from Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness.
everything does not suck. until then---
19.11.07
12.11.07
ThOUghts WHilE sTariNG at A wAll
i was asked along with some current Chapmanites to play on the finale at a choir festival of sorts held in a Morman church in Irvine. (i may write more specifically about it later.) it left me wondering, is it possible to respect all other religions and not forsake the truth of your own - namely the Truth that Christ spoke of? i believe so. but if that is the case, why do we have Christian leaders forsaking the Truth just for the sake of respecting other's gods? until then---
i was asked along with some current Chapmanites to play on the finale at a choir festival of sorts held in a Morman church in Irvine. (i may write more specifically about it later.) it left me wondering, is it possible to respect all other religions and not forsake the truth of your own - namely the Truth that Christ spoke of? i believe so. but if that is the case, why do we have Christian leaders forsaking the Truth just for the sake of respecting other's gods? until then---
5.11.07
tHouGHts While STARing AT A Wall
the other day i was having a discussion with a friend explaining things that i thought were cool about driving in other countries that i've been to. being that i've been only to Japan and Italy, this is obviously a generalization, but hear me out.
my experience in Italy was great and it was interesting to observe the brashnes of their driving style. the fast lane is truly the FAST lane; if you're in the left lane and someone is coming up behind you on the autostrade flashing their brights from a chilometre away, you'd better move out of the way, or you'll get run over. lanes are merely a suggestion there, as well as speed limits.
in Japan, people flash their brights to let you go ahead of them... even at a yielding left turn - if there is more traffic that needs to turn across, you let them go! also, every train track is like a stop sign... they're pretty much the only "stop signs" there. bicycles are neither a motor vehicle or pedestrian, but some sort of hybrid of the two that allow them to have the right of way on the road and the sidewalk.
these driving styles are quite different from each other but work very well in their respective countries. i was out today in traffic an realized that that may be one of the problems of our situation in California... in our melding of cultures and societies, we've not allowed for a solid driving identity; we've mixed some things that shouldn't be mixed and that's why good driving is so hard to find. there could be some deeper meaning...
also these "thoughts" aren't supposed to be this long. until then---
the other day i was having a discussion with a friend explaining things that i thought were cool about driving in other countries that i've been to. being that i've been only to Japan and Italy, this is obviously a generalization, but hear me out.
my experience in Italy was great and it was interesting to observe the brashnes of their driving style. the fast lane is truly the FAST lane; if you're in the left lane and someone is coming up behind you on the autostrade flashing their brights from a chilometre away, you'd better move out of the way, or you'll get run over. lanes are merely a suggestion there, as well as speed limits.
in Japan, people flash their brights to let you go ahead of them... even at a yielding left turn - if there is more traffic that needs to turn across, you let them go! also, every train track is like a stop sign... they're pretty much the only "stop signs" there. bicycles are neither a motor vehicle or pedestrian, but some sort of hybrid of the two that allow them to have the right of way on the road and the sidewalk.
these driving styles are quite different from each other but work very well in their respective countries. i was out today in traffic an realized that that may be one of the problems of our situation in California... in our melding of cultures and societies, we've not allowed for a solid driving identity; we've mixed some things that shouldn't be mixed and that's why good driving is so hard to find. there could be some deeper meaning...
also these "thoughts" aren't supposed to be this long. until then---
2.11.07
a man - mildly scruffy, yet not too noticably, but definitely a bit dirty - walks into the front office from the warehouse that he works in. as he walks through to pick up some papers, he non-chalantly notices a face he recognizes in the few people waiting for service in the early hours of the morning.
"how's it going, jerry? long time no see!"
there's never any direct eye contact
"things are good. just waiting to have some work done. how are things with you?"
the man, now headed directly back to the warehouse and already almost out the door -
"just another day in paradise."
ok, so i witnessed basically this exact conversation. i was mildly perplexed at the man's response. 'is he being sarcastic, or is he serious?' i mean, yeah, this is california and all, but paradise? we were in a place just outside of Garden Grove in yet another industial park, they guy worked in a warehouse, and he said his last response a bit too happy for him to be completely serious... right? i just had to mark this down... it was a weird moment for me. i wasn't sure if i wanted him to be serious about being in paradise or not. i'm still not. but one thing that i must add is that this whole time, and the remainder of the time waiting, we could hear another warehouse guy singing his heart out - almost obnoxiously, but it was great - to whatever tune there was on in the warehouse. he even came in to use the restroom and was pounding on the wall at one point in beat with whatever he was whistling as he came in the door. now that's pure joy... or he's hiding something :) until then---
"how's it going, jerry? long time no see!"
there's never any direct eye contact
"things are good. just waiting to have some work done. how are things with you?"
the man, now headed directly back to the warehouse and already almost out the door -
"just another day in paradise."
ok, so i witnessed basically this exact conversation. i was mildly perplexed at the man's response. 'is he being sarcastic, or is he serious?' i mean, yeah, this is california and all, but paradise? we were in a place just outside of Garden Grove in yet another industial park, they guy worked in a warehouse, and he said his last response a bit too happy for him to be completely serious... right? i just had to mark this down... it was a weird moment for me. i wasn't sure if i wanted him to be serious about being in paradise or not. i'm still not. but one thing that i must add is that this whole time, and the remainder of the time waiting, we could hear another warehouse guy singing his heart out - almost obnoxiously, but it was great - to whatever tune there was on in the warehouse. he even came in to use the restroom and was pounding on the wall at one point in beat with whatever he was whistling as he came in the door. now that's pure joy... or he's hiding something :) until then---
1.11.07
friendship is a very interesting thing when you think about it. i recently was talking to a friend that stated (jokingly... well, at least that was his disclaimer): "we never hang out, so you're not really my friend." the weird thing for me about this statement is that we happened to be hanging out, all be it with a larger group, but none the less...
anyway, i feel that this sort of attitude begs the question of what friendship is or means to an individual. I hate to pick on this person, but another time - maybe even the same day - he stated: "yeah, she's not really a friend; she only calls me when she needs something." well yeah, that shouldn't be the only time that you want to see a friend, but that mere fact that you are relying on a friend in a time of need (or want) shows some sort of reliance. is that reliance a part of friendship? maybe.
the way i see it, friends are made by accident and random occurrence. common interests lead to being in the same place at the same time, and the first person to start up a conversation - verbal or non-verbal - initiates the potential friendship. when does the relationship move from a mere acquaintance to a friendship? i don't know, and maybe that's what my friend means by not really being a friend, but i do know that even though we don't hang out all that much, i would be at his side if he needed me and i'm sure that he'd do the same.
those common interests may be a door that leads to something deep, or something simple or shallow. when the entryway is shallow, that may be the acquaintance. how do we know if it's deep or not? well that's tough for me too, because when i think of something deeper, i think that it must relate somehow with the love that we are to show to our fellow human. if we should love everyone, how could anyone be worth any less to us? well for starters, we'd probably go crazy trying to keep up with everyone that important in our lives - it's hard enough as it were with friends in the hundreds... probably not even. but imagine the billions of people... we're talking God status here. the impossibility of this is actually unfathomable in itself for me. but what makes me say that i would be at my friend's side in a time of need when i'm not there just to hang out? idunno, but i have faith in that love that will make it true when it's tested.
maybe that's the difference. what you put in is what you get out. sometimes you get out more, sometimes you give more. but if you're keeping score, that's not love. so if you don't consider someone your friend, i guess consider what you've put in before what you've received. at least that's something to think about.
there seems to be a lot that i don't know about this, but i was just intrigued by the notion. i will not apologize for it :) i love you all, my friends (mi amigos, mi amici, mes amis, meine freunde, waga furenzu). until then---
anyway, i feel that this sort of attitude begs the question of what friendship is or means to an individual. I hate to pick on this person, but another time - maybe even the same day - he stated: "yeah, she's not really a friend; she only calls me when she needs something." well yeah, that shouldn't be the only time that you want to see a friend, but that mere fact that you are relying on a friend in a time of need (or want) shows some sort of reliance. is that reliance a part of friendship? maybe.
the way i see it, friends are made by accident and random occurrence. common interests lead to being in the same place at the same time, and the first person to start up a conversation - verbal or non-verbal - initiates the potential friendship. when does the relationship move from a mere acquaintance to a friendship? i don't know, and maybe that's what my friend means by not really being a friend, but i do know that even though we don't hang out all that much, i would be at his side if he needed me and i'm sure that he'd do the same.
those common interests may be a door that leads to something deep, or something simple or shallow. when the entryway is shallow, that may be the acquaintance. how do we know if it's deep or not? well that's tough for me too, because when i think of something deeper, i think that it must relate somehow with the love that we are to show to our fellow human. if we should love everyone, how could anyone be worth any less to us? well for starters, we'd probably go crazy trying to keep up with everyone that important in our lives - it's hard enough as it were with friends in the hundreds... probably not even. but imagine the billions of people... we're talking God status here. the impossibility of this is actually unfathomable in itself for me. but what makes me say that i would be at my friend's side in a time of need when i'm not there just to hang out? idunno, but i have faith in that love that will make it true when it's tested.
maybe that's the difference. what you put in is what you get out. sometimes you get out more, sometimes you give more. but if you're keeping score, that's not love. so if you don't consider someone your friend, i guess consider what you've put in before what you've received. at least that's something to think about.
there seems to be a lot that i don't know about this, but i was just intrigued by the notion. i will not apologize for it :) i love you all, my friends (mi amigos, mi amici, mes amis, meine freunde, waga furenzu). until then---
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