Random

I want to be a hippopotamus.

Or an octopus.

Oops

I was really proud of myself when I went into my class today to teach. I had picked up a box of 'dustless chalk' and was all set with my problem set solutions and my handy transparencies. All I needed was an apple on my desk.

After the routine responseless hello-how-you-doin greeting, I discovered that I had forgotten to pick up a set of quizzes to be done in class. What followed was an embarassing episode where I mumbled to them about looking through their homework and doing some last minute studying while I sprinted across campus to go to the secret room to pick up the secret envelope of secret quizzes.

Graceful indeed.

Thankyouverymuch

Life can sometimes come crashing down on you. My landlady calls me a few days ago, telling me that she wants to raise the rent because of the climbing costs of utilities. I told her that the internet she provided wasn't quite to par, and that I was at work and not at home most of the day, and thus did not warrant a $100 raise thankyouverymuch. She then told me if I wasn't happy, I could move out. And I told her, thankyouverymuch. Few days later, my bathroom springs a leak, the floor is soaking wet, and my basement starts flooding, soaking some of my belongings.

My non-English-speaking housemate too, is driving me up the wall. I volunteered to help baby-sit his son just because I am fond of little children, and I felt bad for him being a single parent. He ended up using me to watch his son day in and day out, cooking his child dinner, and giving his child showers while he manages to sneak out some midnights to what I can only assume to be a tryst in a casino. This kid, turned out not to be a three-year old boy, but a self-obsessed-whiny-crying-brat-monster. I don't deal with little children who demand on eating French Fries at 1am in the morning, and drinks Coca-Cola at 9am and kicks on wall while I'm trying to sleep in my room, thankyouverymuch.

And if all that wasn't bad enough, I also discover that my initial gut feeling that someone of close proximity had some feelings of animosity toward me turned out to be correct, thankyouverymuch.

But I can smell change in the air. Oh yes. Just wait.

Fuiyoh!

After a quick perusal of my three professors's vitae, I've stumbled across a marvelous revelation. The three men imparting their intellect upon me daily, (MWF 10am-11am Dr. Watson, TR 9.30-10.50 Dr. Disney, 11-12.20 Dr. Lin to be precise) are alumnus of Ivy League schools. Yale, MIT and Princeton.

I mean, Yale, MIT and Princeton!

Wowwee!!! Gee whiz!!!

I feel smarter by osmosis already.

Church vs. State

Church service today was a celebration to honour a long-serving pastor in the church I am attending. I like him, he seems sincere, driven and honest.

Somewhere in the middle of the ceremony, a member of the congregation was mentioning how much service this man had contributed to his community. To honour that, the church leadership had written to leaders of the community to ask for acknowledgement of his works. It was all very touching, but I raised a skeptical eyebrow when a plaque was presented from the White House, written by Mr.President (or more likely, his PR aides), thanking Pastor Al for his good works, and how Americans are deeply rooted in the Christian faith (?!?!?) and how the Pastor Al needs to continuing spreading 'love and mercy' (how about yourself Mr.President? Creating wars and rejecting the Kyoto Protocol aren't exactly acts of 'love and mercy'). And while the rest of the church stood up to its feet in applause, I suppressed my urge to run up to the pulpit screaming bloody fuck in regards to the blatant political campaign that was going on.

But this [entry] isn't about a politicking. Church has always been for me a place that encompasses heart & humanity, soul & spirituality. It transcends borders & backgrounds. Church has never been about tradition or custom, nor politics and policies, nor ritual and rules.

Enough is enough.

Food for thought: Disowning Conservative Politics, Evangelical Pastor Rattles Flock