David's Blog

Walk-In Volunteerism

I have been wanting to find some sort of community service activity to do with my wife and her roommate, Jessica (since I figured she'd like the idea,) for the past month. Each week I look online and search their area for some sort of community service that we could participate in for a few hours or even on both days. I haven't had much luck.

This pretty much created a need for me. I want to volunteer, but I don't really know how without becoming a part of an organization of volunteers. That's probably what I should do -- sign up and be a part of something -- but I really don't feel like signing up for that kind of commitment. I'd like to try out a few different types of charitable activities first. Also, I'd really like to have some variety in the giving of my time and money. I want to help out all sorts of people in all kinds of situations with every type of problem imaginable. (Well, probably not really, but I feel like that sometimes.)

OK, so necesity is the mother of invention, and I have a need. OK, it's a want really, but I want to walk-in to some place or maybe even call ahead and find out how I can put my free time to good use for someone other than my friends, my wife, or me. So let's have some kind of walk-in volunteerism. I actually feel so strongly about this being a good idea that I'd make a commitment to volunteer for this sort of organization.

Basically, the way I see it right now is that orgX (or whatever we'd call this) would be well known to service groups. Those groups could then keep doing their thing, but if/when they needed random helpers of any kind... they could call up someone at orgX and let them know about their needs. Then, if someone walked in to an orgX office (or called in or whatever) the orgX volunteer could point the walk-in to the service activities that are available during that day (or other, future days and times.)

I think this would be great really because there are a lot of people who just get in a certain mood and would love to have a place to just walk to and be like, "I want to help!" "Use me!"

OK, I'm done with this now. I am actually busy right now, but this feels like a good idea, and I wanted to write it down really quickly. There are plenty of times when I am not so busy -- or even board -- and I'd love to help out in some way instead of engaging in some meaningless hobby.

My Lily

A reflection on Matthew 6:25-34 and my wife.

(Also posted at ThinkOutLoud.org)

Last weekend I went interview shopping with Joy. Shopping with your girl gives a guy a lot of time to think. Sure, you spend a good deal of that time thinking about clothes, your girl, and ultimately separating the two, but even with all those thoughts there is still time aplenty to think of other things. In my extra time I thought about how I didn't really have to do this shopping thing all that often. That made me pretty happy. Then I started to wonder why many guys end up shopping with their girls much more than I have shopped with mine. I have maybe gone shopping for clothes with Joy once or maaaybe twice in any given year.

This is when thoughts started to pour into mind. Joy doesn't buy clothing all that often. Joy doesn't buy much clothing when she does go to buy clothes. Joy doesn't really worry about clothes all that much. But wait… Joy does have a fairly well stocked closet full of clothes, shoes, and undergarments. How did this happen to a girl who seems to put so little thought into clothing acquisition?

Then I started to remember how this worked out. Joy didn't shop for clothes. People gave her clothes! And people gave her lots of clothes… all the time. She gets clothes from church friends, "sisters," a sister-in-law, cousins, her mother-in-law, school friends, people who have gained weight, people who have lost weight… the list is pretty extensive actually. Joy's benefactors are numerous, but many of them also have really good taste and take great care of their clothes. So, when Joy gets clothes they are in great condition. However, on reflection I remember clothes that didn't fit right or were wrong for Joy in one way or another that Joy just made work. She'd remove a tag and wear a shirt backwards for instance. Then she'd have a stylish shirt that showed her back instead of something that was way too big.

All this reflection brought to mind a passage from the Bible. In Jesus' sermon on the mount he give the beatitudes and gives a number of directions for living life. In the course of saying all these things he also said some things that Joy seems to have applied masterfully (probably without having ever thought about it.)

Matthew 6:25-34
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

After thinking about this passage I was so impressed with how well it has worked in Joy's life. She didn't really have the resources to fuss about what she wore every day, but she is a well dressed and attractive young lady today. She often talks about how she was busy following her brothers around and not taking care to keep herself from bruising up or scarring her body. Amazingly, this complete lack of concern for all these things was rewarded.

I am really impressed when things work out just like Jesus says that they will. His teachings are often quite counterintuitive, but in the end He's right. It's fun to see that through my wife and her life.

Languages Languages

This month I am taking a semester of Koine Greek... also known as New Testament Greek. This is a daily class that lasts three hours, but also highly recommends that students spend an extra two to three hours in a language lab that occurs an hour after the class. So, it is a pretty intense class.

The thing about this that is weird to me is that this is the fifth foreign language that I have studied formally. In addition to Greek, I have also spent time in the classroom studying Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, and French.

In addition to time spent studying those languages, I have also traveled abroad and tried to pick up Swahili, Spanish (again... and on multiple occasions,) and Ukrainian.

I can't help but think that all of this is just a big waste of time. The only thing I seem to retain are a few words here and there, a few pieces of information about cultural issues, and more practice at learning language in general.

I am just glad that all of these languages have had alphabets of some sort. I don't think it would be all that much fun to learn a tonal language or a language that has no alphabet. Then again... if I tried I might end up less tone deaf.

What Would You Call This?

This weekend I needed to leave Joy and Gainesville extra early so I could get home in time to get some rest and get to class early on Monday to register, buy books, etc before class actually begins at 8:30. So, when I realized that it was 9:15 I kinda freaked out and started to get everything packed up really quickly.

This was all going reasonably well, but I couldn't find my cell phone. So I asked Joy for help with this, and one thing led to another. A few minutes later we weren't too happy with each other. I did manage to get going around ten though, so I thought that I'd be home around midnight and maybe get six or seven hours of sleep.

That would have worked, but there was a huge traffic jam on the Interstate. This was because they were doing road construction and decided to narrow a three lane highway into just one lane. That would have been fun enough, but I was driving a car with a manual transmission.

Nearly an hour later I was making normal progress again. Things were even going well for almost a whole hour (of course, that includes the time it took me to get gas and such.) Then the car just stopped. I'm on the turnpike between 20 and 30 miles from our apartment, and my car's engine just dies. Fun!

So, I pull over. I don't know where I am. I call Joy. I call AAA. I run around on the turnpike to find out what exit I am stopped at. I call my dad. I call Joy again. Then, I decide to start the car again, because... well I forget now. So, the car starts again. I drive six or seven miles down the road. I call AAA and cancel the towing service. The car dies. I call Joy.

We decide that I should just keep going little by little, but then I realize that another bg section of the road that I'll need to travel is under construction, and it is a bridge. There will be no place to pull off and wait for the car's engine to play nicely. So I call AAA again. Then they tell me that they'll get someone out to tow my car. I wait a solid 45 minutes and my phone rings. YEA!! It's AAA. They tell me that the wrecker will be able to pick me up in 45 minutes. At this point it is late. Joy is asleep. I am bored. There isn't much to do. I could play the Gameboy or read the Bible.

So I am reading Job and this tow truck driver finally pulls up. He looks pretty freaky to me. Not like big and burly though... like Uncle Fester freaky... only he is wearing a plaid shirt with reflectors on it instead of black or grey. I've never seen anything like that guy. He's also coughing all the time -- really phlegmy. He tells me later that he is trying to work the phlegm out and periodically opens the door to the truck to spit on the road as we're driving along.

Now I am home. The Escort is unpacked. I have a taxi arranged to get me to school early tomorrow morning. I am planning for someone to take me home from school when my class is done, but I have no idea how well that plan will work out. {Sigh} At least I'll get three hours of sleep though. I just hope that I can wake up for everything.

Interview Shopping

Joy has job interviews lined up next week. So this weekend I took her around town to do a little shopping.

Yesterday we ended up at Dillards and we bought two Antonio Melani suits. The one that Joy loves is Melani's Prima Ballerina. Joy loves this suit because the cut of the suit is tight, cute, and sexy all at the same time, but the fabric is thick enough to not be 'anatomically informative.' Many of the suits that we tried had great things going for them and were really cute, or sexy, or conservative, etc but the fabric was so thin that one would tend to focus on Joy's butt. The Prima Ballerina was a thicker, textured suit that solved this issue while still looking great. The other great thing about this suit was the attention to detail. The Prima Ballerina had "fun" pink accent stitching along the collar, and the inside of the coat has pink satin next to the black satin liner. Joy loves it when her outfits have a subtle hint of pink. The outfit has to say one thing while whispering "pink" to you under its breath.

The second suit we purchased is Melani's Roses Roses. This is an all black, textured suit that worked well with any shirt or blouse -- except deep or royal purples. So, we picked this suit for the way it looks fresh with any and every color scheme you give it. This adaptive trait is really important, because Joy only has a handful of cute and business-like suits, so right now we need to be able to take them farther than the ones we'll buy in the future. This suit is great because it is so flexible, but it is also cut really well for Joy, it really looks like it is her style, and it is conservative and professional looking.

Looking for suits was a lot of fun, because we had so much help. Other customers liked that we were receptive to their opinions, so we ended up with a lot of help from onlookers in the store. That makes me feel good about the suits we got, because we have a broader set of opinions than just mine, Joy's, and the lady trying to make a commission. I also enjoyed this whole process because we were going into it with complete humility and high expections since neither of us knew anything about it. We did know that Joy had to have a certain look though, so that kept us motivated.

Yeah, the whole process was a group effort. We called my mom, we called Joy's mom, we called Joy's cousin, we asked customers, and we asked several different department store employees in the different stores... we were basically honest with everyone telling them all, "We've never done this before, and these are our needs." Also, I know that I can only tolerate so much time in the mall, so I knew that we needed to get in, get people moving, get some decisions made, and then get out. So, I kinda had to grow up and be sweet and assertive at the same time. That's a role I am realizing that I need to develop more and more.

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Fast forward to today, because today we went out again for more. We still needed one more blouse/shirt situation and we needed the perfect shoes because we had just found the perfect suits yesterday. Yeah, we were in for a challenge.

I don't even know how many shoe stores, boutiques and department stores we went to today. All I know is that I put on this sweet, assertive, and directive role again and got things going, because I didn't want to stay in shopping mode all day. So I basically took Joy in hand and set her loose on one side of any shoe place and then I'd be scanning shoes quickly having something very specific in mind. After asking Joy about several of my selections I got an even better feel for what she wanted. Then I started to work with the shoe guys getting them to bring out this shoe in that size and that shoe in this size until Joy and I had it pretty much narrowed down. At some point I decided on a pair of shoes that I knew were 'the ones.'

They are Gianni Bini's Allowance in black. The name seemed appropriate because this weekend I was pretty much blowing all of mine of the last two weeks on my girl. She wasn't so into the shoes, but I had my heart set on them. She conceded that they were very comfortable (first priority for me!) and had a lot going for them, but there were a few major drawbacks. She kept shopping.

Finally, she decided on another pair of shoes. These were also by Antonio Melani, and they seemed like they could almost be made for the Prima Ballerina outfit. They had a really pointed toe though, which I wasn't into. There are other reasons I'm not so into these shoes of hers, but I can just keep all that to myself, I guess.

She wasn't completely sure about these Antonio Melanis though, so she wanted to continue the quest. I told her that I was getting the shoes I liked for her no matter what, and I asked the guy I was working with to look up the price while Joy continued browsing. They ended up being $69 -- full retail. Completely out of Joy's price comfort-level. Yeah, there was pretty much no way that Joy was ever going to buy a $69 pair of shoes -- even if I paid for them. So I went ahead and asked him if I could get some kind of discount on them. He said that they weren't discounted if they didn't have some sticker on them. So, my heart sank. I sat down completely dejected and unenergized right next to Joy while she was trying on other shoes -- just to make sure. About five minutes later Joy was ready to go, and I was putting all her try-on shoes back into their boxes the way I had found them when the guy I was working with (I never got his name -- no nametag; no introduction) came up to me and told me really quietly that he'd give me a pretty decent discount.

So, we checked out, bought two pair of shoes, and paid for it all using a gift card that Joy had plus two dollars cash. Whew! What a weekend... maybe next time I visit things won't be so crazy.

Domestic Merger

Part of getting married is combining all your stuff. This has taken Joy and me a while to do. We will have two apartments until the end of August, and a lot of our stuff that used to be "Joy stuff" is still in Gainesville with her until she finishes school (two more weeks until graduation!) In addition to the stuff there is all the finances, bank accounts, credit card accounts, car titles, name changes, getting new IDs, etc etc.

Joy and I took care of a lot of that in the first few weeks of our marriage. She got her name changed on almost everything. I now have credit card for her account and she has photo ID debit card for my bank account. We both have both of our names on the titles to our cars. Joy is also on my medical insurance through UPS as my wife, and we are now both using my auto insurance company. Things are coming together.

We still need to put both of our names on our brokerage accounts (I just got the forms for that Tuesday,) and Joy would like to get a new passport with her new name on it. After those last few things we should be done with this little domestic merger. I am thinking about all of this because we are so close to being done, and because I am working this morning on getting all of our information into Quicken while Joy rests up for our big day of shopping. She's really stressed out, because she is taking her toughest class yet (Organic Chemistry II) and she has job interviews all next week. So, we're going to get new outfits for her to look and feel great in for those interviews. Well, just as soon as she wakes up! Hmmm... maybe I should make her pancakes.

Adult ADD??

Tuesday morning I went to see a head doctor again. My mother is convinced that I have ADD. She is actually conviced that all her sons have this problem. One of my older brothers went to a different head doctor and recieved a prescription for some medicine that would help him -- if he did, indeed, have Adult ADD.

She is actually conviced that all her sons have this problem. One of my older brothers went to a different head doctor and recieved a prescription for some medicine that would help him -- if he did, indeed, have Adult ADD. Well, the medication worked really well. He is now always in a better humor. I am starting to have more of a relationship with him. Also, he rarely ever got an A (and graduated with a 2.07 GPA,) but now he is in Law School and is at the top of his class.

I have a prescription now too. I might get around to filling it sometime next week. The weird thing is that I do actually have some of the symptoms of this issue, but I never want to be that ADD guy... or the guy who uses something as an excuse.

One of the symptoms I read of ADD is giving these long monologues when you are talking to someone. Totally dominating a conversation to the point that you are just talking to yourself, but someone is within earshot of you and suffering through the whole ordeal. I do that from time to time. I notice that people don't always appreciate it, so I turned to blogging as a form of self-therapy. Now, instead of talking someone's ear off... I just realize that I've already shared this or that story with the world through my blog. It helps me be more patient in conversation, and maybe a better listener.

So, I am wondering now... if I do have ADD AND this medication works will I no longer need to blog? I mean... what's the point of self-medicating therapies when you have an alternate solution the problem? Well, we'll see how it goes. I've just noticed that many of my more normal friends have had the blogging thing come into their lives and leave just as quickly. They're normal. They probably didn't need to write as therapy for themselves... to cope socially and interpersonally.

July 18-19... 2005

The week has barely begun, and I have already had a crazy week!

Late Sunday night I drove back home from seeing Joy. Then I woke up Monday, unpacked, packed, did a few errands, and then left for work. When I was at work I was hoping to maybe get done early and get an early start on my drive back to my hometown. Instead, I got more overtime at UPS than any other night to date.

My drive that night was pretty good. I stopped at Burger King for dinner on the go and I got free fries somehow. Also, because I left from work, my drive only took two hours and forty minutes instead of the three and a half hours it has taken Joy and I in the past. (I did not speed on the way either, as I had just received a notice in the mail stating that I have 11 points on my record. So I am very paranoid about cops now.)

Once I was home, I couldn't get into my neighborhood because my gate card was deprogrammed or something. I didn't want to call my parents so I decided to jump over the gate, walk to my house, get a different gate card, walk back to my car, and then let myself in. This plan works fine and takes me roughly ten to fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, I was kinda tired at 2AM, and I put the car into reverse with the hand brake engaged. That was kind of thoughtless, but not as thoughtless as driving the car over and into this huge planter thing in front of my neighborhood. Right in view of a major, six-lane boulevard.

So, I got four hours of sleep that night. I woke up a little after 9AM, ate breakfast, got ready to go to my appointment, and then off I went. Unfortunately for me, the office had recently relocated. I knew this; I had the new address; and I even looked up directions. The problem was that the office didn't have any signage yet. Also problematic were the roads in the vicinity of the new office location. I eventually found my way, but I was pretty late. Oh, and being really, really tired does things to frustration.

After that appointment I took care of a few more items of "hometown business," and then I went to Crispers to grab some lunch. That took a long time, and there were reasons for it taking a long time, but the ordeal was comparatively uneventful.

Finally, I am at home. I am ready to eat. I only have about 50 minutes until I need to pack up again and get back on the road. Then Joy calls. My brother calls. I need to call my mother. It seems to never end, but I do get to eat. I do get going on time. I am tired. I am frustrated. I am on my way.

The trip is pretty nice and uneventful. I make great time. In fact, I am about twelve miles away on a toll-highway, and I feel like I might arrive at work 40 minutes early. A severe thunderstorm and a great deal of traffic later... I walk into work 15 minutes late.

Work was pretty good. I was paired with an exceptionally slow unloader. This means that I did about 2/3 of the work that I normally do. That was nice considering that I was tired. However, I foolishly agree to take on a double shift. It isn't often that I am asked to do this, and I have been wondering what it is like. So, feeling quite caffeinated... I agreed.

This too proved to be a frustration. At the end of the night, I ended up straight-loading (that is when one guy checks and scans packages (and get credit for loading them) and then the other guy is supposed to load much quicker) on some really backlogged PD for over an hour. This netted me more over time than Monday night and thereby set a new personal record.

When I went back to the sort aisle for my second shift I found out that two other guys also agreed to work a double shift. They had more seniority than me and had done midnight's sort before. So I was sent home. This was simultaneously frustrating and relieving.

Anyway, I am home now. I am showered. I am coming down from all caffeine I imbibed in anticipation of working more. I have read C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce at Conor's suggestion. I spent an hour online, and I probably just spent twenty minutes writing this. Now to finally sleep.

"Turn Your Lights On!"

Joy and I were out on a date and she said she'd like to go to Publix to get brownies instead of eating the brownies at the restaurant. So on our way to Publix I was talking to Joy and getting ready to make a left hand turn. In the middle of my monologue Joy says, "turn your lights on" fairly loudly. In response, I turned my lights off and looked at Joy. At that moment Joy was turning from looking out her window so I looked out the window too and I saw two black guys in the car next to ours. Thinking that they had given Joy the reminder about the lights I gave them a thumbs-up and said thank you. At this, they both grinned, nodded enthusiastically, looked at each other, and drove off.

This is funny, because while all of this was going on Joy and I weren't quite aware of all that was happening. See, Joy was actually telling the two guys to turn their lights on. Joy stopped looking at the two guys because they were implying that she was very attractive. Then I turned to thank them for a reminder that was entirely different from the one that I was getting. So these two guys drove off probably thinking that I reacted rather well for hearing something that I did not hear at all.

Where's My Huz?

David took this job at UPS in early March. I thought it would be a great opportunity for him. And it has been.

But... there are a few slight drawbacks.

He has to leave at about 4:30 in the afternoon everyday. This often means that he travels through some rush hour traffic. David has learned a thing or two from me over the years and one bad habit of mine that he has picked up is getting impatient with traffic. I can't stand inconsiderate drivers. Sadly, David now can't either. He usually calls me on his way to work as this is one of the only times that I will consistently take the time to talk to him (because I know it's not really possible for him to do much else with that time other than talk and drive). Almost daily he comments on the annoyance of driving through heavy traffic. I feel sad that my poor character in this area has rubbed off on him instead of his patience rubbing off on me. I hope we can slowly revert back to patient driving, but living in ORL makes it a lot harder because there are sooooo many inconsiderate drivers. (Drivers in ORL are crazy!)

Then he works for about 5 hrs a night - from 5:15-10:15. After he's done with work, he calls me on his way home again and tells me about his day. Sometimes I will get time to tell him about mine before he arrives home. When he gets home he wants to shower, eat, and relax.

This job has already been a strain to our relationship as it causes him to have unusual eating and sleeping hours. Soon I will hopefully have a job, but if it is an 8-5 job I may not see him at all except on the weekends (I suppose I will "see" him in the morning when I wake up, but looking at a person hardly counts as time together).

Anyways, now it's 12:10 in the middle of the night and I still have not received a call saying that he's on his way home. When I don't receive that call I begin to wonder what's happened to him. Then my mind goes wife-worry crazy and I imagine terrible situations that I don't really want to think about. In the back of my mind I know he's probably ok and either not calling because he's upset about something or perhaps because he is pulling a double shift (an unlikely, but possible event).

I guess this job is what's best for us for now since it is our sole source of income and is also providing health benefits for us. I also know that it makes D happy to have a job and be making a weekly paycheck. All in all, I have to say UPS is a blessing to us. A blessing in disguise.

Settling In to Blogdom

Yesterday my roommate closed her blog. She'd been blogging for over a year now, so I was quite surprised when she abruptly announced to me that she had decided not to blog anymore because it was taking up too much of her time (and life in general).

I thought this was odd timing as today I'm writing my first entry underneath my own name. It's rather strange to me that as her blogging comes to a close, mine has just begun... kind of like turnover in a neighborhood. She moved out of Blogdom... and I moved in.

I've posted once before under David's name, but it's all so much more fun when I know that you all can see my name stated in glorious black and white next to "Posted By". I'm rather excited about the opportunity to share this space, authorship, and hobby with David. He can well attest to the fact that I want us to "do everything together". This can sometimes get on his nerves, so let's all pray that this blog-sharing doesn't turn out to be a test of patience but rather a source of joy (no pun intended).

Myth vs Fact

I run into a lot of websites, pamphlets, books, and other publications that have these Myth vs Fact pages. They are pretty interesting, but also usually very onesided. I remain unconvinced some of the time. After all, can't it just as easily be said "One rather popular belief" VS "Our organization's belief"?

It makes sense that they write it the way they do. They believe strongly that their belief is THE TRUTH, and therefore the opposing belief must merely be a myth, which is an easy word for a belief that is not truth. It also makes sense, because you can convince a number of people that your beliefs are true by simply saying that they are true.

I guess in the end I like organizational resources to give me references to why they hold that their beliefs are true. If the organization is about something to do with things that can be proven -- show that they are proven by giving me references to the things that proved what your organization touts.

Happy Birthday Blog!

Today is my the second birthday of my blog. Yea!

I should do something fun in honor of this event, like... posting ten of my favorite entries or something like that. I really wish I could know some of your favorite entries though.

Think Out Loud

Have you been thinking out loud again lately?

Over at thinkoutloud.org, Conor, Nate, and I are doing exactly that... about Christianity. Check it out.

Sort Test Passed

I passed the sort test tonight!!! Finally!! That means I'll be getting a $150 gift card to Best Buy and a $1/hour raise. I am really happy. I have been working on this for quite some time, but tonight I had a really hard night and so I stayed after work and studied, practiced, and took the test over and over again until I got the necessary 98% accuracy and 1200 pph (pieces per hour.)

I saved the printout of my results and I really want to scan them and post them in this extended entry, but I don't want some .bmp file that will take up tons of space and take forever to come up onscreen. If anyone could guide me on how to convert the file to a .jpg or .gif I'd be quite appreciative.

Yea! I am so happy. At the same time I am pretty sad. I am basically going to be getting another job tomorrow. So, all the guys (and now a new gal) that I have gotten to know over the last four months will be gone to me in a big way. Also, I'll be losing two really cool supervisors. I will be getting two new ones, but they probably won't be as cool. I don't really see how they could be.

So, yeah... I'm happy with myself. I'm also happy because it is done and over with. Now I don't need to spend time studying for that anymore and I can use my time to perform other tasks like putting the finishing touches on the Thank You cards that we are sending to people who gave us wedding gifts and memorizing the AvantiMedia sales talk that I made with Joy earlier this summer.
Things to do! Things to do! I'm just glad that one of them is behind me.

UPDATE -- 7/12/2005 @ 11:30PM
The information I got about the gift card is wrong. It isn't to Best Buy. Instead what they do is give me an American Express gift card, and I am going to have to pay taxes on it as earned income. That is kind of a bummer because it makes it more like a little over $100, but still... extra money.

Patience vs Urgency

Urgency is good and patience is good,
but both can be misused and lead to destruction.
This is the truth of many things.

There is a time to be patient and a time to be urgent
With wisdom and practice one knows the difference

Urgency helps inspire a call to action. It brings us to a boiling point and pushes us in the direction that we need to be headed. We get impatient and we want action.
Patience tells us to turn off the urgency. Action has been taken. Processes have been set in motion. Now time and the continuation of the processes will see things through to the goal.

Lately I have been realizing a lot of things. I've realized that there are steps to maturity and that those steps often take a great deal of time. However, I also know that the steps to maturity take more than time -- they take effort, practice (repetition of actions you wish to make permanent,) and wise choices.

I believe that I am beginning to understand when to be patient and when to be urgent. As this understanding takes shape in my mind I know that I need to continue to act rightly to continue the process, but I also need to be patient so I do not run it into the ground or grow weary with the time and give up the effort. Eventually, the processes will be complete and I will have rich wisdom and practiced habits that will guide me to the right times for both being patient and urgent.

Unusual Histories

I am always interested in tangential parts of history. I would have loved to get a PhD in history by studying business history. I am fascinated with all aspects of business, and I think that a history of business or even businesses in america would be fascinating and point to the rest of american history in the process (as business interests often overlap with political interests and decision making.)

In the extended entry I copied parts of an article I found in Slate. I copied part of it even though it is probably copywritten because I do not know how to refer people to it after it is moved around in msn's webspace. Slate, please forgive me. Maybe it will help to know that I am publicizing your webzine. The article is credited to Teresa Riordan, and is entitled "For Pleasure: A history of the vibrator"

The use of vulvular massage as a therapy for "hysterical" patients dates back to Hippocrates. During the 19th century, it caught on as a treatment for the rampantly diagnosed afflictions hysteria and neurasthenia. The doctor of Alice James, the sickly sister of the famous Henry and William, probably brought her routinely to "hysterical paroxysm."

The treatment wasn't generally thought of as sexual, but rather as ho-hum therapy. Not surprisingly, it was a cash cow for the medical profession. Women had to return week after week, year after year. But doing it by hand was exhausting, tedious work; some women had to be massaged for an hour before they reached paroxysm.

Thus, entrepreneurial doctors experimented with mechanizing the process. Hydrotherapy—the shooting of water directly at the patient's reproductive region—proved effective and became quite fashionable. It had its drawbacks, though: It was messy, expensive, and not easily portable.

In the 1880s, a British doctor stepped in to invent the first electric vibrator, an industrial-size contraption meant to be a permanent fixture in a doctor's office. It was a major labor-saver, allowing many patients to reach paroxysm in less than 10 minutes.

Paradoxically, while female patients were being massaged to paroxysm week after week, men prone to excessive onanism and unwholesome nocturnal secretions were diagnosed with "spermatorrhea." Torturelike contraptions were contrived to strap and zap them back to normal.

Men fortunate enough to be diagnosed with more amorphous ailments were sometimes treated with vibrator massage. The legendary naturalist John Muir patented his own vibrator for men in 1899.

Around the turn of the century, entrepreneurs began to recognize the huge potential market for hand-held vibrators for home use. Vibrator innovation was in fact a driving force behind the creation of the small electric motor. Hamilton Beach of Racine, Wis., patented its first take-home vibrator in 1902, making the vibrator the fifth electrical appliance to be introduced into the home, after the sewing machine and long before the electric iron.

By 1917, there were more vibrators than toasters in American homes. Dozens of patents were issued for new designs between 1900 and 1940. Manufactured long before the era of engineered obsolescence, these machines were built to last. Many vibrators of this vintage still survive; at least a dozen are usually for sale on eBay at any given moment.

From the 1950s through the 1970s, the vibrator became what academics like to call a camouflaged technology. Mail-order catalogs full of household tchotchkes featured beautiful women with long, silky hair loosening their tight shoulder muscles with banana-shaped vibrators. Also popular were vibrators that doubled as nail-buffer kits, hair brushes, backscratchers, and some that were designed as attachments for vacuum cleaners. Most of them were cheesy, battery-operated devices that came in shag-carpet hues: avocado, gold, and burnt orange.

Vibrators came back into the mainstream in the 1990s, thanks not to radical feminists but to the Reagan administration. With the public health threat of AIDS looming, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop mailed out a list of safe-sex options to every household in the land in the late 1980s. Vibrators were on it.

In 1999, Rachel Maines published The Technology of Orgasm, a provocative history of the vibrator that she spent 20 years researching. Maines started out studying needlework but was intrigued to discover that the backs of old sewing magazines were filled with vibrator advertisements. In addition to treating hysteria, these early vibrators were multipurpose: They ostensibly relaxed furrowed foreheads, cured sore throats, and restored plumpness to bony arms. Fearing that her new line of academic inquiry might offend alumni, Clarkson University fired Maines. The Technology of Orgasm has become one of the best-selling histories of technology of all time.

Texas Instruments?

There is just so much to say about this. It is so country but so nerd all at the same time. I was thinking of getting one, but it is just too much of a gag.
I'd like to buy and program one for a friend, but while that would be fun I don't know that it would be worth it and then there is also the fear that someone might actually wear it.
Fortunately, I do know a few guys who pride themselves in their belt buckles.

Zone Bars

I've been on this Zone Bar craze since Joy had me try one of these back in February or March of 2004... I remember this because it was shortly before Southwestern, and I'd eat one or two of these things every day (excpet Sunday) for that entire summer.

After all that I still like them, so I thought I'd dip into eccentricity again, and write up what I thought about each flavor like I did when I went through my Healthy Choice Frozen Entree thing.

Right now there are 15 flavors of Zone Perfect Nutrition Bars. I like some flavors more than others and there are a few flavors that I don't even like at all. In addition to that there are two to three flavors that I have not yet had the chance to try. Here are the flavors and what I feel about them. Hopefully, I can get some comments from Joy on her thoughts about Zone Bars.

Chocolate Raspberry

I really like this flavor, but I don't like it so much that I would want to eat it all the time or even anytime. The raspberry flavoring is very robust, so I like to eat this with milk. Also, I usually like to eat this when I am not in a rush, because it tastes decadent to me.
8/10

Strawberry Yogurt

To me, this flavor is a classic. I think it has been around since the beginning and I would have at least two of these in any given week when I was selling books door-to-door in Alabama. I like the taste of this bar even without the nostalgia (it was often the only positive thing about my day) it brings, but I like to eat this slightly warm because it tastes even better that way. The fact that it has a yogurt outside is great too, because you don't always feel like chocolate.
8/10

Apple Cinnamon

I've tried this one and I liked it, but I definitely did not love it. This is another bar that I would want to keep in my kitchen, but would only want to eat occasionally. The outer coating is a caramel flavor and the inside does taste a bit like apple cinnamon. I definitely like this flavor, but I wouldn't eat it all of the time.
7/10

Chocolate Mint

This is another classic in my mind. A definite favorite flavor, but still not a flavor I would want to eat all the time or even anytime. There are many times when I want something that tastes minty, and this hits the spot. When I was selling books last summer I would buy these by the case along with Strawberry Yogurt so I obviously place it in my top five or six flavors.
8/10

Lemon Yogurt

I don't really like strong lemony or sour flavors, so this bar fell flat with me. I'm not going to buy it again, and even though I would eat it if I was hungry I probably wouldn't be so happy about it.
1/10

Fudge Graham

I think this is the #1 favorite right now. I can eat this anytime. Anywhere. No matter what my mood. If I am craving a particular flavor… this one typically fills the #2 or #3 spot. I like to eat this with milk, water, or even alone. It's just great. Even more appealing is the fact that Joy really likes this flavor as well. Finally, I can frequently find this flavor in bulk, so I like to have a lot of these bars around to save money.
10/10

Chocolate Peanut Butter

I can get a box of 12 of these packaged with a box of 12 Fudge Graham at Costco at a really decent price. So, I often have this flavor around. I like that it includes real peanuts in with the soy nuggets. I like this flavor, but I don't like it anytime, anywhere. I will always want something to drink with it -- but I like that I can enjoy it with water and not just milk.
7/10

Chocolate Caramel Cluster

This is what I call my morning bar. This bar has a strong flavor and tastes really great, but for some reason it tastes the best to me right when I wake up in the morning. There are quite a few mornings when I wake up and I'll want a zone bar in this flavor and only this flavor -- even in lieu of cereal. For me, this flavor can rival Fudge Graham, but it doesn't have the anytime, anywhere, with any chaser aspect that Fudge Graham has. Another downside to this bar is that Joy doesn't care for it all that much. I forget why, and I forget the extent to which she does not like this bar, but it means that I have fewer of this flavor around.
8/10

Chocolate Vanilla Creme

I'm not so into this flavor. I've tried it. It was OK. Joy hated it. It has the chocolate on the inside, which is something I don't really like in this flavor or in Double Chocolate. Probably a bar for chocolate lovers that like any type of chocolate flavor.
0/10

Caramel Apple

I like this flavor a lot. The downside to it is that I wouldn't want it anytime. In fact, I rarely want to eat this bar. When I am in the mood for it I love it. When I am not, it just feels wrong. It has a caramel coating, which is pretty good and an apple flavored inside. Tastes kind of like candy because of the apple flavored center, and sometimes that is a great thing. Most of the time it doesn't work for it though. If I have two bars at once… I like to have this one second.
6/10

Double Chocolate

I've tried this bar, but I did not like it. I'm not really into double chocolate anything, but I like all these weird Zone Bar flavors that I would not normally like, so I thought I'd try this out anyway. Obviously, I am fine with a chocolate coating, but the flavoring of the soy nuggets tastes wrong to me. I think it is because I don't like cocoa flavoring.
0/10

Peach Yogurt

I've tried this bar, but I haven't had it again since I've tried it. The peach flavoring was too powerful for me. This shouldn't be taken to mean that it is too powerful though, because I'm just not a big peach flavor fan. I like real peaches a lot, but I like my flavoring to be more subtle. The yogurt coating is really great.
2/10

Chocolate Almond Raisin

This flavor is a crowd favorite. I love it. Joy loves it. Most people I introduce Zone bars to love it. For this reason, when I want someone to try out a zone bar I will give them this flavor, a Fudge Graham, or maybe a Chocolate Mint. This flavor just tastes good and is a photo-finish second to Fudge Graham. The only reason that it is in second place is that I sometimes feel strange after eating raisins and this has real raisins and almonds in it, which Joy absolutely loves. Another reason it isn't tied with Fudge Graham is that it is hard to find in stores and even harder to find in bulk.
9/10

Chocolate Almond Biscotti

I haven't tried this flavor yet.
?/10

Cinnamon Roll

I bought two of these so I could try one and let Joy try another. I got them when I was hungry and at a CVS, because they were new to me. I didn't like the first one at first, but ate it anyway because I was pretty hungry. Joy said she had already tried the flavor and didn't like it so I ended up eating the second one. It tasted much better the second time around. It tastes good with milk when you aren't all that hungry and not in a big rush.
5/10