Who I am

I remember at the end of my first semester in seminary I had a huge crisis. It was the last day to sign up for the next semester and I was struggling to figure out my schedule, find classes I wanted to take at times I could take, pay for it and balance a job & a few ministries I was involved in with all that was going on. I was struggling with everything on my plate. The idea of going to class was frustrating me as I just wanted to help people. I remember sitting in a parking lot facing Broadway with the registration office on hold as I stared out the window of my car. I was over whelmed with the desire to get out of my car & feed the homeless or engage them & frustrated that I couldn’t. I desperately wanted to help people and find a way to help them and instead of living that passion I had to organize my schedule & pick classes & go to seminary. It was upsetting and frustrating and agonizing all at once. I dropped out of seminary that semester, left the church I grew up in, and dropped out of every ministry I was involved with.

Something happened to me in my car that day. I either lost or buried parts of myself and stopped pursuing the live I loved & wanted that day. Maybe I lost myself, maybe I lost parts of myself, maybe I lost my passions, maybe I lost the will to fight through struggles and help others. Maybe I was frustrated with who I was that I started running from myself and everything I believed in or valued. I don’t know all that happened to me but I know it wasn’t permanent.

Over the last year I have been thinking about what I want to do in life and what is important to me. I have been thinking about who I am from a different perspective. I have rediscovering who I used to be and who I was striving to become. One of my recent discoveries is my desire to serve/help others. I used to volunteer for an agency that took meals to sick shut-ins, feed the homeless, volunteer at church, and offer to help others all the time. When I left seminary I stopped doing those activities. I have recently begun to volunteer and find ways to help people and I love it. I have started helping with project CURE. A couple friends have invited me to help them on trips to feed the homoeless and it has been loads of fun.

I miss doing these things. I miss being the type of person who did these things & looked for ways to do these things. Some days it doesn’t come easy and it isn’t natural for me to find ways to serve others. I know I have a lot to learn and much to discover but it is nice to feel good about who I am and do what I like to do.

Avalanche Game

I have not been to an Avs game in a while and a friend call a couple weeks back with tickets. I agreed not thinking it was a big deal or anything special. Little did I know my friend had box seats! HE HAD BOX SEATS!!! Wait staff come and wait on you. They bring you food in box seats. Not only do they have wait staff that take your order and bring you your food but each ticket has $20 dollars worth of food pre-paid. I could order anything and not pay for the first $20.

I never knew treatment & service like this existed!!! I don't know if I can go back to regular seats. From now on any time I go to a game all I will think about are box seats!!!

My first birthday Cards

I am excited to open up what looks like ads from stores but instead they are birthday cards from stores where I have accounts or shop. On one hand it is sad that retail stores are resorting to birthday cards to give that extra special touch but on the other hand it is nice to get a birthday card a month before my birthday. Who knows if I will shop there but in the meantime...let my birthday celebration begin!!

More Pics from Brazil

Since I still have not taken time to blog about Brazil here are a few more pictures. Enjoy!!! The top one is of my friends on Christmas eve after a church service. The middle one is of a fountain near my friend's relative's house in Reciefe, the third one is of a beach where we spent a few days relaxing.

Saul Williams!!!

The great thing about working at a college is going to speeches & presentations by all the speakers that come to the college. I have seen the grand son of Nelson Mandela, a former member of Israel's senate, a couple Iraqi war correspondants and most recently I saw Saul Williams. Saul Williams started as writer & poet who has moved into music & acting but still writes poetry.

Saul falls into the modern spoken word movement and has won the National Poetry Slam a few times. When I was into spoken word & going to coffee houses to watch writers & poets perform Saul Williams was a huge influence and one of the most celebrated & talked about Poets. It was a nostalgic treat for me to see him perform & answer questions on campus. I have always wanted to see him perform live & it was incredible. You can find out more about Saul Williams online by checking out his website at - www.saulwilliams.com

If you have never heard or seen him here is a clip from the Movie Slam. It is a good example of his work & enthusiastic performance. Saul is performing a piece title Sha-clack-clack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojDKI8JxfLs&feature=related

Up in the Air

Every year I try to see most of the movies nominated for Golden Globe awards & Oscars. I see every movie but I make it a point to see many of them or at least the ones that look entertaining & worthy of ten dollars. Considering the low quality of movies now days it is rare to find a movie worth laying down ten dollars but I still have hope.

I enjoyed Avatar's special effects & story book world but believe it is over hyped for awards. I can't say the same for Up in the Air. While it is visually interesting & the story can easily be dismissed as shallow on first glance. Most of the entertainment comes from exploring the uncanny story line & tense moments between characters. The main character lives a life alone without meaninful relationships & interaction while striving for elite flyer status with an airline by flying over ten million miles.

While the story line doesn't sound action packed or very exciting it is told well. The main character is put to the test as he does find a woman interesting enough to pursue. The question then becomes will he stick to his philosophy of living alone or will he begin a serious relationship. The premise is an age old story but it is told exploring the male's perspective. It is the type of move that sticks with you and does pull a few emotional cords. I won't give anything away about the ending or any more of the story. I will conclude that it was an excellent movie and worthy of ten dollars. Hopefully when I see the Hurt Locker, Precious, The Blind Side, and a few others they will also be worthy of ten dollars.

A few photos from Brazil

I have not blogged about Brazil as I keep procrastinating. I should blog about it because it was a great vacation. I was there with long time friends of the family, The Reed Family. We were visiting Rina's family while there & saw a few different cities and towns in Brazil. I will talk more about it in future posts but in the mean time here are a couple photos.