November, 2011

my other writing — No Comments
28
Nov 11

i’m blogging about advent at busted halo

Busted Halo, a Catholic/spiritual website that lets me write for them every now and then, has asked me to write a blog about living Advent intentionally. That means not getting caught up in the consumerism, and instead of looking forward to the Christmas season, trying to focus on the present, and what it really means to live in joyful hope of Jesus’ birth. Since I have no idea what the answer to that is, it might get interesting.

I’m a person who over-thinks things. If a friend cancels lunch, I immediately wonder if I did something wrong. I will think about this for a very long time, usually until I exhaust myself or until he tells me that no, I didn’t do anything wrong, he just got held up at his job — something I can’t relate to at the moment. (The having a job part, not getting held up.) So if I over-think something as simple as lunch with a friend, think of the possibilities when it comes to thinking about how to even begin preparing for the birth of the human incarnation of, oh, the Light of the World.

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arts — 2 Comments
22
Nov 11

in defense of coldplay

This is me on Sunday, July 19, 2009 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, Calif, a little before 7 p.m.:

That’s an $18 concert program I’m holding, and I’m sitting about three-quarters of the way up the lawn seating area, stage right. My friend Carolyne was also there, sitting to my left. (She’d bought a $20 waterbottle.) The first song was “Life in Technicolor”; the last song before the encore was “The Scientist”; the last song of the encore was “Life in Technicolor ii” (which was really a nice way to bookend the concert).

That photo was taken the first (and, to date, only) time I saw Coldplay in concert, and all those details were from memory. What you should take from that is I like Coldplay a lot.

But not everybody feels that way.

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humor — 4 Comments
19
Nov 11

sometimes i look back on my elementary school days, but it’s never, ever wistfully

Sometimes, when I’m feeling really nostalgic, I’ll look back on my elementary school days. I’ll think about all the experiences I had there, all of the lessons I learned, all of interactions I had that shaped who I am today. Almost immediately the nostalgia will subside and transform into relief because I know I will never have to relive those days.

I’m not extremely fond of my K-8 years, and middle school in particular was a rough time. As someone who didn’t really start feeling comfortable in his own skin until the end of high school, I have a lot of memories of self-consciousness, in part because I was so much taller than every other student in the entire school. Like, freakishly so:

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my other writing — No Comments
18
Nov 11

it’s inaccurate to say “’tis the season to be thankful” because gratitude is always in season (i’m bad at coming up with post titles)

As awful as the title for this blog post is, it’s true. Gratitude’s never out of season. Here’s a reflection I wrote for Busted Halo on the power and importance of being grateful.

We want to be happy. We want to be at peace. And the most authentic way to do that is through gratitude.

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humor — No Comments
16
Nov 11

get ready because i’m talking about spirit animals in this post

I’m in a transitional point in my life, and when you’re at a transitional point, that’s when you have to start asking yourself the hard questions: What kind of man do I want to be? How am I going to use my gifts? How am I going to repay the kindness and generosity I’ve received in this life of mine?

And most importantly: What is my spirit animal?

People who talk about spirit animals usually speak with what I’d call a “willowy” or “wispy” or “breathy” voice. They are often vegetarians. The women will usually have feathers in their hair; the men will likely have beat-up acoustic guitars slung over their shoulders. Also they don’t blink.

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