A Saturday on the Grove

Yesterday morning, I refereed two youth league football games, then headed home. On the way home, Michelle called me to ask what I thought of the possibility of a short road trip to Mississippi that afternoon. I immediately got real excited, because I knew that Georgia was playing Ole Miss last night. Alas, she was thinking more along the lines of visiting a corn maze she had read about. Oh well. I knew that she does not like big crowds, so I said sure the corn maze would be great, especially since we would be back in time for me to watch most of the game on TV. However, by the time I got home, she had purchased tickets to the game, and made plans for us to roll to Oxford. WOW!! We tried to get her decked out in some Georgia gear, but none of the stores here had anything. The stores here all cater to Memphis, UT, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Oh well--she just wore a red t-shirt.

We got there about 4 hours before game time, so we tailgated on the grove (the area around the campus is known by this name) and had fun. We found a pocket of Georgia fans and hung out in that area until game time.

We had a great time at the game. The score was really close, and Georgia pulled out a win at the very end. Beautiful! Although we were sitting amongst a bunch of Ole Miss fans, they were very nice to us and we both enjoyed ourselves. At half-time, we went out to the concourse to get some fresh air, because by that time, and we actually hung out there during the entire third quarter. We enjoyed people-watching while there. We came back in for the fourth quarter, and enjoyed the rest of the game.

The ride home seemed a lot longer than the ride down there, but we eventually got home about 2 AM. We are now trying to recover, and I am wondering if I am going to feel like painting the living room, which is what we had planned on doing today.

What's probably the funniest thing about the whole deal is that I had invited my dad and brother to Memphis to watch the U of M play UT. However, I never got a firm confirmation that they were coming, so I never got the tickets, and the game sold out. So, no one came and I was not resigned to watching a game on TV.

My classes are going well. We had our first exam in Astronomy class last Tuesday. This class is made up of almost all freshman, and it seems this is the most ignorant group of people I have ever been around. There are well over 100 people in the class, and most of them are just stupid. Asking ridiculous questions, and constantly wanting to know about extra-credit and the grade curve. Jeez. The test scores revealed what I am dealing with here--the class average was 54, and the lowest score was a 26. I made an 86, and didn't study nearly as much as I could have. Whatever.

I have an exam in my Ancient Philosophy class on Tuesday. I am going to start studying for it tonight, and after my football game tomorrow night, really hit the books hard. I should be fine.

I also have a paper due in Religion class next week. Need to get started on that.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

I learned a valuable lesson this week. I learned that when a football official asks me where I am working on a given Friday night, I should always feign ignorance and say something like, "uh, I don't remember. Must be at a city school." I learned this because twice this week I was asked where I am working tonight, and twice I replied, "Germantown High School". Twice, I received strange looks, as if to say, "How did YOU get a game there?". You see, Germantown is one of the "plum" locations for officials to go, since an official does not normally have to fear for his life there, as he would at one of the municipal stadiums that the city schools play in. I have no idea how I got this game, although whatever it is I did, I would like to do it again...LOL. Anyway, the game should be fun.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Blues Before Sunrise

It had been on my mind to post, but not until my grandmother prodded me did I feel the need. Some people my find it odd that my grandmother is online, but I come from a long line of geeks. And we are proud of it.

This morning found me at Home Depot before sunrise, buying a new discharge tube for our clothes washing machine. After we bought our washer/dryer set, we found that it required about 1 inch more space than what our laundry room has. So, I had to turn the washer perpendicular, which necessitated a longer discharge hose. The entire process of me getting the washer/dryer installed and fully functional only took me buying $14 worth of the wrong size hose (Note to self: whenever something appears to be 'about the right size', it will not be. Guaranteed.), then spending $7 on hose clamps and a coupler to connect the two hoses. This was the source of the leak, so then it was $16 worth of new (and the correct size) hose. Problem solved. Jeez. So, I finally have repaired our clothes washer, and have declared it to be leak-free. Hooray clean clothes. The first load is in the dryer now. YAY!

Since being at Home Depot before sunrise is not usually my favorite way to spend a morning, I decided that Clapton's rendition of Leroy Carr's "Blues Before Sunrise" would be the first song of the soundtrack to the installation. Also included were Dylan's new "Working Man's Blues", Velvet Revolver's "Sucker Train Blues", Pink Floyd's "Jugband Blues", and The Moody Blues' "Isn't Life Strange".

School has indeed been strange this semester. None of my regular classes have any papers assigned, although my independent study will almost certainly have some. Still have not heard from the professor about what specifically my assignments will be. My Science, Technology and Human Values class is not at all what I thought it would be. It is quite boring, but appears to be not-too-difficult. I wish I had taken symbolic logic instead. My ancients survey is not as hard as I thought it would be, although it requires a tremendous amount of reading. My astronomy lecture and lab are quite time-consuming, though not-too-difficult. My philosophy of religion class is by far the most interesting class. So, far, we have read 6 arguments for the existence of God, and we have shown how all of them are at least weak, and in some cases, logically invalid. I chuckle at this exercise, because I have NEVER seen a convincing argument for the existence of God, but that is what faith is all about. If God's existence could be proven, it seems that everyone would be on board, and we would not need faith. LOL.

Anyway, school is going well. Graduation is something like 13 weeks and 3 days away, but who's counting?

We have some more adoption meetings in the coming days, and I have a seemingly endless number of football meetings. Oh well. About twice a week, Mike Clark texts me saying that he is stuck in a worthless meeting. I feel his pain.

Football has been going super-well. I have worked two varsity games so far, and I have two more on the schedule. The second half of the season schedule will be released soon, and I am figuring I will get a few more then. It is great to see my hard work finally paying off. When I was in the Clarksville association, I never felt I was being evaluated fairly. Only once was I ever observed by a supervisor in something other than a Saturday morning pee-wee game. The supervisors are always at those games watching their grandkids play, and observing officials, but it is really difficult for me to have the same intensity for a game with 9 year old kids as I do a game with high schoolers. But, I always did the best I could, because I knew we were always being watched on those Saturday mornings. Here in Memphis, the supervisors watch us during the JV games (and varsity, too), and watch us frequently. Rarely do I ever work a JV game without a supervisor there, they always observe the varsity games. Many guys do not like being observed all the time, but I figure if I am doing what I am supposed to be doing, I will be OK.

I had a varsity game two weeks ago, and I was about 5 minutes late getting there (we are supposed to be at the game site 1 hour before game time). Unfortunately, the supervisor for that night (who is also the Assigning Officer, therefore the one guy in the association that you do not want to piss off) came in right behind me and made a big deal about it (it IS a big deal to be there on time/early). He asked me what time it was, and I replied "about 5 after 6. He asked the crew what time it was, and one guy, without looking at his watch, said "about 5 after 6". (This is the definition of a great partner.) The assigner also had quarrel with my shoes, which were not shined to his liking (it IS a big deal to have mirror-shined shoes). As my crew left the locker room, he kept me behind and proceeded to rip my butt apart. I immediately figure my chances of getting any more varsity games had gone down the drain, but that has not been the case. Whew! At last night's meeting, he came in after about 10 minutes late and sat down right in front of me. I asked him what time it was, and he said, "about 10 after", so I looked down at his feet and said, "Well, your shoes look good". We both got a big laugh out of that. LOL.

Preaching at the Clarksville church last week felt nice. That was the third time I have spoken there, and I was much more comfortable this time than the other two. They have also called a new minister, Rev. Steve Louder. From what I have heard, he is a fine minister. I am hoping that church can start to heal its wounds and get back on track. Unfortunately, I have my doubts. Hopefully I am wrong. It was great to see my family while we were in town, and the Smith fish fry was much fun as always.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

School's In

Today is the first day of classes. It's a weird feeling, because usually I schedule my classes early in the day, so I can have afternoons and evenings free. However, this semester, none of my classes were available early, so I have been running errands all morning. My first class is not until 10:20. This semester will also be the first time I have had the same professor for two classes. I have the same prof for "Science, Technology, and Human Values" as I do for my survey of ancient philosophy. I have never had him before, but I understand that he is tough and fair. Good enough for me.

It is so freaking hot this morning I am about to die. By the time I walked from my car to where I am now (campus coffee shop), I was sweating like a racehorse. It did not help that I had to park a mile away. I may have to invest in a parking pass for the garage in the center of campus.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Haven't posted in a while...sorry.

Last week, we went to see Bruce Hornsby in at the Bartlett Performing Arts Center. It was really neat to see a big name act in a venue that seats 350. Very intimate setting. Very funny guy. Great songwriting. Awesome show.

I have been trying to convince Michelle that I need an Xbox 360. I am not having much success.

Tonight, we have a meeting with our social worker. Michelle is really wound up tight, but I am sure it will go fine. I am home today, getting the house ready for the meeting. Just some final clean-up details and stuff.

Classes start next Monday, and I am ready to get back to the grind. My final semester as an undergrad. Graduation is only 16 weeks and 3 days away!! (Not that I am counting or anything.) We are gonna have an after-party here at the house, so that will be nice.

On Saturday, I will be giving my 2 weeks' notice at my job. I'm not gonna work much this semester. With Michelle working full-time, my measly salary doesn't matter much, and I would like to fully concentrate on my school work. I have set a goal to make the Dean's List this semester, so not working much will help me do that. I have a ton of football games this season, and those pay better than my job (and take less time). Plus, I might do some tutoring in logic or one of the philosophy intro classes. I inquired about it, but have not received a call back. So, I will see how that goes.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Fun in the Kitchen

While cutting a watermelon last night, I accidentally made a pentagon. So I decided to do some other shapes. I tried to do a hecatommyriagon, but I ran out of watermelon.

Triangle.

Rectangle.

This morning, Michelle and I noted that our cereal collection rivals that of Jerry Seinfeld. Hmm...

It was great to see my family the past couple of days. Dinner Sunday night was great; conversation was lively. It was interesting in that the primary topic was the death of my parents' clothes washing machine, and their hunt for a new one. I understand they were to buy a new one yesterday.

After my meeting yesterday, I got to eat lunch with my sister, which was super. She looked great in her business clothes; lil sis is all grown up! She seems to be enjoying her job, and will definitely enjoy her first paycheck!

I have been working on my autobiography this morning, and still have some work to do on that. I promised Michelle I would get it done today, so I need to finish it up. I have a football meeting tonight, so I need to finish it before I leave for that.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Summer school has finally ended! Finals were on Friday, and I am glad that they are over. I have two weeks to rest and take care of some adoption stuff before the fall semester starts.

Later today, I will be heading up to Clarksville. I will be staying there overnight as I make my way to my meeting in Gallatin tomorrow morning. My meeting will be a symposium on ministerial ethics. I normally deal with ethics on a macro-level, so it will be interesting to talk about it at a micro-level.

It will be great to see my family tonight; it appears we will be having a mini-reunion at Cracker Barrell...LOL. That will be fun.

Michelle will not be coming with me, since tomorrow is her first day of teaching. She is so excited! I know she will do great. I am sad that I won't be able to see her off on the first day.

Rutgers University is hosting a philosophy conference in January, and I am writing a paper that I will submit to it. Hopefully, it will be chosen and I will get to present it. The theme of the conference is "Philosophy in Religion".

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

For a guy who hates meetings, imagine my dismay at sitting in one for 3.5 hours tonight. Jeez.

I need to read some philosophy for tomorrow (damn those quizzes). Wouldn't hurt to do some Spanish, either. My finals in both classes are this Friday...YAY! Then, two weeks off until fall semester starts. The countdown to commencement has already commenced!

I am working on a new blog that will be published at my .Mac site, http://web.mac.com/cwinn1, unless I can figure out a way to keep it here. I know little about html and the like. One of my original ideas for my blog was to make some of my writings available, but I have never been able to figure out a way to do that effectively. I guess if I really wanted a great site, I could hire AT2K to do it for me. Hmm...

I hope everyone is doing well.

Peace...

Any football team that features its punter on a promo poster is in for a LONG season.

It is hard to read, but the sticker says "Mongo for senate". Blazing Saddles fans unite and get out the vote!

Dumbest Thing I Have Seen In A Long Time

I vividly remember living at Mach 2 with my hair on fire, but those days are long gone. Now I see the stupidity in such actions.

I had a most wonderful birthday yesterday. We enjoyed some great Mexican food, followed by chocolate birthday cake. Maybe not the most normal pairing, but it worked for me. At least until 4:30 AM this morning when I woke up to puke...LOL. Turns out that was a bad combination...LOL.

I would like to say thanks to all of you who emailed, called, and/or sent cards wishing me well on my birthday. Thanks so much!!

I have been kicking arse in my ethics class lately. I am learning a lot, having fun, and making good grades. Doesn't get much better than that. We have been reading "Dead Man Walking", along with several articles on capital punishment. Friday, we are having a Pardon Board hearing in class. We will be arguing whether to grant clemency to Robert Lee Willie, one of the main people in the book. Some people chose to represent one of several characters from the book, and some chose to be on the Pardon Board. I chose to be the books author (and Robert Lee's spiritual advisor) Sister Helen Prejean. Those who chose to be a character will write a paper and present it to the Pardon Board. After the Board hears all the arguments, it will vote on whether to grant Robert Lee clemency. Each of the Pardon Board members will write a paper over the weekend to explain why they voted the way they did. It should be a lot of fun. I wrote most of my paper today, and will finish it up tomorrow.

Yesterday, I bought Five For Fighting's new CD, and I love it. So awesome. Right now, I am downloading Tom Petty's new CD. He played a couple of its songs at the concert in Nashville last year, and I liked them. Also, the first single, Saving Grace, is really good. I gotta remember to ask my sister to burn me a copy of Jewel's new CD.

I have my first football scrimmage this Friday. I am looking forward to being out on the field again. Even if it is 600 degrees outside.

My birthday yesterday was also MTV's 25th birthday. VH1 Classic replayed MTV's first day. We watched for an hour or so, and it was funny. I have to wonder how it ever survived for more than one day, given that some of the videos were just hideous. Obviously, they got a lot better. Although, it seems now, that the music video is not nearly as important as it once was. Too much "reality TV" for my taste.

We have almost completed our current stage in the adoption process. We did a bunch of paperwork tonight, and need to only do a few more things before we move into the next phase. It seems time is flying.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

If you are going to walk up to the bank window, why not just go inside?

Later this afternoon, we have a meeting with our social worker. We will be discussing what we need to do in the coming weeks, as we get ready for our home study. I keep forgetting I need to hide my meth lab...LOL.

Tonight, I have my first football meeting of the season. Many people who do not officiate sports do not realize how much time we officials spend in meetings and training camps. People quite often ask bluntly, "How much do you get paid for these games" (in what other profession does this happen?) and think it's a gold mine when they find out. They do not realize the level of commitment that is required. Which is understandable I guess, since they are not directly involved in it. These are probably the same folks who think teaching school is a pretty easy gig since teachers (allegedly) get off work at 3:00 or so.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I am going to celebrate by skipping Spanish class and sleeping in for a bit. I have a quiz in ethics, so I have got to do that. However, the rest of the day is mine, and I think we are going to lounge at the Smiths' pool in the afternoon. That will be fun :)

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

OK, I have finished my Spanish homework, I have done my writing assignment on Hotel Rwanda, and have read the chapter from my ethics textbook. All I have remaining is to read the first 6 chapters of "Dead Man Walking", which I have read before, so that will be a breeze. I think Michelle and I are going out for a while to do some stuff, which will turn into eating an early dinner, then repairing back home so I can read my stuff. Then, it will be celebration time, complete with champagne and year-old wedding cake. COOL!!

Peace...

I just finished my Spanish homework, so I started thinking about my Hotel Rwanda response. That brought me back to a video I recently found on Youtube.com, one of Craig David performing the Beatles' "Come Together" at the Concert for New York that Yoko One put on as a tribute to the victims of 9-11. I remember watching the concert live, and being particularly mesmerized by David's rendition of one of my favorite Beatles songs. I have embedded a player below. The quality is quite grainy (it looks as if it was recorded on VHS), but it is not too bad. Peace...

Michelle and I were supposed to meet Mike and Dana in Jackson last night, but neither Michelle nor Dana was feeling well yesterday morning, so we decided to try another time. I worked until about 5, then came home and took a shower. We decided to go to a restaurant that we had never before visited, Rooks Corner. It was really nice. Even better, after everyone found out we were celebrating our first anniversary, we got the royal treatment. The manager and the executive chef came out to greet us, and one of our meals was free. Both desserts were free, too. Way cool!

Today is going to be a busy day. I have got to write a short response to the film "Hotel Rwanda", which we saw in Ethics class Friday. I have also got to read the first six chapters of "Dead Man Walking" and a chapter from another book. Tonight, we might go out again.

I have been thinking of all the superlatives that would describe this last year, my first of being married. Here is the short list:

Fastest

Most intense

Best

Most difficult

Most rewarding

Busiest



I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

As we left church Wednesday, a rainbow appeared :)

Post #252...

It was great having my parents in town on Monday afternoon. They brought the top section of the wedding cake, and Michelle and I plan to eat it Sunday night. Whilst mis padres estaban aqui, we went to eat at Whole Hog Cafe. It was much fun until Michelle made the point of letting my mom know I did not eat the meatloaf Michelle had prepared the night before. I had forgotten how much I despise meatloaf, and just could not force it down. Oh well. I just asked Michelle what kind of flowers she would like, and made some chicken wings after she fell asleep.

Tomorrow, I have a test in Spanish. Joy. Then, in ethics, we are watching "Hotel Rwanda". After class, there will only be two more weeks in the summer session. YAY!!

Saturday we are meeting Mike and Dana Clark in Jackson to watch a game at Pringles Park, which is supposed to be one of the best minor league parks in the country. It will be great to see Mike and Dana.

Monday afternoon, we have a meeting with our social worker. We will be talking about our home study requirements and the upcoming paperwork. Later that night, I have my first football meeting of the year. For a guy who cannot stand meetings, I sure have a lot of them coming up. Oh well.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

I watched every shot of the final round of the Open Championship this morning, and it was great to see my man Tiger Woods win his 11th professional major, 14th overall. The thing that struck me the most is that after he putted out and sealed the win, he collapsed into the arms of his caddy, and cried on his shoulder for several minutes. Normally, his dad is always there to give him a big bear hug. But, as you may know, his father passed away earlier this year. Tiger got big bear hugs from his caddy, his coach, and his wife, but he said later that it was at this point that he realized his dad would never be there to see him win again, to give him that bear hug. I made a note to give my own father a big bear hug the next time I see him. Which, conveniently enough, will be tomorrow...LOL.

My parents are coming into town for the afternoon tomorrow, and it will be wonderful to see them. I remember in the days leading up to the wedding that mother was concerned about who would keep the top of the cake. Apparently, there is a custom that it be saved, for the couple to share on their first anniversary. So, my mom kept it and is going to bring it when they come. Eating year-old cake is not something Michelle and I are overly excited about, but it should be fun.

I have a short essay due tomorrow that I am going to write tonight, and a 5 page essay due Tuesday that I am going to do tomorrow night after my parents leave. Nothing like waiting to the last minute. Rusty influenced me in so many ways...LOL.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Michelle got a phone call today from a High School principal, and it seems she was offered a job. I think his exact words were, "Do you want the job?". Usually, that bodes well...LOL. She has a meeting scheduled next week to meet him and tour the school. We are extremely excited!! As a bonus, the school is just a mile or so away from where we live. Cool!!

Michelle and I have been discussing selling my truck, in order to buy something with air conditioning. We do not think the baby will be able to ride in a vehicle with no A/C. Still, it is quite an emotional thing for me to even think about selling my truck. I think the plan is for Michelle to get the new (gonna be used) vehicle, and I will inherit her Explorer.

My team won our debate in ethics class today, so that was cool. I have no idea how, since if I had been a judge, I would have scored the other team much higher. I think the judges took pity on us since two of our members (one of whom was supposed to give an important argument) failed to show up. I ended up giving an argument in her place, in addition to my rebuttal duties. I also gave the closing remarks. Everyone who showed up stepped up and did as well as they could.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Today has not been a productive day. Somehow, I made it both of my classes, but beyond that, I have not gotten much done. Tomorrow will certainly be better.

In fact, I have a debate in my ethics class tomorrow. My team will be arguing in favor of embryonic stem cell research. I will be helping with my team's defense (providing counter-arguments), and giving the closing remarks. It should be a lot of fun.

I also have a paper due in ethics class next Tuesday. Need to get started on that. Not to mention the exam this Friday in Spanish. Joy.


I have also been working on my seminary application. Still.

My sister has successfully moved to Nashville (click on the link to her blog for her account of that). I am excited that she is beginning her career. I am sure that she will do great!

I find myself thinking every day about how our son has yet to be born. Somewhere in Vietnam, there is a young woman, with no support system, who is pregnant and scared. She likely is poor and alone, wondering what to do. It blows me away that God will place the child she bears into our care. Only with our prayers and His guidance will Michael grow up to be the best he can be. This just blows my mind.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Michelle and I continue to toss around ideas on names for the baby. Last night, out of nowhere, she asked me, "What do you think of the name 'Emerson'"? Without hesitation, I said, "Well, along with Lake and Palmer, it makes a pretty good band."...LOL. Michelle seems to like Emerson, Noah, Elijah, and Ethan, Michael and Cage. I know this because she "accidentally" left a last where I would see it...LOL.

I may have invented a new category of moral theory. My ethics professor likes to assign us what she calls "blitz" writings, where we are given a topic and we have 5 minutes to write a paragraph or two about the subject. Earlier this week, we were talking about euthanasia (assisted suicide), and we were assigned one such writing. In ethics, we use terms such as "obligatory", "permissible", "forbidden", and "morally worse" to describe moral acts. In my blitz writing, I got myself in a vocabulary bind, and could not find the right word. And since I only had a few minutes, I could not start over. So, I said that passive euthanasia may be morally "not as bad" as active euthanasia. Passive euthanasia can be thought of as letting someone expire without taking extreme measures to save the person's life (an example would be a "do not resuscitate" order), while active euthanasia is the act of causing someone to expire sooner than he/she would otherwise. Had I started from the other direction, I could have said that active euthanasia may be "morally worse" than the passive kind. Anyway, my professor got a big kick out of it, making a big note of it on my paper, and kidding my in front of the class. It was all quite funny.

Yesterday, I bought tickets to see Eric Clapton October 18 in Birmingham. My brother Tim and I are super-excited about the show. Michelle and I are planning on seeing Bruce Hornsby here in Memphis August 16. We are really excited to see Bruce as well.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

I am sad to have learned that Syd Barrett--founding member, lead guitarist, lead singer, and chief songwriter my favorite band Pink Floyd--recently died from complications of diabetes. Truly one of the great "could-have-beens" his talent was never fully realized after his mental breakdown in 1967. So sad. I have been listening to "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Wish You Were Here", two songs the band wrote in direct tribute to him.

Earlier today, I was asked to speak at the Clarksville church on September 3. It's really spooky how last week I felt led to write a sermon about 9-11, and then I get asked to speak the week before the anniversary. I am going to use that sermon, and a special version of The Eagles' "New York Minute". It is a 9-11 edit, which my friends and I in Houston created in the days after the terrorist attacks. It features the Eagles song, interspersed with various audio clips from media broadcasts about the events of 9-11.

Classes started today fro Summer Session II. I have Spanish at 7 AM every morning, then and ethics class immediately following. I have the same professor in ethics as I had in my other ethics class back in the spring. The difference between the two classes is that in the class last spring, we studied several (about 9, I think) different ethical systems, and did not get into too much depth about specific situations. In the current class (which is called Contemporary Moral Problems), we will deal with several very specific moral problems, such as genetic and reproductive biothechnologies, world hunger/poverty (and the ethics of human intervention), the death penalty and treatment of animals and the environment. These are exactly the kinds of things that interest me the most. This kind of ethics (dealing with very specific issues) is called Applied Normative Ethics, and is what I specialize in. I am so excited!!

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

My brother Tim called me today to tell me that Pam Walker, a woman we had gone to high school with, committed suicide last week. This was quite shocking and disturbing to me. In fact, I spent the rest of the afternoon in a bit of a funk. I was supposed to make some progress in my seminary application progress, and I did make a little headway, but not nearly as much as I had wanted to.

I remember having a class with Pam. She was a year ahead of me (she graduated with Tim). In our class together (physical science), she sat next to me on the right. She was always a lot of fun to talk with. I understand that she had a child, about 9 years of age. So sad.

One of the problems we have with this type of tragedy is we are unsure what the bible teaches about suicide. Some believe that if someone takes his/her own life they will not go to heaven. This leaves friends and family in serious doubt and pain. I had a World Religion class at Austin Peay, and one of the assignments was to write a short essay on whether or not I believe that suicide is a mortal (unforgivable). I came to the conclusion that it can be, under certain circumstances.

I use the scripture John 3:16 and Romans 3:28 as the basis of my argument. It seems that across the vast majority of Christianity, most would agree that these verses are a large part of the core of our beliefs. These two verses, where John proclaims that Jesus' crucifixion gives everlasting life to ALL believers, and where Paul asserts that we are saved by our faith alone, and not our actions, seem to absolve a suicidist from persecution. If we are to say that Jesus died in order to pardon all believers for their sins, and if we are to argue that it is our faith in Christ, and not our actions, that enable us to receive mercy, it would seem illogical to me to say that God would condemn a believer. So, I would argue that a person who has accepted Christ as his/her savior would still receive mercy upon the act of suicide.

One counter-argument to my argument might be that in order for a person to be forgiven for his/her sins, that person must repent and ask for forgiveness. Obviously, a dead person would not be able to do this. I would argue, however, that one who has professed a belief in Christ as the savior is forgiven at the moment of the sin. Accepting Christ as the redeemer of one's sins (all sins) seems to preclude the need for redemption of any one sin. I may be wrong here (and I am sure many people would say that I am), but this is what I believe at this time. Just my opinion.

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

I enjoyed watching the World Cup Final between France and Italy this afternoon. In fact, I watched more of this World Cup than any previous World Cup, by a large margin. It was weird, though, that until today, whatever team I rooted for had always lost, with the one exception being Trinidad and Tobago winning their first match in group play (was that a run-on sentence?). For no reason in particular, I rooted for Italy today, so it was nice to see them win. Michelle and I have talked a little about maybe retiring to Italy, so maybe that was why I was cheering for them. I dunno.

We ate dinner at a local Pizza Hut tonight, and it was really good. Funny thing was, the young son of one of the employees was hanging out inside, with his skateboard. I could not resist the temptation to jump aboard, although I did not do any tricks. Robert Frost tells us that one could be worse than a swinger of birches. True indeed.

I bought a couple of new albums from iTunes yesterday. First, I bought the Goo Goo Dolls (relatively) new album, "Let Love In", which came out last year. Then, I bought K.T. Tunstall's current CD, "Eye to the Telescope". There are still about 10 CD's and/or DVD's out that I would like to have, but I will hold off for now. Michelle and I joke about the days of yore when, if I saw a book/CD/DVD that I liked, I bought it and no one gave any flack. Now, I have to consider that their will soon be three mouths in this house, so my purchasing decisions take much longer. LOL.

Unfortunately, Michelle cannot stand K.T. Tunstall's big hit, "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", so I am limited to one listen per day. Darn. Memo to self: Gotta find my headphones.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

This morning, we went to a seminar at Babies R US, where we first learned about how to spend several thousand dollars decorating the baby's room. In the second session, we learned how to baby-proof the house, which was much more helpful to us.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

You may have noticed that I changed the look of the blog. I chose this template because 1) It is considerably brighter than the previous one, thereby reflecting my general disposition these days, and 2) It seemed like a nice way to come back to the world of blogging.

The other day, I started thinking about the movie "Almost Famous", in particular the bus scene that features Elton John's "Tiny Dancer". I remembered that the Patrick Fugit character said the Kate Hudson character "I have to go home". She, in turn, said, "You ARE home". And he got this quizzical look on his face as if just realized that amidst all of the chaos that is a rock-and roll tour, indeed that was now his true home.

So, I got inspired to write a sermon. It is basically about how amidst the chaos of our lives, we can always find refuge in God...that if we allow Him to be our true home, we can always find comfort. My original Scriptural basis was the prodigal son story, but I have decided to use something else--although I haven't decided exactly what.

I found the movie scene on Youtube.com, and embedded a player below.

I have been reading and doing research all morning. It feels good to get some stuff done. One day last week, I was inspired to write a sermon. I have no speaking engagement scheduled, so it was kind of weird. Nonetheless, I ran with it, and wrote what I think is a pretty good sermon.

After lunch, I am going to read some more. I have bought several textbooks online in recent days, and I am still waiting for them to arrive, but I have plenty on hand to keep me busy.

Last night, we went to the Redbirds game to see them play the Nashville Sounds. What we did not know, however, was that there would be 100 people from 42 countries who were receiving their U.S. citizenship. They had completed all the necessary steps, and the ceremony was held after the game, on the field behind home plate. The crowd was enthusiastic, and gave several standing ovations. It was incredible to see these folks become Americans. When we adopt our son next year, we will have already completed to requisite paperwork, and when we bring him back, the moment the plane lands he will become an American citizen. That will be awesome.

It feels good to be blogging again, if not for the act itself at least for the fact that I have time to sit down occasionally and collect my thoughts. During my hiatus, I was not able to read the blogs that I normally do, so it has been nice to "catch up" with them. I also found out that Mike and Dana Clark have a blog, and I posted a link to it in the left column.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Peace...

I have been watching the Women's US Open 18-hole playoff this morning, which has kind of been a blowout. Annika Sorenstam has been in complete control.

Later today, I am umpiring a double-header at a park that is close to home. One of the major differences between my umpiring here, and when I was in Clarksville, is that now I rarely have to travel more than 15-20 minutes away from home. I remember driving over an hour to Hendersonville, Gallatin, Murfreesboro, et. al., for games. It's nice to go just a few miles down the road.

Tonight, we are going downtown to see the city's fireworks show on the river. It should be nice. Last night, we went to a huge Baptist churches for their picnic/concert/fireworks show. It was really great. We had some Corky's BBQ and watermelon for supper. We enjoyed the concert, and the fireworks were awesome. It was much fun.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday. Peace...

Michelle and I have spent the better part of the day relaxing, lounging and reading the newspaper. Later, we are going to a picnic/concert/fireworks show. That should be fun.

Speaking of concerts, we have been trying to decide whether we want to see Journey/Def Leppard in Nashville, or Bruce Hornsby here in Memphis. Tough decision...lol.

I am umpiring a couple of games tomorrow afternoon, then at night we are going downtown to see the fireworks. Tuesday, we are going to the Redbirds game (AAA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals). Funny thing is, they are playing Nashville, who we used to go see regularly when we were in Middle Tennessee. After the game, there will be a fireworks show. So, we should have our fill of fireworks for this year.

I am getting ready for classes to start a week from tomorrow. I am planning on working a little less in order to be able to do well in my classes. The Summer II term will be 5 weeks, then I have a one week break before the fall semester starts. It blows me away when I think about how this will be my last semester as an undergrad.

I hope everyone in doing well. Peace...

Hello, world...I am back. Back in the world of blogging. It was a great vacation.

Obviously, I took quite a lengthy break from blogging, and for no particular reason. It started out as a by-product of being crazy-busy after I got back from Israel. I had papers due in two different classes almost immediately after I got back. For some reason, those professors expected everyone to work during spring break...lol. One of them went so far as to say to the class, "I will be in my office during the break, so there is no reason you cannot work, too." Then, we lost access to the free wireless network at our old apartment. Our neighbors, who had let us use their network, moved out of range. So, my internet access was restricted to the time I spent on-campus, which was not much last semester. Once we moved into our new apartment, and got our own network set up, I started thinking about blogging again, but just did not feel motivated for a while. So, that leaves me here.

I will try to update everyone on the goings-on, by starting where I left off.

The spring semester was an incredibly busy one, with several really tough classes and the Israel trip mixed in. My grades were decent...I got one two A's, one B+, one B-, and a C+. The C+ was in Ethics, which is one of the classes where I had a paper due right after break. Since I turned it in late, I got deducted big time, and it really hurt my grade. The funny thing is that it was my favorite class of the semester.

I took a Spanish class in what is called the pre-(summer) session, which is an abbreviated three-week term. The class met for three hours a day, five days a week. It was grueling, but it eventually ended. I am near the end of a five week break, then my next summer session will start. I am taking a Spanish class, and also a Philosophy class, which is called "Contemporary moral Problems". The professor is the same as my Ethics professor, and I am excited about the class. Fortunately, I have already read most of the material we will be covering in the class.

Back in the spring, Michelle and I found out that we will not be able to birth children, so after investigating all the options, we decided to adopt a child. After investigating all the options available within adoption, we decided to adopt a baby boy from Vietnam. We are just kind of getting started in the process, so everything is a blur right now. Last week, we received OFFICIAL word from our adoption agency that we have been approved, so that was a huge relief. Now, we are working on stuff for the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service). That will take about 3 months or so to complete. The entire process should take until about May or June of next year, with us bringing home a child. What a staggering thought.

We have been busy getting our house ready. We have painted the baby's room, and decorated it in the theme of Winnie the Pooh. We really like the way it looks. We acquired a toy chest and a new desk this week, both for free. That was really cool! We also have been spending an inordinate amount of time at Babys-R-Us...LOL. Last night I made a deal with Michelle--1 hour there in exchange for 1 hour at either Comp USA or Home Depot (both are next door the Babys-R-Us. So we spent about 30 minutes at Comp USA before Michelle could not take it any more...LOL.

I have been busy working on my application to seminary. I am required to provide three references, one each from a clergy, academic, and layperson. Since I am aware that at least one of those people reads this blog, and in order to protect the innocent from ridicule and/or scorn (you greed to refer HIM?!?!?), I will not mention their names in this forum. So let me just say that I am grateful to all three people who agreed to refer me. That means a lot to me. I have a few more things to complete on the application before I send it in. Stressful, indeed.

I got an email from one of my fellow Israel travelers yesterday, and in my response to her, I told her that I still think about the trip every day. To be more accurate, I could have said that I think about it several times a day. I was certainly one of the most profound experiences of my life. I definitely want to go back for a more extended period of time...like a semester or a year...or for many years.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Rumors of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Hello world! Obviously, it has been a long time since I have posted. In fact, my parents and grandmother have been on the verge of reporting me missing to the state police...LOL. Sorry to be out of touch for so long.

Things have been out-of-control-busy since I got back from Israel. I had 3 assignments I was supposed to work on during the break (damn those evil professors), and since I was unable to get any of them done while I was gone, I have been trying to get caught up. Add to my schoolwork the fact that the store where I work has moved to a new location, requiring me to work a ton of hours since I've been back, and one might understand how I went through a period of several days where I was completely overwhelmed, and depressed. I did not know if I was ever going to get everything done. I am still not done, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I need to finish a paper and a journal for ethics class, and I will be back on track.

I forgot to mention that I got my western philosophy mid-term back last week, and I only got a 77. I worked my arse off for that test, knowing it would be crazy hard, and that was the best I could do. Jeez. I was quite dispirited about it for several days. On the bright side, I got a 95 on my math mid-term, which was a pleasant surprise. Leaving the test room, I felt I had probably missed 3-4, but I only missed one. Cool! That lifted my spirits somewhat.

Everything else has been going pretty well. I have a baseball game later today, so it will be great to spend some time outside in the sunshine.

I have an appointment with my advisor tomorrow morning, so hopefully that will go well. I have been trying to finalize a scenario that will allow me to graduate in December, but it will be tough. I am going to have to take some classes this summer, and I have no idea how I will pay for them. Oh well. Most of the classes I have been looking at for next semester seem really exciting, so that is something to look forward to. I am also going to try to do some independent study stuff, so it will be cool to CHOOSE what I want to research. That's refreshing.

I have been listening to a lot of Neil Young lately, in particular his newest album "Prarie Wind", and older stuff like "Unknown Legend" and "Needle and the Damage Done", and "After the Gold Rush". Great stuff.

I am going to try to put together a presentation on my Israel trip, and have it ready by Easter weekend. Michelle and I will be in Clarksville, and I hope to have something to show to those who are interested.

Peace...

The URL for my Israel trip blog is located here. I will posting there while I am away. I will resume posting here when I get back.

Peace...

The Western mid-term consisted of me filling almost 6 full pages of stuff on Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz. It was probably the 2nd most difficult test I have ever had. Second only to one of my mother's tests in 4th grade math...LOL. Seriously, I was glad that it eventually ended. Whew. Now, I have got a debate at 1:00, then finish some stuff tonight, and spring break can officially begin.

Michelle and I are going to try to do something special Saturday before I leave. I have not got a plan yet, but I will think of something.

I will send out an email tomorrow with all my contact/hotel info, along with the itinerary, for those who are interested.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

My Western Philosophy class met at the professor's house tonight for a 3 hour study session. The test tomorrow is going to be insane. One of my classmates and I are taking a break at Buffalo Wild Wings. Then, I am going to finish my ethics reading journal (due tomorrow) before hitting the rack. I plan to rise early to study more for the western test. Over lunch, I will prepare my stuff for the debate in Ethics class. My team is debating in favor of the abolition of the death penalty. I am supposed to give our opening remarks. I personally do not give a **** about this debate, as I have way too much other stuff to do.

I am beginning to develop a distaste for Tuesdays. Last Tuesday, as you may remember, my Israel trip was cancelled, albeit temporally. Yesterday, I was told that I will not be working my first D-1 game today, in its stead I will be working at Dyersburg. Jeez. I was not given any reason why this happened, other than a "mix-up in the schedule". Oh well. I will get my chance.

Later this morning, I have my math mid-term. Immediately after that, I leave for my game. Tonight, my Western Philosophy class is having a study session at the professor's house. The mid-term for that class is tomorrow, and is shaping up to be quite difficult.

I left ethics class yesterday in a quite-pissed off mood. We were given the assignment for our next paper, which is due the Thursday after we get back from spring break. Which means the professor is expecting us to write most of DURING spring break. With a chuckle, she dismissed our complaints by saying, "I will be in my office during the break", inferring that we should work too. I thought the idea of a spring break was to take a friggin' break. Jeez. One guy turned to me and said, "Aren't you going on that Israel trip?". I replied in the affirmative. He then said, "You'd better take your laptop and do it on the plane". I told him that I had already planned to write two essays for film class on the plane. So, I have no idea how I will write the paper. Also, she gave us the instructions for the second debate, which is tomorrow. As if we do not have any mid-terms this week. Jeez. This class is the most difficult I have ever had in terms of the work load. My Existentialism class was the most difficult in terms of understanding the material, but the sheer work load in this class beats anything I have seen.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

I got up early this morning to finish my Ethics paper. I got started later than I would have liked last night, because I realized that I was supposed to read an article and post a response to it online. I had kind of forgotten about it, because when the professor spoke about it in class, I was thinking about my Western mid-term, which is this Thursday. I have found myself several times, sitting in class and thinking about another of my classes instead of focusing on the topic at hand. This disturbs me a great deal.

Math mid-term in tomorrow, and I feel okay about it. I will review some more tonight, and do some practice problems. I also need to study for that Western mid-term. Also, my first baseball game of the year is tomorrow, which is also my first Division 1 game ever. I am so stoked!

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Mid-Term time has arrived, and this week is gonna be nuts.

I made a game plan for the week, and it involves maximizing every spare second of my time, focusing each moment toward academic gain. We'll see how it goes (as soon as I finish this post--then it's time to work).

This has been one of those just plain "wonderful" days. I woke up early this morning, and listened to some cool tunes. Mostly Coldplay, with some Bon Jovi tossed in (more on that in a minute). We went to worship this morning, and the sermon was particularly good. I spoke with Frank Ward (the head of youth ministry for the denomination), and it was good to see him since we had not spoken in quite a while. I told him about my upcoming trip to Israel, and we talked about his upcoming trip to Japan this summer. We also talked about the Japan/China tour Michelle and I are going on in 2008. Strangely, we did not talk about CPYC, which is what we almost always talk about...LOL. He told me he would like to hear of my Israel trip when I get back, so I may line up a speaking gig here.

Clarksville church did not seem interested, but Mt. Liberty in Charlotte has asked me to speak. The date there is TBA.

Again, I cannot say how much I am relieved that we will get to go on the trip. This is a big part of my spiritual journey, and I am greatly anticipating it. Many of my classmates have expressed their life-long dreams of going to the Holy Land, so I know they are looking forward to it as much as I am.

It occurred to me one day last week that once I have been to the Holy Land, America may well never be quite the same for me. Heraclitus, one of the pre-Socratic philosophers, is famous for saying "You can never step into the same river twice." Ponder on that for a moment, and you will see how easily the saying, "You can never go home again" germinates from that. It occurred to me that I may never see America the same way again. Which is how Bon Jovi comes into the equation. Their new song, "Who says you can never go home?", is currently receiving a lot of airplay on the Memphis rock radio stations. It is a song that I developed a fondness for, so much so that I bought the album on iTunes this morning. Great song, but indeed you really ever can't step into the same river twice, because it is always changing. America will certainly have changed for me.

I am going to create another blog just for the Israel trip, and when I get it up, I will post the URL. While I am away, I will post there as often as I can, hopefully at least once per day. As part of the class, we are required to keep a journal, and submit it when we get back. My posting will make up the bulk of the journal. I will certainly have to clean it up a bit to get into academic form, but the text will essentially be the same. My grandmother has told me several times that I will be her eyes, so I am going to do my very best to try to communicate what I experience.

Also, I will send out another email with my hotel info and itinerary if you would like to follow along each day. I should be receiving my cell phone number in a few days, so if you would like to call me you will be able. It will be much cheaper for me to receive calls than to make outgoing calls, so if you would like to talk to me, that is probably the best way to go. Michelle found a great rate on a particular kind of calling card, and I will relay that info here before I leave.

I cannot say enough how much I appreciate all the support I have received from my friends and family. It means a lot to me to know that people care about what I do. Moreso than me, please pray for Michelle as she struggles to be alone for the first time since we've been married. As for me, I welcome the break...LOL!! She will get me for saying that!!

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Late yesterday afternoon, I got an email from Dr. Patterson saying that the trip is back on. So, of course, I am just overjoyed. His email contained the text of the email he received from the Administration. It stated that after much deliberation, they feel the students of the class are all adults and (in the Administration's opinion) capable of making informed decisions. This is all a bunch of crap, in the context that this had nothing to do with their initial argument. Oh well, the bottom line is that we get to go, and that is all that matters.

No one likes to be jerked around like we did, but as bad as it has been on me, it has been that much worse for Michelle. This whole thing was her idea in the first place, and since she ended up not even going at all, makes me feel quite selfish. She is going to spend a few days in Tullahoma with her parents, but most of the time will be here working. She is strong and I know she will make it fine. My cell phone bill from Israel may be a tad high, because I will fell compelled to call often.

I have a ton of work to do before the break. All my classes are trying to cram a ton of stuff in before midterms, and it is weighing me down. Add to this all of the drama from this week and you may understand why I feel I am about to collapse from exhaustion.

I need to re-write my ethics paper by Tuesday, complete the ethics reading journal by Thursday, western mid-term exam (might be the hardest test I have ever had) is Thursday, Math mid-term is Wednesday, I need to write 2 essays for film class and submit them before Friday, and there is probably something else, too. Oh yeah…I need to get ready to leave the country for 10 days…LOL. Oh well. It will all get done. I just have to keep telling myself that.

Once again, I appreciate all the support I have reeived from everyone.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace…

WE ARE GOING!!

I am work, so I cannot make a detailed post, but I just got word that the trip is ON!!

I will write more tonight.

Peace...

Update

Dr. Patterson met with the President and Provost this morning, and he reported that things went very well. He presented some really good counter-arguments to the University's arguments that were presented Tuesday night, and he feels that he made good headway.

A big part of the university's argument Tuesday was that Harvard and Rhodes had both suspended their Israel programs, so the University felt it should too. I smelled a tu quoque fallacious argument. Anyway, as it turns out, Harvard had reinstated their program just this year. Dr. Patterson also presented a list of about 60 other universities with students in Israel right now. He felt this really impressed the President and Provost. We also have received tremendous support from the Memphis Jewish Community, and some good press in the campus newspaper, The Daily Helmsman.

He left the meeting feeling our odds stand at about 50-50, which is much better than the 90-10 that we had yesterday.

As of now, a decision has not yet been rendered, but it should be coming soon. I am hoping for the best.

I received word this morning that my great-aunt is doing a little better, in that her fever has been reduced, but that she is still in bad shape. I have not heard about my cousin Cara and her leukemia. My other cousin Claire is now home from the hospital and is reported to be recovering somewhat. Please pray for them to receive healing and comfort in their time of need.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

First off, I would like to say "Thanks" to all the people who have called, emailed, and texted me about the (immanent) loss of my Israel trip. Your support means so much.

I will try to explain things as best I can. The trip's faculty sponsor, Dr. David Patterson, received a phone call yesterday morning from the International Programs office of the University. The phone call was to inform him that the President and the Provost had decided that on "moral grounds" they could not allow us to go on the trip. This came as a complete shock to everyone, since the trip had been approved in June 2005, and all i's and t's had been dotted and crossed. As far as anyone knew, the trip was a "go".

Our regularly scheduled class meeting last night became a meeting with lawyers from the President's and Provost's offices. Obviously, we had a lot of questions that needed answers. Surprisingly, many of our questions were indeed answered. Although, obviously, not in the way we would have preferred.

The first question, of course, was "Why?". As it was explained to us, this is what happened. Over the weekend, someone in the International Programs office read an article online that had been produced by the BBC, which said that tension levels, and perhaps violence, would escalate in the West Bank during the time we would be in Israel. So, the plug was pulled on the whole thing. We were quite disturbed that the trip could be cancelled based on one report, and especially a report from the notoriously pro-Palestine BBC. We explained that, given the large Jewish community in Memphis, there are plenty of experts that have qualified opinions on the matter, and that they have unanimously given us the green light. In fact, Dr. Patterson's wife travels to Israel several times a year to assess the situation on the ground, and has just returned from her latest trip. She, too, gives it a green light.

Through all the smoke that lawyers blow, I discerned that basically, the university feels that if someone on this trip were to get hurt due to a terrorist attack, the University would look bad in the eyes of the community. So, that is the reason the trip was cancelled. They weighed their thesis against the fact that the Memphis Jewish community is in uproar, and that the university has already taken a P.R. hit in their eyes. Also, the Daily Helmsman (the campus newspaper) had a reporter and photographer at the meeting, and will be giving us favorable press.

The result of the meeting is that a sub-committee was formed (you might think that a Presbyterian minister was involved...LOL), with the idea that it would represent the group in a meeting with the President and Provost. The meeting was to be arranged this morning, with the hope that it would happen this afternoon. As of now, I have not heard of any developments, so I believe that the meeting probably did not happen today. The sub-committee is going to present our case, in the hopes that the trip will be reinstated.

Basically, there are a few possible scenarios in play. Most likely is that the trip will remain cancelled. We have been promised full refunds, and course credit (upon completion of a research paper).

The is a possibility that we would sign release forms, absolving the university of any liability in the event of someone getting hurt. This idea has already been presented, and rejected, so it seems unlikely. Anyway, with all the paperwork that were required to submit, I seem to remember already signing something to this effect. If that was not good enough, I do not know why a new release of liability agreement would be any better.

Another possible scenario is that the trip could happen independently of the University. A lot of things would have to happen for this to play, but it does not seem out of the realm of possibility. If the trip were to happen independently of the University, all the discounts and subsidies that we received because of the University's involvement would be lost, and those monies would have to be replaced. We estimated this cost to be about $500-$700 per person. For most folks, that would probably not be possible. However, Dr. Patterson has contacts within the Memphis Jewish community that he feels could possibly be of financial assistance. However, the way I see it, if we were to go this route, it seems that Dr. Patterson would be grossly insubordinate, so therefore I do not expect him to risk his job and career. So, in reality, it seems this scenario is quite unlikely.

So, we are all in limbo at this time. I have been quite distraught the past 18 hours or so, with my melancholy being compounded upon receiving news this morning that my great-aunt Mabel may be on the verge of death, and that my cousin Cara was diagnosed with leukemia yesterday. These events certainly make the loss of a trip seem not-quite-so-important. Add to all this that, due to my sadness, Michelle is also saddened. This disturbs me maybe more than anything. I told her tonight that we need to be strong, not to let one of us bring the other down. We had a nice talk, and I think we both felt better afterward.

Since our internet at home is not working well, I went driving in search of a free network. The only one I could find is at Buffalo Wild Wings, which is more of a sports bar than anything else. I did not even see coffee on the menu. So, I ordered a chesseburger and a Coke. Somehow, after eating, I am still hungry. Wings at 1:00 AM would not be a good idea, so I think I will wait until I get home to have another snack.

I should know more tomorrow about the status of the trip. In lieu of the trip, Michelle and I have been tossing around ideas on where we could go. I think we have decided on a trip to Huntsville, Alabama, to see the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. I went there as a kid, and it is one of my fondest memories. Michelle has never been, so she is excited about seeing something new. We also will probably go to the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama. In case you may not know, unclaimed baggage from the airlines goes here to be sold. The store is huge--in fact, it is larger than a city block. As Michelle put it, this is a glorified yard sale. LOL. Neither of us have ever been, so it will kind of neat. Who knows, I might find a discounted iPod. I have been saving up for one, and am just about ready to make a move in that direction.

We have not made any definitive plans, though, so everything is up in the air.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Rock on!

About 5 minutes ago, I sat down to have lunch and check my email. The first email I checked was one from my professor who is in charge of the Israel trip. The subject line of the message read "Some shockingly bad news". The content of the message was to inform everyone involved that the trip has been cancelled. The University President and Provost have said that "on moral grounds" they cannot allow us to go.

I immediately called Michelle to let her know, and we spoke for a few minutes. Other than that brief conversation, these words are my initial thoughts. Except that I do not really know what to say. I am just dumbfounded, and I am indeed in shock, as I have been looking forward to this like nothing else in my life, save my marriage. I have not as yet qued up any music, as is my norm during lunch, so I am trying to think of a great song to capture the mood. After a few minutes of contemplation, The Beatles' "Let it Be" is it. From the Anthology 3, since it's probably my favorite version.

I have a difficult time believing that the President and Provost are so morally concerned with us that they would even think twice about this trip, so that leads me to wonder what the real reasons may have been. This is a fruitless exercise, so I will try not to even bother. One cannot help but wonder, though.

An otherwise great lunch of chicken and stuffing with corn has suddenly lost its appeal. I am trying to choke it down, because I know I will need energy for the rest of the day. Oh well.

I am trying to take this well, but this just sucks.

I hope everyone is doing well. The Hebrew word for "peace" is "shalom".

Shalom...

Michelle and I were having lunch yesterday, and it occured to me I was drinking Pepsi from a Coke cup. I understand this is illegal in 13 states. LOL.

I decided to make a cameo appearance in math class this morning, so I got up bright and early and headed over to campus. However, once there, I discovered the campus is closed until noon today "Because of the condition of some of the streets and sidewalks", says the university's official email.

Oh well. I decided to head over to Atlanta Bread Company to use their wireless network, since we have been without internet at home since Friday. Since we moved here in August, we have been freeloading off our neighbors, using their wireless network (with their permission). However, Friday, they moved to another apartment which put us out of range. Yesterday, I bought a range extender, but I could not get it to synch up with their router. Our neighbor, Mike, is going to come over tonight to look at it.

I am so far behind in several of my classes, I feel like I am going to drown. I have a ton of work to do in Spanish, tons of writing for Ethics, Western mid-term is less than 2 weeks away, and at least 3 other things I could be doing. Yet, I remain calm, knowing that it will all get done at some point.

I got another baseball assignment yesterday, at Jackson St. on 3/25. That's cool. My partner is from Memphis, so we will be able to ride together.

I am continuing to make preparations for my trip to Israel. Departure is well nigh, so I am getting more excited every day.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Nothing Says True Love Like A Pit Bull

I meant to post this picture the other day, but forgot. I saw this car on my way to class, and almost fell over laughing. Funnier still, as I was taking the picture, the owner of the car started calling out to me, "Wanna buy a dog? You interested?". He was runnning to catch up to me, so I started running away from him and just yelled "No". LOL. Only in Neck-ville.

I think I have finally found the iPod that I want. Apple recently filed several patent applications involving touch-screen applications, and the rumor mills are ablaze amid hopes that there will be a video iPod with a touch-screen interface. It is also possible that Apple may be working on a tablet-style laptop. Interesting stuff.

I got up early this morning to rip some of the CD's that I brought from Clarksville, and also to organize the music I got from my brother Steve. While organizing my Bad Company playlist, I accidentally hit the button that opens the iTunes store, and observed that Bad Co. released a new CD last year. In the midst of getting married, somehow I missed hearing about it. I listened to clips of several of the songs, and they sound like vintage Bad Co. This might be my next musical purchase.

I have been listening to my new Neil Young CD quite a bit, and while not on par with Harvest, or Harvest Moon, I like it nonetheless. I have also listened to some of Coldplay's X & Y, and I like it a lot. I have noticed that Nickelback's new single "Photograph" has a verse on the CD version that does not appear on the radio. I wonder why that is. The CD version clocks at 4:18, so that does not seem to be too long, but I cannot figure it out. Hmm. Anyone got any info?

We are supposed to finish Spinoza today in Western, so that will be nice. His stuff is kind of confusing, although it is easy to see why he was excommunicated from Judaism, and simultaneously pissed off the RCC.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Chris is in the Division 1 House!!

I spoke with my baseball assigning officer (the guy who assigns games to umpires), and he offered me a few games in the coming weeks. One is at a junior college in Clarksdale, Mississippi this weekend, and one is March 1st at UT Martin, which will be my first Division 1 game ever! I am so excited I am about to burst!! As Mike Clark put it, "It's about time somebody recognized you (I) am a damn good umpire!" I also have a test that morning, so I will have to make sure to be focused on both events.

Speaking of tests, I got my math test score back today, and I am pleased. I got a 95, only missing one question. I was a little disappointed in that I missed the question by making a careless mistake, but I will take a 95 any day.

After class, Michelle and I went by the bank to get a safe deposit box. It didn't cost nearly as much as I thought it might, so that was good. We wanted a safer place to keep our important documents than the "lock box" we have been using.

I am going to head to the library in a while to do some work. Actually, I have a ton of work to do. As always.

Michelle is working later, then she has class. Afterward, she has promised to make tacos for dinner. Yay! I always joke that in high school the one day of the week I could be guaranteed to be there was when the cafeteria served tacos. LOL. Actually, I went every day, but it makes for a funny joke.

I spoke with my uncle Don yesterday, and he wants me to come to his church and speak about my experiences in Israel after I get back. That will be nice. I am going to offer to speak to several other churches, to see if anyone is interested.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

I have been busy this morning ripping some of the CD's I brought back from Clarksville. I also used my iTunes gift card that I had received to purchase Neil Young's new album, "Prairie Wind", which is the third album in his "Harvest" trilogy. It came with 2 free videos, so that was really cool. All albums from iTunes should come with free videos. I also recently bought Nickelback's new CD, "All the Right Reasons", so I have been able to almost satiate my music fix...LOL.

Today will see me in Western Philosophy, discussing the wonders of Spinoza. Later, it's off to Ethics class, where we will watch the Woody Allen film, "Crimes and Misdemeanors". Then, I have got to run some errands (someone told me this is Valentine's Day?), then an Israel meeting, then study time, then time with my valentine.

I hope everyone has a great day. Peace...

This weekend was simply incredible. Friday, at about noon, it started snowing rather heavily here in Memphis. Since Michelle was working, we were not scheduled to leave for Clarksville until about 4 PM. However, her boss was concerned that we would not be able to make it out of town, so she came home early and allowed Michelle to leave early. So, we got out for town about 2:30 I think. People in Memphis drive in a ridiculous manner even when the roads are clear, so adding snow just creates bedlam and chaos. It took us quite a while, and a few death-defying maneuvers, to get out of town. Once we got down the road a ways, we actually got ahead of the snow, and we were just driving through a lot of rain. Not too bad. However, around mile marker 30 (remember, mile marker 0 is the Mississippi River) Michelle started clamoring about how she always craves hot chocolate when it's snowing. Meanwhile, I was just trying to keep us alive...LOL. So, we soon stopped for some hot chocolate and a cinnamon roll. This allowed the snow to catch back up to us, but we eventually got back ahead of it again. Until mile marker 143, when we needed gas. After filling up, we drove through snow for a while until we eventually got ahead of it again. Eventually, we got to my grandparents' house, where I promptly fell asleep from exhaustion. LOL.

My mother had read here that one of our main objectives while we were in town was to visit Johnny's, so she and my dad instructed me not to go there Friday night, since they wanted to take us there for dinner Saturday night. However, our jones could not wait, so we went late Friday night just for a honeybun with ice cream. Mmmm good. Afterward, we were so wired that we called my parents house to see if they were still up, and indeed they were. So, we headed over there to chill and so I could download some of my brother's music. My dad had recently converted a bunch of old home VHS movies to DVD, so we watched Christmas 1986 and had great laughs. That was the year I got my first RC car, and it fun to remember old times. Steve promptly brought out that old car, plus my dad's lasertag gun (complete with holster). Steve watched the movie with horror as he opened a ton of Transformers, and other figurines. He could only imagine how much they would be worth now, unopened. I pointed out that his behavior was dangerously similar to that of the guy in "40 Year-old Virgin". I threatened to never speak to him again if he revealed an "Asia" poster. Then I told the story about the guy I used to know who had close to 10 Asia CD's. LOL.

Saturday, we had a busy day. We started by going to Wal-Mart to buy a trailer ball and a wrench (to install the trailer ball). While there, we ran into one of my former professors, whom I had for English 1010 and 1020. She is the nicest woman, and it was great to see her. We also ran into Dottie Minor, who is a member of the Clarksville church. She told us that her husband Pat was out of town and would miss my sermon, but that she would be there. She is really friendly, and it was great to talk with her.

Then, we went to U-Haul to pick up the trailer we had reserved. I had originally reserved it with the plan that we would tow it with my Nissan truck, but due to the snow we decided to drive Michelle's Explorer instead. When the woman at U-Haul saw we were in an Explorer, she promptly told us we could not rent the trailer, due to U-Haul's policy of not allowing their trailers to be town behind Ford Explorers. I said something to the effect of, "Say what?". I found this to be incredulous. She explained that a number of Explorers had overheated while towing trailers, so they do not allow it anymore. I was just dumbfounded. So, needless to say, we left U-Haul without a trailer.

So, we headed over to Tim's house to load up what we could of the stuff we had left there when we moved to Memphis in August. First on the priority list for me was the CD's and DVD's that I had unwittingly left there. Since all my CD's are alphabetized, I have been without everything from the M's to the R's since we moved here. That includes my Neil Young and Pink Floyd. This has been a sore spot with me, so I am overjoyed to get them back. Then, we went to Wal-Mart to return the trailer ball and wrench. Then, we went to visit the people that she used to work for, but the kids were not there so we decided to come back later. So, I got a haircut and Michelle got hers trimmed a bit. We then cruised by Verizon to see Kent, and while there ran into Tim and Teri Sims, who are expecting another baby in a few months. So, their two kids will only be about 14 months apart. Wow. Turns out that Teri knows Kent's wife Daphne. I had never known this...LOL. We visited with Kent for a few minutes before heading over to my parents' house to get ready for dinner, and for me to copy more music. Steve and I played some games on the Xbox while everyone waited for my parents to get ready. We eventually hit the road and we all enjoyed a nice dinner at Johnny's. Steve's girlfriend Tina met us there, and no one was quite shocked that Steve and I engaged in an almost-epic battle of Ms. Pac-Man. That was a lot of fun. Ms. Pac-Man is one of my favorite video games of all time. Some of you may remember that I once held the high score on the machine at Austin Peay, until they unplugged the machine and moved it about 8 feet. That was horrible!...LOL

After dinner, we headed back to my parents' house where I could finish copying music, and while doing that Steve and I listened to some of Dark Side of the Moon (on his new special version CD) in surround sound, which was fabulous. Michelle was significantly ready to go, so we departed.

We got over to my grandparents' house, and I had planned on reviewing my sermon, but instead I mainly toyed with my new music, getting organized just the way I wanted it. Meanwhile, Michelle watched the last half of "Dirty Dancing". Then, the lights went out and I embarked on one of the least-restful nights of sleep ever. I don't think I slept for more than about 2 hours total, and woke up with a terrible headache, and with every bone of my body hurting. Plus, I felt like puking. I was not sure if I was going to be able to make it to church, and I was certainly in no condition to speak. But, I persevered, and made it there. I was already a nervous wreck, and when my parents walked in, I almost fell out of my shoes. No one had told me they were coming, so I was quite shocked to say the least. This increased my level of anxiety/nervousness by a factor of about 15, so I promptly went to the bathroom and got sick. Real sick. I cleaned myself up, and with about 5 minutes to spare, declared myself ready to proceed.

Somehow, I made it through the service, although I do not know how. I was so overcome with emotion that I could hardly breathe, let alone speak coherently. Afterward, it was remarkable how many people told me that I looked so relaxed. I wanted to say it must been because I felt dead...LOL.

After worship, the entire family gathered for lunch, which was a lot of fun. I didn't really feel like eating, but I managed to get some food down (Can't pass up a free lunch...LOL). It was great to visit with everyone, but before I knew it, it was time for us to go. We went by the Clarksville Academy, where the local baseball umpires' association was supposed to have a meeting, so I could say hello to the guys. However, no one was around, so I surmised that the meeting must have been cancelled. Then we went out to visit the kids Michelle used to watch, and we were all excited to see each other. They told us they were doing well in school, and that made us really happy. I had sold my Dell laptop to their mother last summer, and she told us that over the holidays some of the family that were in town had downloaded a bunch of games and stuff and gotten it messed up. She had just gotten it back from the shop on Friday. I was glad that there was nothing mechanically wrong with it. I fooled around with it for a bit, defragmenting the hard drive, and doing the same with their desktop. I also tried to fix the desktop's monitor, but could not do much with it. Looks like it is going bad.

We hit the road about 4 or so, and as soon as we got going, I knew I was not going to be able to drive the whole way. I was so exhausted that I could only drive for an hour or so, and had to get Michelle to drive. She drive for a time, while I slept. Except for when she would slam on the brakes, waking me up. Anyway, she drove past Waverly to where we get back on the interstate (mile marker 143), and we stopped for a few minutes to get some coffee and snacks. I felt much better, and was able to drive the rest of the way. We got home a little after 8, unpacked the car, and promptly sat our butts down. We were tired. We cooked a frozen pizza, of which I did not eat much (still no appetite), watched Grey's Anatomy, then went to bed. Just before retiring, however, I opened the envelope I had received at church, which contained my paycheck. When I saw the amount, I was flabbergasted. They paid me much more than the normal rate, plus mileage. Whenever I speak at a church, I don't usually discuss the pay, knowing that the church will pay me fairly. So, this was quite a surprise. A great way to top off the night, and hit the rack.

The wake-up call came way too early this morning, and I could not manage to stumble out of bed in time to make it to math class. Which was OK, since we probably were just going to go over Friday's test. There is no attendance policy, so it's not big deal. I decided to go to the library, where I planned on doing some reading, but instead I have been writing this post for about the last hour or so. At 11:30, Michelle and I are meeting for lunch (appetite is BACK!), then we have a meeting at 12:30 here on campus. Then, I have film class at 2:30, and she has to work for a few hours before she goes to class. Maybe I will get some school work done tonight while she is in class.

I checked my email earlier, and one of my professors wants to get together over lunch to informally discuss the ethics of human cloning. That sounds exciting. I do not know too much about it, although I tend to be against it. So, it will be good to converse with someone who is knowledgeable about it. I think we are going to get together in the next week or two.

I have an Israel meeting tomorrow, and a baseball meeting on Wednesday night. So, I do not work again until Thursday. So, our expenditures will definitely be cut back this week. Maybe we will pick up some Ramen noodles...LOL.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

This morning found me downloading Green Day's album "American Idiot" from iTunes. I have been listening to it for the last 30 minutes or so, and I really like it. I have never listened to much of their music before, the one exception being "Good Riddance" some years back. Therefore, I did not have a good idea of what their sound was, but I am enjoying it. Very energetic, to say the least. 3-piece bands always have unique sounds (i.e., Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rush, ZZ Top, et al.).

I also checked out the 2006 Grammys album, and I may buy it soon. I already have some of the music from it, but there are several songs I don't have. I may do that next week.

Today, I am turning in my ethics paper that I finally finished at 11:30 last night. Also, western philosophy class should be good. We will be talking about Baruch Spinoza, who managed to simultaneously get excommunicated from Judaism, and piss off the Roman Catholic Church. Talking about predestination can do things like that. I had never read him before this class, so it is a refreshing break from the Kant-Mill cycle I have been on.

1 more day till we roll to Clarksville!

Peace...

I have hit a patch of writer's block today, as I have made very little progress toward finishing my ethics paper. I have a lot of ideas in my head, but I have not been able to get them down on paper. We rented the movie "Cinderella Man" the other day, and it is due tonight. If I want to watch it, I must finish my paper, so maybe I will get a sense of urgency.

We are marking the hours till we get to Clarksville, although it feels a little weird not knowing what the schedule is going to be once we get there. We should get into town about 9-10 PM Friday night, so we don't expect to do much except go to Johnny's for a honey bun and ice cream. Saturday, we will be packing some stuff up that we had left in storage. My main personal objective there is to retrieve the CD's that I unwittingly left behind. This includes all my Pink Floyd, Neil Young, and Robert Johnson. This has been a sore spot with me since we moved here. So, when we get back, I will have serious ripping to do. Also, while we are there, I am planning on raiding my brother Steve's music hard drive to add some stuff to my collection that I do not have on CD.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

We had our debate in ethics class today, and it went well. My team actually won, which was quite surprising to me. Although, the outcome had no effect on our grade, other than merely participating will help everyone with their participation grade. My team had a couple people not show up today, so boo to them. We overcame their absence, and presented a pretty good argument.

We are looking forward to being in Clarksville this weekend. I need to call Mike Clark to see if they want to have dinner Friday or Saturday night, or do something else. My whole family is getting together Sunday after church, and that will be neat. It will also be cool to unwrap our Christmas presents that my parents got us--I am beginning to like this idea of celebrating Christmas in February...LOL.

I am getting nervous about preaching at Clarksville church, which is kind of weird since I normally get nervous about preaching as soon as I accept an invitation. I guess I have been so busy with school work and stuff that I have not had time to get nervous. Although, I have a pretty good sermon, and I think that helps, too. Hopefully I will say something meaningful.

I ran into Caroline Averitt today while I was eating lunch. It was good to talk with an old friend from Clarksville, although she laid a guilt trip on me for having never come to the Wesley Foundation. She is heavily involved there, and I think she may even work there in some capacity. Anyway, I explained that I work almost every Tuesday, and Michelle has class. But, I told her we would make an effort. She told me her brother Jay will be coming here in the fall on a full academic scholarship; I am really proud of him. Last time I spoke with him, he was wanting to be a youth minister, so I hope that desire is still with him.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

I haven't spoken with Kent since before the game, but I know he is overjoyed with Pittsburgh's win over Seattle. He has been a true Steelers fan since he was a kid, and has been waiting a long time for the Steelers to win another title.

Michelle and I had much fun watching the game. Actually, I had much fun and she did homework...LOL. It was one of the strangest games I have ever seen. A lot of twists and turns, with Seattle dominating but never taking control. It was more of Seattle LOSING the game than Pittsburgh WINNING it.

Today will be filled with homework and reading. Also, I need to work on tomorrow's presentation. Need to work on Sunday's sermon, too. Need to do some Spanish stuff online. Need to study for Friday's math test. Not too much going on, other than that stuff...LOL.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

Some interesting things happened in ethics class today. We were talking about moral relativism, which is the view which contends there is no universal code of morality that is good for all people. Rather, it holds that each society's moral codes are determined by the individual society. The professor asked the class if anyone agreed that this was a good philosophy, and several people raised their hands. Then the professor asked if anyone was in strong disagreement with this system, and I, along with some others, raised my hand. I pointed out that it is essentially a fallacious argument, and used an example of slavery in the U.S. I submitted that just because slavery was at one time morally permissible in some parts of the U.S., that does not necessarily make it right. In the end, two black women on opposite ends of the room started arguing with each other, and they dominated the conversation for about 15 minutes.

We got an interesting assignment for Tuesday. The class split into 3 groups, and Tuesday there will be an in-class debate. One team will have to argue in favor of a moral issue, one team will have to refute those arguments, then the two teams switch sides. The third team will act as judges. My team will have to argue in favor of the issue in the first round. The issue that we will argue in favor of is female clitoridectomy. Yep, you read that right. The real kicker is that my team elected me captain. So, I split the team into offense and defense. The offense will argue in favor, and the defense will counter the other team's arguments. Further, some team members will prepare the opening and closing remarks. So, all of this should be a lot of fun. The outcome of the debate will not have an effect on our grades, other than getting participation points. That is why I made sure everyone has a role.

One drawback to getting up before dawn is that I am now completely out of gas. After I finish my Flying Dog Winter Ale, I am going to bed. A night without watching O'Reilly Factor is like a day without sunshine, but oh well.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...

The sound of rain pattering upon the window woke me up this morning at about 4:30. Having not been able to return to a sleeping state by 5, I arose and started reading. I decided to take a break for breakfast and to listen to my new Train CD, but after a couple of songs, I qued up some Coldplay. It occurred to me that although I bought their "A Rush of Blood to the Head" CD last summer, in the hubbub of getting married I was never able to listen to it much. So, I have listened to several songs, and I really like it. I have always been a sucker for a well-written song. "Amsterdam" is particularly interesting, since I will have an 8-hour layover there on my way to Tel Aviv. What a haunting tune.

One of the benefits of being awake an such an insane hour is that I got to chat with one of my Facebook friends who is studying in Italy this semester.

I need to read some more Descartes before class, and also print some stuff out for Ethics class. Wait--I am now at a 21st-century university--I am free to turn on my computer in class now. Cool. Memories of Austin Peay still haunt me sometimes.

I have an Israel meeting tonight at 5:30, and Michelle has class until about 8PM. Looks like another dinner apart. We are really unhappy that our schedules are so unalike that we hardly can enjoy a meal together. Tonight we have a date with the IRS, because we are going to work on our taxes. It should not take much, since we already have gotten everything organized and in place. In fact, we have most of the numbers already entered into TurboTax, so with just a little more work we will be done.

Although, we did take a night off last night, and played putt-putt and rode go-karts. That was much fun. We actually tied in our game of putt-putt. She had an incredible front 9, parring 8 of the away holes while I was stinking up the joint with 4's and 5's. On the back nine, she cooled off a bit and I made some clutch putts in the 6-10 foot range to tie the score. The loser of our games usually buys the other a pretzel, so this time we split one.

I hope everyone has a great day. Peace...

I left math class this morning feeling particularly upbeat. I love it when I can get into a frame of mind of thinking logically, in a linear fashion. Cool.

I ran into Wes Fink after class, and it was good to talk with him for a few minutes. He's a cool cat.

Gonna grab some lunch with Michelle, then hit the books.

Peace...

I Love Me Some Train

Oh, how I love me some Train! Train's new CD was released yesterday, and while I knew I would be getting it soon, what a wonderful surprise it was for Michelle to buy it for me, and give it to me last night when I got home from work. I enjoyed listening to about half of it before going to bed. Listened to some more this morning, too. It's a wonderful record.

Math class will be starting in a few minutes, then it's off to the library for a full day of research/writing. I need to continue working on my paper for Ethics class. Ethics class yesterday was really great. I was really engaged with the material, and I was able to make several good comments. Western yesterday was a little strange. It is not often that a professor can speak for 20 minutes without me understanding anything at all that was said, but that is what happened yesterday. I turned to the woman next to me and told her I was completely lost. She said she was too, asked the prof to go over what he had just said, and after he condensed it to about 3 minutes, I understood it completely. Cool.

I have an Israel meeting tomorrow. I emailed he prof yesterday to ask him if the recent Hamas election victory would interfere with the trip at all, and thankfully he said no. So, we are still a go for launch.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...