One frosty Saturday morning outside, Courtney turned to Ed and said,
"Do you suppose we look silly, walking down the street in our matching hooded sweatshirts, carrying our houseshoes, with no coats on?"
I thought that maybe, since no one answers my serious posts even when I ask a direct question, then perhaps someone would feel moved to reply to a silly one.
;oD
And, as usual, if I missed any and you happen to notice, please notify me posthaste. :o)
Yes, I'm up late again. But this time, it's for a semi-legit reason: I have to let my stomach settle from Indian food before I can go to sleep. If I lie down now, I'll be up again in three hours anyway. So there ya have it.
In the meantime, a random thought inspired by late-night blog-reading:
I am increasingly shocked and disturbed at how a lot of Christians speak. Specifically, I'm increasingly shocked and disturbed at the words a lot of Christians use in their online communications. I am generalizing, but..... It almost seems as though many of today's Christians shut off all linguistic filters when posting things online (blogs or comments, or in chatrooms, or whatever).
In so many "Christian" blogs or websites or whatever, it's d--- this and f---that and s--- yeah and so on. I'm sure I don't have to spell it out. Forgive me for my "old-fashioned," "antiquated," "intolerant," "judgmental" sense of propriety--but this simply shocks me.
Do they really use this kind of language in everyday life? Or do they just think moral governors don't apply to online communications because those are so much more "anonymous"?
Am I so naive that I don't realize that there are so many Christians who speak this way? Has this become normal?
What about Colossians 3:8-9? Or Ephesians 4:29? Or the numerous other scriptures that deal with the words that should or shouldn't come from a Christian's mouth?
Does Matthew 12:36-37 have no bearing here?
I do not intend for these to be rhetorical questions. What do you think?
A brief update: On Tuesday, Ed and I will be leaving with the Eberhardts, a Sullivan, and a Möhler to go on this year's Bulgaria trip. You hear that?!? This year, I get to go, too!!!!!! I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!
But more on that later. In the meantime, I'm gleefully anticipating the end of this year's NaNoWriMo! Of course, my glee is quite tempered by the knowledge that I'm going to be traveling and in Bulgaria for the last three days of the writing month. Meaning: After Monday night, I'm not gonna have much time to write. I'm already wondering how I'm going to get to an Internet cafe on Thursday so I can get my word count validated and get my email certificate.
So, things being what they are, I've been writing furiously anytime I could write the last few days. Current statistics:
Cups of coffee: 10
Frustrated pacings through apartment: 12
Possible Titles: 9.5
Definite titles: 2
Characters Behaving In Unexpected Ways: 11 (meaning: all of them)
Times Brain Has Been Close To Fried: 13
Write-Ins: 1
Words: 44418
Words to go: 5582!!!!! You see that bright, sparkly thing??? That's The Light At The End Of The Tunnel!!!!!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!
Why do I stay up late at night, meandering around the Internet and reading blogs? And I hardly even comment anymore. Because if I comment on one, I feel as though I must comment on all. And that's just WAY too overwhelming. So I say nothing.
I have become a Lurker.
Gah.
I wish Ed would post something on his blog. At least I could comment on his without feeling guilty for not commenting on others'. ;o)
I give. I have a Greek lesson in the morning (yes, Ed and I are taking Greek!), so I'm going to bed!!!
This year's NaNo Adventure continues, at this point with my reaching a story impasse I'm not sure yet how to get through. My alcoholic heroine is having a fight with the man who won't admit that he loves her, and I'm not sure how it's going to end. Naturally, it all has to come out all right in the end, but I don't know yet how that's going to happen, either.
Oh well, why worry about it? In the meantime, here's a wonderful and extremely humorous distraction:
;oD I love it!
Also, Van and I got together for a little "write-in" today (and please note that we are well-armed with coffee!):
I think we wrote about 2.5 hours, and it was great! We decided we're going to do it again, though we're not sure when. We also want Joel to get in on the community writing action, so we're going to do the time zone coordination thing when he gets back to where he has Internet access.
In the meantime, I remain happily NaNoing away and trying to remember that there is actually a world outside of NaNo during November. (Who'd've thunk?)
Cups of coffee: 5
Frustrated pacings through apartment: 3
Possible Titles: 8
Characters Behaving In Unexpected Ways: 9 (meaning: all of them)
Times Brain Has Been Close To Fried: 7
Write-Ins: 1
Words: 31093
Well, I haven't gotten back into reading people's blogs yet since I got home (to be honest, it's all a little overwhelming right now), but a few minutes ago I read a little bit of my cousin Luke's blog over Ed's shoulder. He mentioned that his brother Andrew turned 19.
Man, do I feel old. This means that Nathan is the only cousin still in high school. All of my "siblings" are growing up. On one hand, I'm glad, because it means we're all continuing on this adventure called life.....and there's so much more adventure to be had after we finally get out of those teen years!
However, it also makes me sad, because I remember the times when *all* of us gathered at Grandma & Grandpa Weger's in the summertime...and as we get older, the times that all of us are together are becoming fewer and fewer. And as we all move away from home, get married, start having kids, it's only natural that we turn more toward our own developing nuclear families, instead of putting as much emphasis on reaching toward the extended part of the family.
I know this is natural...I'm doing it, too...but that doesn't mean that it doesn't make me sad, and that doesn't mean I always have to like it.
In other news......
In Pakistan, they're trying to reform the Islamic laws on rape. In case you didn't know, the current law states that if a woman wants to prove she was raped, she has to provide four male witnesses to the crime. If she can't provide the four male witnesses, the raped woman has to face charges of adultery.
Don't even get me started on what I think about THAT.
The new Pakistani law would relieve women of the obligation of producing the four male witnesses. However, the law still has to pass the upper house. If it passes, it won't look good for President Musharraf, who has lots of supporters who want the current laws to stay in place.
People say that Westerners, with Western ideas and Western morality, have no business interfering the politics of Middle Eastern countries.
Well, how about this:
"Rape is already a common tool of revenge and settling tribal scores in Pakistan. The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimated in 2002 that a woman is raped every two hours and gang-raped every eight hours."
Think about it.
Okay. So, no, I don't really know JavaScript or pi to a thousand places...but still, there are plenty of things in this song that apply to me, as most of you already well know. The song to which I'm referring is Weird Al Yankovic's "White and Nerdy," a parody on a rap song. I'm posting the lyrics below. People, I am serious. This has made me laugh harder than I have in ages, mainly because it's so descriptive of so many things I enjoy (NOT the bubble wrap, though). ;o)
If you're a real nerd, you can watch the video on Weird Al's myspace page (just scroll down and click "play").
Yes, indeed. I, too, am white and nerdy. Life is fun. ;o)
White and Nerdy
by Weird Al Yankovic
They see me mowin'
My front lawn
I know they're all thinking I'm so white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Can't you see I'm white and nerdy?
Look at me, I'm white and nerdy
I wanna roll with
The gangstas
But so far they all think I'm too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
I'm just too white and nerdy.
Really really white and nerdy.
First in my class here at MIT
Got skills, I'm a champion at D&D
MC Escher - that's my favorite MC
Keep your 40, I'll just have an Earl Grey tea
My rims never spin, to the contrary
You'll find that they're quite stationary
All of my action figures are cherry
Steven Hawking's in my library
My MySpace page is all totally pimped out
Got people beggin' for my top eight spaces
Yo, I know pi to a thousand places
Ain't got no grills but I still wear braces
I order all of my sandwiches with mayonnaise
I'm a whiz at Minesweeper - I could play for days
Once you see my sweet moves you're gonna stay amazed
My fingers' movin' so fast I'll set the place ablaze
There's no killer app I haven't run
At Pascal, well I'm number one
Do vector calculus just for fun
I ain't got a gat but I got a soldering gun
Happy Days is my favorite theme song
I could sure kick your butt in a game of ping pong
I'll ace any trivia quiz you bring on
I'm fluent in JavaScript as well as Klingon
They see me roll on
My Segway
I know in my heart they think I'm white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Can't you see I'm white and nerdy
Look at me, I'm white and nerdy
I'd like to roll with
The gangstas
Although it's apparent I'm too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
I'm just too white and nerdy
How'd I get so white and nerdy
I've been browsin', inspectin'
X-Men comics, you know I collect 'em
The pens in my pocket, I must protect 'em
My ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
Shopping online for deals on some writable media
I edit Wikipedia
I memorized Holy Grail really well
I can recite it right now and have you ROTFLOL
I got a business doing websites
When my friends need some code, who do they call?
I do HTML for 'em all
Even made a homepage for my dog
Yo, I got myself a fanny pack
They were havin' a sale down at The Gap
Spend my nights with a roll of bubble wrap
Pop, pop, hope no one sees me
Gettin' freaky
I'm nerdy in the extreme
And whiter than sour cream
I was in AV Club and Glee Club and even the Chess Team
Only question I
Ever thought was hard
Was do I like Kirk
Or do I like Picard
Spend every weekend at the Renaissance Fair
Got my name on my underwear
They see me strollin'
They laughin'
And rollin' their eyes 'cause I'm so white and nerdy
Just because I'm white and nerdy
Just because I'm white and nerdy
All because I'm white and nerdy
Holy cow, I'm white and nerdy
I wanna bowl with
The gangstas
But, oh well, it's obvious I'm white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
I'm just too white and nerdy
Look at me, I'm white and nerdy
I LOVE IT!!! ;oD
A shout out of thanks to Leenda for letting me borrow her Jars of Clay CDs! I'm highly enjoying them. Right now I'm listening to their "who we are instead" album and loving it. It's got this old-timey feel that reminds me of soft classic rock, and it's just sweet to hear that style with lyrics designed to make me think about something deeper than my own troubles.
Just the encouragement I need right now. :o) Thanks, Leenda!
Greetings, Person-Currently-Reading-This,
I just wanted to say that I'm starting to get excited about this year's NaNoWriMo! Click here if you have no clue what I'm talking about. Although how someone can go through life not knowing what NaNoWriMo is...it's beyond me. Just kidding. ;o)
No. Really.
Kidding again!
(But come on.....)
Gotcha! ;o)
Okay, anyway.....I'm excited for November 1st, 12:00:01 a.m., because that's the official starting second of NaNo. (Or should that be 00:00:01?) For my NaNo 2006, I've decided not to work on my current novel, but start a brand new one instead. Something funny, I think. I do believe I could use some funny. I already have some ideas and have jotted down some opening paragraphs--which I won't include in my final NaNo word count, of course. Naturally, I can't share the entirety of my idea here....but I'll go so far as to say my NaNo will be about a writer participating in NaNoWriMo 2006. In other words, I'll be NaNo-ing about NaNo-ing, and hopefully I'll manage to avoid writing myself into a corner.
As far as my current novel ("Triad," which I've been working on nearly three years) is concerned...I'm still not finished, but I'm still working on it. I'm still not noveling as much as I'd like to be, but now I'm at least up to writing once a week instead of only once every six months. ;o) My heroine has been successfully re-kidnapped by the marauders Joel insisted I add.....So Joel, I'm still indebted to you for that suggestion. ;o)
Said heroine needs to get a move on and get to the capital city, though. She's still gotta have a showdown with her evil, power-hungry grandfather, her psychotic brother, and the nomad who thinks she's supposed to marry him in order to fulfill a prophecy. Not to mention saving the country from an invasion, rescuing her little sister, and figuring out that she's really in love with the best-friend-guy, then getting best-friend-guy out of her rival's clutches.
*sigh* A heroine's work is never done.
All comments answered, as far as I can tell. Haven't gotten caught up on emails the way I wanted, but at least I put a dent in it.
I just hope nobody tells me to put a sock in it. ;o)
I must send my thanks to whomever sent me the forward about rat crap in the glue on envelopes, because I now have to use a wet towel with every envelope that needs sealing.
And I have to scrub the top of every can I open because of rat crap, too.
I no longer have any savings, because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.
I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special email program.
I no longer worry about my soul, because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish (even though I have no clue who St. Theresa is, what a novena is, or what she does with hers to grant wishes).
I no longer eat KFC, because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.
I can't enjoy a good latte from Starbucks anymore, because they WOULD NOT send any coffee to that poor Army Sgt. who requested it.
I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants, even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
Because of your concern, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
I no longer can buy gasoline without taking a man along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas.
I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper, since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.
I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave, because it causes cancer.
And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face, disfiguring me for life.
I no longer go to shopping malls, because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
I no longer shop at Target, since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army.
I no longer answer the phone, because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.
I no longer worry about sudden cardiac arrest, since I can now cough myself back to life instead of wasting time calling 911.
I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.
I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus, since I now have their recipe.
Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine, because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.
Thank you too for all the endless advice Andy Rooney has given us. I can live a better life now because he's told us how to fix everything.
And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up $5.00 I dropped in the parking lot, because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.
If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician, who is a lawyer.
--Author Unknown
I no longer think it's a spider bite. I think we're all in the Matrix, and the Agents stuck one of those multi-legged tracking bug thingies in my bellybutton.
It hurts, anyway. :o/
I think a spider bit me in the bellybutton last night as I slept.
?????
Hi friends. My newest painting is posted on Elfwood! For you Saxons out there, this one might interest you because it's of Burg Rabenstein. Please check it out here and let me know what you think!
If you think I owe you an email, and you don't get one today, tell me. My brain is Swiss cheese, and it's entirely possible your email got lost in one of the holes.
*sigh*
So, a priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and says,
"What is this, a joke?"
;oD
