6:30am

As a dog returns to it's own vomit, so I returned to work behind the counter of courthouse coffee shop again today. Actually, it was a pretty good time, in spite of having to get up at 6:30am (ps... I've gotta work on getting up earlier because I dont think I will be able to keep my sleeping schedule in the real world). I got to work with Tracy, which always makes working there better.
After I got off work, Miles and I took off for Ft. Wayne. We both had gift certificates to bookstores to spend. I purchased Bob Dylan's Autobiography and a book of Walt Whitman's poems. There's not a whole lot more enjoyable to me than walking through a bookstore.
I got home and hung out with Vos the rest of the evening. If you are a single woman between the ages of 20 and 26 who lives in the Warsaw area, leave me a comment on here and i'll pass his number along to you. If you're not interested in dating him, at least let me know where it is that you spend time outside of the workplace and your home. The information would be much appreciated. Thankyou.
I'm about ready to watch the movie Garden State. Word is that it's pretty good.

100,000

At 7 a.m. Sunday morning techtonic plates (large pieces of the earth's crust) shifted in southeast asia enough to cause an earthquake that register @ 9.0 (the strongest the world has experienced in 40 years). A tsunami moved out from the epicenter of the earthquake at roughly 500 miles per hour. On islands and coasts stretching from Thailand to Somolia a wave hit. In some areas the wave was ten stories tall. In others, it was a rip tide that pulled out to sea 100's of yards in moments. In the wake we've found 80,427 dead and that's just because some of these places are so destroyed that people can't physically get there to count them. As of now, the expectation is that over 100,000 lives will have been snuffed out in a matter of moments and hours. What's worse is that relief organizations are saying that if we don't act appropriately, in a relatively timely manner, the number could concievably double because of those who who will contract diseases from contaminated drinking water and living conditions.
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/asia.quake/index.html
100,000 people. 100,000 people? How do I begin to comprehend a number like that? A certain number of statiums filled with people? a small state's population? Who cares? These things still will not allow me to wrap my mind around such a staggering number. All of this within a few hours... And what will we do? How will we respond? How will I respond? I'll probably fold up my Chicago Tribune, put it in my pocket and walk away. We'll here that our country is sending a couple million dollars in aide and feel better. Heck, I may even try to give some of my own money to some organization putting together relief for these places. But what's it gonna do?
I'm not saying that we are wrong to send monetary aid, certainly not. That is very much a need, as the estimate right now is that this tsunami will cost 14 billion dollars (another unfathomable number). But even if there was enough money given to reconstruct homes, schools, hospitals, roads, etc. and were able to give everyone the medical attention and facilities they needed in a timely mannor, what would that do? 100,000 PEOPLE DIED! How many people were widowed or orphaned on Sunday? How many loved ones were left behind to put the pieces back together? I've never lost a parent, a spouse, a sibling, or a child. I know a few who have, and their grief is so sharp and penetrating. I'm not talking about great grandma, or the kid next door (please don't take that as insincere, but only to show the need for magnifying the intensity)! We are talking about each one of those 100,000 people being someone's child. Many someone's parent, spouse, or sibling. A person experiences a death that close, and it affects the way the whole group of people around them functions for days and weeks. However, for the people who experience the loss directly, the effects linger for months and years. Do the math to figure out how many immediate family memebers are left for each of the 100,000 and we are now talking, not just of large groups, but whole nations of people who are experiencing this sense of grief and loss right now. How dare I fold up that paper and treat it as just another headline. Don't tell me I am overreacting. I'll tell you that you are probably acting selfishly. On September 11th, 2001 2,752 people lost their lives and it mattered to you. You took it seriously. You grieved. You let it affect your daily life. 100,000 is not just a number. Don't fold it up and walk away, or throw it away and forget about it.

The not really Fighting Irish

I am watching the 2nd half kickoff of Notre Dame's Bowl game vs. Oregon St. We are down 21-7 right now. It should easily be 31-7. Our Secondary is getting picked apart, but that's nothing new. They've sucked all year. However, our offense has made 3 first downs at this point. Wow, maybe there's a reason that I was 12 years old the last time these guys won a bowl game. Tyrone Willingham- my sincerest of apologies. I think the Athletic Director should have gotten the boot, not you. Best of luck in Washington.

I've just come back from Vos's apartment. His little dog Nomar is the cutest thing I've ever seen. He's a little weener dog. Vos has had him for a couple months now. He's lots of fun to play with, until this night. It seems little Nomar has begun to experience the doggy equivalent of puberty (wow, that's awkward), because after he got tired of playing tug-o-war with his squeaky toy, he crawled onto Nick Toney's arm and went to town. Vos is planning on getting him fixed ASAP. Im gonna try to convince him he should hold off till Nieter gets back from Canada. Either way, good luck Nomar, you'll need it. snip, snip...

So, nieter's was only in Canada for a few hours before he got pulled over by the cops. Apparently he has trouble reading Canadian road signs, cause he was going the wrong way on a one way street. Aye.

Beginnings

Well, it's Tuesday, December 28th, 2004. Im starting a blog. Sounds pretty trendy to me but whatever...
First, i'd like to thank Nate Shorb (the originator of the trend for so many both before and after me, im sure. Shorb, we all aspire to be as cool as you.) Also, thank you to my sister Tracy who will, no doubt, be an influencial contributor to my thoughts on occasion. Amy Barnett will, most likely, provoke me to various soapboxes as well from time to time.
On that note, let me thank Phil Daubenmire & Noah Zapf (possible ohio roommates), Darla Stults, Sharon Nye, Jesse Kahler, Jake Wilson, Tim Mahan, Eric Bland, Chris Horst, The Snake, 007, Greg Wilson, Bleu, Sarah Bonness, Neville Kiser, Dave Blomgren, Drew Rundus, 'Disko' Stephen Becker, Roshana Leaman, Kelly Moselle, Dave Kirkpatrick, Linda Brate, Scott Swinburne, Justin Heth, Dave Haller, Nate Su, Kurt Brodbeck, Adam Hanna, Tim Taylor, and all the rest at Taylor University who've played key roles in so many discussions and debates through late nights and lots of coffee.
The greater Warsaw community, though at time's regretable, has participated in my personal experience, thus they contribute to my thoughts now as well. So, thank you Tim Vosberg, Aaron Nieter, Toby Schrecengost, Maha Ibrahim, Ryan Dill, Hillary Barlow, Kelsi Foreman, Brian Johnson, Tim Wright, Matt Miles, Lindsay Hollinger, Kelly Holbrook, Jessica Ryssemus, Andy Lewis, Paula Bowman, Winona Lake Grace Brethern Church, Warsaw Community Schools, Courthouse Coffee Shoppe, Warsaw Racquet Club, and Owen's Grocery Store.
I'd like to say a special thanks to those professional educators in my life who've inspired me to learn and grow through the use of my mind as something other than a source of monetary return, personal indulgence, or conformity. Mrs. Paxton (3rd grade teacher), Ms. Harris (7th grade english), Miss Williams (9th grade Honors Geometry), Mr. Yoder (High School Physics), Mr. Rhodes (High School Algebra II & Pre-Calculus), Mr. Grose (High School Government), Dr. Spiegal (Philosophy Prof.), Dr. Bird (Sociology Professor), Dr. Jessup ( Sociology Prof.), Dr. Corduin ( Philosophy Prof.), and Dr. Davis ( Physics Prof.): Thank you each sincerely from the bottom of my heart. The impact you've each had on me, as educators, has mentally equipped me to live life in such a way that it cannot be worthless. Forever my gratitude to you.
A big, big, big thanks to my parents, Rod & Lola. You have probably had the biggest impact on who i am today. Wow... How do you thank two people for investing 20 some years of their lives into you? The thought humbles me. Forgive me for being trite, but I love you both very much.
And, finally, wrapping this up, I'll thank a few of the most influencial mortal thinkers and writers that come to mind. Well, since it's me, would this list really start off right with anyone other than Karl Marx? Haha, thank you Karl, I respect your thoughts & your sociology. Thank you Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, Jurgen Habermas, Jean Baudrillard, George Ritzer, F. Scott, Fitzgerald, J.D. Salinger, Ernest Hemingway, Walt Witman, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, Rene Descartes, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Fredrick Nietche, Dostoyevsky, J.S. Mill, Thomas Jefferson, William Shakespeare, and last, but should probably be first, the apostle Paul.

May what follows be edifying to you in some way.