cup of coffee or tea and listen to some music
5. Organize and clean... everything...
6. Skim through old journals and blogs
7. Go for a jog
8. Finally answer all those starred emails
9. Call folks and catch up
10. Pray for the students taking finals!
... and try not to rub in the students' faces that I don't have to take exams :)
Top Ten Things to do during Finals Week (if you're not a student)
1. Catch up on sleep
2. Read for pleasure
3. Take time to cook dinner
4. Have a cup of coffee or tea and listen to some music
5. Organize and clean... everything...
6. Skim through old journals and blogs
7. Go for a jog
8. Finally answer all those starred emails
9. Call folks and catch up
10. Pray for the students taking finals!
... and try not to rub in the students' faces that I don't have to take exams :)
Monday, April 18, 2011
story time!
a re-post from October 31, 2006 (from my old blog)
very short stories.
Hemingway once wrote a story in six words ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn") and is said to have called it his best work. Here are some stories from well-known authors across genres and mediums.
- taken from "Very Short Stories". Wired Magazine. Nov. 2006.
machine. Unexpectedly, I'd invented a time
-Alan Moore
Longed for him. Got him. Shit.
-Margaret Atwood
From torched skyscrapers, men grew wings.
-Gregory Maguire
Epitaph: Foolish humans, never escaped Earth.
- Vernor Vinge
IT'S BEHIND YOU! HURRY BEFORE IT
We went solar; the sun went nova.
- Ken MacLeod
To save human kind, he died again.
-Ben Bova
Lie detector eyeglasses perfected: Civilization collapses.
-Richard Powers
TIME MACHINE REACHES FUTURE!!! ... nobody there...
- Harry Harrison
Nothing I did. Was a gift.
-JY
You can only use six words.
Meaning, only six worded comments accepted.
Okay, maybe not only, but try.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
training
I just got back from another weekend "training" with the Marine Corps. Although at this point, the word "training" is a bit of a misnomer because "training" implies that there is a main event one is getting prepared for in advance. This may have been true for me about a few years ago, but alas, I am "checking out" - ending my stint in the Marine Corps in the next couple of months. So, any kind of opportunity where those skills gained during "training" can actually pay off is out of the picture.
I'll save you from the long back-story and boring details of how and why I got to this place where I'm at now with the Marines.
So just a little on what went down this weekend:
We did a demo range. We blew stuff up. Since I am 99% certain I will never work with demolitions again, I thought to myself, "What can I take away from this weekend?"
Really, it was the small things that I noted/were reinforced:
1. Getting one another's backs or looking out for your own is infinitely more important than gaining anything for yourself. Because if you look out for others - those "others" will look out for you. If you only look out only for yourself, you will find yourself all alone.
2. Brilliance in the basics - don't overlook the basic, small things - like hygiene and physical fitness. Just do them everyday and do them well - they're like long term investments. They pay off.
3. Just keep it real. Nobody likes a suck-up or a "motard".
4. Everyone's cold, everyone's miserable, everyone's tired, everyone's hungry. The one who can get past these givens and still charge on ahead will benefit from that experience. No matter what.
5. I will take someone who has initiative with poor judgment over a passive person any day. Any day.
6. Transformation is making progress.
There's a young Marine when he first came in was extremely shy and unsure of himself, I'll call him Steve. Steve kept to himself, rarely socialized and seemed really out of place. The rest of us worked hard at him, doing everything and anything to help him adjust to life as we knew it. A few years later, Steve's really coming out of his shell. He takes the initiative, is developing as a leader and is visibly more self-confident. He's always putting himself out there, failing many times, getting humiliated even - but he learns from his failures and mistakes and doesn't get down on himself. Though Steve is still a bit socially awkward, doesn't exude machismo and not who you'd deem the Marine Corps prototype - his teachability and genuine personality makes him one of the more loved Marines in our unit.
Some Marines try really hard at fitting into whatever they perceive is the Marine Corps mold. Who can blame 'em? Most are 18 year olds who haven't quite discovered themselves and are just trying to be accepted into a culture of what they deem as ultimate manhood. But Steve got it right. He doesn't fit into the Marine Corps mold. Instead, he's kept true to himself and is willing to learn new things along the way. He's molded the Marine Corps experience around himself so that it's become a part of him, but he has not based his entire identity on the Corps alone.
That's the very lesson an older, wiser Marine tried teaching me in my first year in the Corps. "Semper Fidelis" means not only doing what you're supposed to be doing, but to keep true to yourself and your own faith first. I'm glad that in my final year in the Corps, I was able to witness the truth behind his words, exemplified by a young Marine just starting off in his career. I trust having that old lesson reiterated to me again this past weekend is good preparation for what's to come for me after I'm finished with the Marine Corps. I guess that counts for good training.
I'll save you from the long back-story and boring details of how and why I got to this place where I'm at now with the Marines.
So just a little on what went down this weekend:
We did a demo range. We blew stuff up. Since I am 99% certain I will never work with demolitions again, I thought to myself, "What can I take away from this weekend?"
Really, it was the small things that I noted/were reinforced:
1. Getting one another's backs or looking out for your own is infinitely more important than gaining anything for yourself. Because if you look out for others - those "others" will look out for you. If you only look out only for yourself, you will find yourself all alone.
2. Brilliance in the basics - don't overlook the basic, small things - like hygiene and physical fitness. Just do them everyday and do them well - they're like long term investments. They pay off.
3. Just keep it real. Nobody likes a suck-up or a "motard".
4. Everyone's cold, everyone's miserable, everyone's tired, everyone's hungry. The one who can get past these givens and still charge on ahead will benefit from that experience. No matter what.
5. I will take someone who has initiative with poor judgment over a passive person any day. Any day.
6. Transformation is making progress.
There's a young Marine when he first came in was extremely shy and unsure of himself, I'll call him Steve. Steve kept to himself, rarely socialized and seemed really out of place. The rest of us worked hard at him, doing everything and anything to help him adjust to life as we knew it. A few years later, Steve's really coming out of his shell. He takes the initiative, is developing as a leader and is visibly more self-confident. He's always putting himself out there, failing many times, getting humiliated even - but he learns from his failures and mistakes and doesn't get down on himself. Though Steve is still a bit socially awkward, doesn't exude machismo and not who you'd deem the Marine Corps prototype - his teachability and genuine personality makes him one of the more loved Marines in our unit.
Some Marines try really hard at fitting into whatever they perceive is the Marine Corps mold. Who can blame 'em? Most are 18 year olds who haven't quite discovered themselves and are just trying to be accepted into a culture of what they deem as ultimate manhood. But Steve got it right. He doesn't fit into the Marine Corps mold. Instead, he's kept true to himself and is willing to learn new things along the way. He's molded the Marine Corps experience around himself so that it's become a part of him, but he has not based his entire identity on the Corps alone.
That's the very lesson an older, wiser Marine tried teaching me in my first year in the Corps. "Semper Fidelis" means not only doing what you're supposed to be doing, but to keep true to yourself and your own faith first. I'm glad that in my final year in the Corps, I was able to witness the truth behind his words, exemplified by a young Marine just starting off in his career. I trust having that old lesson reiterated to me again this past weekend is good preparation for what's to come for me after I'm finished with the Marine Corps. I guess that counts for good training.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Family
"Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!” - Nehemiah 4:14b
Family is messy and joyous. Family is who we can be ourselves around. Family takes time, effort and patience to make it work. We don't choose who gets to join our family. We're born into it. We don't give up on family.
Church is family - a spiritual family. Up until recently, I saw church as just an inhuman institution. I was grateful for the programs, classes, missions trips, serving opportunities, teachings, and responsibilities. But it wasn't until I was at a point where I was so frustrated, about to tear what little hair I have out, losing sleep, laughing, crying, overjoyed and going through a whole mess of things that I realized that church is family. Only one kind of people makes me feel all those things - family.
I really started seeing church as it really is - Christ followers. Messed up people who are living by the grace of God, following after Jesus Christ.
I am so grateful for this family. I am so grateful for this church.
Church is messy and joyous. Church is who we can be ourselves around. Church takes time, effort and patience to make it work. We don't choose who gets to join our church. We're born into it. We don't give up on church.
Family is messy and joyous. Family is who we can be ourselves around. Family takes time, effort and patience to make it work. We don't choose who gets to join our family. We're born into it. We don't give up on family.
Church is family - a spiritual family. Up until recently, I saw church as just an inhuman institution. I was grateful for the programs, classes, missions trips, serving opportunities, teachings, and responsibilities. But it wasn't until I was at a point where I was so frustrated, about to tear what little hair I have out, losing sleep, laughing, crying, overjoyed and going through a whole mess of things that I realized that church is family. Only one kind of people makes me feel all those things - family.
I really started seeing church as it really is - Christ followers. Messed up people who are living by the grace of God, following after Jesus Christ.
I am so grateful for this family. I am so grateful for this church.
Church is messy and joyous. Church is who we can be ourselves around. Church takes time, effort and patience to make it work. We don't choose who gets to join our church. We're born into it. We don't give up on church.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Working Wednesdays: Collective Meltdown
It's our "busy season" until May or so.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
open wide
At the dentist's office:
Dentist: "Open wide... looks like you've got a couple of cracked molars, a developing cavity, and there's heavy wear on your teeth. You grind your teeth at night."
Me: "I do? I had no idea..."
Whoa... first dentist visit in over a year and I have a mouthful of goodies to show for it. And all this time, I actually thought I was doing OK. This is the human condition. We just don't know ourselves very well and it takes someone with a bright light, mirror and a fine-pointed tool to reveal the decay.
This past week, after 20-odd years of brushing my own teeth, I actually learned the proper technique of keeping my teeth clean from the dental hygienist. It's kind of like learning to blow my nose the right way for the first time a few years ago. No joke. Mimicry and following examples will only go so far without proper instruction.
That's the only way to get it right - being willing to admit at any given moment that there is a better way than my own. Then opening my life for examination.
I read this verse today and was reminded that I just don't know myself on many levels, and that someone above me, who is in a better position to judge, can make a better call than I can.
Proverbs 16:2
"People may be pure in their own eyes,
but the Lord examines their motives."
Brush twice. Floss. Every day.
Dentist: "Open wide... looks like you've got a couple of cracked molars, a developing cavity, and there's heavy wear on your teeth. You grind your teeth at night."
Me: "I do? I had no idea..."
Whoa... first dentist visit in over a year and I have a mouthful of goodies to show for it. And all this time, I actually thought I was doing OK. This is the human condition. We just don't know ourselves very well and it takes someone with a bright light, mirror and a fine-pointed tool to reveal the decay.
This past week, after 20-odd years of brushing my own teeth, I actually learned the proper technique of keeping my teeth clean from the dental hygienist. It's kind of like learning to blow my nose the right way for the first time a few years ago. No joke. Mimicry and following examples will only go so far without proper instruction.
That's the only way to get it right - being willing to admit at any given moment that there is a better way than my own. Then opening my life for examination.
I read this verse today and was reminded that I just don't know myself on many levels, and that someone above me, who is in a better position to judge, can make a better call than I can.
Proverbs 16:2
"People may be pure in their own eyes,
but the Lord examines their motives."
Brush twice. Floss. Every day.
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