i must admit, i am a bit of a perfectionist. i will argue that i am not…but when i’m worn down in a moment of weakness, i will admit this is my reality. i have this grandiose vision that everything i say or do will somehow serve as the grand finale and as the curtain closes and the music plays, someone somewhere will assign meaning and significance to this experience.

this has been true with my blog. every time i have starting writing for a post, i blank for minutes…waiting for the “right” words, the “right” story, the “right” message to communicate…as if things work in black and white.

and so, as i now have been sitting at my computer for roughly 20 minutes waiting for the “right,” most beautiful combination of words to magically appear, i now must concede. i concede that there are no “right” or “perfect” words, sentences, or paragraphs to communicate today’s message. no lyric or poem to aid in the process. no anecdote to ease the tension. even coldplay cannot fix this (i know, borderline heresy). in reality, there is no “good,” “right,” or “perfect” way to put this, so i concede:

good-bye.

i like writing. honestly. perhaps the only thing i like more than writing is being given a forum to voice my thoughts and opinions. ironic, right?

as my last post indicated, i have a severe case of senioritis. i think it has come full circle though. my senioritis is to the point that i care so little about completing assignments that i’m actually starting to care again. ironic? i’ve learned to embrace the ironies in life. it’s either that or tears…and tears aren’t socially acceptable for guys.

i can say that i enjoy writing and you may or may not believe this because of my oh so consistent blog posting routine. like every other good student, i have an excuse. for instance, last night i printed just about 40 pages of documentation…a product of both the whole semester and this past weekend. i would argue that most of it was written this past weekend, but this is a pacifist campus and we should keep the arguing to a minimum. bottom line…i’ve written a lot this semester in my classes. so i apologize for those whose feelings may be hurt, but i suspect my readership has dwindled to zero…so i won’t lose sleep.

upon sitting down to the current discourse, i cannot help but ponder the above medical condition: senioritis. yes, we all know this term very well…some more than others. some perhaps have experienced junioritis that, left unattended, spread into full blown senioritis within a matter of months.

my interest for the moment lies deeper within the actual implications of this notorious word. it seems to me that senioritis is not the appropriate terminology for the current state of the author of this post (or the state of a quarter of messiah’s current inhabitants for that matter). you see, “-itis” literally means “inflamation of.” therefore, senioritis means “inflamation of the senior.” now, perhaps some senior have experienced some “inflamation” as a result of their senior status, but this does not seem very common.

but there are many other options. observe:

senioragra-excessive pain to the senior

senioricemesis-vomiting pertaining to the condition of being a senior

senioricmania-madness or insanity pertaining to the senior (usually related to sleep deprivation and the “economic downturn”)

seniorodia-smell cased by the senior (closely related to the previous condition)

seniorclasia-the breaking down of the senior

antisenioricemia-a blood condition caused by an aversion to things pertaining to being a senior

seniorapheresis-removal of the senior (ideally not before may 16th)

these are just a few ideas from the growing body of literature on medical conditions of seniors (in high school or college). personally i find myself most often in an “senioricmania” state…but look forward to “seniorapheresis.”

muahahahaha!

i’m usually not that big into watching tv. actually, i think the dang thing rots people’s minds…just because you watch the “700 club” doesn’t mean you know a thing about christianity! wake up! (deep breaths, relax the blood pressure.) anyway. i have recently quieted the little voice from within and indulged in the bottomless wisdom that is television.

my weakness: house. i don’t know if you’ve ever watched this program, but it’s similar to the phenomenon of getting kicked in the teeth and gently asking, “please sir, i want some more.” that’s right. i compared house to oliver twist (which is somewhat warranted because “dr. house” is actually from the england-ish region). that’s about where the connection ends. the point is, i just can’t stop watching it! i’m as addicted to watching it as “dr. house” is to vicodin (oh snap). he’s sarcastic, demeaning, offensive, selfish, depressed, depressing, bitter, and arrogant…yet the most intelligent doctor in the hospital…so you have to love him. and i keep coming back for more.

house is like “er” without the unbearable drama and lifelike gore. it’s like “grey’s anatomy” but better and without, well, being ridiculously pointless and soap opera-like. it’s like “scrubs” but with less laughing and no zach braff (but i’m still hopeful). it’s like “emergency” from the 70’s but…actually they have very little in common other than that they both involved emergencies and a hospital.

so here’s my recommendation for tuesday nights at 8 on fox (or tonight on usa from 8-11!!!): get your daily kick in the teeth by watching house! you’ll be better for it.

the new coldplay ep, “prospekt’s march,” is out. i stayed up until midnight to get it from itunes (and then was up another 45 minutes dowloading and listening to it)! so worth it! it truly completes the “viva la vida” picture. GO BUY IT NOW!!!

as a way to celebrate our 2 year anniversary, sandie surprised me with tickets to see coldplay in philly this past weekend. i was totally caught off guard…especially since i didn’t even know coldplay was going to be in philly this past weekend. oh, just wait. it gets better.
so we went really early to make sure we could find our seats. while we were just sitting there, this lady came up to us and asked us how we were doing. she asked if she could ask a question…and promised that it would be worth our time. we had nothing else to do, so of course we said yes. she asked us to name all the coldplay albums. i responded with “viva la vida,” “x and y,” “coldplay live 2003,” and “rush of blood to the head.” easy.

now’s where the fun starts. she asked to see our tickets. we were a bit hesitant, but we handed them over to her because she seemed legitimate with the band polo on and a walkie-talkie. she took our tickets and said that she would upgrade them as long as we promise to go there right away and cheer really loudly when the band comes out. she handed us the tickets and they were for the 2nd row on the floor!!! holy crap!

so sandie and i got to see coldplay this past weekend…from the second row! let me tell you, chris martin sweats on stage like no body’s business. kinda gross…but kinda awesome!
so my word of advice for this cold monday, know thine band trivia for you never know when it might get you front row seats!

best weekend ever! thanks sandie!

congrats to the phillies. though it may have taken 3 days to finish one game…you have earned your championship. now go partay!

then again, is it really jumping on a bandwagon if i never technically jumped off?

if you’re living in the middle of nowhere (i.e. grantham), let me catch you up to speed. the phillies just won the first game of the world series. now you’re caught up. wow, that was easier than i thought it would be.

so i ask the question, if i root for the phillies, does that mean i’m jumping on the bandwagon? because here’s the deal: i was raised in a good phillies-loving home, with practicing phillies fans. i remember very clearly the christmas i received mike schmitt’s sacred text on how to play baseball. i even remember one special summer day in my younger years getting to go to veteran’s stadium (for you newbies, that was the old phillies stadium) for a phillies game. but i must admit, much cynicism and disappointment overcame my life and yes, my love for the phillies diminished.

so i pose the question in a different light: once a phillies fan always a phillies fan? or can one lose their phillies fanship through unorthodox, un-fanlike behavior and language? that begs the question, what must one do to reenter the kingdom of phillies fanship? my girlfriend just got me a victorino shirt…is that good enough? or do i have to go all out and buy a bumper sticker?

…when professors give you an essay prompt that goes as follows:

“tell me everything you’ve learned this semester about the the jews in germany.”

obviously this is for my holocaust class. what kind of lame question is that? i’ve learned a lot about the jews in germany so far this semester…perhaps you could narrow that question down for me a bit! there’s a lot i could say. i could probably write my doctoral dissertation on “the jews in germany.” that’s a broad topic. oh, and how many pages would you like? “oh, i don’t care. however many pages it takes to answer the question.” thanks. multiply that times 4 and that’s my holocaust mid-term due tomorrow.

what kind of prompt would i rather, you might ask? here’s how this lame prompt can be transformed into a freakin awesome essay prompt:

“the nuremberg laws of 1935, enacted by adolf hitler, attempted to define the term “jew.” as such, a “jew” was defined racially as anyone with at least one jewish grandparent. this greatly increased racial discrimination against the jewish population in germany. the breaking point came in the two day event known as kristallnacht. describe the german jewish population before the nuremberg laws were enacted, after they were enacted, and finally after kristallnacht. focus on the progression of their reaction to hitler’s radical ideology and german social norms.”

can i graduate now?

amidst all the reading that i have for my classes this semester, i thought i would recommend one of my favorites so far. the title of the book is “can evangelicals learn from world religions?” by gerald mcdermott and you can check it out here. i had to read it for my christian theology of religious pluralism class and found it to be quite insightful.

essentially his answer is yes, christians CAN learn from world religions. now that i just spoiled the ending i won’t tell you exactly how he goes about unpacking this thesis (you’ll have to read it to find out). his focus is on the value of revelation in other religions.

i think this book is especially important for today’s christian because of the growth of religious diversity (world-wide…including in the U.S.). we need to learn how to intelligently interact with those around us regardless of their religious persuasion. mcdermott does a good job of valuing the other religions (including christianity). to me there just seems to be too much religious slander going around. many christians (and perhaps the same could be said about most religious traditions) spend too much time fighting other religions and not enough time conversing with their fellow journeyers.

no, i’m not a daoist, but that doesn’t mean daoism has nothing to offer me (or that i have nothing to offer doaism). no, i’m not a muslim, but that doesn’t mean that i can’t learn something from their strong affirmation of “no god but allah.” no, i don’t think plato hit the mark completely, but i can certainly still learn from his “shaddow of forms” theory.

the bottom line is that mcdermott is right…there’s much that christians (even the staunchly conservative evangelical) can learn from world religions without forsaking the christian non-negotiables. mcdermott’s book is a good read. if you’re a sunday school teacher or lead a small group, you should especially check this book out.

so there’s my soapbox for monday morning.