Beethoven was deaf. Helen Keller was blind. I think Rocky's got a good chance.

so this blog is more about blogging out of habit, and trying to keep to somewhat of a structure, which i guess really is the theme for the past few days. after simplifying my life for the past few weeks (months, maybe), and trimming down my expectations to a necessary few, i feel much more capable of creating some sort of structure to my life. it's a lot tougher than it sounds, esp when you've never really one to build structures. anyways, i'm pretty stoked for myself over the past week or so because i feel like what i want to do, and what i'm actually doing are starting to get closer in line with each other. it's funny how the most random stuff can provide the biggest inspiration. going snowboarding last week has really provided me with a lot of motivation in general, i guess you would call it a sense of accomplishment. add to that a weekend of hanging out with some of my favorite people, and the fact that the sun is actually sticking around for a few days, and i'm feeling pretty energetic and enthused about getting things done. on monday (my day off) i had a list of about twenty five things that i wanted to get done, and i did every single one of them. seriously, i've never accomplished that much in one day. it was amazing. i should probably clarify that none of those things were major undertakings, but still, it is nice to look at that day's to-do-list and see everything crossed off. i was so stoked about getting that much done, that i actually kept the list and i think i'm going to put it up in my office as a reminder of how good it feels to get a bunch of stuff done.

speaking of putting stuff up in my office, i finally decided what to put up on my blank wall that i stare at every day. i wanted something inspirational, so i went out and got a nice rocky poster to complete the office. as cheesy as it sounds, there have been several times in the past few days where i've imagined myself bouncing around the office listening to the rocky theme imitating the finale of the training scene where he's on top of the steps... yeah. so if you happen to sneak up to the office there's a good chance you're going to see me with my fists in the air blasting the theme from rocky (or whatever version it was that i bought off of itunes).

going back to having things ordered, i guess there really is a balance to how much order is good, and when too much order is kind of a bad thing. call this my orson welles part of my blog. maybe this has more to do with automation than order, but there's something i've started to notice about automation and customer service. i use my card to pay for everything, which makes keeping up with my finances a lot easier, but it makes going to the store seem very robotic. i go to the store, i pick up my stuff, and instead of actually interacting with whoever is behind the counter, i'm typically busy punching in my pin code or signing the automated screens. really, the only thing the person behind the counter is there to do is assist me in bagging. at wal mart and home depot, they've even managed to forgo that with self checkout lines. trust me, i love having the self checkout lines to avoid dealing with incompetence behind the register, but it creeps me out that it is getting easier and easier for people to not have any social interaction. if i wanted to disappear from society, or go an entire day w/o having to talk to anyone i think i could pull it off pretty easily. i know there are days where that's exactly what i want to do, but what about the people that have no motivation to interact with others. should we really provide them with the ability to do so? hmmm, just something that was on my mind.

what else is there...

i may have finally crossed a boundary that i had set for myself. my goal was to go as long as i could owning only what i could fit in the back of my truck. i haven't tested it out, and i don't plan on it soon, but i think after actually buying a bedframe on monday, i may have exceeded my limit. maybe. actually, since i got rid of my bed springs maybe i actually have less stuff. nevermind, i think i can still fit all of my stuff in my truck. all is well.



so a few of my guys decided to come to church early and we played our increasingly popular sport; puddingball. it's pretty much what it sounds like, we hit old pudding cups from the 99 cent store with a bat and try to spray each other with pudding. tonite we even branched out and got some old melons and thrashed them too. i also introduced them to the art of antiquing, or covering someone with flour so that they look like they've been asleep for about fifty years. needless to say it was a good day of youth ministry.

well on that note, i think i'm going to go home and watch a movie or something.

i hope that while you are reading this you feel blessed. one love, one heart.