For at least this year we can recognize this day as something other than a reference to a certain drug. But it's not that much happier except that as a result a lot of college students have become a lot closer across the nation. Today we forget our pride in our own schools and today we are all Hokies. Whether it's shown through the wearing of a black ribbon or armband or wearing VT's school colors (maroon and orange), today we show that our hearts are united with theirs.
Another thought on my mind today (and kinda off and on this week) as I thought about the shooter, was what happened in his life that brought him to this point? Was he excessively teased or made to feel worthless by people with higher incomes? Did anyone try to reach out to him on a regular basis or did they just ignore him thinking he was weird? I've had times in my past when I was teased and ignored...and sometimes have those moments when I feel alone, but then I am reminded of the friends I do have and those who have reached out to me and made me feel special and worthless. A song that kinda relates to this train of thought and which inspired me to write this today is Superchic[k]'s "Hero" (Red Pill Remix). I wanna post the lyrics and let them speak for themselves:
Verse:
No one sits with him, he doesn't fit in
But we feel like we do when we make fun of him
Cause you want to belong do you go along?
Cause his pain is the price paid for you to belong
It's not like you hate him or want him to die
But maybe he goes home and thinks suicide
Or he comes back to school with a gun at his side
Any kindness from you might have saved his life
Tag:
Heroes are made when you make a choice
Chorus:
You could be a hero
Heroes do what's right
You could be a hero
You might save a life
You could be a hero, You could join the fight
For what's right for what's right for what's right
Verse:
No one talks to her, she feels so alone
She's in too much pain to survive on her own
The hurt she can't handle overflows to a knife
She writes on her arm, wants to give up her life
Each day she goes on is a day that she's brave,
Fighting the lie that giving up is the way,
Each moment of courage her own life she saves
When she throws the pills out a hero is made
Tag
Chorus
Verse:
No one talks to him about how he lives
He thinks that the choices he makes are just his
Doesn't know he's a leader with the way he behaves
And others will follow the choices he's made
He lives on the edge, he's old enough to decide
His brother who wants to be him is just nine
He can do what he wants because it's his right
The choices he makes change a nine year old's life
Tag
Chorus
Little Mikey D. was the one in class who everyday got brutally harassed
This went on for years until he decided that never again would he shed another tear
So he walked through the door, grabbed the four-four out of his father's dresser drawer
And said I can't take life no more
And like that life can be lost
But this ain't even about that
All of us just sat back and watched it happen
Thinkin' it's not my responsibility to solve a problem that isn't about me
This is our problem
This is just one of the daily scenarios which we choose to close our eyes
Instead of doing the right thing
If we make a choice and be the voice for those who won't speak up for themselves
How many lives would be saved, changed, rearranged
Now it's our time to pick a side
So don't keep walkin' by
Not wantin' to intervene
Cause you wanna exist and never be seen
So let's wake up and change the world
Our time is now
Chorus:
You could be a hero
Heroes do what's right (our time is now)
You could be a hero
You might save a life (our time is now)
You could be a hero, (our time is now) You could join the fight
4.20.2007
4.08.2007
Raindrops on roses
The following is a list of some of my favorite things. What are some of yours? (BTW to those who notice the similar notes, yes I was inspired by someone else's)
a good story (more reading than viewing b/c you get to make the pictures yourself, but some are able to do a good job with it on film)
chances to share/debate my faith
rain
climbing and exploring things
fun times with friends and family
letters, cards, pictures, or other artifacts that remind me of good times with friends and/or family
beaches, the ocean, rivers, and lakes
music
admiring God's creation
a cool breeze to cool me off
looking up at clouds (in the day) and stars (at night) and making my own pictures
having something in common with a friend or just a total stranger
tasteful humor
just to name a "few" =)
a good story (more reading than viewing b/c you get to make the pictures yourself, but some are able to do a good job with it on film)
chances to share/debate my faith
rain
climbing and exploring things
fun times with friends and family
letters, cards, pictures, or other artifacts that remind me of good times with friends and/or family
beaches, the ocean, rivers, and lakes
music
admiring God's creation
a cool breeze to cool me off
looking up at clouds (in the day) and stars (at night) and making my own pictures
having something in common with a friend or just a total stranger
tasteful humor
just to name a "few" =)
3.18.2007
A Travel Holiday
Inspired by my sis, the travel channel and 43places.com , a list of places I wanna see or live in (in no particular order, and I reserve the right to add on in the future):
California (I've seen some of southern, but I also wanna see up north)
Colorado (been there but wanna see more of it)
Louisiana
Florida
New York
South Dakota
South Carolina (parents live there, but I still wanna see more...greedy? yes! =p)
D.C.
Canadia (aka Canada =p)
Australia
Austria
Germany (lived there for a few years but was too young to remember much)
England...not just London, gotta see the country or its not worth it
Ireland (home of my name)
Texas (lived there and have travel to most of the big cities but I havent really seen them)
France...again, not just Paris cuz there is a lot more to that country
Italy
Israel
China
S. Korea (it's where my parents met)
Hawaii
New Zealand
Philippines
Mexico (more than just the beaches)
Puerto Rico
Egypt
Morocco
Russia
That's all I can think of now. If I get to see even half of these I think I could count myself extremely blessed. If you know of specific areas in any of these places, let me know. I'd love to be able to focus my travels and get the most out of these places. Or even better what would your list look like? Maybe I might get inspired by you? And of course I wouldn't wanna go alone so who would you go with (me, friends, family, significant other, pet)?
California (I've seen some of southern, but I also wanna see up north)
Colorado (been there but wanna see more of it)
Louisiana
Florida
New York
South Dakota
South Carolina (parents live there, but I still wanna see more...greedy? yes! =p)
D.C.
Canadia (aka Canada =p)
Australia
Austria
Germany (lived there for a few years but was too young to remember much)
England...not just London, gotta see the country or its not worth it
Ireland (home of my name)
Texas (lived there and have travel to most of the big cities but I havent really seen them)
France...again, not just Paris cuz there is a lot more to that country
Italy
Israel
China
S. Korea (it's where my parents met)
Hawaii
New Zealand
Philippines
Mexico (more than just the beaches)
Puerto Rico
Egypt
Morocco
Russia
That's all I can think of now. If I get to see even half of these I think I could count myself extremely blessed. If you know of specific areas in any of these places, let me know. I'd love to be able to focus my travels and get the most out of these places. Or even better what would your list look like? Maybe I might get inspired by you? And of course I wouldn't wanna go alone so who would you go with (me, friends, family, significant other, pet)?
3.15.2007
The Ides of March
Ceasar was warned about this day long ago. I don't think it had anything to do with the day itself. It's not "unlucky" like any Friday the 13th. It just basically means the middle of the month but you still don't normally associate good things when you hear about the Ides of March. Right now it's just bringing to mind the things I'm concerned about, not necessarily anything I need to "beware", just stuff that I want to be different.
The first thing is that I'm still without a job. I've been lookin and applying off and on for at least a month to no avail. I think maybe I'm not trying hard enough, not taking it seriously. My parents help me out with a certain amount at the beginning of each month and now my sister has a job, so I don't have to worry about getting by, but I'm getting tired of not having my own money anymore to do with what I want. Then again I haven't used what I have wisely b/c usually near the end of the month I somehow manage to overdraw my account (at least I have overdraft protection). I do my best to keep in mind how much I still have whenever I'm spending. The problem is I don't keep any official record. I mean I keep receipts and occasionally check my balance at the ATM or online, but I don't really keep track of the receipts and since I mostly pay with my debit card the balance isn't always up to date because it often takes a while for transactions to show up. I wonder if that's just b/c of my bank tho b/c I've seen commercials that I think were for another bank where the transaction shows up automatically. Maybe I should just switch to that bank, b/c it's starting to really peeve me. But, anyway, back to the job situation. Someone suggested that I go back to working for Special Events but right now that wouldn't do me much good b/c as far as I know there aren't that many big events around this time of year and I need something more regular. It's tempting but not very practical at the moment.
Then there's also my social life or practical lack thereof. I have friends and I don't know of anyone that hates me, yet I am usually stuck at home doing nothing and seeing evidence online that my friends are doing stuff and going places. Maybe I just need to get up off my tush and start doing something, anything just so I'm not sitting on the couch or in front of the computer when I'm not doing homework. But even when I'm with other people I get the occasional "hi" or "how are you?" but not much else deeper than that except for a little bit of jokin around. I think part of it is that I should seek out conversation myself instead of waiting for it to come to me cuz the latter hasn't really worked so far. Or like I said just a while ago I need to get off my tush and get involved in stuff, like ultimate frisbee or something else going on on campus. It's not like I'm purposefully avoiding people and I'm not a total homebody. The one thing I've never really had is a best friend, or at least one thats around for more than a few years. During those times I could usually count on something to be happening or at least something to talk about.
*sigh* so the warning for me on this Ides of March should be "Beware unemployment and a lack of a social life." Not as foreboding as the one Ceasar received but it's still got my attention. I guess the best thing to do now tho is just give it to God b/c obviously I haven't been able to fix it myself or else you wouldn't be reading about. Off to bed now I guess, and tomorrow we'll see if the Aggies can actually dance their way past Durant and the Longhorns.
The first thing is that I'm still without a job. I've been lookin and applying off and on for at least a month to no avail. I think maybe I'm not trying hard enough, not taking it seriously. My parents help me out with a certain amount at the beginning of each month and now my sister has a job, so I don't have to worry about getting by, but I'm getting tired of not having my own money anymore to do with what I want. Then again I haven't used what I have wisely b/c usually near the end of the month I somehow manage to overdraw my account (at least I have overdraft protection). I do my best to keep in mind how much I still have whenever I'm spending. The problem is I don't keep any official record. I mean I keep receipts and occasionally check my balance at the ATM or online, but I don't really keep track of the receipts and since I mostly pay with my debit card the balance isn't always up to date because it often takes a while for transactions to show up. I wonder if that's just b/c of my bank tho b/c I've seen commercials that I think were for another bank where the transaction shows up automatically. Maybe I should just switch to that bank, b/c it's starting to really peeve me. But, anyway, back to the job situation. Someone suggested that I go back to working for Special Events but right now that wouldn't do me much good b/c as far as I know there aren't that many big events around this time of year and I need something more regular. It's tempting but not very practical at the moment.
Then there's also my social life or practical lack thereof. I have friends and I don't know of anyone that hates me, yet I am usually stuck at home doing nothing and seeing evidence online that my friends are doing stuff and going places. Maybe I just need to get up off my tush and start doing something, anything just so I'm not sitting on the couch or in front of the computer when I'm not doing homework. But even when I'm with other people I get the occasional "hi" or "how are you?" but not much else deeper than that except for a little bit of jokin around. I think part of it is that I should seek out conversation myself instead of waiting for it to come to me cuz the latter hasn't really worked so far. Or like I said just a while ago I need to get off my tush and get involved in stuff, like ultimate frisbee or something else going on on campus. It's not like I'm purposefully avoiding people and I'm not a total homebody. The one thing I've never really had is a best friend, or at least one thats around for more than a few years. During those times I could usually count on something to be happening or at least something to talk about.
*sigh* so the warning for me on this Ides of March should be "Beware unemployment and a lack of a social life." Not as foreboding as the one Ceasar received but it's still got my attention. I guess the best thing to do now tho is just give it to God b/c obviously I haven't been able to fix it myself or else you wouldn't be reading about. Off to bed now I guess, and tomorrow we'll see if the Aggies can actually dance their way past Durant and the Longhorns.
3.03.2007
The Day the Music Died
Hokay, so here's the earth...er I mean hokay, so don't be fooled by the title of this one, no famous musicians died or anything like that. It was the best "day" title I could think of for tonight. Tonight was the last night of the Jack Ward Festival (aka 1st choir concert of the spring). It went great and its over!! Time to celebrate...by..uh...um...eating at Carl's Jr. and getting the cheesecake for dessert? Sure why not!
Another reason to celebrate: I'm finally starting to feel better. I'm not completely recovered but feelin a lot better and it still didn't affect my singing. Something Dr. Alt said during our warm-ups kinda made sense of why being sick didn't affect me too much. She said something to the effect that if you're sick the night of a concert you shouldn't let it change your singing, just keep doing it the same way you've been doing it. Basically, it's partly in your head. If you concentrate on it too much it's gonna take your focus off the music and of course if you're not focused you probably won't do as well. It's all about where your focus is. Good life lesson, really.
Another reason to celebrate: I'm finally starting to feel better. I'm not completely recovered but feelin a lot better and it still didn't affect my singing. Something Dr. Alt said during our warm-ups kinda made sense of why being sick didn't affect me too much. She said something to the effect that if you're sick the night of a concert you shouldn't let it change your singing, just keep doing it the same way you've been doing it. Basically, it's partly in your head. If you concentrate on it too much it's gonna take your focus off the music and of course if you're not focused you probably won't do as well. It's all about where your focus is. Good life lesson, really.
2.28.2007
Sick Days
I woke up yesterday feeling mostly fine, but by the time I was heading to my second class (I accidentally slept through the first one...I swear sometimes the alarm clock just doesn't like me) I was really startin to feel like crud. I was sniffling and my throat was sore -- good thing I usually have water with me. I texted Amanda and she suggested I just stay home, but I was already almost to class anyway, and since I had already missed one class that day, I decided I wasn't sick enough to miss the other two. And, to be honest, usually when I get a cold it really doesn't hit me too hard. I got thru the rest of the day and didn't really suffer to much. My nose is usually more stuffed than sniffly when I'm sick anyways -- but it kinda alternates between the two randomly -- and the main thing bugging me was the sore throat from the "runoff".
Later that night I guess my coughing, sneezing and sniffling were getting to Amanda and she suggested we go get me some medicine, cuz all we had at home to in any help was chloraseptic which only numbs the sore throat. So we got some Wal-Tussin (Walgreen's knock-off of Robatussin...and BTW they also have a knock-off of Airborne) and I take a dose a couple of hours before bedtime. Maybe the one I got wasn't to fix what I thought I had, but I wasn't really feeling any better before I went to sleep.
Fast forward to this morning, or rather noon-ish --again, the alarm clock =| plus Mon/Wed my first class isn't til 1:30 and I usually stay up a little later the nights before these days. My throat is super sore and since the chloraseptic doesn't help for long and the medicine didn't seem to help any last night, the only thing I can think of that would help is water. I don't trust the tap water in campus family housing, so it's a good thing we still had a couple of cupfulls worth in the gallon of store-brand water. I didn't bother with a cup so the "cupfulls" is just an estimate (no germs can spread if I finish it off myself anyways, right?). I'm just glad this week happens to be production week for choir (meaning rehearsals all week and the performances on Fri/Sat) cuz that means we don't have class at the normal time. If we had, then I wouldn't have been in any condition to sing. So, I rested and drank as much water/liquids as possible. BTW another reason I'm glad I didn't have to leave the house much is the strong wind that came into town overnight making it just that much colder feeling which wouldn't help the sickness.
By this time I'm actually feeling somewhat better or at least at the point where it only gets better not worse. I'm even surprised it didn't even affect my singing voice or my breathing. All I need for now is more water and some tissues...and probably some rest. Which means so long, farewell, auf wiedersen, adieu ("adieu adieu, to you and you and yooou"). I'll keep y'all updated if it ends up getting worse.
Later that night I guess my coughing, sneezing and sniffling were getting to Amanda and she suggested we go get me some medicine, cuz all we had at home to in any help was chloraseptic which only numbs the sore throat. So we got some Wal-Tussin (Walgreen's knock-off of Robatussin...and BTW they also have a knock-off of Airborne) and I take a dose a couple of hours before bedtime. Maybe the one I got wasn't to fix what I thought I had, but I wasn't really feeling any better before I went to sleep.
Fast forward to this morning, or rather noon-ish --again, the alarm clock =| plus Mon/Wed my first class isn't til 1:30 and I usually stay up a little later the nights before these days. My throat is super sore and since the chloraseptic doesn't help for long and the medicine didn't seem to help any last night, the only thing I can think of that would help is water. I don't trust the tap water in campus family housing, so it's a good thing we still had a couple of cupfulls worth in the gallon of store-brand water. I didn't bother with a cup so the "cupfulls" is just an estimate (no germs can spread if I finish it off myself anyways, right?). I'm just glad this week happens to be production week for choir (meaning rehearsals all week and the performances on Fri/Sat) cuz that means we don't have class at the normal time. If we had, then I wouldn't have been in any condition to sing. So, I rested and drank as much water/liquids as possible. BTW another reason I'm glad I didn't have to leave the house much is the strong wind that came into town overnight making it just that much colder feeling which wouldn't help the sickness.
By this time I'm actually feeling somewhat better or at least at the point where it only gets better not worse. I'm even surprised it didn't even affect my singing voice or my breathing. All I need for now is more water and some tissues...and probably some rest. Which means so long, farewell, auf wiedersen, adieu ("adieu adieu, to you and you and yooou"). I'll keep y'all updated if it ends up getting worse.
2.26.2007
Today we celebrate Sean's 1st post!
Welcome to my humble digital abode! Well one of many, really but that's not important right now. This is just a quick post to 1) say hello and 2) um...well o.k. I guess there was only just 1). I just like numbered lists or something. So, ya...c'mon back and see what holiday we celebrate next.
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