Vote or die.

Remember that campaign slogan backed by P.Diddy?

Pastor Josh Patterson once said that to keep himself in check, to remind him that the world is broken and in need of a savior, he reads the news. This was around the time I went to Asia, so I thought this was an excellent idea.

But man, it is crazy to try and comprehend what is going on in the world.

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is politics. I’ve never voted and have never cared to vote until I started to keep up with the international news.

First, the craziness in Pakistan. Months ago, I was aware of the unrest concerning the upcoming presidential elections and the state of emergency. And then Bhutto (a female politician in a Muslim state, a presidential candidate and previous prime minister) was assassinated??? Then more crazy riots?

And tonight, I finally read up on Kenya and the craziness there. Corrupt presidential elections causing the whole country to riot as well? The opposition party not willing to back off, fueling fights between two tribes represented by each party? Several hundreds of people killed because of an election?

I remember the 2000 elections when W. barely won over Gore. Something about Florida being dumb and Gore fighting back a little. But I don’t remember riots. I don’t remember assassinations or hundreds of people dying.

I don’t remember 70% of the country voting either.

It’s easy to chalk up the violence to something happening far away, maybe that these countries are uneducated and primitive. But they are not. At least Kenya isn’t. Apparently, it had been the most stable country in Africa, boasting a healthy economy. And their citizens knew this election would be important. Important enough for about 70% of the country to vote. And that was without any catchy P.Diddy slogans.

What is it about politics and government in these countries? Where do these citizens get this passion from? And where is mine? I don’t even know if I’m registered to vote… that’s how apathetic I’ve been.

So, while I ponder on the craziness of the world outside of Dallas, Texas, I’ve started to pay attention our own elections coming up. After all, the U.S. government not only affects me, but the countries I read about as well. CNN has an excellent summary of all the candidates - how they are doing in the race, what stance they have on key issues, etc. - and I realized tonight that maybe I find it hard to be passionate about our own government because we have so many candidates. And these candidates handle issues their own ways and some are even a bit “wishy-washy” about where they stand. On some of the hottest topics, it’s not uncommon for a candidate to oppose the issue, but wouldn’t mind letting the states take care of it. Almost like some kind of “I wash my hands of that whole deal” thing. Convenient.

In the midst of all this thinking, I did happen to watch a rerun of South Park’s 100th episode, aired back in 2003. The town was split between protesting against and for the war. Cartman time travels back to 1776 where he witnesses Ben Franklin saying “he believes they could become a country that could go to war, but at the same time also make it appear like we don’t want to go to war by allowing people to protest. ‘…an entire nation founded on saying one thing, and doing another.’”

Anyway, that’s the most I’ve ever said about politics and government. We’ll see if I figure out how to vote yet.

2007 moments.

I’ve been at my parents’ home (the land of dial-up) so I haven’t had a chance to update. For now, here’s my favorite memories of 2007 in chronological order.

Baptism - My mom had me baptized before I knew what that meant as part of the Catholic tradition. I became a believer in 2001 and thought, “once baptized, always baptized.” Something always nagged at me that maybe I should look into getting baptized again, so I did. Actually, I wanted to become a member of The Village and had to complete that as a requirement. I took the mandatory baptism class which made the experience richer. I had my good friend Courtney baptize me as I stood in front of the congregation and my friends and declared my faith. We also had Palio’s pizza beforehand so it was a pretty good day.

The Band - My friend Megan and I always talk about music and our rockstar dreams. She found two other girls with similar passions and we rocked out for a month or so. At first, I thought it was a joke, but then I realized the drummer, Z, was amazing and Megan and the singer, Steph, were passionate about getting this thing going. We had a date set for Memorial Day to play a gig and practiced a lot, getting a few cover songs down. We goofed off a lot, but we also had fun piddling around and even hitting up church together. It was an unlikely combination, but it worked. Sadly, the party did not happen so we did not play, and when I came back from Asia, half the band started their real world jobs. We haven’t played since, but I’d be up for it again anytime.

Week before Asia - The week before my Asia trip was a hectic one. All the packing, planning, working, and my birthday was squeezed in there. All the encouragement I received from friends, family, and strangers was God sent and totally helped me get through the preparations and last minute hesitations. As a birthday gift, my friends helped me out big $$$ time and my bandmates put together a care package, complete with compact toilet paper and hand sanitizers. These gifts and the time spent made my heart happy.

Last night in Asia - I spent almost two weeks in east Asia and met some amazing people. During our last week, we dedicated our time to two of our new friends - seeing the sights, eating new food, and just getting to know one another. For our last full day together, we went to see the incredible fountain night show (while eating KFC!) then just sat outside and talked. I had a crazy moment of peace sitting out there, staring at the neon lights of the city and smiling at the entire experience. I want to go back.

Afternoon in Portland’s Living Room - After reading Don Miller’s books and falling in love with Oregon, I finally spent a week in Portland with my friend Megan. We hit up some hotspots like Powell’s Books and even went north to visit Mars Hill Church in Seattle. But hands down, my favorite moment was sitting in Pioneer Courthouse Square. We bought some lunch from some food carts (I think I ate a Philly Cheesesteak) and popped a squat on the steps. There were loads of people just sitting and chatting and the sense of community was welcomed. Megan and I engaged in some great conversation which topped off the moment. Dallas needs one of these.

Chantanapummas + Wii - I bought a used Wii for a fantastic price just in time for my holiday trip to Stephenville. My brother has been encouraging me to buy one, thinking the whole family would join in perfect harmony to play together. Well, he was right! After all those times my brother and I would play Guitar Hero on my PS2 while my mom danced, we finally had something all four of us could play. I have never seen my mom laugh so hard in my life. She ended up kicking our butts at bowling and laughed every single time she hit a strike (which was almost every time!) Even my dad ended up trying it out and determined to beat my mom at bowling (which he did at 3am once my mom was tired!) It’s my first game console since the PS2 I bought in 2001 and it has already earned its keep. I can’t wait ’til the next family get together and am contemplating buying one just for my parents!

Bring it on, 2008.

Still wide awake.

I don’t know if it was the great time I had over coffee today or the actual cup of coffee I had, but I feel like I’ve been on adrenaline overdrive all day.

I haven’t been sleeping well, but that’s nothing new. I’ll go to bed late, wake up a few times at night, then try to sleep until I can’t stand it anymore and finally get out of bed. This morning, I kept dreaming about work, so I finally got up, cleaned my apartment a little and did some laundry. Anything to escape dreaming about work, right?

I met up with my friend Megan at my favorite coffee shop and what I thought would be a time of independent study/working for each of us, ended up in some great conversation. I don’t know if there’s something about the coffee shop environment or the fact that she’s been a close friend for about four years, but I usually leave encouraged and inspired after talking with her. Two dreamers who want to break away from the grind, I guess you could say.

Something that she (and many of my friends) constantly reminds me of is my unlocked potential, my unused talents. And every time we talk, I make a mental note to “show her” and finally do something. And this results in a halfway done project that I never end up showing her. Thus, showing how right she (and all the other people) is right.

“Go big or go home” is what I said aloud today. I almost feel like that is my motto and I usually stay at home, piddling and being lazy. What really should be my motto is “Do it perfectly or don’t bother trying.” After years of competitiveness and pressure to be perfect, I stopped wanting to try at certain things. To be specific, my music and graphic design. I think I end up making up eleventybillion excuses just so I don’t have to try.

But my friends believe in me. They support me and gently remind me that I could be so much more. This isn’t to say I’m going to put forth all this effort for my friends, or even myself. If God created me, molded me, equipped me with certain characteristics and gifts, should I not quit whining about it and get busy utilizing what I have to the utmost? It feels like this is the least I could do.

I almost don’t want to sleep, knowing I’m losing precious late night productivity.

Hey, thanks!

Directly after work tomorrow, I’ll be hitting up my hometown, Stephenville, otherwise known as MY PARENTS STILL HAVE DIAL-UP LAND. Therefore, I’ll go ahead and whip up a thanksgiving list.

THINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR (besides the usual family, friends, Jesus answers)

- Ableton Live (yes, I went ahead and bought it)
- bottled water
- The Village Church
- non-squatty potties
- air conditioning / heater
- animal crackers
- little babies
- kittens
- laughing so hard I start slapping my knee (what strange reaction is that anyway?)
- everyone on my blogroll
- my work phone which allows me to check my blogroll during work downtime
- books
- coffee shops
- deep conversations
- Romans 8
- Blockbuster Online
- WHEE! IT’S THURSDAY (WIT) NIGHT which includes The Office, Grey’s Anatomy, and Survivor
- iPod
- sunsets
- courteous drivers who wave
- DVR
- live music
- making music
- strangers who smile when they pass you by
- Pilot pens

And, yes, okay, I am thankful for my family that supports each other, my friends that never fail to make me laugh and think, God the Father who created all, and Christ Jesus who, through Him, allows me to enjoy all these luxuries in life. Have a good and safe Thanksgiving kids. May none of you encounter spurkey.

Pride and punishment.

This week has been going in the right direction. It started off with a super face kick at church, when Matt continued his series on Luke, specifically focusing on humility and PRIDE. I left feeling really confused as to which one I belong to, as if I said I was rather humble, that alone would qualify me for being prideful! I decided it would be best not to choose either and just be mindful of both. However, the sermon is now sinking in more and I’m starting to see where pride reigns over my life. It’s awesome. If you like getting your teeth pulled. I mean, hooray for sanctification!

I’m super itching for change and started making a few this week. We’ll see how long I keep it up and then I’ll let you know what changes are happening around here. Well, aside from the blog layout change, ha ha. I’m growing discontent with being content. I think I’m just growing. We’ll see.

Tomorrow is the Dashboard Confessional Solo concert with Ralston and Augustana. I’m stoked. I’ve been listening to DC all week and have the new album and happened to acquire the tour-only accessible Wire Tapes, Vol. 1 album with cover songs. Although I think I might be outgrowing the emo genre, it still inspires me to go and write music that means something. Writing more music is definitely on the “To Do, For Real” list.

Time to take care of some things, but hopefully I’ll report more growth next time ’round.