I've sold out! I don't know whether to be disappointed with myself or happy. I got a real mattress yesterday.
One of my co-op buddies stayed over our place last weekend. Preparing for his arrival, my roommate went over another co-op's place and got an extra boxspring and mattress. When the co-op buddy left, I ended up taking the mattress. After one night, I have yet to notice a difference in quality of sleep. *sigh* For two months, I was sleeping on a slightly deflated airmattress. Now it is fully deflated, folded up in the corner of my room. It's a sad moment.
Yesterday, I bought the Matrix: Reloaded. I will be watching that this weekend.
I also bought a pair of expensive headphones to try out. I could definitaly tell the difference between my $30 sony headphones and these $130 Sennheiser headphones. There is only one problem: they are "open-air" headphones. Even though they completly cover both ears (like studio headphones), they leak out a lot of sound purposely to have a more spacial sound and to gain bass performance. When listening to them, they sound awesome, but my roommate, in the other room, can hear the sound. This is discouraging, because most "good" headphones are designed in this way- but the whole point of me buying headphones is so that I don't disturb other people. If other people can still hear the sound with the headphones on, I might as well crank up the subwoofer and give him or her something to listen to. Awesome headphones, but they leak sound. :( I'll be returning them tomorrow.
I'm working on my presentation for my database-driven website. I will be giving that on monday, oct 20th.
Thursday, October 16, 2003
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Men and Women
God revealed something to me this morning while I was sitting at work. It is very disturbing.
Jesus calls us to radically change from what we naturally are. A change from our sinful, natural state is the fruit of our faith. Without this change, what is the purpose or need of Jesus being in our life?
I often wonder if my kind, optimistic spirit is my natural, sinful state or is due to a radical change instigated by my walk with God. Why am I wondering this? Some would say, "as long as you love Jesus and love your neighbor you are doing what is right." This logic is just the same as saying, "as long as you have the correct answer on a test, that's all that matters- cheating or no cheating." I tell you, it is not the result that matters, but the path one takes to obtain that result. Loving my neighbor isn't good if my love is being derived from the wrong source; my love needs to come from God, not from my natural, sinful state.
I have a "helper" personality. I put others above myself and often help others at my expense. This sounds nice, right? The catch? I expect to be loved and be thanked by those I help. This is where my natural personality is sinful- it's selfish. My radical change that Jesus calls me to is to help others WITHOUT expecting repayment. This is the healthiest level that I can be at. Helping and loving others unconditionally is only achievable through God.
What was the disturbing revelation? I have wanted to incorporate God into all parts of my life. I want my kindness to be from God, not from my natural personality. This is a bit harder for men than it is for women. There is a book Men Are Like Waffles - Women Are Like Spaghetti by Bill and Pam Farrel. I have not read it, but I have heard about it. Below explains why I say that incorporating God in every aspect of life is generally more difficult for men:
"We do not mean that men "waffle" on all decisions and are generally unstable. What we mean is that men process life in boxes. If you look down at a waffle, you see a collection of boxes separated by walls. The boxes are all separate from each other and make convenient holding places. That is typically how a man processes life. Our thinking is divided up into boxes that have room for one issue and one issue only. The first issue of life goes in the first box, the second goes in the second box, and so on. The typical man lives in one box at a time and one box only. When a man is at work, he is at work. When he is in the garage tinkering around, he is in the garage tinkering. When he is watching TV, he is simple watching TV. That is why he looks as though he is in a trance and can ignore everything else going on around him. Social scientists call this "compartmentalizing" --that is, putting life and responsibilities into different compartments..."
"In contrast to men's waffle-like approach, women process life more like a plate of pasta. If you look at a plate of spaghetti, you notice that there are lots of individual noodles that all touch one another. If you attempted to follow one noodle around the plate, you would intersect a lot of other noodles, and you might even switch to another noodle seamlessly. That is how women face life. Every thought and issue is connected to every other thought and issue is some way. Life is much more of a process for women than it is for men. This is why women are typically better at multitasking than men. She can talk on the phone, prepare a meal, make a shopping list, work on the agenda for tomorrow's business meeting, give instructions to her children as they are going out to play, and close the door with her foot without skipping a beat. Because all her thoughts, emotions, and convictions are connected, she is able to process more information and keep track of more activities."
At work, I received an e-mail from a man with whom I go to church. I met him at a retreat this past Saturday and found out that he works in the same building as I; probably just right across the hall, too. His e-mail was simple yet powerful:
----------
Matt,
thanks so much for the great music! (St Francis)
thanks, Mike
----------
Two things were at work here: 1) he took the time to remember my name from the retreat, look it up in the NASA KSC e-mail directory, and send me an e-mail thanking me for playing guitar at his retreat 2) He was talking about church- at work. When I read his thanks at work about a retreat at church, it felt weird. This feeling is easily explained by the excerpts from the book above. I didn't want to combine my compartments- church and work. They are separate parts of my life with different people. Except this is no longer the case. A member from my church works in the same building as I.
This instigated some more introspection of my relationship with God. Am I "compartmentalizing" God? I do bring a devotional to work in attempt to integrate God into each of my compartments. Is that enough? What can I do so that God is the syrup in my life, saturating each and every compartment?
This is something that I have to think and pray about for a while. With time, God will give me some kind of answer.
Jesus calls us to radically change from what we naturally are. A change from our sinful, natural state is the fruit of our faith. Without this change, what is the purpose or need of Jesus being in our life?
I often wonder if my kind, optimistic spirit is my natural, sinful state or is due to a radical change instigated by my walk with God. Why am I wondering this? Some would say, "as long as you love Jesus and love your neighbor you are doing what is right." This logic is just the same as saying, "as long as you have the correct answer on a test, that's all that matters- cheating or no cheating." I tell you, it is not the result that matters, but the path one takes to obtain that result. Loving my neighbor isn't good if my love is being derived from the wrong source; my love needs to come from God, not from my natural, sinful state.
I have a "helper" personality. I put others above myself and often help others at my expense. This sounds nice, right? The catch? I expect to be loved and be thanked by those I help. This is where my natural personality is sinful- it's selfish. My radical change that Jesus calls me to is to help others WITHOUT expecting repayment. This is the healthiest level that I can be at. Helping and loving others unconditionally is only achievable through God.
What was the disturbing revelation? I have wanted to incorporate God into all parts of my life. I want my kindness to be from God, not from my natural personality. This is a bit harder for men than it is for women. There is a book Men Are Like Waffles - Women Are Like Spaghetti by Bill and Pam Farrel. I have not read it, but I have heard about it. Below explains why I say that incorporating God in every aspect of life is generally more difficult for men:
"We do not mean that men "waffle" on all decisions and are generally unstable. What we mean is that men process life in boxes. If you look down at a waffle, you see a collection of boxes separated by walls. The boxes are all separate from each other and make convenient holding places. That is typically how a man processes life. Our thinking is divided up into boxes that have room for one issue and one issue only. The first issue of life goes in the first box, the second goes in the second box, and so on. The typical man lives in one box at a time and one box only. When a man is at work, he is at work. When he is in the garage tinkering around, he is in the garage tinkering. When he is watching TV, he is simple watching TV. That is why he looks as though he is in a trance and can ignore everything else going on around him. Social scientists call this "compartmentalizing" --that is, putting life and responsibilities into different compartments..."
"In contrast to men's waffle-like approach, women process life more like a plate of pasta. If you look at a plate of spaghetti, you notice that there are lots of individual noodles that all touch one another. If you attempted to follow one noodle around the plate, you would intersect a lot of other noodles, and you might even switch to another noodle seamlessly. That is how women face life. Every thought and issue is connected to every other thought and issue is some way. Life is much more of a process for women than it is for men. This is why women are typically better at multitasking than men. She can talk on the phone, prepare a meal, make a shopping list, work on the agenda for tomorrow's business meeting, give instructions to her children as they are going out to play, and close the door with her foot without skipping a beat. Because all her thoughts, emotions, and convictions are connected, she is able to process more information and keep track of more activities."
At work, I received an e-mail from a man with whom I go to church. I met him at a retreat this past Saturday and found out that he works in the same building as I; probably just right across the hall, too. His e-mail was simple yet powerful:
----------
Matt,
thanks so much for the great music! (St Francis)
thanks, Mike
----------
Two things were at work here: 1) he took the time to remember my name from the retreat, look it up in the NASA KSC e-mail directory, and send me an e-mail thanking me for playing guitar at his retreat 2) He was talking about church- at work. When I read his thanks at work about a retreat at church, it felt weird. This feeling is easily explained by the excerpts from the book above. I didn't want to combine my compartments- church and work. They are separate parts of my life with different people. Except this is no longer the case. A member from my church works in the same building as I.
This instigated some more introspection of my relationship with God. Am I "compartmentalizing" God? I do bring a devotional to work in attempt to integrate God into each of my compartments. Is that enough? What can I do so that God is the syrup in my life, saturating each and every compartment?
This is something that I have to think and pray about for a while. With time, God will give me some kind of answer.
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
Saturday, October 04, 2003
Football and Malibu Music Hour
Another week has passed by...
Right now, I'm "trapped in a place between this world and the machine world." If you know what I'm talking about, then kudos to you. I, also, am STOKED. But what I actually mean to say is that I'm in limbo land. You might know what I'm talking about...
After work today (17:00), I crashed on my semi-deflated airmattress. I didn't wake up until 1:00. According to my co-op caused rusty mathematics, that's an 8 hour nap. Well...after waking up, and being up for nearly 2 hours, I still don't feel awake. I want to go back to sleep because I really don't have anything to do but I can't. I'M IN SLEEP PURGATORY! (a little catholic humor)
But today, I do have an eventful agenda planned. At 6:00, I'll be heading out to Orlando to pray over the abortion clinic. (By the way, I hope that the partial birth abortion ban passes the Senate so ToddQ's all-time favorite president can sign that sucka.) After doing that, I'll head to Tampa at about 12:00. What's in Tampa, you might ask? Well, I know that Mattie P knows what's in Tampa at 19:00...*cue "We Ready" by Archie and Bubba Sparxxx*...CARDINAL FOOTBALL!!! That's right folks; I'll be watching the good ole Louisville Cardinals playing some football this evening. I'm excited to get a taste of home. My uncle and aunt from Louisville will also be there. My uncle went to Speed with Papa Parris back in the day, got a ChemE degree, and now works for Jim Beam. I'm looking forward to watching a whooping!
The days are passing by very quickly. There is never enough time in the day to do everything I want to. Here was my schedule last week:
Monday:
06:00 Wake Up/ Get Ready
07:00 Church
08:00 Work
17:00 Adoration Chapel
18:00 Dinner/ Idle time
21:00 Chat on the phone
22:00-00:00 Sleep
Tuesday:
07:00 Wake Up/ Get Ready
08:00 Work
16:30 Soccer
18:30 Shower/ Dinner
19:30 Retreat meeting at Church
21:00 Adoration Chapel
22:00 Chat on the phone
23:00 Sleep
Wednesday:
06:00 Wake Up/ Get Ready
07:00 Church
08:00 Work
17:00 Adoration Chapel
18:00 Dinner/ Idle time
21:00 Chat on the phone
Thursday:
07:00 Wake Up/ Get Ready
08:00 Work
16:30 Watch Electric Model Airplanes
17:00 Soccer
18:30 Shower
19:00 Bible Study
21:00 Adoration Chapel
22:00 Sleep
Friday:
06:00 Wake Up/ Get Ready
07:00 Church
08:00 Work
17:00 Sleep
Saturday:
01:00 Wake Up
01:30 IM Mo Mo
03:00 Blog
That's it folks...my life for the past 2 weeks.
*As a side note, I'm now having malibu music hour..."What the world needs now is love" by Jackie Deshannon just came on. I decided to skip it (because I actually have no clue how it got on my computer) but when I skipped it "Endless Love" by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross (Mikey's dedicated song) came on. For the sake of malibu music hour and remembering sitting in the car with Morris and Mikey after fireworks at da park dedicating this song to Mikey, I had to listen to these songs. "And love, ohh love, I'll be that fool for you. I'm sure you know I don't mind, ohh you know I don't mind. And yes, you'll be the only one cause no one can deny this love I have inside. And I'll give it all to you, my love- my love, my love.....my endless love."
To get me out of malibu music hour was some reassuring music- a passion I have that ToddQ would not only agree with but would whole-heartedly encourage- Five Iron Frenzy- Walking on Sunshine. Ahh...the good old days of Summer 2002: climbing out windows, throwing waffle ball bats, watching World Cup soccer at 1:00 with DLo, going to Ichthus (actually was at the tail end of spring), and listening to Five Iron Frenzy while memorizing speeches and History of Rock & Roll terms, and learning 3D graphing techniques for Calc 3. Ahh...
I read Hinton's blog (can I call it a blog when it's not hosted by blogger.net?), posted on 10.1.2003 at 9:50 AM. Elisabeth Elliot's "Passion & Purity" is a predecessor to the popular Joshua Harris. I've read Harris' books and have attempted to acquire the same mindset he has. By removing the temptation of physical intimacy, one can only grow spiritually with the significant other. To be honest, I haven't been in a situation yet where I have had to make a decision like that with my current beliefs, so we'll find out whether I hold to them when the time comes (if it does...).
*I'm sad to say that malibu music hour continues..."It's raining men" by the Weather Girls just came on. I do know why this song is on my computer. It comes from freshman year, in good ole Miller hall, 3rd floor in David Yeiser's (eDay) room. We used to jam to this song. Along side being forced to listen to the exhaustive porn collection Lykin's had (I must admit, I did encourage him, and even start some, on occasion).
"Hi (Hi!) We're your Weather Girls (Ah-huh)
And have we got news for you (You better listen!)
Get ready, all you lonely girls
and leave those umbrellas at home. (all right!)
It's rising (mm rising) - Barometer's getting low (how low-girl)
According to all sources, (what sources now)
the street's the place to go (you better hurry up)
Cause tonight for the first time
Just about half-past ten
For the first time in history
It's gonna start raining men.
It's Raining Men! Hallelujah! - It's Raining Men! Amen!
I'm gonna go out to run and let myself get
Absolutely soaking wet!
It's Raining Men! Hallelujah!
It's Raining Men! Every Specimen!
Tall, blonde, dark and lean
Rough and tough and strong and mean..."
and so on, and so forth.
That's all I can think of for now. Until next time...
Right now, I'm "trapped in a place between this world and the machine world." If you know what I'm talking about, then kudos to you. I, also, am STOKED. But what I actually mean to say is that I'm in limbo land. You might know what I'm talking about...
After work today (17:00), I crashed on my semi-deflated airmattress. I didn't wake up until 1:00. According to my co-op caused rusty mathematics, that's an 8 hour nap. Well...after waking up, and being up for nearly 2 hours, I still don't feel awake. I want to go back to sleep because I really don't have anything to do but I can't. I'M IN SLEEP PURGATORY! (a little catholic humor)
But today, I do have an eventful agenda planned. At 6:00, I'll be heading out to Orlando to pray over the abortion clinic. (By the way, I hope that the partial birth abortion ban passes the Senate so ToddQ's all-time favorite president can sign that sucka.) After doing that, I'll head to Tampa at about 12:00. What's in Tampa, you might ask? Well, I know that Mattie P knows what's in Tampa at 19:00...*cue "We Ready" by Archie and Bubba Sparxxx*...CARDINAL FOOTBALL!!! That's right folks; I'll be watching the good ole Louisville Cardinals playing some football this evening. I'm excited to get a taste of home. My uncle and aunt from Louisville will also be there. My uncle went to Speed with Papa Parris back in the day, got a ChemE degree, and now works for Jim Beam. I'm looking forward to watching a whooping!
The days are passing by very quickly. There is never enough time in the day to do everything I want to. Here was my schedule last week:
Monday:
06:00 Wake Up/ Get Ready
07:00 Church
08:00 Work
17:00 Adoration Chapel
18:00 Dinner/ Idle time
21:00 Chat on the phone
22:00-00:00 Sleep
Tuesday:
07:00 Wake Up/ Get Ready
08:00 Work
16:30 Soccer
18:30 Shower/ Dinner
19:30 Retreat meeting at Church
21:00 Adoration Chapel
22:00 Chat on the phone
23:00 Sleep
Wednesday:
06:00 Wake Up/ Get Ready
07:00 Church
08:00 Work
17:00 Adoration Chapel
18:00 Dinner/ Idle time
21:00 Chat on the phone
Thursday:
07:00 Wake Up/ Get Ready
08:00 Work
16:30 Watch Electric Model Airplanes
17:00 Soccer
18:30 Shower
19:00 Bible Study
21:00 Adoration Chapel
22:00 Sleep
Friday:
06:00 Wake Up/ Get Ready
07:00 Church
08:00 Work
17:00 Sleep
Saturday:
01:00 Wake Up
01:30 IM Mo Mo
03:00 Blog
That's it folks...my life for the past 2 weeks.
*As a side note, I'm now having malibu music hour..."What the world needs now is love" by Jackie Deshannon just came on. I decided to skip it (because I actually have no clue how it got on my computer) but when I skipped it "Endless Love" by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross (Mikey's dedicated song) came on. For the sake of malibu music hour and remembering sitting in the car with Morris and Mikey after fireworks at da park dedicating this song to Mikey, I had to listen to these songs. "And love, ohh love, I'll be that fool for you. I'm sure you know I don't mind, ohh you know I don't mind. And yes, you'll be the only one cause no one can deny this love I have inside. And I'll give it all to you, my love- my love, my love.....my endless love."
To get me out of malibu music hour was some reassuring music- a passion I have that ToddQ would not only agree with but would whole-heartedly encourage- Five Iron Frenzy- Walking on Sunshine. Ahh...the good old days of Summer 2002: climbing out windows, throwing waffle ball bats, watching World Cup soccer at 1:00 with DLo, going to Ichthus (actually was at the tail end of spring), and listening to Five Iron Frenzy while memorizing speeches and History of Rock & Roll terms, and learning 3D graphing techniques for Calc 3. Ahh...
I read Hinton's blog (can I call it a blog when it's not hosted by blogger.net?), posted on 10.1.2003 at 9:50 AM. Elisabeth Elliot's "Passion & Purity" is a predecessor to the popular Joshua Harris. I've read Harris' books and have attempted to acquire the same mindset he has. By removing the temptation of physical intimacy, one can only grow spiritually with the significant other. To be honest, I haven't been in a situation yet where I have had to make a decision like that with my current beliefs, so we'll find out whether I hold to them when the time comes (if it does...).
*I'm sad to say that malibu music hour continues..."It's raining men" by the Weather Girls just came on. I do know why this song is on my computer. It comes from freshman year, in good ole Miller hall, 3rd floor in David Yeiser's (eDay) room. We used to jam to this song. Along side being forced to listen to the exhaustive porn collection Lykin's had (I must admit, I did encourage him, and even start some, on occasion).
"Hi (Hi!) We're your Weather Girls (Ah-huh)
And have we got news for you (You better listen!)
Get ready, all you lonely girls
and leave those umbrellas at home. (all right!)
It's rising (mm rising) - Barometer's getting low (how low-girl)
According to all sources, (what sources now)
the street's the place to go (you better hurry up)
Cause tonight for the first time
Just about half-past ten
For the first time in history
It's gonna start raining men.
It's Raining Men! Hallelujah! - It's Raining Men! Amen!
I'm gonna go out to run and let myself get
Absolutely soaking wet!
It's Raining Men! Hallelujah!
It's Raining Men! Every Specimen!
Tall, blonde, dark and lean
Rough and tough and strong and mean..."
and so on, and so forth.
That's all I can think of for now. Until next time...
Saturday, September 27, 2003
Abortion Mill
What is the difference between the Holocaust and Abortion? One was about exterminating Jewish people while the other is exterminating unwanted, unborn people. At least the Jews could fight against the Nazis if they felt compelled.
I do not mean to make out the Holocaust less than what it was, but instead manifest abortion in its true light.
A friend that I met from church has begun a pregnancy crisis ministry where he gives free ultrasounds (The abortion clinic charges $70 to have one and purposefully only show the mother a view from the top down of her baby- only the top of the head. This is so the mother does not see the side profile, the feet and hands and face. They distort the truth to "benefit" an already emotionally wreaked mother.) After seeing their baby in its entirety, all but two have decided not to abort the pregnancy. Over 200 lives have been saved by giving the mothers free ultrasounds.
My friend parks the emptied out RV with large lettering on the side advertising the service in front of the abortion clinic in Orlando. He offers $100 to any woman willing to come inside and get an ultrasound. Money talks. Lives have been saved.
Abortion is wrong. I have heard many reasons why it's wrong and have seen many presentations- including one on campus by the Genocide Awareness Project or GAP. I have even given a presentation to my junior year AP US History class attempting to swade the class to Pro-Life. I know that from my presentation, I at least changed my teacher's perspective on the issue. I decide to put my stance in practice by visiting the abortion clinic with my friend, observing him try to save lives of the innocent.
I didn't know what to expect, so I was nervous on the hour drive to Orlando. I had, in mind, the stereotype of abortion protests where a group of people have signs and are chanting and yelling Pro-Life phrases to convince others that they are killing babies. I really didn't think about what to expect- most situations are better left to be a surprise.
When I got there, I was surprised. There were only about ten people on the sidewalk in front of the abortion clinic. Two girls my age were praying the rosary to one side and next to them were a group of four seniors praying from a prepared prayer service. The others stood on the sidewalk with pamphlets and a graphic picture of an aborted fetus. I expected to find Pro-Choice people there as well, but there were none. Only Pro-Life people who were praying and pleading with the mothers that walked in and out of the clinic. There weren't any heated debates or angered yelling, only pleading and prayer full of compassion.
I have seen the graphic pictures, I have heard the reasons, but the most convincing experience was what I saw today. A woman walked into the clinic at about 7:00 in the morning. About three hours later she walked out with a small bag full of pamphlets and Post-abortion information. Her face showed her emotional exhaustion and considerable emotional pain and clearly conveyed that she had just aborted her pregnancy. Walking into the clinic there were two lives. Walking out, there was now only one.
I was standing in front of a concentration camp- a house of death.
We were there from about 7:00 till 11:00. Not many mothers came today- about ten or so. Some were coming for post-abortion checkups while others were getting pregnancy tests and gathering information about abortion. The pro-life advocates tried to talk to everyone. Some mothers listened while others walked away. One flicked a cigarette at my friend. I came to observe to see what his ministry was all about. I experienced emotions of sadness and compassion. At one point, I was nauseous of the thought that they just prepared the mothers in groups of five, as the abortionist went from room to room aborting life. Abortion is a well-defined process.
I plan on going back next Saturday. In the meantime, much prayer is needed for the innocent lives that are being slaughtered, which happens seven days a week, not only in the 5 abortion clinics in Orlando, but in all abortion clinics around the country.
Help me pray for the lives of the innocent.
I do not mean to make out the Holocaust less than what it was, but instead manifest abortion in its true light.
A friend that I met from church has begun a pregnancy crisis ministry where he gives free ultrasounds (The abortion clinic charges $70 to have one and purposefully only show the mother a view from the top down of her baby- only the top of the head. This is so the mother does not see the side profile, the feet and hands and face. They distort the truth to "benefit" an already emotionally wreaked mother.) After seeing their baby in its entirety, all but two have decided not to abort the pregnancy. Over 200 lives have been saved by giving the mothers free ultrasounds.
My friend parks the emptied out RV with large lettering on the side advertising the service in front of the abortion clinic in Orlando. He offers $100 to any woman willing to come inside and get an ultrasound. Money talks. Lives have been saved.
Abortion is wrong. I have heard many reasons why it's wrong and have seen many presentations- including one on campus by the Genocide Awareness Project or GAP. I have even given a presentation to my junior year AP US History class attempting to swade the class to Pro-Life. I know that from my presentation, I at least changed my teacher's perspective on the issue. I decide to put my stance in practice by visiting the abortion clinic with my friend, observing him try to save lives of the innocent.
I didn't know what to expect, so I was nervous on the hour drive to Orlando. I had, in mind, the stereotype of abortion protests where a group of people have signs and are chanting and yelling Pro-Life phrases to convince others that they are killing babies. I really didn't think about what to expect- most situations are better left to be a surprise.
When I got there, I was surprised. There were only about ten people on the sidewalk in front of the abortion clinic. Two girls my age were praying the rosary to one side and next to them were a group of four seniors praying from a prepared prayer service. The others stood on the sidewalk with pamphlets and a graphic picture of an aborted fetus. I expected to find Pro-Choice people there as well, but there were none. Only Pro-Life people who were praying and pleading with the mothers that walked in and out of the clinic. There weren't any heated debates or angered yelling, only pleading and prayer full of compassion.
I have seen the graphic pictures, I have heard the reasons, but the most convincing experience was what I saw today. A woman walked into the clinic at about 7:00 in the morning. About three hours later she walked out with a small bag full of pamphlets and Post-abortion information. Her face showed her emotional exhaustion and considerable emotional pain and clearly conveyed that she had just aborted her pregnancy. Walking into the clinic there were two lives. Walking out, there was now only one.
I was standing in front of a concentration camp- a house of death.
We were there from about 7:00 till 11:00. Not many mothers came today- about ten or so. Some were coming for post-abortion checkups while others were getting pregnancy tests and gathering information about abortion. The pro-life advocates tried to talk to everyone. Some mothers listened while others walked away. One flicked a cigarette at my friend. I came to observe to see what his ministry was all about. I experienced emotions of sadness and compassion. At one point, I was nauseous of the thought that they just prepared the mothers in groups of five, as the abortionist went from room to room aborting life. Abortion is a well-defined process.
I plan on going back next Saturday. In the meantime, much prayer is needed for the innocent lives that are being slaughtered, which happens seven days a week, not only in the 5 abortion clinics in Orlando, but in all abortion clinics around the country.
Help me pray for the lives of the innocent.
Friday, September 19, 2003
Sore from Everything
Wow. Time sure does fly by when I'm having fun!
There is a lot that has been happening lately...
Last weeked, I went on a retreat. There, God graced me with His presence. It was awesome. Currently, I am working on a letter to explain some of my new learnings. I'll post it as soon as it's complete.
Last Tuesday, I participated in the InterCenter Run/Walk. This event is put on by NASA and includes 2mile, 5km, and 10km courses. I ran in the 10km race (a little more than 6 miles), which took me about 51 minutes to complete. The coolest thing about the race was that it was held on the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF)- aka LARGEST RUNWAY IN THE WORLD! The SLF is a 3-mile runway for the shuttle when it lands after its mission in space. It was definately an awesome event to participate in. Upon deciding whether to walk with some of my other co-op friends or run the race, I noticed a couple things. We drive cars on parkways. We also park cars on driveways. So, what should people do on runways? I considered walking the race just to follow this silly string of logic, but then decided that it would benefit me more to run. I ran the 10k race and was exhausted at the end. Not to mention that a 70 year old guy whooped me!
Now, 3 days later, I am still very much sore, just in both of my calves; the reason being that I make a concious effort to get in the habit of running on the balls of my feet so that I can play soccer better. In soccer, it's better to be on the balls of the feet instead of the heels so that one can change direction much quicker. So, since I was running on my toes, my calves got the work-out of their lives. (Try to stand up and tippie toe, feel the calves go to work?) That and I am very much out of shape. I haven't run in about a month and this was the first run in a while. I think that I over did it.
Ohh...but wait...there is more soreness yet to come...
Yesterday, I got a free Flu shot at the NASA health facility. I figured why not, it's free and it might help me not get the flu. I told him to do it in my left arm, which he did. Surprisingly, I didn't feel a thing. After removing the needle, he didn't even have to put a bandaid on because I didn't bleed. After a couple hours, some other people were whining about their arms being sore. Luckily, my shoulder wasn't sore at all. Today, my arm still doesn't hurt that much, but I can feel that I got a shot yesterday. No Flu for me!
Ohh...but wait...there is more soreness yet to come...
Today, I gave blood at NASA. I had them take it from the left arm, because I'm right-handed. This was the second time giving blood, my first being almost a year ago in December. I had been looking for a blood drive for quite some time, and one finally came up- right in front of my building. The blooddrive was actually put on to try to find a doner for a co-worker who has been diagnosed with leukemia. I wonder if I'm going to be a match. If so, I'll be asked to donate some of my bone marrow to try to help his disease. If asked, I think that I'd do it.
After they got a pint from me, it was time to head back to work. This time, I actually felt a little woozy getting up. I dismissed it and decided to head back inside the building to the 3rd floor of my office. I didn't walk outside very far until I felt my eyes starting to give out. I knew that at any moment that I was gonig to pass out in front of the blood mobile. I quickly sat down trying to eat the cookies that they provided. My stomach ached and I was extremely dizzy. I didn't know if I was going to make it back to work. After sitting in the Florida heat for about a minute, I decided that it would be good if I could get inside to the lobby, then rest there. I got up and felt so sluggish. My eyes were barely hanging on, and I probably looked like a dang zombie trudging toward the front of the building. I told myself that I could make it. I kept walking and walking and walking (mind you, this is only 10 yards worth of walking but it seemed like an eternity). I made it to the automatic glass sliding doors and saw the couches that I could use to rest. I stumbled over there, trying to hang on for dear life. I was going to faint at any moment, and I knew it. Sorry to disappoint you, but I did make it to the couch and assumed the "head between the knees" sitting technique to try to get what blood I had left to my head. (Don't I make it sound as if they took all my blood? :) ) I sat there wondering if I was ever going to feel better, so that I could go back to my desk (this is about 15:00). I then laid down and began to watch the extensive Hurricane Isabele coverage on CNN to get my mind off of things. I proped up my feet and just sat there and relaxed for a while. Minutes later, I was feeling a lot better. I hobbled to the elevator, pressed three, and hobbled to my cube where I finished the day.
My arm is definately sore from giving blood. Tomorrow, my limbs might fall off and I could become a semi-paraplegic; no legs and no left arm- just a body with a head and right arm.
Tonight, I went to the local community college to listen to a community band that they have. The concert featured famous works by John Williams. If you don't know John Williams, he composed the theme songs for movies such as Star Wars, Jurassic Park, ET, Saving Private Ryan, and also composed the Olympic fanfares. The concert was free and was quite enjoyable. Unfortunately, I really had my hopes up to hearing a professional band. I quickly learned that they weren't professionals and had some problems with timing and the trumpets had trouble hitting some of the high notes. Nevertheless, it was quite enjoyable.
Tomorrow, I'm going to head to the FedEx place to pick up my package. It's a replacement soundcard- the one that they sent me the first time didn't work properly. After that, I'm going to clean my room because it is a total mess. I might actually do some laundry. Today, I washed and vacuumed my car, so that's good. After doing some cleaning, I'm going to finish that letter so that I can mail it out to certain people and post it here.
Till next time...
Mr. Chuckles: "OO OO AH AH, EEK"
Translation: "Have a wonderful day!"
There is a lot that has been happening lately...
Last weeked, I went on a retreat. There, God graced me with His presence. It was awesome. Currently, I am working on a letter to explain some of my new learnings. I'll post it as soon as it's complete.
Last Tuesday, I participated in the InterCenter Run/Walk. This event is put on by NASA and includes 2mile, 5km, and 10km courses. I ran in the 10km race (a little more than 6 miles), which took me about 51 minutes to complete. The coolest thing about the race was that it was held on the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF)- aka LARGEST RUNWAY IN THE WORLD! The SLF is a 3-mile runway for the shuttle when it lands after its mission in space. It was definately an awesome event to participate in. Upon deciding whether to walk with some of my other co-op friends or run the race, I noticed a couple things. We drive cars on parkways. We also park cars on driveways. So, what should people do on runways? I considered walking the race just to follow this silly string of logic, but then decided that it would benefit me more to run. I ran the 10k race and was exhausted at the end. Not to mention that a 70 year old guy whooped me!
Now, 3 days later, I am still very much sore, just in both of my calves; the reason being that I make a concious effort to get in the habit of running on the balls of my feet so that I can play soccer better. In soccer, it's better to be on the balls of the feet instead of the heels so that one can change direction much quicker. So, since I was running on my toes, my calves got the work-out of their lives. (Try to stand up and tippie toe, feel the calves go to work?) That and I am very much out of shape. I haven't run in about a month and this was the first run in a while. I think that I over did it.
Ohh...but wait...there is more soreness yet to come...
Yesterday, I got a free Flu shot at the NASA health facility. I figured why not, it's free and it might help me not get the flu. I told him to do it in my left arm, which he did. Surprisingly, I didn't feel a thing. After removing the needle, he didn't even have to put a bandaid on because I didn't bleed. After a couple hours, some other people were whining about their arms being sore. Luckily, my shoulder wasn't sore at all. Today, my arm still doesn't hurt that much, but I can feel that I got a shot yesterday. No Flu for me!
Ohh...but wait...there is more soreness yet to come...
Today, I gave blood at NASA. I had them take it from the left arm, because I'm right-handed. This was the second time giving blood, my first being almost a year ago in December. I had been looking for a blood drive for quite some time, and one finally came up- right in front of my building. The blooddrive was actually put on to try to find a doner for a co-worker who has been diagnosed with leukemia. I wonder if I'm going to be a match. If so, I'll be asked to donate some of my bone marrow to try to help his disease. If asked, I think that I'd do it.
After they got a pint from me, it was time to head back to work. This time, I actually felt a little woozy getting up. I dismissed it and decided to head back inside the building to the 3rd floor of my office. I didn't walk outside very far until I felt my eyes starting to give out. I knew that at any moment that I was gonig to pass out in front of the blood mobile. I quickly sat down trying to eat the cookies that they provided. My stomach ached and I was extremely dizzy. I didn't know if I was going to make it back to work. After sitting in the Florida heat for about a minute, I decided that it would be good if I could get inside to the lobby, then rest there. I got up and felt so sluggish. My eyes were barely hanging on, and I probably looked like a dang zombie trudging toward the front of the building. I told myself that I could make it. I kept walking and walking and walking (mind you, this is only 10 yards worth of walking but it seemed like an eternity). I made it to the automatic glass sliding doors and saw the couches that I could use to rest. I stumbled over there, trying to hang on for dear life. I was going to faint at any moment, and I knew it. Sorry to disappoint you, but I did make it to the couch and assumed the "head between the knees" sitting technique to try to get what blood I had left to my head. (Don't I make it sound as if they took all my blood? :) ) I sat there wondering if I was ever going to feel better, so that I could go back to my desk (this is about 15:00). I then laid down and began to watch the extensive Hurricane Isabele coverage on CNN to get my mind off of things. I proped up my feet and just sat there and relaxed for a while. Minutes later, I was feeling a lot better. I hobbled to the elevator, pressed three, and hobbled to my cube where I finished the day.
My arm is definately sore from giving blood. Tomorrow, my limbs might fall off and I could become a semi-paraplegic; no legs and no left arm- just a body with a head and right arm.
Tonight, I went to the local community college to listen to a community band that they have. The concert featured famous works by John Williams. If you don't know John Williams, he composed the theme songs for movies such as Star Wars, Jurassic Park, ET, Saving Private Ryan, and also composed the Olympic fanfares. The concert was free and was quite enjoyable. Unfortunately, I really had my hopes up to hearing a professional band. I quickly learned that they weren't professionals and had some problems with timing and the trumpets had trouble hitting some of the high notes. Nevertheless, it was quite enjoyable.
Tomorrow, I'm going to head to the FedEx place to pick up my package. It's a replacement soundcard- the one that they sent me the first time didn't work properly. After that, I'm going to clean my room because it is a total mess. I might actually do some laundry. Today, I washed and vacuumed my car, so that's good. After doing some cleaning, I'm going to finish that letter so that I can mail it out to certain people and post it here.
Till next time...
Mr. Chuckles: "OO OO AH AH, EEK"
Translation: "Have a wonderful day!"
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
Ed
Recently, I have become aquainted with a very interesting person. This guy works in the same office as my roommate and is about 65 years old. What makes this guy interesting is that he knows where and when to get the deals on EVERYTHING! Allow me to explain...
We were over his house. Ed has a lovely home and greeted us with a "Hey Guys," spoken with a distinguishable Boston accent- he lived there for quite some time. The reason we were at a 65 year-old guy's house was to look at some couches that he was selling. My roommate's (Ben) parents were thinking of buying them, so we would get to use them in our bare apartment (it's not so bare anymore, I'll explain later). After taking a few pictures to send to Ben's parents so they could decide upon the purchase, we sat down and chatted with him about our futures at NASA, graduate programs where NASA pays for graduate school, and just shot the breeze. It was a fun time and we found it quite humorous that we were spending our weekend there. We later laughed at the thought of us turning down offers from our fellow co-ops to instead hang out with Ed.
We later returned to his house to retrieve some dishes, silverware, a toaster oven and a kettle (which is probably one of the most ingenious inventions). In the meantime, we helped him hang up some of his pictures and just chatted some more. I was telling him that I was thinking about getting some tinting on my car, to prevent the interior from fading from the extreme sunlight here. He said, "Oh yeah? Well, my son hangs out with a guy that does it for a living. He's good. He does all the banks and does a quality job. I was thinking about getting my car tinted. If we go in together, we could get a deal." So I said okay. Tomorrow I'm going to get my car windows tinted.
We were over his house for a third time helping him install his newly bought surround speaker system. For our efforts, he provided a nice lunch for my roommate and I. While at the table, I asked Ben what time it was then noticed that my watch was about 30 minutes behind. This wasn't the first time that I noticed this; four days before, I had changed my watch to the correct time. Apparently my battery was going bad. Ed pipes up and says that he knows a guy (Jim) in Cocoa Beach who will replace the watch battery. Usually he would charge $10 but if I tell Jim that I work with Ed, he will take off $5. I'm going to get my watch fixed sometime this week.
My roommate was telling me a story about how they were in a meeting and it came time for a safety and health guy to give a shpeal. During the talk, the health guy stated that to stay in good health, it's good to walk up 80 steps daily. Ed piped up during the meeting and said that there were only 44 steps up to the 3rd floor of the building (where everyone at the meeting works). Needless to say, everyone in the meeting busted out laughing- not at Ed, and not at the fact that he knows that there are 44 steps (because they expect that from him), but because Ed was making fun of the health guy.
So I'm in his office today and I had an interesting question for him; I wanted to test his knowledge. I asked Ed which bathroom in the building provided the most privacy. He knew and showed me. Amazing- there's no stumping this guy.
He does stuff like this all the time. Recently he informed us of a free spread (buffet) in the Air Force base between 14:00 and 16:00 on Friday. I think that I'm going to try it this Friday.
Ohh, so our not-so-bare apartment. Ben and I went shopping for some furniture for "the square" (our living room). (It became "the square" after we noticed that it is just a bare square.) So we went to the local Goodwill and found two full reclining chair for $4 a piece! ROCK ON! One chair is yellow and looks like furniture that my grandparents own, and the other is a colorful pinstripe with a durable material and looks like a Lay-Z-Boy that my parents would have owned in the early 80s. They are awesome and I christened one of them the other day by taking a nap on it. So now that we have 2 fully reclining chairs, one reclined foldable camp chair and another rocking foldable camp chair, the living room is not so bare- we still call it the square for good times sake. Meanwhile, I still sleep on a gradually deflating air mattress and have my computer on a desk built of boxes (no, there are no drawers, although that would be awesome!).
We were over his house. Ed has a lovely home and greeted us with a "Hey Guys," spoken with a distinguishable Boston accent- he lived there for quite some time. The reason we were at a 65 year-old guy's house was to look at some couches that he was selling. My roommate's (Ben) parents were thinking of buying them, so we would get to use them in our bare apartment (it's not so bare anymore, I'll explain later). After taking a few pictures to send to Ben's parents so they could decide upon the purchase, we sat down and chatted with him about our futures at NASA, graduate programs where NASA pays for graduate school, and just shot the breeze. It was a fun time and we found it quite humorous that we were spending our weekend there. We later laughed at the thought of us turning down offers from our fellow co-ops to instead hang out with Ed.
We later returned to his house to retrieve some dishes, silverware, a toaster oven and a kettle (which is probably one of the most ingenious inventions). In the meantime, we helped him hang up some of his pictures and just chatted some more. I was telling him that I was thinking about getting some tinting on my car, to prevent the interior from fading from the extreme sunlight here. He said, "Oh yeah? Well, my son hangs out with a guy that does it for a living. He's good. He does all the banks and does a quality job. I was thinking about getting my car tinted. If we go in together, we could get a deal." So I said okay. Tomorrow I'm going to get my car windows tinted.
We were over his house for a third time helping him install his newly bought surround speaker system. For our efforts, he provided a nice lunch for my roommate and I. While at the table, I asked Ben what time it was then noticed that my watch was about 30 minutes behind. This wasn't the first time that I noticed this; four days before, I had changed my watch to the correct time. Apparently my battery was going bad. Ed pipes up and says that he knows a guy (Jim) in Cocoa Beach who will replace the watch battery. Usually he would charge $10 but if I tell Jim that I work with Ed, he will take off $5. I'm going to get my watch fixed sometime this week.
My roommate was telling me a story about how they were in a meeting and it came time for a safety and health guy to give a shpeal. During the talk, the health guy stated that to stay in good health, it's good to walk up 80 steps daily. Ed piped up during the meeting and said that there were only 44 steps up to the 3rd floor of the building (where everyone at the meeting works). Needless to say, everyone in the meeting busted out laughing- not at Ed, and not at the fact that he knows that there are 44 steps (because they expect that from him), but because Ed was making fun of the health guy.
So I'm in his office today and I had an interesting question for him; I wanted to test his knowledge. I asked Ed which bathroom in the building provided the most privacy. He knew and showed me. Amazing- there's no stumping this guy.
He does stuff like this all the time. Recently he informed us of a free spread (buffet) in the Air Force base between 14:00 and 16:00 on Friday. I think that I'm going to try it this Friday.
Ohh, so our not-so-bare apartment. Ben and I went shopping for some furniture for "the square" (our living room). (It became "the square" after we noticed that it is just a bare square.) So we went to the local Goodwill and found two full reclining chair for $4 a piece! ROCK ON! One chair is yellow and looks like furniture that my grandparents own, and the other is a colorful pinstripe with a durable material and looks like a Lay-Z-Boy that my parents would have owned in the early 80s. They are awesome and I christened one of them the other day by taking a nap on it. So now that we have 2 fully reclining chairs, one reclined foldable camp chair and another rocking foldable camp chair, the living room is not so bare- we still call it the square for good times sake. Meanwhile, I still sleep on a gradually deflating air mattress and have my computer on a desk built of boxes (no, there are no drawers, although that would be awesome!).
Monday, September 08, 2003
Back to Bloggin
No, that was not a test, nor a fire drill. I was going through a tough time with many questions. They all have been answered now.
I wish to reserve my experiences from past days for the confines of personal conversation.
...and now back to our regularly scheduled program...
I awoke today at 6:00 after going to bed at about 1:00. I felt a little groggy and it took me a while to actually determine that my alarm was going off. I prepared my lunch, attended church, and then went to work.
By the way. I must say that I'm very proud of the fact that I have only bought my lunch once during my two week tenure here at work. I have been wanting to bring my lunch to work to start saving money. So far, so good.
I'm resuming work on my database-driven website that I created when I was here last time. My branch used it while I was at school and, as a result of its usefulness, my supervisor wants to expand the project to encompass the whole engineering division here in ISS/Payload Processing (about 100 people). There is a lot of work in store for me!
Back to work...
I wish to reserve my experiences from past days for the confines of personal conversation.
...and now back to our regularly scheduled program...
I awoke today at 6:00 after going to bed at about 1:00. I felt a little groggy and it took me a while to actually determine that my alarm was going off. I prepared my lunch, attended church, and then went to work.
By the way. I must say that I'm very proud of the fact that I have only bought my lunch once during my two week tenure here at work. I have been wanting to bring my lunch to work to start saving money. So far, so good.
I'm resuming work on my database-driven website that I created when I was here last time. My branch used it while I was at school and, as a result of its usefulness, my supervisor wants to expand the project to encompass the whole engineering division here in ISS/Payload Processing (about 100 people). There is a lot of work in store for me!
Back to work...
Saturday, August 30, 2003
First Week of Work
Well...here I am on my computer on a Friday night. I'm not disappointed in that there is no late night activity; just stating a fact. One week of work is complete, and I have much to say about it.
I have yet to get into a routine. Every night, I go to bed at a different time and I convince myself that I will attend church at the 7:00 service before driving to work- but I do not always wake up in time to go. Only two of five times have I attended church in the mornings: once because of my own will power and another because Melodie Hills called me to wake me up! Hopefully I can learn my lesson before next week begins.
Usually, my semi-routine goes like this. When I wake up, I fix myself a lunch to take to work, shower if I didn't take a shower after swimming the previous day, go to church if I wake up early enough, then go to work. After work, it's usually about 17:00-18:00. I eat a snack then depending on what is going on, I either go to the pool to swim laps for about an hour, read a book, mess around on the computer, or just shoot the breeze with my roommate. Then after 21:00, I make/receive phone calls on my mobile phone to catch up with my friends around the country. Then I usually read some more then head to bed. I then do it all over again.
Work is unbelievable exciting right now. Within the building that I work in are two modules that will be attached to the International Space Station within the next two years. Both modules serve to house people and experiments within the vast vaccum of space. One module is called Node 2 built by the Italian Space Agency and serves to be a "node" for other modules to be connected. The other is the Japenese Experiment Module built by NASDA (the Japanese Space Agency) whose purpose is to allow experiments to be conducted, especially with placing experiments in space for lengths of time. The reason that these modules are in my building is so that we can test them hooked up together to see if they will work properly before launching them into space. The Node 2 has already been tested independently, but this is the first NASA testing of the JEM.
On my last co-op, all of my group was preparing the procedures for this testing of the two modules. There was really nothing that I could contribute to the process of creating procedures, because I do not know anything. So instead, I created a useful webpage to be used in my group. This time is different. I am right in the thick of it all. I am sitting at the console next to one of many Test Engineers running the test and get to go to the High Bay (the place where the modules are kept and powered up). Today, I got to sit inside of the JEM, for about 3 hours, supervising some Japanese techs perform the steps in the procedure. The whole time I never stopped thinking that in about 2 years astronauts from around the world will be floating around in this module in space! It was quite a humbling experience.
Another interesting aspect of this test is that NASA is closely working with NASDA to perform the test. To my knowledge, NASA test engineers wrote the steps to the test in conjunction with NASDA counterparts. This process took a little more than a year. Now, to perform a step, the NASA test engineer calls out a command to the NASDA test engineer. The NASDA test engineer then translates (although most of the Japanese are familiar with English) the command to Japanese to the Japanese tech who actually performs the step. The thought of at least 100 Japanese engineers from NASDA coming over from Japan to perform this test truly proves the ISS as INTERNATIONAL! I only wish that I knew Japanese so that I could speak to these people.
For those who are wondering, I am still sleeping on an air mattress. It's really not that bad, and I probably won't get a real mattress just so that I can say that I slept on an air mattress for 4 months. I may change my mind after chronic back pains begin. Currently, the only furtiture in the place are foldable camp chairs. My roommate and I plan on going to some thrift stores tomorrow to pick up a couch. Most of my room is still boxes. That probably won't change; sorry Mom.
Looking back on this past week, I am beyond blessed. I have money to buy meals, I have a healthy body that can walk to the beach anytime and gaze toward the next piece of land, which happens to be Morocco Africa, I have a continously unbelivable job where I have the opportunity to see things that most dream, and the list goes on. I appreciate everything that God has provided me. It is only through Him that all these have occurred; I will never forget the source of my joy!
I have yet to get into a routine. Every night, I go to bed at a different time and I convince myself that I will attend church at the 7:00 service before driving to work- but I do not always wake up in time to go. Only two of five times have I attended church in the mornings: once because of my own will power and another because Melodie Hills called me to wake me up! Hopefully I can learn my lesson before next week begins.
Usually, my semi-routine goes like this. When I wake up, I fix myself a lunch to take to work, shower if I didn't take a shower after swimming the previous day, go to church if I wake up early enough, then go to work. After work, it's usually about 17:00-18:00. I eat a snack then depending on what is going on, I either go to the pool to swim laps for about an hour, read a book, mess around on the computer, or just shoot the breeze with my roommate. Then after 21:00, I make/receive phone calls on my mobile phone to catch up with my friends around the country. Then I usually read some more then head to bed. I then do it all over again.
Work is unbelievable exciting right now. Within the building that I work in are two modules that will be attached to the International Space Station within the next two years. Both modules serve to house people and experiments within the vast vaccum of space. One module is called Node 2 built by the Italian Space Agency and serves to be a "node" for other modules to be connected. The other is the Japenese Experiment Module built by NASDA (the Japanese Space Agency) whose purpose is to allow experiments to be conducted, especially with placing experiments in space for lengths of time. The reason that these modules are in my building is so that we can test them hooked up together to see if they will work properly before launching them into space. The Node 2 has already been tested independently, but this is the first NASA testing of the JEM.
On my last co-op, all of my group was preparing the procedures for this testing of the two modules. There was really nothing that I could contribute to the process of creating procedures, because I do not know anything. So instead, I created a useful webpage to be used in my group. This time is different. I am right in the thick of it all. I am sitting at the console next to one of many Test Engineers running the test and get to go to the High Bay (the place where the modules are kept and powered up). Today, I got to sit inside of the JEM, for about 3 hours, supervising some Japanese techs perform the steps in the procedure. The whole time I never stopped thinking that in about 2 years astronauts from around the world will be floating around in this module in space! It was quite a humbling experience.
Another interesting aspect of this test is that NASA is closely working with NASDA to perform the test. To my knowledge, NASA test engineers wrote the steps to the test in conjunction with NASDA counterparts. This process took a little more than a year. Now, to perform a step, the NASA test engineer calls out a command to the NASDA test engineer. The NASDA test engineer then translates (although most of the Japanese are familiar with English) the command to Japanese to the Japanese tech who actually performs the step. The thought of at least 100 Japanese engineers from NASDA coming over from Japan to perform this test truly proves the ISS as INTERNATIONAL! I only wish that I knew Japanese so that I could speak to these people.
For those who are wondering, I am still sleeping on an air mattress. It's really not that bad, and I probably won't get a real mattress just so that I can say that I slept on an air mattress for 4 months. I may change my mind after chronic back pains begin. Currently, the only furtiture in the place are foldable camp chairs. My roommate and I plan on going to some thrift stores tomorrow to pick up a couch. Most of my room is still boxes. That probably won't change; sorry Mom.
Looking back on this past week, I am beyond blessed. I have money to buy meals, I have a healthy body that can walk to the beach anytime and gaze toward the next piece of land, which happens to be Morocco Africa, I have a continously unbelivable job where I have the opportunity to see things that most dream, and the list goes on. I appreciate everything that God has provided me. It is only through Him that all these have occurred; I will never forget the source of my joy!
Monday, August 25, 2003
First Day of Work
I received all of my computer parts on Thursday. Needless to say, my best friend Murphy also paid me a visit (he warns me that whenever something can go wrong, it will). You would think that whenever new things are bought, they would all work properly...that wasn't the case. I put the whole computer together when I received the rest of the parts and it booted correctly. When it came time to install windows, it kept crashing, so I knew that one of the pieces of hardware was broken, but didn't know what: it could be any piece of hardware in the computer because they were all new to me and I hadn't tested to see which pieces worked and what didn't. I supposed that I trusted the fact that new hardware should work. After about of a day and a half of testing and troubleshooting, I found out that one of my sticks of RAM is bad. I'm going to send it back to get it replace. I'm glad, however, that everything else works flawlessly. I can't complain that my computer boots up in less than 60 seconds after pressing the power button.
I began work today, so I'm excited about that. There is a lot of testing going on now, so I will be able to be involved with that; I hope to learn a lot this semester. It seems that nothing has changed since I left about 4 months ago. Even when I moved down here, it feels as if I never left, that everything is just as it was when I left it. That's one of the wierd things about moving between cities, it's an erie feeling that I have spent 4 months somewhere else totally different, but when I come back, it's all the same. It'll be the same when I return to school.
Last night, I got internet access on my new computer. It is dial-up, but I'm not complaining. On dial-up, I can do most of what I want to on the internet. It's only 10 dollars a month, so it shouldn't hender my budget too much. Also, I discovered that we have free cable service in our apartment. My computer allows me to watch TV and with the DVD player, movies. No more boredom for me!
With the new internet and a computer that finally works, you should be expecting more posts.
I began work today, so I'm excited about that. There is a lot of testing going on now, so I will be able to be involved with that; I hope to learn a lot this semester. It seems that nothing has changed since I left about 4 months ago. Even when I moved down here, it feels as if I never left, that everything is just as it was when I left it. That's one of the wierd things about moving between cities, it's an erie feeling that I have spent 4 months somewhere else totally different, but when I come back, it's all the same. It'll be the same when I return to school.
Last night, I got internet access on my new computer. It is dial-up, but I'm not complaining. On dial-up, I can do most of what I want to on the internet. It's only 10 dollars a month, so it shouldn't hender my budget too much. Also, I discovered that we have free cable service in our apartment. My computer allows me to watch TV and with the DVD player, movies. No more boredom for me!
With the new internet and a computer that finally works, you should be expecting more posts.
Thursday, August 21, 2003
Waiting for my new Computer
Well, I got half of my new computer in the mail yesterday. I am expecting the other half of it today. (a computer is not much good without a processor, RAM, or video card). To the left is an attempt to post the HTML code for a TagBoard, which Dave kindly signed me up for. Apparently, the Tagboard website is down for the moment, so I don't know if it works or not. I'll be testing it in days to come.
The days have been going by quicker than I thought. I can't believe that I have already been here a week. I suppose that I learned how to slow down and not be busy all the time, so that I could stop and appreciating life.
With my computer I also got a digital camera. Pretty soon, I'll be taking pictures titled, Sites of Cape Canaveral. I'll post them on the Lubbers site for you guys to see. By the way, when's the last time someone posted something on there. (Speaking of posting stuff, I have to post the pictures of the pranks that my beloved roommate and star of the band Hybrid Squirrels pulled on some other friends. The pics are very funny!)
Anyway, my 30 minutes on this library computer are up. Time to go home and wait for the FedEx man...
The days have been going by quicker than I thought. I can't believe that I have already been here a week. I suppose that I learned how to slow down and not be busy all the time, so that I could stop and appreciating life.
With my computer I also got a digital camera. Pretty soon, I'll be taking pictures titled, Sites of Cape Canaveral. I'll post them on the Lubbers site for you guys to see. By the way, when's the last time someone posted something on there. (Speaking of posting stuff, I have to post the pictures of the pranks that my beloved roommate and star of the band Hybrid Squirrels pulled on some other friends. The pics are very funny!)
Anyway, my 30 minutes on this library computer are up. Time to go home and wait for the FedEx man...
Monday, August 18, 2003
Now in Florida
So I'm finally able to access a computer to add another entry. I am now moved into my place in Florida. It is in Cape Canaveral, which is just north of Cocoa Beach and 40min east of Orlando. My condo is unfurnished, which can be depressing at times. It's a 5 minute walk to the Atlantic Ocean. Just last night, I enjoyed one of the most beautiful sites that I have seen in a while: a clear sky on the beach where stars were not shy to show themselves.
I've had some things to say since I last posted an entry. I've been keeping my thoughts the old fashion way until I could get on the internet and post them.
First off, the family vacation went very well. We all enjoyed ourselves at Cocoa Beach, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, Universal Studios, and Universal's Islands of Adventure. Initially we tried to go to Tampa to visit the beach (on the opposite side of Florida from Cocoa Beach) but it was raining cats and dogs that day, so we moved to Orlando where we stayed in a hotel for the rest of the week. Our vacation ended Thursday when I drove from Orlando to Cape Canaveral and they returned to Louisville. I moved into my place Thursday morning.
When I initially moved in, I couldn't stop laughing because there was no furniture. I wasn't expecting any furniture, but seeing it in person made me laugh outloud for a long time. The reason I found it so funny was that it was almost sad that all that was in the "family room" was a phone book, a Patch Adams movie, and a piece of mail addressed to my future roommate, all sitting in a small pile in the middle. Ohh, also, there was a foldable camp chair in the corner. That was it. I walked into my room, nothing but the quiet hum of the airconditioner unit. I walked into my bathroom and there was nothing there as well, not even a shower curtain. Needless to say, I went to Wally World and purchased many things- specifically something to sit on. Now, do not be worried about my sleeping arrangements because I did, in fact, bring an air matress, which isn't that bad after my back got numb from the pain of sleeping on it.
I have also found saddness in the fact that I have so much time and really nothing to fill it up with. Here is a list of things that I have come up with, shoot me an e-mail if you can think of any thing else...
Swim in the pool, Read the many books that I brought, Go the beach and skimboard, Run, Cook meals, Do pushups, Practice guitar, and Sleep.
That's it. And that's supposed to fill 24 hours each day. If I do not find some sturcture in my days, I will fall into a slump of depression. I moved in August 14th and I don't start work till the 25th. So we'll see how it goes.
I've heard many stories about how there is always something going wrong in the neighborhood that I moved into. Not two days after I moved in, there are three cops parked in front of the condos looking for some robbers. I'll let you know of any more interesting stories.
I'll also be keeping track of what kinds of food that I eat, so that I can remember what I have fixed and so that you can get an idea of my eating habits, if you are interested.
I purposly left my computer at my parents house in KY, planning on buying a computer sometime in October. And yes, I have found out that living without TV, CD player, and Computer is impossible for me. All last semester, I would watch some TV show while I ate my meal, but now I just have to eat in silence. I've gotten used to listening to music while I read a book or do other things, but now I do it in silence. And having to walk 1 mile to the library to use the internet or any computer function is getting old. So the October date got moved back a few months to last Saturday. I must admit, I splurged on this one. I, in the history of buying computers, have never really splurged. I've always gotten the good deal off of ebay of a used computer part that was top-of-the-line last year, beacuse prices of computer parts are exponential as you get to the best parts. This time I didn't do that. All parts are brand new and when I get them and put them together, it will be faster than any retail computer. Here are the specs:
P4 2.4 GHz, 1GB RAM, 80GB HDD, Video In/Out Video Card w/ TV Tuner, DVD Burner, 17" LCD Monitor, Digital Camera (I've needed one for a long time)
Looking at these specs, it doesn't seem that fast of a computer, but the details of the parts is what makes them fast:
800MHz bus for the processor means that the processor can recieve information twice as fast as other computers, Corsair RAM is Dual DDR which means theoretical double performance, HDDs have access time half that of standard HDDS which means theoretical double performance and SATA interface and are in striping RAID configuration which means another theoretical double performance increase, Radeon 9800 Pro Video Card with 128MB ram which is equal to most retail computers' system ram, Sony multi-burn technology allows multiple formats to be burned (DVD-R and DVD+R), LCD monitor that can handle up to 62 frames a second without blurring, and a nice 5.2 megapixel Sony Digital Camera with a 128MB memory stick.
Anyway, I'm excited to have this computer coming in. Once it is, I will be able to blog more often, listen to my music, watch TV, watch movies, and check e-mail as often as I like. It should be arriving sometime this week.
Have you ever had dreams that seem extremely real and are usually about the future (possibly insight as what is to come)? These are not wierd dreams that are wierd situations that you have no clue how you got in them, these are dreams that you keep dreaming because you want to find out what happens and even when you do wake up you keep thinking about the dream the entire day. Well, my first real dream occurred this past summer and was about the end of the world. As it happened, nuclear war killed the entire planet and as a result (you may think it to be arrogant) I went to heaven and the remaining of the dream was me searching for people I knew to see if I would get to spend enternity with them. Well, the other day I had another one that involved me getting married. This topic has been on my mind for quite sometime: when will I meet a girl that I can marry, when will I have time for a girl to get married to, when will I get married, will I get married? All these things keep running through my head and each time they do, I try to stop them by reminding myself that everything will work out. Even after that reminder, I still find myself wondering. The dream, however, was wonderful. I had such a sense of relief to finally had found my match and get to live the rest of my life with that person. (That is how we are made, to find our match...hence the cliche, "You complete me." It's true, your match will complete you and compliment you in all areas.)
That's all from here. My time on this library computer is running short.
I've had some things to say since I last posted an entry. I've been keeping my thoughts the old fashion way until I could get on the internet and post them.
First off, the family vacation went very well. We all enjoyed ourselves at Cocoa Beach, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, Universal Studios, and Universal's Islands of Adventure. Initially we tried to go to Tampa to visit the beach (on the opposite side of Florida from Cocoa Beach) but it was raining cats and dogs that day, so we moved to Orlando where we stayed in a hotel for the rest of the week. Our vacation ended Thursday when I drove from Orlando to Cape Canaveral and they returned to Louisville. I moved into my place Thursday morning.
When I initially moved in, I couldn't stop laughing because there was no furniture. I wasn't expecting any furniture, but seeing it in person made me laugh outloud for a long time. The reason I found it so funny was that it was almost sad that all that was in the "family room" was a phone book, a Patch Adams movie, and a piece of mail addressed to my future roommate, all sitting in a small pile in the middle. Ohh, also, there was a foldable camp chair in the corner. That was it. I walked into my room, nothing but the quiet hum of the airconditioner unit. I walked into my bathroom and there was nothing there as well, not even a shower curtain. Needless to say, I went to Wally World and purchased many things- specifically something to sit on. Now, do not be worried about my sleeping arrangements because I did, in fact, bring an air matress, which isn't that bad after my back got numb from the pain of sleeping on it.
I have also found saddness in the fact that I have so much time and really nothing to fill it up with. Here is a list of things that I have come up with, shoot me an e-mail if you can think of any thing else...
Swim in the pool, Read the many books that I brought, Go the beach and skimboard, Run, Cook meals, Do pushups, Practice guitar, and Sleep.
That's it. And that's supposed to fill 24 hours each day. If I do not find some sturcture in my days, I will fall into a slump of depression. I moved in August 14th and I don't start work till the 25th. So we'll see how it goes.
I've heard many stories about how there is always something going wrong in the neighborhood that I moved into. Not two days after I moved in, there are three cops parked in front of the condos looking for some robbers. I'll let you know of any more interesting stories.
I'll also be keeping track of what kinds of food that I eat, so that I can remember what I have fixed and so that you can get an idea of my eating habits, if you are interested.
I purposly left my computer at my parents house in KY, planning on buying a computer sometime in October. And yes, I have found out that living without TV, CD player, and Computer is impossible for me. All last semester, I would watch some TV show while I ate my meal, but now I just have to eat in silence. I've gotten used to listening to music while I read a book or do other things, but now I do it in silence. And having to walk 1 mile to the library to use the internet or any computer function is getting old. So the October date got moved back a few months to last Saturday. I must admit, I splurged on this one. I, in the history of buying computers, have never really splurged. I've always gotten the good deal off of ebay of a used computer part that was top-of-the-line last year, beacuse prices of computer parts are exponential as you get to the best parts. This time I didn't do that. All parts are brand new and when I get them and put them together, it will be faster than any retail computer. Here are the specs:
P4 2.4 GHz, 1GB RAM, 80GB HDD, Video In/Out Video Card w/ TV Tuner, DVD Burner, 17" LCD Monitor, Digital Camera (I've needed one for a long time)
Looking at these specs, it doesn't seem that fast of a computer, but the details of the parts is what makes them fast:
800MHz bus for the processor means that the processor can recieve information twice as fast as other computers, Corsair RAM is Dual DDR which means theoretical double performance, HDDs have access time half that of standard HDDS which means theoretical double performance and SATA interface and are in striping RAID configuration which means another theoretical double performance increase, Radeon 9800 Pro Video Card with 128MB ram which is equal to most retail computers' system ram, Sony multi-burn technology allows multiple formats to be burned (DVD-R and DVD+R), LCD monitor that can handle up to 62 frames a second without blurring, and a nice 5.2 megapixel Sony Digital Camera with a 128MB memory stick.
Anyway, I'm excited to have this computer coming in. Once it is, I will be able to blog more often, listen to my music, watch TV, watch movies, and check e-mail as often as I like. It should be arriving sometime this week.
Have you ever had dreams that seem extremely real and are usually about the future (possibly insight as what is to come)? These are not wierd dreams that are wierd situations that you have no clue how you got in them, these are dreams that you keep dreaming because you want to find out what happens and even when you do wake up you keep thinking about the dream the entire day. Well, my first real dream occurred this past summer and was about the end of the world. As it happened, nuclear war killed the entire planet and as a result (you may think it to be arrogant) I went to heaven and the remaining of the dream was me searching for people I knew to see if I would get to spend enternity with them. Well, the other day I had another one that involved me getting married. This topic has been on my mind for quite sometime: when will I meet a girl that I can marry, when will I have time for a girl to get married to, when will I get married, will I get married? All these things keep running through my head and each time they do, I try to stop them by reminding myself that everything will work out. Even after that reminder, I still find myself wondering. The dream, however, was wonderful. I had such a sense of relief to finally had found my match and get to live the rest of my life with that person. (That is how we are made, to find our match...hence the cliche, "You complete me." It's true, your match will complete you and compliment you in all areas.)
That's all from here. My time on this library computer is running short.
Thursday, August 07, 2003
After Vacation
I arrived back home last night from the Nolin Lake trip. As always, the trip was a blast. My body is sore from being tossed around on the innertube and my stomach is full from the good meals.
After one last good night sleep in the bed at my parents' house, we are ready to depart for Florida. My parents are not sure where we will initially be going in Florida so we are playing it by ear.
That's it from Kentucky. Now off to Florida for the next 4 months...
After one last good night sleep in the bed at my parents' house, we are ready to depart for Florida. My parents are not sure where we will initially be going in Florida so we are playing it by ear.
That's it from Kentucky. Now off to Florida for the next 4 months...
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
Before vacation
I'm sure that everyone knows what it means to be a slug: the sunshine of dusk makes one wither and pull the covers up closer to the head, eating cereal with Bob Barker and Al Borland, and having no purpose but to make one's environment dirty. When school is out, I am a slug. (Those who know me best know that going to school doesn't change the fact that I'm a slug.) I have been a slug for 2 days now. It gets bad when I can't tell you what I have been doing for the past two days and I have to look at a calendar to even see what day it is. All I know is that rain has been coming down outside between rays of sunshine.
Exciting things, however, are happening in my life. Tonight consisted of packing my belongings- most of which were still in boxes from moving out of the dorms last week- to prepare for vacation. The family and I will be traveling south to go to Nolin Lake for about 2 days then head more south to visit the Sunshine State for about a week. Plans for Nolin Lake include riding on an intertube being pulled by a speedboat, then withstand the couple of Gs that result from the boat swinging the tube aroung in a circle. It's hard enough trying endure the acceleration when the boater pulls these tight turns, but when you have gone in a complete circle and come upon the waves that the boat has created going 20-30mph, it's hurts! It is, however, a funny sight for bystanders. I enjoy watching others get flung up 10 feet into the air and still try to hang on, then get smacked by the water. When I do it, it happens too fast to realize how my whole body hurts. Sometimes I save myself the pain and just let go before the "ride" gets worse! For those who wish to relax on their vacation, we will also be water skiing and kneeboarding. In Florida, we will be visiting the beach and Orlando, host of Universal Studios. I've never been to Universal, so I'm looking forward to that.
After the vacation, I will remain in Florida to begin my 2nd co-op. There will be about 2 weeks of kill time before starting work on Monday th 25th, so I hope to read many books and enjoy the relaxing life of the beach.
Wish me safe travels...
Exciting things, however, are happening in my life. Tonight consisted of packing my belongings- most of which were still in boxes from moving out of the dorms last week- to prepare for vacation. The family and I will be traveling south to go to Nolin Lake for about 2 days then head more south to visit the Sunshine State for about a week. Plans for Nolin Lake include riding on an intertube being pulled by a speedboat, then withstand the couple of Gs that result from the boat swinging the tube aroung in a circle. It's hard enough trying endure the acceleration when the boater pulls these tight turns, but when you have gone in a complete circle and come upon the waves that the boat has created going 20-30mph, it's hurts! It is, however, a funny sight for bystanders. I enjoy watching others get flung up 10 feet into the air and still try to hang on, then get smacked by the water. When I do it, it happens too fast to realize how my whole body hurts. Sometimes I save myself the pain and just let go before the "ride" gets worse! For those who wish to relax on their vacation, we will also be water skiing and kneeboarding. In Florida, we will be visiting the beach and Orlando, host of Universal Studios. I've never been to Universal, so I'm looking forward to that.
After the vacation, I will remain in Florida to begin my 2nd co-op. There will be about 2 weeks of kill time before starting work on Monday th 25th, so I hope to read many books and enjoy the relaxing life of the beach.
Wish me safe travels...
Saturday, August 02, 2003
Frisbee and Chicken
Is it possible that I have avoided death? Or is it lurking aroung the next corner, waiting to kill me unsuspectedly?
While playing ultimate frisbee at Waterfront Park, I made a run towards the endzone to score. Meanwhile, my teammate tried to throw me the frisbee but overshot and consequently went into the Ohio River- the frisbee, not my friend. To make a long story short, I jumped into the river and retrived the frisbee. Yes...I jumped into THE OHIO RIVER, the most REPULSIVE river in the Southeastern United States. Needless to say, we won our ultimate frisbee game.
Death was only a matter of time.
At noon today, hunger struck- as it always does- so I attempted to prepare a meal consisting of chicken tenders and grilled chicken taquitos. Preheat oven to 400ยบ then place in shallow pan for 8 minutes. Those were the directions on the box of taquitos so I decided to cook both the taquitos and chicken tenders together. After 8 minutes, I used an oven mitt to retrieve the chicken. After getting catsup, I sat down and began to eat- first with the taquitos to see how they tasted. They were good and I ate some more. I then bit into a chicken tender and thought that it tasted a little funny, but I remembered it saying "Italian Style" on the side of the box. I concluded that the taste was foreign... do you get it? After eating a whole chicken strip and half of another, I noticed that the chicken wasn't cooked at all. Apparently someone decieded that it would be a good idea to put non-precooked meat in a box without stating so. Then I checked the box and there it was..."CAUTION: FOOD IS NOT PRECOOKED." I've always wanted chicken to be my last meal, so without a second thought I put the chicken in the oven and cooked it some more to prepare my final meal.
Death was only a matter of time.
Throughout the day, I was wondering when I was going to die and then it struck me why I was still alive. The following equation came to mind:
[Ohio River water + Raw Chicken Meat ] =Clean Water ≡ Source of All Life! = Poisonous Water ≡ Source of All Death!
I thought that I had solved it, but it turns out that I'm really going to die really soon.
Death IS only a matter of time.
While playing ultimate frisbee at Waterfront Park, I made a run towards the endzone to score. Meanwhile, my teammate tried to throw me the frisbee but overshot and consequently went into the Ohio River- the frisbee, not my friend. To make a long story short, I jumped into the river and retrived the frisbee. Yes...I jumped into THE OHIO RIVER, the most REPULSIVE river in the Southeastern United States. Needless to say, we won our ultimate frisbee game.
Death was only a matter of time.
At noon today, hunger struck- as it always does- so I attempted to prepare a meal consisting of chicken tenders and grilled chicken taquitos. Preheat oven to 400ยบ then place in shallow pan for 8 minutes. Those were the directions on the box of taquitos so I decided to cook both the taquitos and chicken tenders together. After 8 minutes, I used an oven mitt to retrieve the chicken. After getting catsup, I sat down and began to eat- first with the taquitos to see how they tasted. They were good and I ate some more. I then bit into a chicken tender and thought that it tasted a little funny, but I remembered it saying "Italian Style" on the side of the box. I concluded that the taste was foreign... do you get it? After eating a whole chicken strip and half of another, I noticed that the chicken wasn't cooked at all. Apparently someone decieded that it would be a good idea to put non-precooked meat in a box without stating so. Then I checked the box and there it was..."CAUTION: FOOD IS NOT PRECOOKED." I've always wanted chicken to be my last meal, so without a second thought I put the chicken in the oven and cooked it some more to prepare my final meal.
Death was only a matter of time.
Throughout the day, I was wondering when I was going to die and then it struck me why I was still alive. The following equation came to mind:
[Ohio River water + Raw Chicken Meat ] =
I thought that I had solved it, but it turns out that I'm really going to die really soon.
Death IS only a matter of time.
Friday, August 01, 2003
First Post
Thanks, tovrax, for introducing me the idea of transcribing my many states of mind.
I'm looking forward to keeping somewhat of a journal. Hopefully, divulging all my thoughts will be a means of people to keep tabs on me. My goal is for this site to become a similar situation to that of The Truman Show (starring Jim Carey). If you don't know what I'm talking about, go see that movie...it's great. Maybe advice to certain situations or dilemmas may be submitted by "viewers," kind of like an interactive book or video game. Or maybe FOX will see this site and create another reality series where people can submit predictions of what will happen next in my life to win money...then give me 1 Million dollars at the end for kicks. Only God knows what the futures of my life and, consequently, this site are.
Happy August!
I'm looking forward to keeping somewhat of a journal. Hopefully, divulging all my thoughts will be a means of people to keep tabs on me. My goal is for this site to become a similar situation to that of The Truman Show (starring Jim Carey). If you don't know what I'm talking about, go see that movie...it's great. Maybe advice to certain situations or dilemmas may be submitted by "viewers," kind of like an interactive book or video game. Or maybe FOX will see this site and create another reality series where people can submit predictions of what will happen next in my life to win money...then give me 1 Million dollars at the end for kicks. Only God knows what the futures of my life and, consequently, this site are.
Happy August!
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