Creative Writing, Health, And NYR Update

Tonight was great. The air felt alive with the energy of Anakin as he makes his decision to join the dark side or continue on the road he's already chosen. The setting sun only served to clarify this energy. Darkness snaked long fingers around corners and into tree branches, yet light still glistened on grass blades and windowpanes. It was the kind of evening that, when one wears a jacket, is pleasant. The lukewarm air whispered on one's cheek. It filled the lungs easily, and made one want to sing just so one could breathe another lungful. Dampness crept into collars and under pant legs, snuggling against hot skin and chilling it. Going inside felt like a tragic loss. (What do you think of that? Breka, I'm 'specially interested in your opinion, if you have one...)

Last week, I got my gallbladder ultrasounded. Funny story: Nurse picks up a file for a female patient, aged 22, who is here for an ultrasound. She assumes I'm pregnant, and stares at me trying to figure out why I'm getting an ultrasound when it's obvious the baby's not big enough to really notice on the ultrasound. Heh. Final ultrasound results: Normal. I have no gallstones (and just for the record, I am not pregnant either :-P ). The doc thinks I might have "sludge" (precursor to gallstones) in there, so on Wednesday I get to drink radioactive goo and trace it through my gallbladder just to see what happens. Kinda yucky...but hopefully it will clarify SOMETHING. Also, I'm beginning to wonder if this pain is, in fact, my gallbladder. Tonight I had an estimated total of 28 grams of fat during dinner, which is a LOT considering I've been mostly vegan for the past two weeks. I have pain, but nothing abnormal. However, when I tasted JPB's rum on Sunday night I had almost instant pain that lasted for hours. The doc warned me that alcohol would have the same effect as fat...hmm. PS- being vegan ain't bad. The food is great, though it drastically slims down menu choices at Eat'n'Park. Which is a terrible restaurant anyway.

New Year's Resolution Update: So far, I have bought only one thing that's brand new this year (besides perishables etc.), which was a racquet for my gym class. Kinda necessary. It's freeing, actually, to not buy stuff. I don't feel a need to flip through magazines or go to stores looking for good buys, because I can't buy it anyway. However, I am getting slightly worried about shoes. I'll be needing a pair of dress shoes and dress sandals very soon, and permanently borrowing Mom's would be cheating since she'd just go out and buy herself a brand new pair anyway. And dressy footwear shouldn't really be duct-taped.

Can Anything Be Truly Random?

Certain readers of my blog would find it interesting to know that I found my iPod this morning. It was in my backpack...which I had vigorously searched on several occasions. It fell out when I shook the dust off the backpack. Although, for those interested readers, Mom's iPod is with my sister, and once Mom has it back she plans on using it. Sorry!

Also, I will buy a new racquet today (or tomorrow) for my racquetball class. I took my mom's racquet to class today, but it's about half the size and not bouncy (dense?) compared to "modern" racquets. I'd look in thrift stores for a new one, since it seems like something people would toss out a lot, but I don't have enough time :-(

Tonight I'll be writing two columns for my University's student newspaper as part of the application process to be a columnist. I think it'd be fun to write again...we shall see what they think of my writing!

Mom just told me that the beater arm for her stand mixer is gone. No one knows what happened...but the last time anyone saw it, it was in my mouth. She asked if I'd accidentally tossed it out. I highly doubt it (seriously, who would throw out an enameled metal thing?), but wouldn't that make for a great blonde joke? Hm...kinda...NOT!

NYR Again

Well, that lovely plastic folder thingy that tempted me to break my resolution is getting the axe. It looks great and seems like it would work, but getting a folder outside of the bigger folder which is in my backpack is a hassle. So I'm going back to the old-fashioned binder system (blue binders are M/W/F classes, black are for T/H classes). So, Lane...if you're interested in that folder thingy, give me a call :-) Or you could go to Office Depot...that's what I did...

As for getting new paper: Have you never heard of the 3 R's? (What DO they teach children in schools these days? :-P) Reduce, reuse, recycle. I rarely throw paper away. If I've got a sheet of paper with a mostly-clean side, I reuse it to print stuff like map directions, school assignments, etc. Only when I have to present a paper do I use new stuff. Also, recycling is great, but unfortunately our society (if it cares at all) likes to start with recycling, rather than use it as a last resort. BUT, if you've gotta buy new paper (and who doesn't at some point?), you could try to get recycled stuff. It's not that hard to find any more.

Jon, thanks for commenting. I don't like "cheap" stuff, either. Annie Leonard's statistics do seem unrealistic, and I did wonder if she got tired of speaking in such an emphatic, high tone. Did you listen to the sermon? I'd be interested to get your take on that, too. I do plan on writing about my Year of Used Stuff, because it will hopefully get creative. (If I can't find black dress shoes that are second-hand, could I make them out of duct tape? :-P )

NYR Update

So, I go 8 days without buying anything brand new. That's pitiful. But I don't mind. The New Year's Resolution came with a caveat (which I didn't mention earlier) that guilt must be prevented at all costs--yes, even the cost of destroying the Resolution. So it's still on, I'm just not suffering from guilt :-P

I need some way to organize recently acquired academic materials, and the resources in my basement weren't sufficient. So I got an expandable folder with removable folders in each slot. This way I can fill it with lined paper (that I already have) and can order my notes and class handouts chronologically (which is hard to do with a spiral bound notebook and I never get around to hole-punching handouts for binders). Sweet! But I plan to use it for more than just this semester, 'cos plastic is a terrible thing to throw away.

By the way, the website says it fits about 20 sheets of paper per folder. The folders are small, but I'm going to fit lots more than that in there...trust me ;-)

New Year's Resolution

I've never made a New Year's Resolution before. That tradition, in my opinion, would create more guilt than good, and so is harmful. But this year, I'm making a lifestyle change. Calling it a New Year's Resolution just happened to be convenient. Also, every time I write "2008," hopefully I'll think about it and keep myself from slipping back into my old ways.

First off, you should go watch this video. It's long, but it's worth it. Then you should go check out this blog post. Then go listen to this sermon.

I listened to the sermon first. It was incredible, and one of the reasons why I went to New Attitude '07. Eric Simmons is a great preacher. A few months later, I can't even remember how, I discovered one of the Compact people, via the blog link above. Just today, I watched the video after finding the link on Josh Harris' blog. Over the past year or so, I've had all these realizations that are, finally, resulting in action.

I solemnly swear to buy nothing new for the next year. This includes a new championship ring (should my team earn another championship), a new computer, a new cell phone, new clothes (with a few logical exceptions), and...music. (That's going to hurt more than most things!) Also, I'm going to recycle more purposefully than in the past. I recycle at school, and my family recycles plastics, but the trash that comes out of my room will be sorted accordingly.

Why? The statistics stated by Annie Leonard and the Compacters may or may not be 100% true, but the concepts they present and the problems they reveal about consumerism make me think. I agree with their solutions, and am following their examples to make the solutions personal. Consumerism is part of my culture. I choose to reject this part of my culture. Some people take offense to aspects of foreign cultures; this part of foreign culture has offended me enough to reject it.

Foreign culture? Yes. Being a Christian, I am in this world, but not of it. God commanded us (me) to subdue the earth. Not destroy it. We've done an incredibly poor job of cultivating God's creation, and instead have plundered and pillaged. I am not turning into a tree hugger or anything quite so extreme, but I'm doing this because God created the world to sustain humanity, and it may be hard to see at first, but there is plenty of physical suffering in the world that is aggravated (if not created) by our lust for affluence. I don't want to cause others to suffer just so I can have a green shirt that matches my striped vest. That's sick.

You may be asking why I singled out music. Music is a good thing! I love it! I got 6 CDs of fresh goodness for Christmas, and hope to enjoy them for a long time. I'm "fasting" from new music for the time being, because music is a "financial distraction" right now. Some day I may have it in my budget...but not now. Besides, free music can be found if one looks for it.

What will I buy, then? Most of my money will be going for my college tuition right now...but I still plan to go to concerts, eat food, and buy college textbooks (though I'll get those used through half.com).

Hopefully I'll blog about this throughout the year, and my first New Year's Resolution will result in positive change.