Push start

Evidently, one can cold-start a car by throwing the car into second gear while it is moving. As a matter of experimentation, I am going to see if this mechanical utility can be used to return me to my pre-20-year-old blogging glory. Ergo, a few highlights from my 11 years of sporadic blogging.
Although I enjoy this medium of conversation with the few friends that read this, one aspect that I do not like is its narrowness of scope. I am only able to cover very little of what goes on in my day, whether it be a few pictures or words.
Something that has been omitted lately is how much the reading material for my Faith and Literature class has impacted me. It is by far my favorite class: great literature, a brilliant and quirky professor, a grad school type atmosphere, and it is at a perfect time- 10:00 MWF. "Books" circa 2005
Oh Patrick, going to your literature class at 10:00 AM in the morning to discuss books. I was living a dream of an English major. Here's to many more and various dreams.
A good walk can help you see the world in a new, different, and fresh manner.
A good walk is a good time to have a conversation... with God... out loud.
A good walk is good exercise.
A good walk is a blessing. "A good walk" c. 2006

Hey, something stuck.
Who in their right mind would pay $5.34 for a personal pan pizza that is at best 15 minutes old, and old breadsticks? No one. But, all one has to do is dissociate the purchasing process and actual money, and people will spend until they don't even know what has hit them. Welcome to the world of Bean Bucks (and credit cards). Most days I witness the frenzy of students pay exorbitant prices for waffle fries and crappy sandwiches. So, next time, as you slide your card for that delicious sandwich, realize that you have become a victim to the disassociation between reason and Bean Bucks. Thank you Aramark for being the Black Hand of ACU. "Disassociation" c. 2006
I laughed. Out loud. #Idealist
Things I learned from (the College of Business) and being a double major for 3 years of college:
-English majors can't add.
-COBA majors can't read.
-If you learn how to study for yourself, and read effectively, you can learn just about anything.
-Apples are better than PCs.
-Retirement is a joke. Just work until you die, and love life.
-In the end, it doesn't really matter what major you are, what you do- just do something that will make it easy for you to praise God and serve others. Billions of people before us have done just fine not making $85,000 a year, and except for the past 10 years, no one has even heard of a SUV. "Treefingers" c. 2005

Interesting, that posted salary is not much different than that of a school AP. . . and I own a SUV. Thank you yesteryear. Lord, keep me on the straight and narrow s'il vous plaît.
[I went to buy gardening supplies in China.] I could go into all of the details of what the heck went on in that taxi (on the  way home from the market), but I will break it down for you.
-I don't speak Chinese
-He didn't speak English
-He went the wrong way, and then drove really fast to make up for his mistake.
-My taxi ride was 8 times as expensive as my pots. "100 RMB Flower Pots" c. 2006
Miscommunication abounds. Buy local to avoid transportation costs.

It goes without saying that my life now is significantly different than it was when I was at ACU. Mostly, I am speaking of being displaced. When I was at ACU, and even before that, I had something consistent that I could count on all the time. Changes where within my control and were caused by me altering my routine. Now, change is something that happens all the time and happens outside of my control. I knew that when I was in college that this was what I wanted. Now that I am here I almost forgot that it was what I wanted. Oh, to be exposed to the weather of life. "788 Miles" c. 2007
Life, at times, is lived presently-retrospectively. My car now has 191,332 miles on it.
So, in my meager attempts to fit in (at PCA), I decided to equal the average mass and volume of today's phones by owning 3 phones. Euclid did say, "Things which are equal to the same are equal to one another," therefore, the coolness of blackberries will be equal the coolness of my three phones because they share similar mass and volumes. Right? "Systematic Cooking and the evolution of phones" c. 2008
. . . because geometric principles apply always.

I have been reminded as I read slowly through a chapter in Luke that, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." What kind of people am I drawn towards, spend time with, think about, or befriend? "Back Again"c. 2012 (aka the lost years)
To peer into one's thoughts at a time that was filled with confusion and to see the slightest glimmer of faith is evidence of God's grace and steadfastness.

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