IC madness

So, as I've mentioned here before, I'm heading to Iowa City in the fall. As of yesterday, I've got an apartment lined up. I just have to sign the lease and reimburse my future roommate's parents for my half of the security deposit and first month's rent. Oh yeah, that's right. I'm going to be having a roommate for the first time in my life, at the age of 24. It shall be different. I've gotten used to living alone. I may have to change a few things. The closest I've been to having a roommate was living on the same dorm floor--or the Katrina Spring Break trip, where 500 guys slept in the same room.

We had our second Iowa City team meeting today, and it's amazing to hear what God is doing already. Those that are trying to sell houses in Ames are having amazing success--"We sold our house in a week" "Ours sold in half a week" "We had a cash offer before we actually listed it"--and this is supposed to be a buyer's market! It should not be this easy. The main things left are finding housing and work in IC, but God will take care of those things on His schedule, not ours.

At Perspectives today, I mentioned that I had been at church since 9 that morning--church then the meeting, then Perspectives--and God decided to use one little thing I said. For those that have never taken Perspectives (which I think is absolutely none of those that actually read this, but just in case) at the tables there are some postcards so that you can thank the speaker for coming. Anyway, at the start of the snack break, one of the guys at my table handed me one of these cards with his name and phone number on one side. On the other side was a list of names. I asked him what it was, and he said it was friends he knew in Iowa City that needed the gospel. We'll see what God is going to do in regards to this list. The list is currently sitting in my Bible along with about 50 other pieces of paper--including all of the prayer requests asked at this morning's meeting.

Apologies

You may have noticed that the poll is gone. My sincere apologies to the two of you who actually voted, but I invalidated the poll at 12:13 today. That's right, I got the Star Trek: Next Generation Motion Picture Collection. I now have all 11 Star Trek movies.

Now the question about Nerd Day is a when. Should it start on a Saturday at around noon, and go until Sunday morning then we all go to church exhausted? Should it start Friday evening/night and go until Saturday afternoon/evening? Should it be split into two consecutive Saturdays, each starting at around noon, with the first Saturday being devoted to the Original Motion Picture Collection, and the second Saturday being for the rest? (Keep in mind that the total length of all 11 of these movies is around 21 hours) I'm going to have to think about it for a little while, so you all can fight it out in the comments, or talk to me personally. All I've decided so far is that Nerd Day(s) will not happen before Spring Break.

What do you mean I can't bring this in here?

Today at Perspectives, they were trying to demonstrate what the persecuted church goes through. The lights were off, and we were asked to communicate quietly and turn off (not just silent--even remove the battery) our phones. During the prayer time, people were banging on the doors and shouting at us. However, none of those things had me flustered. Here's what did:

Girl at door: "You can't bring that book in here."

Me: "What?"

*points to my Bible* "You can't bring that in here today."

*doesn't fully understand, tries to put it back in my pocket*

"No, here" *takes my Bible* "you'll get it back later. Take a seat."

*stands there feeling lost and very confused*

"Take a seat somewhere."

*sits down feeling painfully unsure of myself*
-----
AND SCENE.

It's weird. I'll sometimes go a month without touching my Bible, and feel fine about it, but when someone tries to actually remove it from me, I feel lost. I don't know how I could possibly reconcile these two things, so I won't try.

I'm down

Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody,
I got some money 'cause I just got paid.
How I wish I had someone to talk to,
I'm in an awful way.
-Another Saturday Night, Sam Cooke

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
-Psalm 42:5 (also Psalm 43:5) (NIV)

I'm not feeling the greatest this evening. I'm not entirely sure why, but the song lyrics that I started this post off with popped into my head a little while ago, so the subject of this post is probably a big part of it.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."
-Jeremiah 29:11

I need to hold close to this verse. I memorized it a few weeks ago. It's even at the right side of this blog and stored in my phone from when I had just flunked out of college, and a good friend texted it to me. I don't think he knew that I've saved that message--all others get deleted every couple of weeks.

I also need to remember that I'm not alone, no matter how much it feels like it at any particular time. I've always got the Comforter with me.

Bloody socks are bad, right?

Here's an update on this post. Last night, about an hour before Salt, I noticed that my left ankle was bleeding and painful. When I put my shoes on, the pain got worse, so they were the likely cause. I didn't have time to buy new shoes, so I just put a few layers of duct tape over the heel of the left shoe, and put a band-aid on my ankle.

Today, I went to get new shoes. They are the same as my old shoes, except whiter and without the giant holes in the sides--the old ones are now waiting for trash collection.

Of course, buying shoes for me means two long bus trips--the 1 north, and the 3 south so as to avoid having to cross Lincoln Way. During these travels, I saw four people I know and am able to say their correct names--of course, keeping with the manner in which I write my blog, I will not divulge these names here. However, only one of these four acknowledged my existence on the bus. I'm okay with that. The first that didn't acknowledge me was someone I don't really like talking to, and the other two were of the female persuasion--I'm usually uncomfortable around women.

I am a little proud of myself for avoiding what I was tempted to do when the women boarded the bus on my way back to my place--namely, texting "Hello", "Would you like to sit down" or the ever-popular/ever-creepy "Turn around". I'm fairly sure that would not have gone over well, because like I said, I'm uncomfortable around women--not to mention the creep factor.

After I got back to my place, I decided to flip back in my checkbook to see how old the shoes I had were. 10-13-09. Wow. 129 days from brand-new to garbage. Shoes should not age that fast.

100 posts of craziness

That's right, this is post number 100. I'm amazed too. For a little while, I was thinking I should say something profound for the 100th, but that might mean I'd be waiting a while, so I'll just do a fun little recap of the insanity so far--with some boring facts thrown in because I feel like it. For those that were expecting an actual post, and not just a recap, you can wait until the next one to break out the party hats.

The first post was way back on May 8th--just over 9 months ago. It included Latin phrases, and 4 points to remember about this blog--2 of which weren't true for long (if they ever were).

In case you missed it the first time around, the second post--also posted May 8th--tells of the piercings I had for about a year and a half--the 1st anniversary of their removal is coming up on March 10th.

From a post on May 19, readers find out that PBS has a way of making me angry, and that the scars from the left piercing spell out "NOT"--the scars from the one on the right spell out "TOO" (this wasn't revealed then, and is first told here).

In June, 2 of the 6 posts mentioned the vampire-gorillas, with the second one analyzing whether or not I was a vampire.

July's posts were concerned with my parent's divorce and moving to Ames.

The major August post came on the 22nd, retelling my experience of coming to Christ--and how I got as far away as I was.

September mentions football and weight loss a lot....and as an update on the weight loss, I'm under 100 kilograms now--bringing the weight loss total to 70 pounds (the only remaining weight I remember being at was 150 pounds in 5th grade, and that's another 70 away).

October had the fun of the Utility problems. It also had post number 50, and talk of the Salt Retreat and Unite.

November had the fun "4 posts in a day" day, the 7th. It also was home to the "Particle Physics and the Big Bang Theory imply a Higher Power" post. November also held the first post about Iowa City.

December had the "mission" post, more talk about Iowa City, a paragraph where I reveal that my thumb may have been broken--I believe that it's still broken--and the post where I pull the mask off of Santa.

Finally, we've gotten to this year. January held my obsession with numbers, revealed my colorblindness, talked of talking and walking, with more Iowa City, and a broken car door.

This month, I've proposed an idea for increasing the nerdiness of my friends, revealed my lack of concern for myself, showed off one of my political views, talked of relationships--and why I'm not really fit for one--walked through a day with no sleep--until my 4 or 5 hour nap the afternoon after posting that--and analyzed Domino's new recipe.

Now for some boring facts. The order of the months by number of posts: October (16), August (13), February (12--so far, counting this one), May (11), November & December (tied at 10), September & January (tied at 9), June (6) and July (4). Longest span between posts: 24 days--between the last post in June and the first in July. Shortest span: 9 minutes--between the second and third posts on November 7. Average span: about 2.9 days. Number of total comments: 33. Comments by people other than myself: 28.

Dreams are weird II

In my last post, I said I need to give my plans for the future (wife, kids, teaching) up to God. The night after posting that, I had a strange dream that seems related--at least, the end of the dream seems related, but more meaning might be gleaned from the telling of all the details I can recall.

The earliest thing in the dream I can remember was gathering bees--don't ask me why--by utilizing a smoker to knock them out, then just putting them in a container. Shortly after that, the task switched to putting snakes into a plastic bag, using the same method as the bees--I don't think this would actually work, let alone the problem of a plastic bag full of snakes. Apparently, I didn't get the snakes fast enough, because whatever they were needed for had started by the time I was done, so I was forced to hold the bag.

As I held it, the bag began to shake violently and grow in size, weakening as it got bigger--I know it was weakening because the snakes were starting to force their fangs through it. When it got to the size of a garbage bag, I dropped it and turned away--a really bad idea when there's a plastic bag full of snakes, but whatever.

When I turned back, the bag was gone, and there was a child there in its place--a 2 or 3 year old boy. He was singing the "I love you" song from Barney in Chinese (at least, he was singing to that tune, and the word "Chinese" was said by someone else in the dream, so I assume that's what he was singing). He began to back away from me, towards the oven. This oven, instead of going to the floor, was open underneath, and the floor opened up to a pit, where the fire that heated the oven was.

I started running towards the kid, screaming "NO NO NO *#%%@&$ IT NO!" I dove, trying to catch this kid as his legs are starting to go over the edge, and he stopped singing, looked directly at me, and said "Yes." Then he dropped down over the edge, and I woke up, drenched in sweat.



Ordinarily, I would have posted this yesterday--the day after the dream--but it was jumbled, and I didn't think of the possible connection to Friday's post until today. The look on the kid's face and the tone of his voice as he said the simple word "Yes" is burned into my mind--very serious, almost angry with me for trying to stop him, with a slight hint of derision. To be completely honest, I'm a little worried about going to sleep tonight, in case this dream--or another one like it--tries to resurface.

Singles' Awareness Day

Sunday is Singles' Awareness Day (Valentine's Day for those of you in some manner of relationship)--as if you didn't know already. I don't think I've ever been in a relationship on February 14th. Not that it really matters, anyway. It's just another day on the calendar, except that the chocolate, flower, and greeting card industries wanted to make some good money in the middle of winter.

What this post is really about, though, is more proof that I should be single at this point in my life. Last night at Salt, Mark said if you spend more than 10 hours playing video games per week, you're not ready......that's me out.

But seriously, going back to the Fusion last Friday, the speaker used an Oreo as a metaphor. The filling is God--you need to keep God at the center. With God, problems are easily overcome, but without him, relationships crumble. Given my history--I know, I'm a whole new creation now, but my flesh would still tempt me--I wouldn't be able to have a God-centered relationship. I would try to raise her to a point where she's above God. Whenever I've gotten into a relationship, my grades have suffered--and they've taken another turn for the worse when the relationship ends--because all I care about is spending time with the girl.

Also, I've been hearing a lot of people talking about "that thing that you don't want to give up to God"--probably because God knows that's what I need to hear at this point in my life. "That thing" for me is the plans for the future--teach chemistry, get married, have kids. I expect that to be where my life goes. I expect God to just let me have those things, when He might want me single and taking the gospel to the Middle East--or any number of other possibilities. I don't think He'll give me those things--if He does at all--unless and until I say "YOUR will be done in my life" and wholeheartedly mean it. I need to pray for a changed heart--the one I've got doesn't like to give up on some things.

Domino's

Okay, for those of you that have been seeing all the Domino's commercials touting their new, improved pizza and have been wondering if it's really worth all the hype, you no longer have to wonder. I have taken it upon myself to test it for you.

They were having a 2 medium, 2-topping pizzas for 5.99 each, which is the only reason I thought I'd give them another shot. I chose laziness over cheapness, and decided to have it delivered--even though I live a grand total of 3 blocks away. I pre-ordered it to be delivered at 4:00 this afternoon.

For a lark, I checked their online pizza tracker right after ordering (at about noon). I noticed a problem quite quickly. Down in the "Your Order Details" box, the second pizza had the wrong toppings listed: Pepperoni, Green Chili Peppers, and Ham instead of Big Pepperoni (exactly what it sounds like) and Ham. The conformation email they sent me was right, so I ignored the problem, and hoped that their website was just wrong--which wouldn't be surprising, given my recent experiences with websites.

4:00 came.....and went. At 4:15, I started thinking that if they really didn't want my money, that was okay with me, I'd just order from somewhere else tomorrow and wishing I had written down the phone number so I could call and inquire about the status of my foodstuffs. At 4:30, a knock comes on the door. Bang! Bang!

I got up and paid for (and received) my food--which was correct to what I ordered, the website was wrong. I sat down and took the first bite and my first thought was......Meh.

The pizza was very forgettable--average at best. The only two memorable things were the sauce and the crust. The sauce seemed to be an afterthought, or maybe I just thought that way because there didn't seem to be any--there was a bit of a peppery aftertaste, so there might have actually been some on there (or maybe they had really given me some free chili peppers on my pizza). The crust was good--they got one thing right, at least. The rest of the pizza wasn't very noticeable.

So you may be asking, what about all the commercials? They make it sound like it's a lot better. Well, it IS a lot better than it was, and that's the sad thing.