things i've done

for once i'm posting something that i didn't edit at all (except for one word, to be entirely honest). what can be added to this?

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (MUST do someday)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity/mission
7. Been to Disneyland/world (when i was 3)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (i probly have done this...)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (not quite)
15. Adopted a child (someday)
16. Had food poisoning (i probly have been through this, just not that i remember)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (sort of...)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (someday i gotta do this!
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (nope, and not much desire to, interestingly enough)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (copping out of some thing by blaming 'sickness')
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb (i think so)
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (NO desire :P )
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (can't imagine how ritzy and cool this would be)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (a few times)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (depending on how you determine "ancestors"
35. Seen an Amish community (lol, um yeah)
36. Taught yourself a new language (sort of??)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (how is this quantifiable?)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (does a plastic wall in a mall count?)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (i grew up in the Philippines, remember?)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (YES! very unique experience)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (interesting idea)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (changing this to active rather than passive, and yes! ;) )
47. Had your portrait drawn (self-portrait count?)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (this make me giddy just thinking about it!!!!!!)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (yay for living in the tropics!)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (i want to do this...)
55. Been in a movie (home movie? :D )
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (someday)
58. Taken a martial arts class (would love to)
59. Visited Russia (plan to)
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (hahahaha. i actually don't even like to eat them. i HAVE helped sell BoyScout popcorn though... B) )
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (i don't think i can)
65. Gone sky diving ( :D )
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (visited the museum in DC, does that count?)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter (for some reason i think i have but can't remember...)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (bleh...)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square (drove by it... i will stand in it one of these days though)
74. Toured the Everglades (anything in Florida would be awesome!)
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (nope!!!)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (thank you, brother...)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (will soon have some article translations "published"...)
81. Visited the Vatican (it'd be a riot to get to see it!!!)
82. Bought a brand new car (never)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (don't think so)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (been outside it alot)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (i guess not many people have done this...)
88. Had chickenpox (no! i haven't!!)
89. Saved someone’s life (yeah, i think so)
90. Sat on a jury (i would LOVE to, but haven't :( )
91. Met someone famous (hmmmm, sure)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person (with a dear friend)
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (both of my parents have!!)
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone (for at least 6 years now)
99. Been stung by a bee (by stepping on one in the grass :( )



~and am i the only one who imports notes from facebook to blogger? isn't it odd how cyberspace molds and changes...~

songs speak

songs speak. a large variety of factors are involved in how they speak, but they do. words are the main method, and what i focus on primarily. songs have spoken to me much more in recent times than before, except perhaps a particular period about 4 1/2 years ago, when there were a few songs that were ALL i listened to for a few weeks straight.

right now, the song playing for me is Warren Barfield's "Love Is Not A Fight". "love is not a fight, but it's something worth fighting for..." my favorite line has got to be "And if we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door", thinking of how God could do that, in a marriage particularly, since that's what this song is discussing in the movie 'Fireproof'.

"While I'm Waiting" is very high on my list lately. i'd heard it on the radio a while ago, but couldn't remember enough to find it later, so forgot about it. someone sent it to me recently, thinking it went along with a saying i have written somewhere that my life consists of staying busy while waiting.

i know i'd heard of Sara Groves, but not listened to too much of her stuff. "He's Always Been Faithful" is powerful and high on the list, too. i prefer its slow tempo, and simple piano accompaniment. there isn't a line in that song that isn't cutting right to the heart with clarity and precision.

there's a song that isn't quite right, since it mentions a girl being "five foot three". but i'm finding more truth in "My Last Name" lately... "Anything But Mine" was on top of the lists for a few months, but has wonderfully been knocked down in the last few now. there are lots of songs that are apologies to people, and i gathered alot of them and compared them, determining which ones were legitimate and which ones weren't. that was an intriguing study, from Lifehouse to Travis Tritt to Casting Crowns to Chuck Wicks.

for a few months, these words (except the first line, since i've probly always tended to be a "night owl") rang true to me: I've never been a real night-owl but these days I'm all turned 'round... There's only one thing I'm sure of right now: I should be sleeping,'stead of keepin these late hours I've been keeping...

"How could anybody break a heart like hers? I can't stand to see her hurt" was my empathetic crooning for a few weeks for loved ones, but the comfort with which God comforted others is now touching me, and i see how little i really know in the big picture.

Josh Turner's call to an adventurous life remains poignant. His lyrics:

Would you go with me if we rolled down streets of fire
Would you hold on to me tighter as the summer sun got higher
If we roll from town to town and never shut it down

Would you go with me if we were lost in fields of clover
Would we walk even closer until the trip was over
And would it be okay if I didn't know the way

An interesting song starts out talking about change like traveling, "It's hard to let the miles pass me by, yellow lines that blend together in my eyes. And when the seasons change again then I will too..." that made me think of how the seasons of this year really did bring about the changes with them... Spring was one sort of time and plans. Summer brought about a few different beginnings and ideas sparking. Fall was a unique blend of difficulty and enjoyment. Winter isn't sure what it is going to be quite yet, but it's different from all three previous seasons, i know. hey, maybe i'll get a hang of this season thing yet, tropical girl that i am.

Coldplay's "What If" has lines that are my constant thought: "Every step that you take could be your biggest mistake, It could bend or it could break but that's the risk that you take". but then Tarzan's song (or so i'm told... i haven't seen it), reminds me of the hopes and benefits.

i wish i were a song writer, cause i'd make the 18th Psalm into something singable all the way through. it must stay the strongest voice of all.

lists

i was asked if i make lists. i do make lists, but they are primarily just so that i have seen what all i have to write down. once i've seen it all written down, i don't need the list anymore. yesterday i found a list i'd written a few months ago that was rather humorous. today i have written three lists and one chart. comparisons and contrasts are my delight. now to type them all in somewhere to keep them for forever...

or i could just date them and file them away in a drawer. i have many of these scraps of paper around, and one of these days (<--- i've said that for about two years now) i'll make them all into a scrapbook of some sort. they range from things to do, places to go, people to write, phone calls to return, what i've eaten in a certain period of time, what i did throughout the day, books to read, notes from a book or from something i heard, an email address or phone number or URL to save, blog posts to write, thoughts to expand upon later, a verse to look up, a brief song lyric to follow up, and more. most of those things i'd want to remember, so i will make them all into a dated scrapbook. but then what would i do with it? it'd be the sort of thing that would sit on a shelf to be pulled down maybe once every 3 to 5 years when in a reminiscent sort of mood. would my kids enjoy seeing them? would grandkids think the scrapbook a dustcatcher? or will my biographer one day be overjoyed to come upon such an orderly bit of "stuff" about my life?

the end is drawing nigh

and I'm not sure what to think about that. My life has been rather unique the past few months... and it will all change now soon.

Much learned, many mistakes, much endured, many hours, much enjoyed, many people. These months of campaign work will go down as one of the more interesting and influential in my life. Maybe they're an anomaly to what my life will be, yet maybe the start of something I hadn't expected.

Jehovah God gives, and takes away. Blessed be the Name of Jehovah.

new post

I keep thinking I should post here...

I could say to go read some of Ron Paul's latest emails and opinions. Especially his endorsement of Chuck Baldwin, of course.

I could say to sign up on the Baldwin website if you want to get emails from me. And point out that there was a typo in the one I sent this morning. Perfection is a never ending-struggle.

I could talk about the wonders of being up at 3 AM regularly. I rather like it, though. Honestly.

I could talk about how much fun traveling is, what adventures one can get into, and how much fun even planning for traveling is. A big trip may be coming up that I am all thrilled about just thinking about yet!!!!!

I should refer people to Chuck Baldwin's articles, the most recent of which is "No Amnesty for Wall Street". I hyperlink WAY too many things all day long to have any desire to hyperlink that. Also catch up on some of the solid stuff Doug Phillips has been putting out about Palin.

I could try to recite Proverbs 4, what the family is memorizing right now.

I wanted to post a video of a *very* cute kid who decided it was the most fun thing ever to be licked all over his face by a dog as big as he is. But that's on the other computer.

I need to thank God for technology, for a variety of reasons. I need to thank God for awesome, amazing, strong friends who have been my support for the past few months, and who I have been privileged to be able to support as well. I need to thank God for the changes in me.

And I now get back to work. I've got a few questionnaires to finish up tonight to send off for approval, then emails to respond to. And whatever distractions pop up here and there, too.

all hours

In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

Ecclesiastes 11:6 is my defense for working all hours. See, morning and evening work has to be going on!!!

inbox #s

Is it slightly deceitful to say that I have 1186 emails in my inbox? Should I say in "a" inbox instead? They're not all spam... At least 900 of them are alerts that emails weren't delivered, the bounced-back notification. Near 100 need replies. But it really is mine. And only one of mine. There's two others, one of which has at least 100 that require replies that are long-delayed. The other I caught up on last night.

I have lots to do today.

i hate communication. is there EVER a situation in which there aren't conflicts on this issue?? do human beings ever actually convey their ideas accurately? are commands ever clearly understood? are letters ever read how they were written? does a person ever truly understand another's words?

i obviously despair of a positive answer on any of those (sort of) rhetorical questions... and here i thought this week was NOT going to be as stressful as last.

typical American

I think I now officially join the ranks of sleep-deprived Americans. Typically going to bed never before 2... Getting about 6 hours of sleep.

arrows

You can tell the pioneers by the arrows in their back.

Or so I was told. Has anyone else ever heard that saying? Does it make sense?

i don't eat much

total food consumption for August 13

6 french toast sticks

cup of tea

bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwich
(and i was forced to eat the tomato... just about threw up on it. i do so despise the things fresh. always have. i was remembering when i was little (lol) i would wrap up tomatoes that were in a salad or something in my napkin and throw them all away... :D)

two cups of lemonade

cup of tea

spoonful of rice

can of Sprite

cup of coffee

1 cob of corn

who? what?

*******, who are you, and what do you do for the Baldwin campain? Just curious.

my response was concise but compact. this guy writes us alot with lots of talk and little action. i hope i made a point. and the spelling mistake was original. (of course!)

minesweeper

Minesweeper scores incense me. Especially ridiculously low ones. Ones that are significantly lower than mine (no pun intended).

me: 10, 37, and 122
COMPETITION: 6, 26, and 91


The benefit of blog posting irregularly and sporadically is more comments. But this is my stress-relief, I've decided. Expect fairly little actual substance with any depth for the next three months.

wise words

For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Now that there verse I believe. Someone told me Ecclesiastes was good to read, and I thought that I hadn't read it in a while (well, I did read it in March when I was going through the read-the-Bible-in-90-days thing, but that was pretty fast). So I'm reading it.

For to the one who pleases Him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy...

I want to know what that means, and how to accomplish it. Seems kinda like James' thought. The rest of the verse is interesting... Sounds alot like redistribution of wealth to me. :P

... but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God.

the most miscellaneous ever...

I like the color sky blue. I've always liked a bright sunshiney sky... not a white sunshine, but the type that makes the sky blue. White clouds are good, too. Not grey clouds: they're dismal. I don't like yellow much. I only have one item of clothing that is yellow, and that is striped with white. When it's worn with a black skirt I'm sure I look like a bumblebee. But the most gorgeous car that I've seen in a while was a sleek, emerald green Mustang. My penchant for trucks is fazing out for some reason...

No one still has been able to tell me the connection between "Pieces of Flair" on Facebook and "The Office". But there are some awesome ones, seriously.

• Annoy a Liberal: work, succeed, be happy
• Things to Do Today: 1) get up 2) survive 3) go back to bed
• Of all the things that could frighten you, you worry about my driving?
• Since I can't send a hug, I send you flair (with the adorable kitten with its arms out)
• If it was up to me, I'd never have to miss you
• Sometimes God calms the storm; sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child
  

At the FEE Young Scholar's Colloquium I gave a "student presentation". It can be heard online at this link. Right now it's like allllll the way at the bottom, titled 'Student Paper Presentations Part 3'. I think I start around 1:10 into the whole thing, either the fourth or fifth speaker. (Though it'd be good to listen to the guy who talked before me, too. :) ) My talk was titled something like "Societal Hindrances to Defense of Private Property: A Case Study". All the lectures on that podcast link are awesome, I'm sure, and if anyone listens to any please tell me and let's talk about them!

Lack of leadership is a trying thing. Choosing to solve that problem is rather worrisome, though, and horridly stressful.

What are some biblical refutations of self-flagellation, or self-affliction? Which comes in all shapes and sizes, yknow...

Over the past two months I have met at least 5 "internet friends" in 3 different states. Which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also made a whole bunch of new friends, of varying levels and involvement... In the past three weeks, I've been to New York City and Washington D.C. twice each. It was awesome to get to go to the National Press Club on one of those trips and the Metropolitan Museum of Art on another. Subways (besides being of the devil...) are rather eerie, cause they're so dark and ever so fast when you're on them. When you're above them they shriek and shake the ground... However, the options seem to be paying some $5 and a bit of time and enduring the dark and shrieking thing or having a ton of hassle and paying near $20 to park a vehicle in the city, I wonder which I'd choose if I had to do this more often.

I've been told to become an anarchist. Then I wouldn't have to work for a political campaign. I think I am somewhat an anarchist. Does that make me a minarchist?

Oh, and I've eaten sushi. Some people are coercive. I also walked among willow trees by a pond in the moonlight... gorgeous. I go to sleep every morning around 3 AM. This is my life.

July 4th

I've had a few well-wishers today. I appreciate the thought, but I'm still not sure what "Happy 4th of July" is supposed to mean. I'm such a pessimistic over-analyzer.

A friend posted a hilariously accurate explanation of this day on his blog today...

I believe, however, that July 4 is no longer a holiday celebrating our independence and liberty. It has transitioned over the years into a holiday celebrating the state. With each passing year, we are fed more statist propoganda.

The part that I laughed at the most was:

And just as a July 4 example, keep in mind that most of the people in this country are not allowed to set off their own fireworks on their own property and so must go to a government-sponsored show paid for with confiscated wealth.

Sorry, Chuck, I had to take the kids to a show tonight put on by a city government... But as I watched them I was coming up with all sorts of creative solutions for private industries to put on big shows (that could happen anytime during the year, too). My favorite fireworks this year were ones like this. I call them "rain".

provide-ence

A neighbor brought over 5 bags of clothes today.

Then I was out walking with the kids down a road nearby, and a neighbor that I am casually acquainted with happened to be out in his yard and told me to come by and pick up a 50-pound bag of potatoes.

college thoughts

In other news, I am currently in Seattle. I’m up here to register for Seattle University, the school that I shall be attending to voluntarily subject myself to 4-7 more years of enslavement, at my own expense, so that society may view me as someone worth paying attention to.

From a blog I started reading because he's going to write about FEE seminars, too; and cause I'm weird sometimes, I read some old posts and found this one from when he started going to college. I find that sentence so absurdly amusingly true... Mind if I quote you on that for, like, forever now, Tyler? :D

I finally read EmmaWoodhouse's post on college as well, where she says that "It is my opinion that an excellent education–‘higher’ or otherwise–requires only a few ingredients". These ingredients are four.

1. A student, possessing a mind. It is best if this item comes with a fair degree of intelligence, motivation and industry.

2. Books. Or to be a little broader in these days of high-speed Internet, reading material.

3. Paper. This is to be written or typed upon.

4. Pencils or other writing implements. If you prefer, this may be replaced with a keyboard.

I'm good for 1, though too often lacking in the industry department of it. 2 is definitely covered... 3 is fine, too, though I do combine it with 4 and have the keyboard as the writing implement onto the screen (I'd call it LCD but someone will tell me it's not and since I don't actually know I shall stay safe). I think I'll be using those 4 points forever now, too.

How many times this past week did I answer the question, "Where do you go?" with "I'm not attending college right now, but studying on my own and doing some correspondence courses," with a smile daring them to ask more... Few do, and I wonder why. Sometimes I'd add, "Maybe someday I'll put all that I've studied and credits together for Thomas Edison or something" (of course few of them knew what that was since there are no hyperlinks in verbal speech) "but a piece of paper with my name and a seal on it isn't all that for me."

rare individuals

Jeffrey Hummel kept saying that the main source of progress in civilization came from rare individuals who eschew the free-rider mentality and work despite comparatively less returns than they deserve in order to produce wider social benefits.

In other words, the few people who have changed civilizations and people for the better gave up extraordinarily large amounts of time, thought, sometimes their health for their cause. Once their cause was accomplished the benefits that they personally received were always less than comparable to all that they had expended. And the general populace who more often than not had contributed absolutely nothing, and in too many cases even opposed these progresses, received these large benefits with no cost to them. This is how society improves and progresses.
That was one of the few optimisms that Mr. Hummel had, this thought that the free-rider mentality is not all-pervading in all people.

I mean to be one of these rare individuals.

pithiness

Orange pekoe cut black tea. Yum. I'm not picky about brands... One box comes with a little animal figurine, and you're supposed to collect the whole bunch or something. Another has these little pithy sayings on the paper holding-part of the bag.

Some are inspirational. I guess.

Most people don't recognize opportunity because it comes disguised as hard work.

Many of them are plays on words... Which are sometimes dumb.

Masseurs and bakers knead to work.

Sometimes a bit ingenius.

Exercising thrift keeps you fiscally fit.

And sometimes absolutely hysterical.

A man who says his wife can't take a joke forgets that she took him.