Tip of the season.

Clothes don't make the man, but being naked will get you arrested.

Hanukkah always comes during finals. I finished celebrating at home, but I failed to finish it here.
A week-ish late:
The 4th Night:
Judas Defeats Timothy and Bacchides
in encounters with the forces of Timothy and Bacchides they killed more than twenty thousand of them and got possession of some exceedingly high strongholds, and they divided a very large amount of plunder, giving to those who had been tortured and to the orphans and widows, and also to the aged, shares equal to their own.

Ah, a regular Robin Hood.

The 5th Night
Last Campaign of Antiochus Epiphanes
Transported with rage, he conceived the idea of turning upon the Jews the injury done by those who had put him to flight; so he ordered his charioteer to drive without stopping until he completed the journey. But the judgment of heaven rode with him! For in his arrogance he said, "When I get there I will make Jerusalem a cemetery of Jews."

and now it is a cemetery of Jews.

The 6th Night
Antiochus Makes a Promise to God
in addition to all this he also would become a Jew and would visit every inhabited place to proclaim the power of God.

The 7th NIght
Antiochus’s Letter and Death
So the murderer and blasphemer, having endured the more intense suffering, such as he had inflicted on others, came to the end of his life by a most pitiable fate, among the mountains in a strange land. 2

The 8th Night
Purification of the Temple
Now Maccabeus and his followers, the Lord leading them on, recovered the temple and the city; 2 they tore down the altars that had been built in the public square by the foreigners, and also destroyed the sacred precincts. 3It happened that on the same day on which the sanctuary had been profaned by the foreigners, the purification of the sanctuary took place, that is, on the twenty-fifth day of the same month, which was Chislev. 6 They celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing.

The 25th day of Chislev is usually between the 5th and 20th of December. During these 8 days of celebrating, the Maccabees only had enough oil to last one night, the flame burned for 8 nights of celebrating, which is why the candles of the Menorah are supposed to stay lit for the 8 nights.

The 8 Blogs of Hanukkah- Night 3

Judas Defeats Nicanor

"With these words he filled them with courage and made them ready to die for their laws and their country; then he divided his army into four parts."

What is it about the connection a person feels with their nation that makes them die for it? Is it the same as conviction and principles? That people feel so strongly about what they believe in, they're willing to die for it?
Sometimes, I look up to that mindset, sometimes it just looks like close-mindedness.

The 8 Blogs of Hanukka- Night 2

Preparation for Battle

"For they trust to arms and acts of daring," he said, "but we trust in the Almighty God, who is able with a single nod to strike down those who are coming against us, and even, if necessary, the whole world."


That would be such an awesome power. To strike down people with a single nod. Kind of like Chuck Norris.

The 8 blogs of Hanukkah - Night 1

The Revolt of Judas Maccabeus

" Coming without warning, he would set fire to towns and villages. He captured strategic positions and put to flight not a few of the enemy. 7 He found the nights most advantageous for such attacks. And talk of his valor spread everywhere. 8 When Philip saw that the man was gaining ground little by little, and that he was pushing ahead with more frequent successes, he wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, to come to the aid of the king’s government."



That's the way I plan to take over the world. Come without warning, setting fire to the minds, forever pushing ahead. It seems as though that's the only way to get things done these days-to come without warning. If you give a warning, you'll get protested and legislated to death.

Iris Jade is very thought inducing.

Funny, My grandma used to say "The Lord will never give you anything you can't handle."


I like to think that we have some say in what our plans are. Something like we have complete control over what we do and say-with no blame on anyone else. Like nothing is pre-determined unless we determine it. I like having that control over my life.
But then, it's always when those plans go awry that you find something you end up loving forever. Something you would have never even considered.
So...I don't know. Maybe there's this balance that God has created for us. Like he lets us have control, but if we start going in the wrong direction, he'll ruin our plans and show us what we really wanted to do.

I'm rambling and I really don't know. But I do know that what my grandma used to say gives me comfort in the whole thing: No matter what happens, you WILL be able to handle it.

There are no bad hair days.


Just good hat days.

Weekend Warriors

And our best friends.


The writers weren't kidding when they said all good things must end.
But then, some things are far too good

far too good to let go.
Some things and some lives are cut too short, too soon.

You never try to make the best of your time when you think you have plenty of it.

rest in peace, because your life was always in chaos.
Casey Calvert 1981-2007

playing with the type and alignment.

Perhaps leaves fall simply

to carry away all that we
thought we needed to say.

And perhaps trees in this way
purify themselves each
year knowing that there is

No thought so large that it
cannot be written on the
smooth, plain surface
of but a single

leaf.

I'm straggling already again. Like my feet are 10 paces behind the speed I want to go.
Dragging ass instead of hauling it.


This girl today was rocking socks with flip flops like it was a completely unakward thing to do. I thought that was fantastic.

I had a delightful conversation with an elderly British couple on the bus today. It certainly brightened up an otherwise dull day. A subtle reminder that the world is much bigger and yet so closely knit together than anyone can fathom.


tooyoung/tooold,tooloud/tooquiet,tooshort/tootall,
tooboring/toooutgoing,toosimple/toocomplex for this life.

The Academy Is...
a) A band.
b) A group of hooligans from Illinois(and one from Australia)
c) On their way to Tulsa to play music
d) On their way to Tulsa to cause destruction
e) Played a rockin' show in Albuquerque last night, even though the Sunshine pit could have held a good 200 kids more
f) All of the above


Your answer: f
Correct answer: f

Ding ding ding! You win.

Sign of a good book:
I missed my bus stop this morning because I couldn't get my nose out of the story.

oops.

Terrorism is not fought only by men in uniform.
It is not fought in only one country, by one country; it has no boundaries.
It s fought by everyone-armed or not. It is fought with the words and actions of every person against bad things.
It is fought by every person who decides to be kind instead of mean, generous instead of selfish, open-minded instead of stubborn, knowledgeable instead of ignorant.
Most important: It is fought.

6 years ago, my high school english teacher had us write poems about how we were feeling. At the bottom of my poem, I included the famous quote by Ann Frank, "Despite everything, I still believe people really are good at heart."
Every time I remember that I once truly believed that, it makes me want to believe it again.

lolwut

So, we're playing on isketch. And one of the clues was "Not Over, but______" Clearly, the answer to this simple riddle is "under." But I went another direction and said "during."

fantastic.

Salem.

Today, a 4-year-old girl named Salem opened my eyes.
She sat down in front of me, promptly turned around and introduced herself.Hi I'm Salem! Who are you?
She asked me what I was doing Looking out the window
And then provided some commentary on the blurring scenery, Trees! People! Cheese!(lol,it was a Pizza Hut) Buildings! Cars! while asking questions about things she'd never seen before What's that?
I got off the bus and she bid me farewell Bye!.
All throughout the day, I've been hearing this little voice in my head as I walk by things Ants! Freshmen! Trees!

I am acutely aware of just how unaware of my surroundings I was.

Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.

"I wish none of this had ever happened."
"So do all who live to see such times. All you have to decide is what to do with the time that's given to you. There are other forces at work in the world besides the will of evil."


LOTR day &hearts

The end of every semester feels like the end of an era.

The Warmth.

I hate feeling like a hypocrite, but there's nothing I can do and that makes me hate it even more.
I hate not being able to feel ok, but I refuse to rely on pharmaceuticals.
And then I think about how all the hate is ridiculous. For some reason, all the bad things overshadow the good and that makes no sense. It makes no sense that there's a half hour show every night about all the crime that happened that day, and I have to search the corners of the internet to find news of people doing good.

I think I just might have to change that.

List.

I made a list.

Things that make everything better.

1)Underwear straight from the dryer
2)Seeing someone be nice to a stranger (holding the door open and whatnot)
3)Buying something on sale
4)Hearing a good song for the first time
5)Watching my cat curl up in a little ball and sleep
6)The smell of dryer sheets.
7)Burying yourself under your bed covers on a cold night.
8)Singing along with your friends to your favorite song(s)
9)Surprising people
10)Shaved legs on clean sheets
11)The inspiration you get after watching a really good movie
12)When song lyrics are printed inside your CD so you can sing along without feeling stupid.
13)Laughing so hard you cry
14)Being squished in the back of a car
15)Boys that smell good
16)Listening to a song I haven't heard in awhile
17)Having someone compliment you on something you're unsure about
18)Afternoon thunder
19)Looking back at old pictures that bring back good memories
20)Taking walks
21)Going to the library and checking out some new books
22)Playing frisbee
23)Watching the sun set
24)Running through sprinklers on hot days
25)Car washes
26)Making eye contact with random people in the street and smiling just because
27)Eating and talking at the table with family
28)Pete Wentz's real laugh-he sounds like Goofy.
29)Seeing elderly couples hold hands
30)Watching little kids playing around with bubbles.
31)Coloring.
32)Going up to a place to see the stars/city lights.
33)When I make obscure pop culture references and people understand them
34)Robots
35)Finding money in the pockets of old clothing
36)The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
37)Road trips.
38)The ride home after a good concert
39)Getting a letter through snail-mail.
40)The smell of a new cd booklet and listening to a cd for the first time, uninterrupted.
41)TAI TV.
42)Hand claps in songs
43)When my room is clean and I can find things
44)Listening to songs I used to love and still know all the words to
45)Making lists.

Of course...

So, I just made a line graph entitlted "changes in the level of skaniness during one year-Albuquerque."

My research showed that the level of skaniness of females in Albuquerque jumps significantly and stays at the maximum level throughout the months of June,July and August.
Interesting.

Yes, I know it's hot outside, but that does not mean that I want to see your ass cheeks hanging out the bottom of your "shorts."

Lake Tippecanoe

She spent the morning sitting in the park and sipping a cup of tea while softly humming to herself. She thought about the time when she was seven years old, and her family was on vacation at a relative's house they visited that summer on a lake, and her cousin was complaining that he'd forgotten his favorite mix tape at home. And in the shadow of the little wooden house, in the fading sunlight just after dinner, staring out at the overdeveloped coastline of a green-gray body of water with some Native American name she could never remember, she realized that not everyone had music in their heads, and she couldn't imagine how people lived like that.

I was about to come on here and complain about how I think I've lost my shadow and how I feel invisible.
But American Idol came on (lolshutup) and they're doing this show to raise money to give to poor kids in Africa.

And suddenly, my ability to disappear in a crowd doesn't seem as important as kids who struggle to be heard, but nobody's listening.

I wish I could give them more than 80 cents a day. It's amazing to see the hell they live in and then see them smile.


The wall screamed and humpty tumbled down in shock, shattering into a million sparkling pieces.

:)

The things that keep me going every day are the things I can't bring myself to write about. I'll never find the right words.

You're one of those things. As long as you stick around, I'll be ok.

You've got this silly way of keeping me on the edge of my seat, eyes wide open, heart beating faster.

My own 3-ring circus

I did the best imitation of myself today.
I'm getting pretty good at it. I've got the smile down, perfected.

Performing for a limited time only, folks! Get your tickets!

Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy!

So, I'm here at work and some lady comes up with her son. While she's searching for her ID, her son-probably around 6 years old- promptly pointed to my Fall Out Boy(from the simpson's) shirt and proclaimed "I want to be Fall Out Boy when I grow up!"

Fantastic. My childhood dreams were much less interesting; I just wanted to be rich.

I don't have a B Plan. I don't even have
an A Plan for this.

I never thought I'd have to plan this far ahead. And now I'm here, with no plan, no rules, no instructions.

And it scares the shit out of me.

New York eyes, Chicago thighs

Fresh year, fresh music.
The same old touch with a new blood rush.
They'll never understand how much a small line in one song means to us.

Crowds are won and lost and won again, but our hearts beat for the diehards

Da Beeearrss

I don't even really like football.
It's amazing and kind of silly how a meaningless game makes me feel homesick.
Silly how we socialize ourselves to support a group of people in tight pants because they supposedly represent your state-even though half of them are only there because they've been traded from a team on the other side of the country.
And yet, as I watch from 1.500 miles away, I'll call my grandmother and old high school chums and yell out "Da Bears!" when appropriate.

Afterall, it's only a game. Right?

...

Where would I go to, even if I could go home?

Homesick for a place that doesn't exist anymore.
Hoping my memories don't dilapidate with the reality.

Run-on Post! Paragraphs are for the weak.

FOE With TEN, FOB and NFG!
First of all, nothing enhances the concert experience than making fun of little skinny scene girls for 6 hours in the biting cold with kids you just met. Second, Sunshine Theater's security can kiss my frozen behind. And Pete's. And anyone involved for that matter. Anyway, the concert was awesome. Permanent Me was adorable-catchy music, cute boys. The Early November-the same. New Found Glory rocked the house as always. Jordan's hair was the "highlight"-pun intended- of their set. I have a theory. He got bored and had a supply of bleach pens. Fall Out Boy... Say what you want about them being 'poppunk' or 'emo', those kids put on a fucking rock n' roll show! I'm talking like "arrghh!" rock n' roll! Complete with crowd sing alongs, surfers, circle pits and a fight. Yes. A fight. The boys were wearing their 'mismatched' names shirts. Joe=Andy, Pete=Joe, Andy=Patrick,Patrick=Pete. Fun times. They seemed so much more energetic than I have ever seen them. Pete seemed happy to be on tour. The boy had glitter on his fuzzy jacket. How he can get away with being straight, I'll never know. They played-not in order and missing a few: Tell that mick Baby Grand theft autumn Thriller-rocking new song! Arms race Dance Sugar XO Champagne Growing up (!) Saturday Saturday was the scene of the fight. Pete invited fans to come up on stage during Saturday. Charlie was ok with this. He helped! Sunshine's security didn't seem pleased. probably missed something, but a sunshine security guy threw some punches at Charlie. Charlie punched back. They ended up on the floor, Pete jumped in-threw some punches of his own. AWESOME. Pete said "nobody fucks with Fall Out Boy's friends!". The crowd agreed. I just want to say something. If Fall Out Boy's security and Fall Out Boy themselves believe they are safe stage diving-then they probably are. Some-and by some, I mean sunshine's security- guys need to get that little cocky stick out of their asses. Pete has done this many times and he has survived. Your attitude was not needed. After most the stage was cleared, Erin and I saw Andy trying to get to the guy as well. LOL. We screamed out "Get him Andy!" Seriously. Unleash some angry vegan on that guy's ass, and he'll never get cocky again. In closing-the concert was awesome, Fall Out Boy rocked my fucking socks off, and Sunshine's security sucks. :D More highlights: New Found Glory walked right past the line of kids to get pizza and right past us back onto the bus. Nobody said anything! lol Erin and I were like "Was that New Found Glory? Getting pizza?" And nobody yelled their names or anything. It surprised me. One more: Some girl asked Patrick if she could have his hat, Pete said 'probably not', so she gave Patrick her hat. He put it on backward over his hat and it looked adorable. :)