True Tales of Bravery and Honor rocks!

i am ready for Easter Break and going up to San Jose with Kirsten.

i am tired of producing for school for professors whom i don't think really have anything valuable to teach me but i have to take their class anyway for my program.

i go through phases.

My cell phone doesn't work in my house! GGGGRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

i like doing crossword puzzles even though they are often too hard for me. Encouragement makes me want to do them even more.

i want to cut down on the sheer amount of stuff i have. Or should i say crap?

i wish i had more time to build and strengthen relationships.

If you can, you should go to the Graphic Design show on Chapman's campus. It goes until Friday and good ol' Jeff Werner has worked on it!

Grant's movie Making Out Like Thieves is pretty good and you can find it here.

How's everyone doing?


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Provided by The Management for your protection

Provided by The Management for your protection.
Provided by The Man for your protection.
Stick it to The Man.
Take it like a man.

Provided by The Government for your protection.
Take it like a man.
Don't stick it to The Man!
Whatever you do, don't stick it to the man.

Protect yourself at all costs.
Use protection at all costs.
Don't expose yourself to anything, EVER that might make you stronger and build immunities, natural or unnatural.
Protect yourself at ALL costs.

Build your immunities.
Be unique.
Get down and dirty.
Dance unabandoned.
Dance undignified.
Sing, shout, and praise UNDIGNIFIED!

Don't be a non-conformist.
Don't be an idealist.
Don't be an activist.
Don't be active.
Don't be alive.
Don't be.
Don't.

Stick it to The Management.
Stick it to the government.
Stick it to the man.

God is bigger than

the air i breathe, this world we'll leave
God will save the day
and all will say
My Glorious!
My Glorious!

The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk

Sometimes sweet things happen to me and i'm the only one who knows about them. God and i. i find this to be one of the most fulfilling things ever. Even though i try to explain them to others, it's virtually impossible to re-create the exact circumstances which made said sweet things funny, amazing, exciting, worthwhile, etc.

Wo ist bei ihm Anfang und Ende?

i need your touch
i need your love
i need your holiness
to rest upon me
---------------------
i will sing
and make music
to my LORD.
i will sacrifice myself
with shouts of joy.
For He
He is worthy
to be praised
---------------------
What can wash away my sin?
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood.
Nothing but the blood
of Jesus
---------------------
i need your touch
i need your love
i need your holiness
to rest upon me

This is great: Lost Moon of 1971

Balderdash! But what's this?!?!?! lost moon of 1971

When lacking your own words, steal! (or don't...)

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

Borrowed from a fellow borrower--from the original source (i hope):
"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence."
-Albert Einstein

a similar case of borrowing:
"The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
-Albert Einstein

i created an account and edited my first Wikipedia entry. It was about Chapman University. i also read a record number of entries (for me) and learned some things. Which could be entirely false.
...but prob'ly aren't! (this one's for you Kali--> ask me why later)
Yay learning!

i saw this bird in Irvine Regional Park and then, guess what? It appeared in this article! Crazy!

It truly looked magnificent, too.

14: number of teeth i have on the top row.
14: number of teeth i have on the bottom row.
28: total number of MY teeth!

Orange in anguish! (...ok, so this alreay happened.)

(Both photos w/text taken from Foothills Sentry Feb. 14, 2006 issue)

i'm done for now. It's past me bed-time!

wuhwuhwuh!

i have internet!!! Everyone do a dance! i finally got ahold of the guy who set up our system and i now know what the problem is/was and i know how to fix it in the future! Isn't that grand? i think so. In other news, and in relation to the title, apparently the Italians don't have the letter 'w' in their language, and apparently they've only got 22 characters? This is just by hearsay--i'll look it up on wikipedia or something. But anyway, Herr Ter-Jung (Frau Ter-Jungs Mann natürlich!) told me that they just say 'wuhwuhwuh' to mean 'www' since they don't have a w! Crazy! Now that i think about it, it must be quite common actually, especially for folks with non-western characters such as Arabs or the Chinese, for instance.

Update! Apparently, wikipedia says that there are 21 natural characters in the Italian language and the other 5, which exist in English and German for instance, now have modern equivalents and are only used to spell foreign words or borrowed phrases. Coincidentally, the Olympics are also being held in Italy. The only person i can think of who MIGHT read this who knows Italian is Ed. But that's not too likely i don't think. If you know Italian (or any other language other than English) please post it! Maybe even write a word, phrase, or song in this foreign tongue which you deliciously know! Hoo-ha, boy!

something to read

hey folks, go to Aro's webie slowseason and read about Bono's speech at the National Prayer breakfast. That is all.
♥

El chiquitico dicho costarricense, otra vez chiquitillo

i love Costa Ricans man. They say cool things in their español, their attitudes are pretty laid back, and they usually say ¡pura vida! over the course of a conversation. Of course, this is not always the case and there are some very impoverished Tico families, not to mention immigrants from Nicaragua (which are very stigmatized and controversial, sort of like the Mexican population in California, but still very different in many ways).

i have been to the rainforest/jungle twice, both times in the province of Limón, which were both fabulous in their own ways. i saw "balas" which are humongous ants (balas literally means "bullets") along with many other types of flora and fauna which these eyes have ne´er afore seen. i saw some toucans, but only from afar and usually flying, so they were difficult to really closely observe. i saw some neon-colored, likely poisonous frogs which were very cool. Some of the trees in the jungle are astounding with their trunk systems and all the vines that twist and twangle and twine around everything. There are many and i´ll gladly tell you about them (or show you photos) in person if you so desire.

i have been having an interesting time living with a family who i both love dearly and get really annoyed with at the same time. i have learned a lot from them and had fun, but will be glad to go back to my own place. i certainly have had an opportunity to practice some day to day Spanish with them and have learned some of the local coloquialisms and sayings. In about an hour the whole group will depart for Playa Manuel Antonio, which is a beach on the Pacific coast side of the country. i regret not having the opportunity to go to Puerto Limón where the music is ripe with Carribean flavor and about which i have learned much and am very intrigued. Perhaps another time. i have gained a greater understanding of the geographic, economic, and social situation, not only here in Costa Rica, but also in the rest of Central America. i have met people from all over the place in Latin America, and even from different places in the States, which is always fun. Welp, class is about to start, so i need to go, but i´m going to upload some photos onto my photos page pretty soon. If i can´t do it before we leave, i´ll do it when we get back on Monday. There´s the bell, gotta fly!

¡Pura vida!

Welp, Costa Rica is fabulous, things are crazy with school and activities and i need to go home! (meaning back to my host family´s place.) i guess we´ll be playing billiards tonight which sounds awesome. Class is pretty cool; i´ve got an instructor from the Limon province named Ilda. She´s excellent and super interesting. My host family is nice and welcoming but a little exhausting to deal with at times. Not as understanding as Frau Schottke in Salzburg was. ´Til now i´ve been to the rainforest, participated in a Temazcal (similar to a Native American sweat lodge), to downtown San Jose (Costa Rica of course...i sometimes have to clarify that i´m from San Jose, California, which is fun), to a graveyard near the school with my guitar, and much more. Hopefully i can write a better update tomorrow or something and figure out if i´ll be able to post photos! love in the LORD, ac

Welcome 2006 and adios E.E. U.U.!

Hey folks, just thought i'd write a little somethin to ring in the new year and give my regards to everyone (or no one) before i travel to Costa Rica! i'm planning on doing some e-mail updates as well as posting some photos online if technology allows whilst i'm in the Central American nation. If i can't do that while i'm still in the country, i'll definitely post them after i get back to CA. Today i have many things to do including reading and packing for the trip, so i best get moving! Love in Him,
ac

Quote Time

"You may burn my flesh and bones
and throw my ashes to the four winds,"
smiled one of them.
"Yet my voice shall linger on
and in the years to come
the young shall ask what was the idea
for which you gave me death
and what was I saying
that I must die for what I said."
-Carl Sandburg, The People, Yes

"Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail and she wears tan shorts and sandals. No makeup. Nothing but the truth."
-from Peter Hedges' Novel What's Eating Gilbert Grape

"ENUF SED"
-a license plate on a lame white Hummer i saw today which looks like it should be called Toasty Ghosty or maybe Bummer.

"Whatever you are, be a good one."
-Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."
-Walt Disney (1901-1966)

"Crap! Where is that book?"
-Me trying to find another awesome quote i found

"??????"
-you adding your own awesome quote!

College is hard when you don't manage your time early on in the semester.

One ten-pager down
two essays to go
one is not short
and the other is so
The short one i'll finish
this night 'fore my screen
it will be the most rapid
busting out you've ever seen.
Lord give me peace
cause i need it right here
and whisper Your Love
right into my ear.
Let me sing Your sweet song,
pray to You, give You praise,
and serve You despite This for all of my days.

in other news: applesauce! (i know, it was SO hard to guess...)


also a favorite from Salzburger Land:

lesser representaion of HIS Love

Taken from:

"All I want is all-consuming, life-changing, heart-pounding, intellectually stimulating, totally forgiving, unrelentless, never ending, soul sharing, blood-pumping, utterly intense, utterly passionate, utterly unmistakable, forever encouraging, Can't Possibly Live Without You, perpetually connected, Your Breath Is My Breath, never ever looking back, unconditional two-become-one kinda love.

I mean, come on, that's not too much to ask for, is it?"

No, no. i don't think so. i won't be settling for any less anyway.

Politics and Ingredients

Not only does this woman have a funny name, she's also President of the League of Women Voters of California. Go JJ.


Guess what this is! (i know, it's really hard - i'll post the answer later)


An even MORE funny name! Who ever said reading the voter's general election packet was a waste of time?!?


ps: i actually did vote and i don't remember at the moment what i voted on these propositions, or even what they stood for, for that matter. Maybe i'll look them up when i post the answer to my clue game. Either way ALL of the propositions were defeated this election. Yay politics!

Some Facts

-i love thanksgiving.
-Family can be tricky business.
-Family can also be amazingly wonderful.
-Friends are fantastic.
-Over the break i visited the cave system at UC Santa Cruz with my brother, Travis and the Simms bros, Gregg and Dillon.
-My dad, brother, and i all helped around my grandma's house. My dad and i worked on some appliances and my brother took initiative and planted some bulbs. Yay flowers!
-My brother is applying to colleges, Arizona State, San Francisco and San Jose State, and Caly Poly San Luis Obispo are among the candidates. Yay college!
-Small group is tonight and that's great. i'm excited.
-i got the new Fighting Jacks demo in the mail from Mike today. i haven't listened to it yet, but i really want to. i just know that it will be very good.
-And lastly, guess who was on my flight from San Jose to Orange County? That's right. John Kerry. Seated in First Class.

a montage

urban autumn cactus


her distant cousin


4?


She Conquers Nonetheless


"Our house / in the middle of the street"


tribute to Aro


Excuse me, where is literacy night?


here.

two am, but i need this

-i do not understand what i do. For what i want to do i do not do, but what i hate i do. And if i do what i do not want to do, i agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer i myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. i know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For i have the desire to do what is good, but i cannot carry it out. For what i do is not the good i want to do; no, the evil i do not what to do--this i keep on doing. Now if i do what i do not want to do, it is no longer i who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
-So i find this law at work: when i want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being i delight in God's law; but i see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man i am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!
-So then, i myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.