a new 'never', and a new 'now'

here is a new thing you should "never" do:

i was walking across our amazing campus at night. to get some coffee. suddenly, in my head i started humming the Gremlins tune. you know the one they all humm as a group when they are together. its like, (in gremlin voice) "yunn yunn yunn yun yun.....yunn yunn yunn yun yun.....yunn yunn yunn yun yun ...yun yun yun yun." this, never the less freaked me out. i picked up my pace because i started picturing Gremlins clawing at me from all over. never do this by yourself at night....its freaky.


here is a new thing you should do "now."
Watch Marie Antoinette.
this is the best movie i have seen in awhile. very tragic, very well done. watch it.

is it me or has water gotten colder?

water is definitely colder than it used to be and i am getting old. that sentence may not make since, but it is defining my world right now. i know i am getting older, i have to try harder to keep from getting fat, i run into cars with skateboards, and instead of sleeping pain off, it takes two weeks to heal. to top it all off, we went to Kings Island this weekend. it was first off, a grand ol time. however, i found myself thinking the water in the water park was way too cold. i thought water slides were boring, and they hurt, and i was shown up on the stand still wave in a major major way. then we get to the rides at the park and it was really fun to let Grayden ride. eventually it was time for him to take a nap and caught myself saying, "mom and dad need a rest too, we are going to go catch a few shows." Shows? Shows? what the crap? shows are for the old people! During this time i also caught myself verbally reprimanding two kids for cutting line and i made them ride with their friends as to not let us be, heaven forbid, one car behind where we should have been. by the end of the night, i was tired and cranky. i am vastly on my way to becoming that old man who always has a pipe in his mouth and sits on his porch and yells at people all the time....well, i guess thats not too bad.

Cat Lady and I

So, i dont know if you know this, but my nextdoor neighbor is a catlady to the extreme sense of the word. see the above image? picture twice as many cats, add a few dogs, random other animals, shrink the house, and oh yeah, get rid of all the flooring because hers is just newspaper that collects the animals feces. yeah...its gross. however, my catlady is old, she just turned 69 this past sunday. well, every sunday i am around i help her take out her 25 bags of cat crap trash. well, usually it is a bit awkward and weird and i try to make some strange small talk. so this past sunday i asked her what ever happened to that SPCA call she got. here is how the dialogue went:

"dorothy, did you ever find out who called the SPCA on you?"

"No, but if i did, i would cut their head off with a sword like Leonidas from 300"

"what? you watched 300?"

"yes, i love that movie, i bought it the day it came out"

"thats funny, i never would have pictured you like that movie"

"thats not funny, that movie represents what it means to be a man in our world, its good to see people who are willing to die for what they believe, when they were in that phalanx you could not stop them, thats what people need to do, stick together"

"wow"

i sat their stunned as i realized that the Cat Lady and i were kindred spirit for a day. i am now in awe of Dorothy Catfriend who lives next door.

You'll skate your eye out....

for those of you who may know, my transportation of choice lately has been the long board.

It is basically a really long skateboard that goes fast. well, being the cool guy that i am, i decided to take it for a stroll around the university i work at right before my class started. everything was fine until i swiftly rounded the corner of the W&M building of our campus. there was some car parked in a weird place in the road. i bailed... onto my feet.... couldnt stop.....slammed into the car.... dont worry, the car is absolutely fine.....but i busted my chin. i am pretty sure it needs stitches....maybe 1 or 2...BUT....i got class. so no stitches for me. i will have a sweet scar though...holla.

Healing Hands

so i have a friend who in all sincerity thinks that they might have the gift of healing. all along this Christian journey i have told myself that i believe that this gift could still exist. however, deep down i really thought it was hogwash and meant for another time.

someone very close to me is experiencing a lot of physical pain right now and my friend had a special prayer for her last night after small group. he did not say it, but i knew that he was praying a real prayer of healing.

not the kind that we just mumble off because it makes the recipient of the prayer feel better. not the kind that we "hope" works...but a real sincere prayer of healing.

for the first time....i believed it would work.

as i sat there with my eyes closed and listening, i thought of my friend and his prayer, i felt his honest desire to heal they person he was praying for and i really believed it would work.

this was a great..... feeling.