For sanity's sake

I have been taking a break. I am truly enjoying blogging, but the "stress" of coming up with new things to talk about (non-LeBron related) is taking it's toll.

I have a few upcoming trips (including getting back down to the Dominican Republic) after which I should have plenty to talk about. This all to resume in three more weeks. I promise.

The System

What every guy has been waiting for (and what every girl should be aware of), the D.R.E.W. system the full-proof system for getting any chick's undying love. 

First and foremost, you need to identify the the conquest. Typically this will be someone of extreme hotness, being at least 9 or 10 on the hotness scale. Once you have marked said hottie, the system kicks immediately into effect.

D - Destroy self-confidence. The girl that has caught your eye has something about her that drew your attention her direction. This is a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. It got you to notice her, but it also protects her from people looking to get with her. After establishing some verbal connection, you need to let her know that she is no better than you are. Bring her down a peg. Leave her feeling worse about herself than before she met you. Any idea she has, no matter how good, needs to be shot down immediately and ridiculed to no end.

R - Raise hope. Show her that you have a softer side. Allow her to see some of your faux vulnerable side (which of course is just an act to get her to trust you). Allow her to think that not all of her ideas are dumb, let her "win" an argument. You need to do things that make her feel she has begun to break through your prickly exterior.

E - Engage physically. Once she believes she has entered a place that no other woman has ever gotten, she will start to let down her guard. This gives the opportunity to pressure her into doing things she has never done.

W - Walk away completely. After you have primed the relationship pump and have her thinking you are more committed than ever, now is the time you walk away. Never to return. You will leave her wanting more, wishing you would come back at a moments notice and always anticipating your return. You will leave with her loving you for the rest of her life, never being able to let go of what could have been.

This is my tried and tested method and you all know how successful I have been with the ladies over the years. (Disclaimer: I have 99% ripped this off of the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" episode entitled "The D.E.N.N.I.S. System").

Done and Done

The deed is done. Much to he chagrin of my parents, and most of the rest of my family, my first tattoo has been completed. I have to admit that I'm very surprised by a few things.

I'm surprised that I actually went through with it. If you're reading his I'm going to assume that you know me, which means you know I'm pretty "white bread". I rarely do things that rock the boat, or do things that could potentially make my life more difficult. So, for me to take the plunge and do this is a little out of character. I guess I'm just trying to find a little edgier side of myself.

I'm surprised by my parents' reactions. While never thrilled with the idea, at no time did they say that I shouldn't go through with it. When I got home dad's first statement was, "that didn't take long". I suppose that's better than being told to get out of the house because I'm no longer his son. ShaeShae was slightly more inquisitive and wanted to see it. While not interested in going down, they were both there for the unveiling, but didn't have much to say. Pretty much exactly what I expected, but there was a time when their displeasure would have been vocalized much more than through body language. 

The last thing was that it didn't hurt as much as I expected. While there was a bit of pain at times, the experience as a whole was positive. A couple spots were more tender than others, but the pain was brief and only lasted until Jimmy (my tattoo artist) moved on to the next spot. Along with this was the realization that future tattoos don't have near the level of anxiety. It was finished in 20 minutes. Piece of cake. 

I am honestly looking forward to my next tattoo experience.

It is a Small Small Free Methodist World

This past Thursday I had the opportunity to travel up to Jackson, MI to spend some quality time with sister (Liz) and brother-in-law (Mark). This was partly to appease them, as they say I spend way too much time with the rest of the family, but also share in part of their new adventure.

For the first time in my life, I was able to go house hunting. For those that don't know, Mark has accepted the Worship Arts position at New Covenant in Clio, MI. The sad part is that now I have to travel even further into enemy territory to visit family, the exciting part is the fresh opportunity that awaits them.

Now to the title of this modest post. Everyone on the planet has heard of the six degrees of separation. Basically, in the Free Methodist Church you can subtract five of those degrees. The guy in charge (that sniped Mark away from Jackson) is a man named Phil Owen. The crazy thing is Liz, Mark and myself have known Phil for well over a decade. My, I believe, junior year in high school, Phil was making his way around to different camps representing Spring Arbor College (at least it was still a college at the time, it's a big time University now). He was a counselor at the camp Liz and I were at and, later in the summer, a camp that Mark was attending. Also at the camp was Phil's future cousin-in-law (I think that's correct), who was there "representing" my future alma mater.

Spencer and Lynsey Ball (who I worked very closely with in Romania) attended New Covenant for awhile and know the Owen clan very well. Lynsey's cousin (that I attended Greenville with and whom I randomly ran into on the streets of Rome, Dr. Joe Cunningham) was babysat by Phil's wife Emily. And the scary thing is, this is what we came up with in just a couple of hours. I'm sure this rabbit hole goes a lot deeper.

I am very excited for what lies ahead for Mark, Liz and New Covenant moving forward. And the degrees of separation continue to get subtracted.

Anonymous

Just another reason I am finding myself more upset with the Internet. I liked the days pre-Internet where the only people contributing crazy ideas to society were the people calling into radio stations and the nutty conspiracy theorists that published their own poorly written news paper.

Now, unfortunately, anyone with a computer and an e-mail address can go on the Internet and make a complete fool of themselves. While I have no problem with people's opinions I can't begin to tell you how many times I have had the forehead smacking moments because of their stupidity. It's quickly coming to a point that many of the websites I tend to frequent I have to completely skip over the comments at the end of the article. It seems for every one intelligent poster there are 50 that bring the curve down.

There are two aspects of the anonymity that I find the mos disturbing. The first has to do with the freedom people feel to brandish their opinions about. While on the positive side this spurs debate and gets people talking, the reverse is that many of the things said would never be said in public. (If you would like to see an example of this go to cleveland.com and read the comments geared toward the Dolans and their spending habits in regard to the Cleveland Indians.)

Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

The other end of this is that people (instigators) use the Internet to pick fights and get a larger number of people riled up, with fewer consequnces. People that for whatever reason "get off" on other people getting mad. The word for them, in the present vernacular, is a troll. This is when an individual goes to a site, they normally wouldn't go to, just to say something against the collective thought. (an athiest on a Christian site, a Kobe Bryant fan on a LeBron James site.)

This thought has hit a little closer to home as my sister received an e-mail from a "friend" that was only looking to cause trouble. Even though everyone knows this individual, she is leaving and taking up the cause of others (which she has no business getting involved in).

So, I may be taking a break (not from blogging) from the Internet.

Also, I love the irony of this post. See if you can catch it.

Hangin' Out with Grady Time

My first experience with my nephew were less than positive. It seemed as though I was going to be the uncle that he was going to just "put up" with. I was unable to be around when he first popped out and didn't get to see him until I surprised the family at Christmas time. He was not exactly thrilled with my being home. As most newborns are, Grady was fussy and irritable (especially when taken away from mom).

This continued when I returned to Romania. It didn't seem to matter how much the others reaffirmed me that he was an incredibly content little guy, I always had that sneaky suspicion he was harbouring a little resentment toward me. This continued when anytime I called home and Da and Josh were at the house Grady would wait until the moment I called to start crying. Countless conversations took place when I would simply hear the screaming in the background. Could this newest addition have a vendetta against me?

I have given Da a break from paying the babysitter a few times over the last couple weeks and I have to say that I've been pleasantly surprised. The first day watching the little guy started with a fussy morning and a very quiet afternoon (thanks in part to a two and a half hour nap). Day number two amazingly took place on the golf course. Dad, Josh, Grady and myself decided to have a guys day out on the links. Grady is nothing if not completely content when he's outside. After a quiet first three holes, Grady was ready for his bottle. We spent the fourth hole passing the kid between shots, making sure he is being fed. Grady was placed back in the stroller and slept through the last five holes. It was amazing. There was even a gentleman that came up to me to confirm that there was actually a baby on the course. Leading into the last time I watched him (just yesterday) and he was Mr. Sleepyhead. After sleeping two hours in the morning, he slept an additional two hours in the afternoon.

So, it can safely be assumed that my opinion of the little tyke is improving. I guess the fam can talk me into keeping him.

Continuation

After a conversation with Laura, I decided that my last post was not as long as it should have been. I am missing a major piece of my hypothesis. There are basically two types of people people that are capable of loving others an people capable of loving themselves.

I tend to consider myself in the former of these two categories but I have known many people that are incapable of opening themselves to loving others. Selfish does not quite describe these people. The truth is there are many people that for whatever reason are takers as opposed to givers.

I love people. It's part of the reason I dedicated the last two years of my life serving others so that there may be greater growth in the mission field. It's also why I would have stayed in Korea if I was needed.

So, I have started trimming the fat of many of my friendships. I need people around me that are looking for more than what they can get out of me. Friendship is a two way street. While someone may be more invested than the other person, it does not give permission for the dominant person to walk all over the other person.