Have a holly jolly Halloween?

Yeah, every year people get weirder. Let's take a look at some samples. Hair. In 1900, NOBODY would wear a bright green mohawk, a mullet, whatever. Girls might have some odd dos goin on, and guys might rock the pony tail and mountain beard, but nothing compares to this http://www.funpeak.com/funnypics/crazy-creative-hairstyle.jpg
(see more http://www.funpeak.com/the-best-unique-strange-hair-styles-and-haircuts-ever/ )
Well, costumes are the same. I remember growing up, things were simple. People dressed up as some Disney character or some superhero for Halloween. At worst people dressed up as a witch or Frankenstein's monster. Now you get people with realistic looking fake blood, severed limbs, fangs, all sorts of things that could disturb the minds of our children. And how about the parties? It used to be just as easy as "alright kiddo, go get candy!" and now it's "here's your cell phone (ages 4 and up apparently... kids these days) and your knives, don't forget your buddy and stay out of the dark!" if not the parents following the kids out. Not to mention the weirdos that have dance parties and do all sorts of dumb and or crazy crap.
People are weird. Enjoy your Halloween, try to act somewhat normal (crazy fun is ok, crazy gross and whatnot is not). Get candy!

It's 3:33 AM, let's write some nonsense.

So I didn't go to homecoming banquet... again. Which is fine, I don't really want to, but this raises the question of why in the world I'm up so late when I have to get up at 9 tomorrow (Which is super early for a Saturday for a night owl like myself... I'm pretty much nocturnal). The answer? I think it has to do with hypothetically hyper hippos hopping hopefully high hardly hastening halfway. That's what I'm thinking. Or maybe I just made that up to be silly.

As I go through my days, I find that any sense of wisdom I have comes from some form of humor. When I attempt to be humorous I find my mind travels to the gutter, but when I attempt to think deeply I can't help but just be silly. I always admired the person who just naturally could think of something silly but harmless, the person with a different way of looking at the world who just sees things as they could be if Dr. Suess designed them. I am more the analytic type, but I have an admiration for the creative side. I catch a glimpse of it in me once in a while, but my mind has always been geared toward learning from experience, not imagination. I have gotten good grades my entire life, and never studied. This semester I am probably going to fail a class for the first time ever. Not because I can't impress the teachers with my intelligence, but because I have put off doing papers so long I may as well just skip them. I have always done my assignments last minute, but I've just been so sick of school that I have had a mental block keeping me from doing anything. I often joke that homework is against my religion, but now it is pretty much true. It has been opposed by my mind's belief that it is worthless.

Enough of that crap, here's a poem I am making up (as in I decided I want a poem here but don't have the words even as I write this sentence):
Have a merry time
Making up a rhyme
Keeping up the grind
Falling far behind
Now let's go inasane
and do it once again
Cuz who really cares
what happens to the bears?

I shouldn't quit my day job huh?

So, what it really comes down to is the bottom of the page. (ba-doom-PSH!) But the point is at the tip of the cursor. Ok ok, what I mean to say is that I don't know what I mean to say. This is the end.

Letting go

I can't do it. I am not superman. I do not possess the magical power that the characters in the movies get to help them overcome their problems. When is the last time you saw a movie where the hero was the one who lived every moment of his/her life trusting God and just doing their best to live in His will? I am not called to save the world, He already did that. I am a messenger of that, yet somehow He values me enough to allow me my individuality and the talents He gave me to live this life.

I recently found out a friend of mine has cancer. I've lost friends and family before, and some closer than this. I've had friends and family diagnosed with horrid diseases too, but this- this is different. This friend is someone I look up to as someone who strives with all their life to follow the call God put on their life. So here I am, knowing that I can't make the cancer disappear, wanting to offer words of encouragement. I'm trying to think of the best thing to say, when I just stop and listen. And this is what I hear: "let go"

"Leon, dang it, just let go. You don't need to have the answer, you don't need to say a thing. My child is in my care, trust me with your friend's life." I know that Jesus healed people, and I believe that if it is by The Spirit that I am led to then my friend could be healed by Jesus too, but it's not so. I want to heal my friend, I don't have the direction of The Spirit to. I just need to trust God with my friend and with His timing. I will pray earnestly for healing, but if God decides to bring my friend home, who am I to argue? Lord, please please please give my friend healing, but if it is Your will that You should bring my friend home, give me peace and may Your name still be praised.

David Crowder Band is pretty much amazing and stuff like that.

So I was thinking about all the different times I've needed a song to lift me up in life, and about how DCB pretty much has it all covered. Right now I'm really singing Undignified. I'm all about dancing before the Lord (2 Samuel 6) and I am quite fine with being undignified for Him. But looking back, I see points in my life where all sorts of different DCB songs were like my "theme song" for that period. The first song of theirs that I really felt close to home was Everything Glorious. "My eyes are small but they have seen the beauty of enormous things, which leads me to believe... yeah there's light enough to see that You make everything glorious (repeat twice) and I AM YOURS. What does that make me?" Such a powerful message, especially to those who struggle with self worth. So the message to all of you is this: You are made by a glorious creator with a purpose, and you are loved as you are.

But moving on, (because after all, this blog is about me not you... =P) I'm looking at all these songs just thinking about how awesome DCB has been... I want to thank them for their touch in my life haha. Here is the latest installment DCB decided to make me tear up with, give it a look if you will (the music video is some awesome stop-motion work too, it's worth it), or don't. It'll be your loss.



Here are the lyrics:

(Verse 1)
Send me a sign
A hint, O whisper
Fill me with life
'Cause I am listening

Come break the quiet
Breathe your awakening
Bring me the light
'Cause I am fading

Surround me with the rush of angels' wings

(Chorus 1)
Shine Your light so I can see You
Pull me up, I need to be near You
Hold me, I need to feel loved
Can You overcome this heart that's overcome?

(Verse 2)
You sent a sign
The hint, O whisper
Human, divine
Everyone is listening

Death laid low
Quiet in the night is stirring

All around the rush of angels

(Bridge)
O the wonder of the greatest love has come

(Chorus 2)
Shine Your light so all can see it
Lifted up, 'cause the whole world needs it
Love has come, what joy to hear it
He has overcome, He has overcome

Now if that isn't enough to make us wanna stand, shine and be undignified for Him, I don't know what will. SO MOVING.

I love to dance

I love to dance like there's no tomorrow
I love to sing out of tune if I may be
I love to run when I'm not in a hurry
I love the touch of a piano key

I love to talk about nothing specific
I love to listen when my friends need me
I love to see the sunrise and sunset
Though I don't like getting up early

I love the sound of water hitting hard things
I love the river that runs so wild
I love to try new things, some even risky
I never take anything mild

I love to try even when I know I'll fail
Some of life's hardest challenges I'll face
Because I know that my God enables me
I'll do my best while I'm running this race

I love to love, there is nothing like it
While I'm here on this ball of dust
All my friends and the ones God gave me
See, I love it so much that I must

Family Minutes as Interpreted by Leon

From my Facebook, my family meeting was bound to be interesting, so I took notes. I thought this was hilarious =P
(My family goes Dad-43, Mom-42, Elaina-22, Me-20, Rachel-17, Joel-14, Mollie-11)

Sunday, July 18th
Meeting scheduled for 2 PM
Delayed for cheese bread and marinara sauce, with a light salad.
2:23 All attendees present, Chair introduced (Dad)
Chair and Elaina argue incomprehensibly about nonsense
2:24 Chair declares no fighting allowed during meeting
Chair prays for meeting
2:25 Co-chair (Mom) declares Chair gets final decision in all disputes
Co-chair states rule of midnight lights out main floor which was made before meeting
2:26 Eruption of chaos, mindless babbling on several members' parts
Chair- off main floor by midnight unless permitted by Chair or Co-chair
QUIET is required at night
Co-chair proposes ALL LIGHTS OUT by 2 AM
blah blah blah
2:29 Joel is hungry and proposes break for ice cream... what's new? proposal shot down by stern look from Chair
2:30 Chair declares 1 hour time limit from end of work to bed for late shifts
more blahs
2:33 Joel flaps gums about morning bathroom needs... probably for makeup
2:35 Elaina whines about crap... literally
2:39 Chair wants people to freeze in the shower... attendees are amused
*here I drew a picture of a stick figure pulling a 'spiderman' in the tub to avoid cold shower water*
2:43 more banter about nothing
2:45 Joel is impatient
2:46 Co-chair /attacks/ (I put a slash mark through "attacks") RAPES freedom of habitat
2:48 Co-chair denies right to extract blood from disobedient young whelps... we are instructed to 'tell' if they disobey
2:50 Co-chair is blind to Elaina's deceptions
2:53 Xbox sales are low, sell sell SELL!
2:55 Elaina wants a puppy/kitty/both, Chair offers rent-free roof over head with occasional food instead
2:58 Bodily functions/needs (sleep, food, etc.) of attendees are not important to Chair
Fhqwhgads
3:04 Co-chair declares food marked "off-limits" is off-limits. Also, food marked with a name belongs to the person whose name it is
Chair declares he has the right to legal theft of aforementioned foods if he pleases
Closing prayer
3:05 Meeting adjourned

This is a lot cooler than I thought

I marvel at modern technology. People say that, but step back and think about it. How many years of different trial and error did it take to get from hunter gatherer to electricity? Then people found a way to make the circuits compute math problems. Then people found a way to store information on disks that are read by either a super fine needle or a laser. Bits, bytes, microchips... next thing you know I can hit square button things, type out letters, make a blog which I then post and BAM! It's available to the world. Then to top it all off, this site keeps track of how many views my blog has had, from where, and from which browser and OS. That's frickin sweet.

And now for something completely different. Have you ever noticed how life consistently throws curves at you? It's so weird, but it always seems like no matter how much you prepare, life eludes your preparations and gives you something you aren't ready for. And just when you thought "there's no way _______ will ever ******", _______ ******s. It's consistently inconsistent.Of course, _______ wont ****** if you expect it because you know how impossible it is, but if you say "_______ could never ******" then think it will happen because you said it's impossible, then think it won't because you assumed it would due to it's impossibility, it will happen. Mind blowing, but you know it's true right? Or maybe it's just me.

So I thought tonight was going to be a bad night, but it turned out alright. I'm just up too late, so naturally after I post this I'm logging onto Facebook and posting a witty status, then wasting more time before I go to bed. I have to get up so early... why do I have to get up so early?

It's a typical late night for no reason in particular

So once again I find myself up late with nothing getting done but I don't want to go to bed. I feel stuck between gum and a sticky place, like I can't move but I don't want to sit still. I'm torn between my need to succeed and my need to be involved. When I get involved in this many things, I am unable to give everything the attention it needs to be done well. I used to get by with easy As in all my classes, no study or work needed. Now I am working twice as hard for B+ to A- grades, and if this semester continues on the path it's on I'll be lucky to get Bs. I missed a meeting tonight because I forgot I had it. I'm too tired, trying to do too much at once. I almost wish the world would collapse and civilization would simplify. We try to do too much with not enough sleep, nutritious food or even just time in general.

I am reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland again. I have so much homework I'm not doing because I can't. My mind is even tired. So tonight I go to bed not even knowing if there's any homework I have due, but knowing that if there is I wouldn't do it anyway. But I won't go to bed now... back and forth, forth and back- From one busy day to the next, every moment of my down time spent trying to push out of my mind the things I have to do until they're right on top of me. Not getting enough sleep even though I am back in time to shower and go to bed by 11 almost every night. I have gotten to sleep before 1 AM twice in the last year and a half or so, and both times it was because I was sick and pulled an all-nighter the night before. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a great book to just avoid the world with...

I suppose I should be done, shower and go to bed. But instead I will probably post this, log onto Facebook, loaf around and finally shower and get to bed by 2 AM or so. Figures.

4 hours later

I slept all of 4 hours between my first post and this... so naturally I'm wide awake and ready to tell a joke instead of doing my homework that's due in 2 hours.

Dirty joke: Joey played in the mud.
Clean joke: Joey took a bath with Bubbles.
Dirty joke: Bubbles is the girl next door.

Ah, the small joys of life. I'm really a lot funnier than that, but I typically (and this seems odd to me, but it's generally true) am more serious in my writing than in my speech. I wonder why... oh well. I'm also quite fond of ellipses and stuff like that. I live life laughing, but I'm tired. Sometimes I'm even tired of life. Not like I'm going to commit suicide tired, but like I might just give up my hopes and dreams, go live in the mountains and ignore the world tired. You know something isn't right when a vegetative state doesn't sound too bad.

So I guess I should do my homework and quit this. Sometimes a little sarcasm and a lot of completely off topic stuff helps me prepare for the work day. Maybe if somebody reads it they'll actually feel it made their day better too, or maybe I'm gonna turn out to be that writer that makes someone wonder how they can get their 5 minutes back. We'll see. Later on I might post some old notes I wrote on Facebook, edited for a blog style. The kids listen to rap music so why not?

Blogging? No way.

So I've written before, and in fact am something of a grammar Nazi. But I've never blogged before. Young whippersnappers and their fads I guess... back in my day we just ran around outside and played sports until our parents told us to come eat. Back in my day... ha! I feel so much older than my completed laps around the sun suggest.

So it's late at night but it feels early. (I like starting sentences/ideas with so, as though there were some frame of reference before them that lead to me saying "and because of this _____". I'm funny like that) I'm thinking to myself what an awful weekend it has been, as I got nothing productive done but still didn't get enough sleep and don't feel like enough fun was had to be worth it. And as this Monday is looming ahead like an ACME anvil coming down on Wile E. Coyote, I realize that it doesn't really matter. Who cares if I get this homework done, get an A in all my classes and make everyone proud/jealous? 30 years from now it will make absolutely no difference in my life. School is really just a way to prove you have good medium-term memory, then you forget 90% or more of what you learned so you can make space in your brain for the new semester's load.

Let's pause here for reflection and just because I keep getting distracted by this thing's auto-save. That is so cool. I should write my papers on here, I've had too many times when something caused my computer to freeze and I had to start over. Yeah... and my ADD says this was a fruitful endeavor. Why am I up at 2 AM again? Oh yeah, blogging.

So there you have it, look at Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 for a basic summary. I like that book, especially chapter 5:1-3