Chapter 25
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
burning heart
I got home this afternoon, threw on my sweats and went for a jog. I ran through our neighborhood, the gray sky still just light enough. I headed down the sidewalks, dodging snowdrifts and ice patches, and turned up to run around the State House. I ran down the aincent brick sidewalk and around he corner, stepping up into the snow covered lawn. I circled back up and ran uphill. Pausing at the top to catch my breath I leaned on the wall and stared out at the snow covered lawn expanding off into the distance towards the East Side. It was stunning, it was so peaceful. It was so real. The skyscrapers were lit up downtown but so were the office windows, full of employees still working.
I thought to myself "God, this is beautiful." I spoke to God "So is this what it is about, this right here? This is supposed to distract me from my day, right? Is that what this is?"
This morning early on at work we had a very unfortunate incident, invlolving screaming, name calling and cursing and slamming doors and storming out. All done by one employee, a poor woman who is stretched to the max in everything she does. And it has physically, visibly, been showing lately. And she just can't realize...she just won't...
And so of course the rest of the day was so awkward. But yet...not as much as maybe...it could have been. Because everyone else that was there still...had work to do and did it. Without indcident. Man I don't think I can go into more details without spelling it out in it's entirety, and that would be unfair to the persons involved.
Then on my drive home my brother calls me, very much upset by a friend and the destructive path they are going down. And I get home and my roommate found out his liscense was suspended for failing to get his car inspected in time and he has had yet another of many setbacks on his attempts to get a group of college students to go down to Louisiana and serve during Spring Break.
And it's just like...
Snow can be so beautiful. ¶ 2/27/2007 06:05:00 PM 1 comments
I thought to myself "God, this is beautiful." I spoke to God "So is this what it is about, this right here? This is supposed to distract me from my day, right? Is that what this is?"
This morning early on at work we had a very unfortunate incident, invlolving screaming, name calling and cursing and slamming doors and storming out. All done by one employee, a poor woman who is stretched to the max in everything she does. And it has physically, visibly, been showing lately. And she just can't realize...she just won't...
And so of course the rest of the day was so awkward. But yet...not as much as maybe...it could have been. Because everyone else that was there still...had work to do and did it. Without indcident. Man I don't think I can go into more details without spelling it out in it's entirety, and that would be unfair to the persons involved.
Then on my drive home my brother calls me, very much upset by a friend and the destructive path they are going down. And I get home and my roommate found out his liscense was suspended for failing to get his car inspected in time and he has had yet another of many setbacks on his attempts to get a group of college students to go down to Louisiana and serve during Spring Break.
And it's just like...
Snow can be so beautiful. ¶ 2/27/2007 06:05:00 PM 1 comments
Monday, February 26, 2007
I love the city at night. I love the skyscrapers lit up in glorious display. I love the nights where the clouds are low and the bright lights are highlighted against the low sky. I love when the snow is falling just lightly enough to accent the urban picture. I love to capture moments of life like this.
¶ 2/26/2007 10:40:00 PM 0 comments
And so it is; Here endeth the lesson!
I was drawing a airplane/submarine fight scene with my buddy Jud before church on Sunday. He was showing me how to draw certain inside controls and how to draw particular kinds of airplanes, and I was trying my hardest to maintain his standards. Jud is 5 years old, the youngest of three boys in our community. I'm friends with all of the kids, Elliot and Wesley (ages 8 & 11), but Jud has taken the greatest liking to me. When the other boys come up and try to talk to me Jud usually looks at them when they start to talk and then slowly starts to push them/hit them/kick them/cover their mouths until they go away. This is what every person should, I think. Especially girls. But I digress. Jud once called me a stand-up guy. That's how cool he is.
So I asked him a question.
"Can I ask you what's scariest, an airplane with guns or a dinosaur?" He had previously given me several plastic dinosaurs, one of which sits on my desk at work.
"No, you know what's scariest? I'll tell you it's a volcano. You want to know why? Because when it explodes...the fire goes (he makes a 'spew' sound and motions with hands) into the air and then it comes down everywhere. And one time there were these people when the volcano exploded and there were caves and they went into the caves and the lava went all around it and that's how they were safe."
"Wow. They were safe?"
"Yeah because they went into the caves."
"So a volcano is scariest?"
"Yes."
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It finally snowed today. A lot. It warmed up and melted, but not knowing that any snow was coming it was a welcome suprise when I opened my eyes this morning and peered out the window. I don't have cable so I haven't been watching The Weather Channel, and thus TV, very often. So this snowfall truly caught me off guard. Pleasant.
Friday, February 16, 2007
and by the end of the week, I leave my mind at the office. I leave the actual office with loads of work to do, stressed, concerned, overwhelmed.
and a little excited.
my life never ceases to amuse me. ¶ 2/16/2007 06:54:00 PM 0 comments
and a little excited.
my life never ceases to amuse me. ¶ 2/16/2007 06:54:00 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
I need to see a man about...
I'm beginning to seriously think that a man ought to own a horse.
¶ 2/13/2007 05:45:00 PM 0 comments
modern medicine/chicken soup
there's nothing that annoys me more these days than when smart, educated people do not use their own common sense and the brain God gave them to take care of their body and their mind.
ignorance is a major scapegoat in such a complex society, but it is not an excuse for all of us. ¶ 2/13/2007 05:03:00 PM 0 comments
ignorance is a major scapegoat in such a complex society, but it is not an excuse for all of us. ¶ 2/13/2007 05:03:00 PM 0 comments
Monday, February 12, 2007
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
take the weather with you
These days, I tell you what. The weather is rough, kids! Rough. I mean man alive is it cold out there or what? What's rough for me--and I tend to be in the minority here--is that it bothers me that it is freezing cold and sunny at the same time. See, in my opinion it would be a lot easier to manage if it were cold and overcast. And if there would be snow, I wouldn't even be talking. That would be the ultimate.
But instead we find ourselves in Rhode Island with bright sunny skies, heavy wind gusts, and temperatures that laugh at the thought of going above the freezing mark. I look out the window and see beautiful sunshine...and then I go outside without my jacket and the instant goosebumps cut through my shirt. What are you gonna do? Pray for Spring, or pray for snow. I tend to lean towards the latter. It would be nice to at least feel like we're in winter, aesthetically speaking.
Anyways. This has been a long week already and it's only Tuesday night. I finally got rid of my car last week. I couldn't manage to sell it so I did wind up donating it. And then Monday happened. Long stry short, I spent Monday morning going back and forth between my office, my apartment, and the police department vehicle recovery unit. It's all Ralph's fault though (isn't it always?) when he called me asking me when he could pick up the vehicle I was donating.
"Didn't you already?" I asked. "Because I parked it on the street, unlockedd with the keys in the glovebox as I was instructed to do by the charity donation place," I continued, as my mind processed my stupidity.
See, I thought it got towed for being on the street overnight (illegal in Providence) and when I found out the cops didn't have it I filed a missing vehicle report, only to find out from the company a few minutes later that they had in fact had someone else pick it up on Friday. By this time I had come home to try and find the number of the company. So I called back up to the police and when cancelling the missing vehicle report I was told a officer would have to see me and the vehicle to complete the report. However the car was on a lot in Bellingham, Massachussettes where it needed to be, so a cop couldn't actaully come and see it.
Thinking quickly, I hung up the phone and rushed back to the police station, where I tracked down the girl who filled out the report and caught her just minutes before she was to enter it into the system. So I convinced her to not enter it into the system and throw the report away, thus saving me the headache of explaining it all to an actual police officer...and driving up to Bellingham in a squad car.
Mixed in there were a few trips back and forth to my apartment to locate certain phone numbers and ID numbers. And 2 1/2 hours later I was back at work. I doubt the staff even missed me.
I was laughing at the absurdity of the situation, and at my own follies. Well you're constantly learning, there's a life lesson for you. And here's another one: when in doubt, always trust intuition. and if you feel like you have to act fast, do so. Often times the only way things can be accomplished are by those who act fast.
Back at the office Monday afternoon I jotted down these quick thoughts into an e-mail to myself:
Providence
car alarms and sirens, car horns echo and diesel engines rattle the walls.
these
are the sounds of the city that I live in.
These are the sounds that have become
second nature to me.
These are the sounds that make me wonder during times of silence:
why is it so quiet?
-------------------
I talked to Rob tonight; he turns 25 tomorrow. He told me Michael Bolton was stopping by the base for a concert and that the military sent out a message that attendance was "highly encouraged." Cue laugh track in 3...2...1 ¶ 2/06/2007 09:50:00 PM 0 comments
But instead we find ourselves in Rhode Island with bright sunny skies, heavy wind gusts, and temperatures that laugh at the thought of going above the freezing mark. I look out the window and see beautiful sunshine...and then I go outside without my jacket and the instant goosebumps cut through my shirt. What are you gonna do? Pray for Spring, or pray for snow. I tend to lean towards the latter. It would be nice to at least feel like we're in winter, aesthetically speaking.
Anyways. This has been a long week already and it's only Tuesday night. I finally got rid of my car last week. I couldn't manage to sell it so I did wind up donating it. And then Monday happened. Long stry short, I spent Monday morning going back and forth between my office, my apartment, and the police department vehicle recovery unit. It's all Ralph's fault though (isn't it always?) when he called me asking me when he could pick up the vehicle I was donating.
"Didn't you already?" I asked. "Because I parked it on the street, unlockedd with the keys in the glovebox as I was instructed to do by the charity donation place," I continued, as my mind processed my stupidity.
See, I thought it got towed for being on the street overnight (illegal in Providence) and when I found out the cops didn't have it I filed a missing vehicle report, only to find out from the company a few minutes later that they had in fact had someone else pick it up on Friday. By this time I had come home to try and find the number of the company. So I called back up to the police and when cancelling the missing vehicle report I was told a officer would have to see me and the vehicle to complete the report. However the car was on a lot in Bellingham, Massachussettes where it needed to be, so a cop couldn't actaully come and see it.
Thinking quickly, I hung up the phone and rushed back to the police station, where I tracked down the girl who filled out the report and caught her just minutes before she was to enter it into the system. So I convinced her to not enter it into the system and throw the report away, thus saving me the headache of explaining it all to an actual police officer...and driving up to Bellingham in a squad car.
Mixed in there were a few trips back and forth to my apartment to locate certain phone numbers and ID numbers. And 2 1/2 hours later I was back at work. I doubt the staff even missed me.
I was laughing at the absurdity of the situation, and at my own follies. Well you're constantly learning, there's a life lesson for you. And here's another one: when in doubt, always trust intuition. and if you feel like you have to act fast, do so. Often times the only way things can be accomplished are by those who act fast.
Back at the office Monday afternoon I jotted down these quick thoughts into an e-mail to myself:
Providence
car alarms and sirens, car horns echo and diesel engines rattle the walls.
these
are the sounds of the city that I live in.
These are the sounds that have become
second nature to me.
These are the sounds that make me wonder during times of silence:
why is it so quiet?
-------------------
I talked to Rob tonight; he turns 25 tomorrow. He told me Michael Bolton was stopping by the base for a concert and that the military sent out a message that attendance was "highly encouraged." Cue laugh track in 3...2...1 ¶ 2/06/2007 09:50:00 PM 0 comments
Saturday, February 03, 2007
that's what friends are for
Josh: Actually I think my roommate is going to be out of town this weekend. I might just stay in, take advantage of the time to myself.
Nate: Ah, you have the apartment to yourself. You just gonna hang out in your boxers all day, eat on the couch, read Texas Monthly?
Josh: (laughing) Maybe shoot a few stray cats with a BB gun. Listen to Willie. You know us Texans. That sounds about right.
Nate: Yes, yes.
Josh: Actually I'll probably just rent 'The Break-Up' and get drunk on cheap wine coolers, then call up old friends and discuss religion.
Nate: Ah, the drunk dialing. Always fun.
Josh: Only if the conversation is stimulating, of course.
Nate: Of course. ¶ 2/03/2007 09:41:00 PM 0 comments
Nate: Ah, you have the apartment to yourself. You just gonna hang out in your boxers all day, eat on the couch, read Texas Monthly?
Josh: (laughing) Maybe shoot a few stray cats with a BB gun. Listen to Willie. You know us Texans. That sounds about right.
Nate: Yes, yes.
Josh: Actually I'll probably just rent 'The Break-Up' and get drunk on cheap wine coolers, then call up old friends and discuss religion.
Nate: Ah, the drunk dialing. Always fun.
Josh: Only if the conversation is stimulating, of course.
Nate: Of course. ¶ 2/03/2007 09:41:00 PM 0 comments
