A member of my former church recently passed away. Yesterday was the funeral. I was never close with him, but my parents and his family are pretty good friends. I remember seeing him around at church often, really nice guy. God bless him and his family.
Death is always sad, but it's especially unsettling when it happens so close and so suddenly. There's no way of preparing for it; you don't wake up thinking, "Today I'm going to die" or "Today someone close to me will die." I mean really... This guy woke up, just going about his business, and it was over.
God is absolutely sovereign over everything and death makes that abundantly clear. Our lives, our plans, nothing belongs to us. We are transient guests here - foreigners in a strange land. Be thankful and never take anything for granted.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Oh, Dark Knight, How Much I Love Thee
I bought this blu-ray player last Christmas on the cheap. I was pretty happy with it, considering how much I paid for it.... Until I found I couldn't play any blu-rays from Fox Studios. I found this out the hard way after renting Futurama and finding out my blu-ray player needed a firmware upgrade to play newer blu-rays due to updates to the DRM. Mind you, this blu-ray player is unabashedly cheap: there's no ethernet port on it, and even if it did, it wouldn't have mattered anyway because I didn't have internet at my apartment at the time. (That's another story in and of itself.)
So anyway, I move to a new place, I finally have internet, and I'm thinking maybe it's time I upgrade this baby. So I hop on over to the manufacturer's website to do the upgrade, and lo and behold, I've got to upgrade this thing the old fashioned way, by burning the firmware update onto a CD-R. Great, whatever, so long as I can start watching Daredevil and other craptacular Fox productions in all their hi-def glory. So I burn the firmware, and... disc not recognized. WTF, mate?
I'm getting frustrated at this point, so I google for a solution. Turns out the firmware actually makes things worse rather than better. And here's the kicker: other people who have this particular player and did the upgrade found that their player could no longer recognize certain blu-rays it could before, like Wall-E. And The Dark Knight.
Sheer providence, I tells ya! I woulda been one pissed off mofo without my Dark Knight. So it's 6 months later, I still can't watch Fox blu-rays, but I've got my Dark Knight and I'm content with that. I may not rock costumes at comic conventions, but damn if I'm not one of the biggest fan-boys you'll ever meet.
So anyway, I move to a new place, I finally have internet, and I'm thinking maybe it's time I upgrade this baby. So I hop on over to the manufacturer's website to do the upgrade, and lo and behold, I've got to upgrade this thing the old fashioned way, by burning the firmware update onto a CD-R. Great, whatever, so long as I can start watching Daredevil and other craptacular Fox productions in all their hi-def glory. So I burn the firmware, and... disc not recognized. WTF, mate?
I'm getting frustrated at this point, so I google for a solution. Turns out the firmware actually makes things worse rather than better. And here's the kicker: other people who have this particular player and did the upgrade found that their player could no longer recognize certain blu-rays it could before, like Wall-E. And The Dark Knight.
Sheer providence, I tells ya! I woulda been one pissed off mofo without my Dark Knight. So it's 6 months later, I still can't watch Fox blu-rays, but I've got my Dark Knight and I'm content with that. I may not rock costumes at comic conventions, but damn if I'm not one of the biggest fan-boys you'll ever meet.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
HADOKEN!
Things to be thankful for:
1) Talked to my boss about the way I was let go. Saved my job, albeit I've been demoted. But! Having a job is better than not having a job. It's better this way, really; my hourly shouldn't change, I'll have less hours and I won't have to worry so much about making up time I've missed for school. Now I just have to worry about finding health insurance (again).
2) I am officially done with this semester and I'm so happy I made it out alive. Seriously. Halfway through, I thought this semester was going to eat me alive, between having to balance 15 hours of school, 20 hours of work, and 4 hours at the hospital each week. I made it out, with a few cuts and bruises, but in hindsight, it was nothing God couldn't handle for me. I should be coming out with at least a 3.8 with an outside shot at perfect. A 3.8 is a little short of what I accomplished last semester, but all things considered, I'm satisfied. I don't think med schools will begrudge me one B considering the load I had this semester, and if they do, they can blow it out their ....
Anyway, going back to the job drama, I can't ignore the role God played in this. I was pretty much set on leaving Austin. And I'm still going to leave the first chance I get. But it's funny. I often have a hard time listening for God, really relying on Him and letting Him lead. This time I asked for guidance about what to do and He answered loud and clear: stay put. He did it speaking softly through others, but I've never had so obvious an answer to a prayer request. Crazy. Neither can I ignore how much God wants me to trust in His wisdom, because He really does see the beginning and the end of things. Now I just have to keep that in mind for the future.
I think it'll work out. Yeah, I'm freakin' tired of Austin, but I've only got one more semester to get through. Plus, I have the chance to actually graduate with honors and finally get my (2006!) class ring. Haha. Something to look forward to.
Isaiah 55:9: As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
1) Talked to my boss about the way I was let go. Saved my job, albeit I've been demoted. But! Having a job is better than not having a job. It's better this way, really; my hourly shouldn't change, I'll have less hours and I won't have to worry so much about making up time I've missed for school. Now I just have to worry about finding health insurance (again).
2) I am officially done with this semester and I'm so happy I made it out alive. Seriously. Halfway through, I thought this semester was going to eat me alive, between having to balance 15 hours of school, 20 hours of work, and 4 hours at the hospital each week. I made it out, with a few cuts and bruises, but in hindsight, it was nothing God couldn't handle for me. I should be coming out with at least a 3.8 with an outside shot at perfect. A 3.8 is a little short of what I accomplished last semester, but all things considered, I'm satisfied. I don't think med schools will begrudge me one B considering the load I had this semester, and if they do, they can blow it out their ....
Anyway, going back to the job drama, I can't ignore the role God played in this. I was pretty much set on leaving Austin. And I'm still going to leave the first chance I get. But it's funny. I often have a hard time listening for God, really relying on Him and letting Him lead. This time I asked for guidance about what to do and He answered loud and clear: stay put. He did it speaking softly through others, but I've never had so obvious an answer to a prayer request. Crazy. Neither can I ignore how much God wants me to trust in His wisdom, because He really does see the beginning and the end of things. Now I just have to keep that in mind for the future.
I think it'll work out. Yeah, I'm freakin' tired of Austin, but I've only got one more semester to get through. Plus, I have the chance to actually graduate with honors and finally get my (2006!) class ring. Haha. Something to look forward to.
Isaiah 55:9: As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Daily Bread
So circumstances have changed; I am now free to move about the country! (Ding.)
Over the past couple of weeks I've been giving more thought to finally leaving Austin. Now that I'm (soon to be) unemployed and with my lease ending in two weeks, this discussion has taken a serious turn. I thought I'd be here at least until December, but with no job, no way of paying for school, and really nothing more to prove academically, I'm mighty tempted to just shrug my shoulders, give it an ol' "Eh, what the hell?" and roll the dice. I'm sure I could rebound and find another job here, but I'm tired of Austin. I've been here 7 years, you know; at this point, I'm a townie. I feel I've grown as much as I can here, and a change of scenery could do wonders towards my own personal growth and maturation. I really want to get out there, strike it out on my own, and really test my mettle. For too long, I've relied on my friends and family as a crutch; I'm ready to take the training wheels off and ride on my own.
On a somewhat unrelated note, it's kind of funny that I should lose my job now, at the conclusion of a series on Recession & Lost at the Austin Stone. The job loss came out of left field, and it's funny because all of a sudden, that series on Recession & Lost has become all too urgent and real. Carter & co. discussed how R&L will uncover hidden sin in our lives, how we'll have to make a choice between serving God and serving money, and how God uses these tests for our own growth and increasing our capacity to empathize with others. These things are all so true in my life now, and it's funny. Had this been 2 years ago, I would have gone bonkers, but I'm handling it better than usual, I think. It's a testament to God's faithfulness.
Continuing on with my Walk, I've been doing a lot of praying and asking about various things, and God has been doing a lot of "No"-ing. Really, this whole month has been a lesson in loss, patience, endurance, and trust. I'm doing my best to take it in stride and learn what God would have me to learn. It's been really trying and taxing at times, but I think I'll be a better person for it when it's all said and done. Albeit just not in Austin! Maybe.
Matthew 6:25-34
Over the past couple of weeks I've been giving more thought to finally leaving Austin. Now that I'm (soon to be) unemployed and with my lease ending in two weeks, this discussion has taken a serious turn. I thought I'd be here at least until December, but with no job, no way of paying for school, and really nothing more to prove academically, I'm mighty tempted to just shrug my shoulders, give it an ol' "Eh, what the hell?" and roll the dice. I'm sure I could rebound and find another job here, but I'm tired of Austin. I've been here 7 years, you know; at this point, I'm a townie. I feel I've grown as much as I can here, and a change of scenery could do wonders towards my own personal growth and maturation. I really want to get out there, strike it out on my own, and really test my mettle. For too long, I've relied on my friends and family as a crutch; I'm ready to take the training wheels off and ride on my own.
On a somewhat unrelated note, it's kind of funny that I should lose my job now, at the conclusion of a series on Recession & Lost at the Austin Stone. The job loss came out of left field, and it's funny because all of a sudden, that series on Recession & Lost has become all too urgent and real. Carter & co. discussed how R&L will uncover hidden sin in our lives, how we'll have to make a choice between serving God and serving money, and how God uses these tests for our own growth and increasing our capacity to empathize with others. These things are all so true in my life now, and it's funny. Had this been 2 years ago, I would have gone bonkers, but I'm handling it better than usual, I think. It's a testament to God's faithfulness.
Continuing on with my Walk, I've been doing a lot of praying and asking about various things, and God has been doing a lot of "No"-ing. Really, this whole month has been a lesson in loss, patience, endurance, and trust. I'm doing my best to take it in stride and learn what God would have me to learn. It's been really trying and taxing at times, but I think I'll be a better person for it when it's all said and done. Albeit just not in Austin! Maybe.
Matthew 6:25-34
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The List
Names I considered for this blog:
Hey DJ, Pun De Replay
Darth Grater
BoBuf-fet
Penne For Your Thoughts
Mozarella-ella-ella
Hey DJ, Pun De Replay
Darth Grater
BoBuf-fet
Penne For Your Thoughts
Mozarella-ella-ella
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