A Job, At Last!

After 4 years of unemployment, I've finally found work. Last Friday, I started at NCO, which handles customer service for T-Mobile, here in Rockford. After getting and accepting that job offer, an enormous weight has been lifted. I feel better than I have in years.

Catching Up

I haven't blogged in awhile. I've just had some stuff going on. I've lost two in the past 2 months who meant a lot to me and I've been somewhat depressed.

But I'm all better now, so I promise to blog with more frequency.

The Noble Savage

I was in a very satirical kind of mood last week, I did a little free writing and came up with this.

God Bless the Noble Savage

God bless the noble savage
whose life turned out just fine.
Despite the fact that he doesn't feel the need
to spend a single dime

He doesn't need
the Ivy League or honor roll
to turn out just and moral

The noble savage never hesitates
to give to those less off
he doesn't even need the bonus
of an IRS write off

The noble savage is quite content
with his eclectic rags.
He doesn't need $300 shoes
or stuff with designer tags

There is no need for lypo or Adkins
to satisfy his self worth
his daily quest for survival is plenty
to reduce his girth.

Starbuck's and McDonald's
are not high upon his list.
We can only hope the rest of the world
will someday get the gist.

Back in the Habit

I started going to daily Mass again today. I actually missed getting up 7am. This particular Mass was interesting though. After the actual Mass, those assembled were invited to participate in guided adoration of the Eucharist. I'd never done that before and it was a nice experience for me.

I've got my fingers crossed over this job interview I had on Monday. It would be a great opportunity for me, full time position, benefits, etc. Its been at the top of of my prayer list, so I hope that, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, God is on my side.

San Francisco Trip

I just got back from a wedding in San Francisco. I got in the night before went to the rehearsal dinner and an after party at an overly crowded high end club.

The ceremony was nice. The reception was a blast! The food was a little minimalist but the booze was free.

I spent the rest of my vacation with my older brother John, his girlfriend and my parents. We went to a wine tasting. ate at In-and-Out Burger twice and even took a tour of Alcatraz.

It was really nice to see my cousins, some of whom I hadn't see in years.

So all in all it was a great trip.

Its Hard to Tolerate Intolerance

I went to a lecture on Mohammad, the founder of the Muslim faith, Monday night. The talk, interestingly enough, was given by a Catholic priest. Although I was late, the "gist" of the talk was not lost on me.

As a priest, the speaker was naturally biased towards the Catholic faith, which was evident in the tone and content of his speech. He overemphasized the negative aspects of Mohammad's personality, rather than giving a "fair and balanced" look at the man's life.

If that wasn't bad enough, the comments made by those in attendance was the strychnine-laced icing on the cake. By referring to the Muslim faith as "nonsense" and spitting out predictions that Islam "collapse onto itself", these people only demonstrated the level of xenophobic egocentrism that exists in this country. These so-called Christians should take a page from Luke and "Do to others as you would have them do to you".

While it easy to criticize others for their small mindedness, the right thing, the Christian thing to do would be to...tolerate the intolerant.

People Surprise You

I was hanging around with my friend Dan yesterday, just watching TV. A commercial for the new Harry Potter movie came. Then Dan told me that his Mom was going to go see that movie opening night. She was, he explained, a huge Harry Potter fan. She's read all the books and seen all the movies.

After hearing this, you could've knocked me over with a feather. I'd always lumped Dan's mom in with that group of "bourgeois Catholics" who think that reading Harry Potter will incite children to take up witchcraft. But I guess people really can surprise you.

Happy Birthday Dalai Lama

Today is the Dalai Lama's , the spiritual leader of Tibet, 72 birthday.

I was raised Catholic, but after high school I lapsed and didn't actively "practice my faith". Then I began studying Tibetan Buddhism and the teachings of the Dalai Lama in particular. I learned that he and many other Tibetans were forced to leave to escaped persecution from the occupying Chinese. As all theses things were happening to him the Dalai Lama still maintained a non-aggressive stance towards his persecutors. His peaceful attitude was and still is an inspiration to me.

While I did eventually come back to the Catholic faith, a move I often credit to my studies of the Dalai Lama, I still continue to be entranced by the Buddhist way of life.

No Good Deed..

Today, I went to the Rock River Valley Blood Center to donate blood. I talked with someone from their office last week and I eventually agreed to become a regular donor. It didn't seem that bad, at least she wasn't asking me to switch me long distance carrier

But like the man said "No good deed ever goes unpunished".

It took me forever to find their new location, which turned out to not far from my alma mater, Rock Valley College. That was frustrating. When I finally got there, the nurse had to stick me twice to find a satisfactory vein. That was painful.

But it wasn't all bad. My nurse was kinda cute and a good conversationalist. Bonus!. And afterwards, I got cookies and Orange Juice. Bonus!

Headship, Finally!

After a long dry spell, I was finally able to have a meeting with my head, Chris Dausman. Since he had to work, we met at a restaraunt close to his office so his lunch hour wouldn't be spent commuting. We ate lunch and chatted about various things. We discussed things like abortion and the war in Iraq. Chris is another one of those people whose views differ from my own, but unlike my friend Aaron isn't as easy to rattle. He's one of those people who can change your mind through soft-spoken conversation.

We said good-bye and he extended an invitation to dinner. Score!

Something New

My good friend and roommate Eric has been doing his blog for awhile, so I thought I'd give it a shot. The psychology of these things has always appealed to me, an open and honest way of one way communication. Very cathartic.

Well, a little about me. I'm a recent graduate with an Associates Degree in Sociology. I've been looking for work for a long time. Now that I've got a degree it seems like it should be easier, but nothing has ever been that easy for me.

I'm what you might call a "liberal", but I like to refer to myself as a progressive. Sort of a "you say potato, I say spud" kind of thing. My favorite thing to do is to playfully antagonize staunch conservatives, like my friend Aaron. I find the purposely taking a contrary position helps to reinforce my own beliefs.

I've also started to job, which is something I thought I would never do. It started out better than I expected. Of course, I had to dodge the flying porcine and avoid a snowball fight between Screwtape and Wormwood but I really think I could make it part of my routine.

Not a dimmer

My friend had my roommates and I over for dinner this past Saturday. After the meal we discussed our vision of the Kingdom of God. I didn't have an answer than but after we got home I had an image pop into my head that corresponded to my interpretation of the Kingdom of God.

A cavernous room filled with lights and light switches. some turned on and some off. What I didn't see was any dimmer switches. I dislike dimmers, you can never get the lights just the way you want. Revelation 3:16, "Because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold- I will spit you out of my mouth. God doesn't want us on dimmer switches, constantly changing to fit the situation, he wants always on.