Archive for February, 2003

Quote

Thursday, February 27th, 2003

Sometimes there’ve been people who bug the shiite muslims out of me, and I hold my tongue and come to find out, they’ve got some real problems they’re dealing with. Rianna in response to me not confronting Tita about the way she makes my job unnecessarily difficult at times.

Be My !Hero

Thursday, February 27th, 2003

Grr…
College better be better than Jesus for all the bad stuff that I am dealing with in order to get there…

My Life is a Rock Opera
Rianna and I decided that when the !Hero tour hits Boston, we are going to see it together. I love rock opera. I love Jesus. Should be most interesting.

Life: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
PBS entertained this child without cable and few things delighted be after school as much as Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. The world lost one of the greatest men in history today. I can only aspire to have the impact of the most compassionate Mr. Fred Rogers.

Link

Wednesday, February 26th, 2003

A strategic comparison of Windows vs. Unix, version 2.0

Finding my Marketshare

Tuesday, February 25th, 2003

Rather than focus on the rude customer who kept me thirty-minutes after closing, therefore causing me to almost miss Christy taking me to church, I will share the positive of my day.

I bought the best set of portable headphones today during my lunch break. Sony’s h.ear headphones fit around the ear and direct audio down the ear canal with a bud-style speaker, instead of towards the side of your head; comfortable and minimal sound leakage. Bass is reproduced well with the back of the h.ear headphones directing low frequencies to bone of the skull.

Finding my niche in the RBCPC youth ministry is my top priority at the moment. During the leader’s meeting that followed the Tuesday night senior high youth group gathering, the junior high youth ministry entered the conversation. Rick Ouimet at Blue Ridge Community Church always stressed the importance of strong Christian high school students mentoring middle school students. Middle school students examine high school students and fervently desire to be exactly like the teenager image forced upon them by the media. The early teenage years are the most difficult. You do not know who are you, what you are about, where you are going , yet you aspire to be something so much cooler and mature than what you are in that moment. Having a "cool" Christian high school student mentor junior high students produces honest, influential relationships that only lead to positive growth. Ken appointed the three most vocal proponents of integrating the two youth ministries (me, Elaine, Tim) to brainstorm ideas for accomplishing that which we voiced. I think I found my niche.

Caleb, Christy (a.k.a. "Empress"), Denise, Elaine (a.k.a. "Europe trash"), Gilberto, and I (a.k.a. "white trash") once again conversed over flavored coffees and baked goods at one of the elite few local coffee shops after the leader’s meeting; good times.

People Watching

Monday, February 24th, 2003

A month of studying Postal Annex+ customers has allowed me to distinguish five unique types of customers.

  1. The Account Holder
    The most annoying people are the most persistent in annoying me. The Account Holder is the most frequent and impatient of all customers. Boldly proclaiming, "I have an account here," is The Account Holder’s favorite phrase, as if it meant that I am suddenly allowed to skip processes to save them time just because they are billed collectively at the end of the month.
  2. The Curmudgeon
    Reminiscing of "the good ol’ days" when "Self-Serve Copy Machines" meant that a Postal Annex+ employee made your copies for you, The Curmudgeon scoffs at the outrageous price of nine cents per copied page. The Curmudgeon is never satisfied, offended at a lack of respect towards his pissy attitude, and feels compelled to call me "son."
  3. The Ditz
    Because stupidity knows no gender, The Ditz can be male or female. The Ditz will walk into the store, look around with a confused expression, approach a copy machine, and proceed at an attempt to make copies. When the copy machine fails to perform the expected task, The Ditz frantically searches for his/her error and becomes irritated while completely disregarding the florescent colored paper with "Please ask for a copy key before making copies." in large type. I rescue The Ditz before anyone in his/her immediate surrounding is injured by The Ditz’s impending physical abuse of the copy machine.
  4. The Foreigner
    Whether Asian or Mexican, legal or (most likely) illegal: learn the damn language — and do not act like your culture was violated because I speak the English language in your presence.
  5. The Mid-Day Suburbanite
    Imagine a middle-aged female, carrying a genetically inbred, miniscule dog, driving an unnecessarily large Lincoln-brand sport utility vehicle, drinking a grande latte from Starbucks, and abusing the privilege of cell-phone technology. The Mid-Day Suburbanite should be exterminated and is the only flaw of a capitalistic economy.

Nothing Better

Saturday, February 22nd, 2003

After Uncle Jon’s Valentine’s Day treat of dinner at The Olive Garden and college small group, Christy and I stopped at Von’s to grab some pop-sickles (without partially hydroginated oils) before heading over to Nick Durphey’s house. Supposedly a few of the college group people were watching O Brother, Where Art Thou?, but our conversations took priority.

I talked to this guy who has been spared so many times in life that he is clearly destined to do something great for God. I could not help but think of my numerous opportunities and if there will be something more substancial in my life than all I have experienced so far.

The whole Emerson College delimma is so discouraging. Maybe I should consider changing career paths. If I do, I will be like every other college freshman who has not done anything to work towards their destined job. Architecture and teaching intrigue me almost as much as new media. Honestly, my recent design concepts have failed to transform from desire into actual production again. I just want to take my design skills to the next level. Maybe my inability is a sign that I should reconsider my current career goals. Maybe not.

The 10 hours of Everyday I Usually Forget

Saturday, February 22nd, 2003

Two Postal Annex+ customers complimented me today on my performance. They made my smile grow even wider. Slowly, I am learning to love my job. Confidence in all the different processes is building and I am learning to manage my life in the precious four hours between returning home and going to bed. Thank you God for contentment, guaranteed hours, an incredible manager, and an impending pay raise after three months. All things truly work for good. I doubt that any of the other businesses that I applied to before Christmas would have offered the benefits and security of my job at Postal Annex. Patience, once again, proves itself as a useful asset.

Shake n’ Wake

Saturday, February 22nd, 2003

What goes bump in the night and freaks out this southern guy? How about the aftershocks of a 5.4-magnitude earthquake.

Link

Thursday, February 20th, 2003

How a Middle Tennessee man gave away what he could barely afford, and got back more than he ever expected

Microsoft three degrees

Tuesday, February 18th, 2003

I hope that three degrees fails as miserably as Microsoft Bob. Okay, I am just really jealous because I know that there will not be a Mac OS X version.