Stuff I like right now

Flipping through some old old memories ("The Behrens Home Gazette" archive) made me consider again the nature and purpose of this blog. I want to remember what I'm like right now, not just what I'm doing. So, I'm going to list some stuff I really like right now:

I think I like and respect Switchfoot, Jars of Clay, and Johnny Cash the most right now. "Nothing is Sound" is just stunning in every way--lyrically, compositionally, arrangements, recording, production... Jars of Clay just delights my soul at a deep level with their God-glorifying songs (especially "Redemption Songs" and "Who We Are Instead") and good-enough-to-respect-and-love music. "Redemption Songs" is one of the only albums I'll play when I'm feeling depressed or emotionally sensitive. It takes me the right places, and it's enjoyable (vs. basically all worship music). I'm also excited to be liking in a functional way Bela Fleck, Nordic Roots, some oriental stuff, and Elvis. I'm loving Elvis, after the subwoofer weekend in Akron!

Dr.Pepper continues to be a delight, and Cherry Vanilla has taken equal footing with it's progenitor. CVNDP has its good days and its bad days, but I keep coming back. We also discovered a great new drink last weekend: the "Pure Boss." *roughly* 2 parts silver rum, 3 parts Dr.Pepper, and 2 parts Mountain Dew Live Wire. Virgin ain't bad either, but leaded is amazing. Truly transcending its components. Good scotch, VSOP cognac, Killians and JW Dundees are also very enjoyable. They justify their little two-carbon hydroxy molecule.

I really truly do like good healthy food. Fast food and freezer meals and such just aren't meals! Real meat, real grains, and especially REAL VEGETABLES are just plain critical. And because of this, I think I'll probably always eat pretty well, even though I most definitely enjoy and partake of junkfood. When it's time to really eat, go for food the way God made it. Veggies make a uniquely-satisfying snack, too, if they're good quality. Mom's cooking is just amazing. It's good not because of the easy cop-outs (salt, fat, sugar, butter, salt, and more salt), but because it's REAL food! It's like scotch versus pop. Pop tastes good because it's sugar water loaded with a single, cartoonish artificial flavor. Scotch is good because you can taste the oak barrel it was aged in, the charring inside of that barrel, the grain it was brewed from, and the myriad complexities that developed as that blend of biological molecules aged for 12 years. Such it is with Mom's cooking--you marvel at how good real meat, real wheat, real vegetables, and real herbs can be, especially when put together. Thanks so much Mom! You rock :-)

One of my all-time favorite things is contact from people on my stuff online. Whether it's comments and view on my Flickr pictures, comments or visits to the blog, or postings on such sites by others, it's always exciting to see what other people say and do. I really don't miss AIM, though, which is nice. I wonder if other people care as much as I do about comments and stuff.

I really really like doing stuff on Excel. Even if I wasn't paid $17 an hour to do it, I would happily hunch over a keyboard and figure out a solution to some need using Excel and the marvelous depths of its commands and capabilities. The type of thinking required to harness the bland blind little functions and exploit the drag 'n' copy capabilities is just delightful. I was SO excited when I discovered the INDIRECT command. I ran into Tom's office and just sorta blurted it all out. I've looked for that function for years! [He interrupted me suddenly and asked "When are you graduating?" with tilted eyebrows. Another indiciation that I think God wants me to work at NOVA after I graduate] I don't know how this will relate to my career, or what I should do, but I just love it. Remember the stuff I set up with LOOKUP for Tier II monthly reports? Ahhhh :-)

I like my car, but it's filthy freakin' dirty inside and out, the clutch is wearing out, and I'm always nervous about the skinny performance tires and expensive alloy wheels. Plus it has crappy traction, which really ticks me off. When you decide to sacrifice the clutch and the gas mileage and gun it, though, it can really tug. I used to get 30mpg while working, but now it's like 28.5. Probably because I go to and leave work an hour later than I used to, and I spend a bunch of time in traffic. Ugh and I hate myself for staying up so late and screwing up everything :-(

I love love love playing with Pure Boss! I care about concerts only insomuch as I wish I could transmit the joy and energy of our practices to other people. There is nothing like the feeling as I squeeze out from behind the drumset after a set that went really well. I love Brian and Stephen and am respecting them more and more as for-real people, friends, and in Stephen's case, a real brother.

Hanging out with youth is way cool, as always. God is chipping away at my pride and coldness in this area, and underneath is more freedom, joy and richness in relationships. It's not all good, 'cause of my terribly self-centered mindset, but most of the time it's a blast. Akron is obviously super fun, but Pittsburgh is sorta cool in a deeper way. It's cool to see folks becoming more serious, relationships becoming more meaningful, and activities becoming less limited.

I really haven't done much with music other than Pure Boss. No time at home period. I got a new recording computer, though, 3.2gHz, 160 gig hard drive, 1 gig of ram, and a QUIET FAN!!! Ahhh, it's gonna be incredible once it's all set up and I have time to use it. Acoustic guitar is cool, and I'm finally at the place (have been for ~6 months) where I can sit and plunk around on it for as long as I want, and not be bored, frustrated, or irritated at what I play. I was thinking today that I want to write again. Other than Daniel's song I haven't written anything in months. We'll see what happens. Recording is almost hard to enjoy because of the limitations of outboard compression, preamp quality, sonic isolation, and acoustic guitar. With the right intangible, indefinable, unpredictable SPIRIT, though, I can still get sweet stuff.

I DON'T like Physical Chemistry. Not because I hate the subject matter, but because I hate turning my mind to it in the midst of all this other stuff going on. I've reached the point now where I'm saying "Screw the homework, I'll take a B." We'll see. I do the bare minimum and get right back on with life after class. Ugh.

I like taking pictures. Freezing and preserving one instant of time lets you get sweet effects and makes stuff look really cool.

I like American Eagle--coolest clothes I know of, and they have some good clearances.

Daisy! Of course! Heh, every day the wonders of her cuteness are as fresh as the day we got her.

I really really like the gospel of John. The dialogues are just stunning. What Jesus says, and the situations He said it in, are just riveting. And the Pharisees are so crazily contrary to everything they purported to stand for, it just shows the utter hopelessness of the human situation without God opening our hearts. Ah, it's an amazing gospel, and I like focusing on Jesus Himself, the person, in whatever comes up in life.

OK, enough. Still have 5 of 8 homework problems to do before 6pm tomorrow :-P These are busy days, future self. I feel like there is no time whatsoever during the week, but I'm also starting to apply the rigorous discipline and prioritization of work to home, and it yeilds surprising results.

Oh, and I also enjoy working out, even if it's just knee exercises, push-ups and thera-band stuff up in my room. The muscular effort feels great, and, I dunno . . . it's just nice to not be anemic. I'll never be a beast, but at least I'm not "without form and void" :-P

--Present Self :-)