One of the top ten things to do when you are bored is to walk up to random people and say: “I’m sorry, but I just can’t continue going out with you anymore.I know it will be hard, but it was hard for me too. But sometimes you have to be strong.This is one of those times. I’m so sorry, but I have to break up with you.Goodbye.”And then walk away.
Random Roommate: ‘You couldn’t survive more than 5 minutes without talking to a girl.’
Girl to me: “You totally got me addicted last week.THANK YOU!!”
Guy: "I'm so worried my standards are going to go down when I leave PHC.I'm going to be like 'She's Christian and read a book, she must be for me!'"
Mailwoman to me: "Oh, I didn't see you there, I thought you were a dog!"
The kitchen wants an extra 16 students to work this Friday night for a Special Board Members dinner.This is an extra 500 bucks in student wages, not including the extra food and operating costs.What this means in English is that I figured out where all the money for the burgers went!
"Four years ago we were beasts, now I'm an overweight, senile old man." - Random roommate
"If you don't find it, I'm going to demote you so much that you're going to have to touch c____ with your hands.'
After being at PHC for three years, I have decided that communication between the administration and the student body is worse than between the CIA and FBI before 9/11.
If you want breakfast on Sunday morning, why don't _you_ work? (addressed at no one in particular)
Dear Student Senate: You have less credibility than my advice on women. And people die of laughter when I talk about women.Just imagine what they do every time you do _anything._
"I embrace my addiction to Starbucks"
Sarah Palin has brought the conservative movement back to life.I know this because my mom just bought “those glasses Sarah Palin wears.”And those glasses are only sold at one special eye-glasses place in Tulsa…45 minutes away from our house.
“Robin bought me a belt and a little purse of silk; why then would I not love him?”Sheesh…guys 700 years ago had it _soooo_ easy.
A Random Kitchen Student Supervisor threatened me with a kiss last night.I have nothing more to say.
Vote 'NO' on the Honor Pledge.SIX years of debate is not enough!
OMG!Russia sent two long rang bombers to Venezuela!!!Later this year, they’re going to have ONE nuclear powered warship doing exercises with the Venezuelan navy.What are we going to do?Russia is now so much more powerful with its TWO long rang bombers! Our answer? 20,000 Sailors and Marines, oh, and over 250 attack aircraft. (note: personnel numbers taken from other sources) http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5572
"We like Mr. Obama. We hope he will (win) the election
and I do believe he is like John Kennedy, great man with great principle. And
he has a vision to change America,
to make it in a position to lead the world community, but not with humiliation
and arrogance.”Sounds like a nice
endorsement, huh?Obama did not think
so.Why?Because being endorsed by the leader of Hamas’ political wing in the
Gaza Strip (Ahmed Yousuf), is really not something most people put on their
resumes (unless they are applying for the job of suicide bomber).But why did Hamas put its support behind
Obama?
Look, I am a Republican.So I am biased.I generally do
not like people giving me biased news without telling me they are biased.So, now you know.
I want to address this issue of terrorists endorsing
American political candidates, particularly the US Presidential race.The US President is the leader of the
Free World, and the major influence of the oppressed world.So it makes sense that they want to get
involved on the act, since the US president could affect their lives a good
deal more than the average Americans (just go ask an Iraqi if he would disagree).
But why endorse Obama, and not McCain or the Libertarian
party?There are two possibilities
here.The first is that Hamas really
wants Obama to win.The second option is
that they really want McCain (or someone else) to win.Now if they really want Obama to win, it is
because of his foreign policy (talk to solve the world problems) is very
beneficial to them (e.g. the Oslo Accords).But, what if they are trying to get McCain to win?
Here is why I ask.It
is rumored that several decades ago, a particular US Presidential campaign started
putting the bumper stickers of its opponents on its vehicles.After putting the stickers on these cars,
their owners were told to be as annoying as possible.Cut people off, drive slower, honk.In general, just be annoying.According to the stories, this sabotage
campaign was very effective.
Republicans tend to be very pro military (not that Democrats
are not, they just don’t tend to come across as big military people).If the Republican candidate was endorsed by a
terrorist organization, many of his supporters would be much less likely to
vote for him.But if their opponent was
endorsed by a terrorist organization, they would see it as their patriotic duty
to vote for the Republican ticket.This
would increase the base’s support (in this case for McCain), and increase the
chances of winning the election.
In short, Hamas could be endorsing Obama to get McCain
elected.If the terror group Hamas is trying to get McCain elected, what
would they get out of a pro-Israel, anti-terror president?For starters, they would get the support of
the rest of the Arab and Muslim Worlds.If the US comes up as
a big supporter of the Palestinian cause, especially if it is at the expense of
the Israel nation, it will
disturb much of the status quo in the Middle East.
Traditionally, the Arab states are at war with one another
over any number of reasons.Since the
advent of the Israeli nation, they have been unified in the opposition to it
and in support of the Palestinian cause.If there were to be a peace, it is quite possible that the Arabs nations
would all go back to normal (aka warring among themselves).Thus, the Palestinians would be at war with
other Arab nations instead of receiving military support from them.This would seriously damage the Palestinian
leadership’s power over its people.As
such, its endorsement of McCain could be trying to avoid this possibility.
Also, if there was a peace, there would be a significant
decrease in aid to the Palestinians, both from other Arab Nations, and from
Muslims around the world who give their Zakat (2.5% tithe) to the
Palestinians.The Palestinians need this
money to survive.Peace could hurt their
already week economy, possibly beyond repair.So, if McCain were elected, their source of funding would likely hold
steady or increase.
Although these possibilities seem unlikely, it is still
important to note that they are possible.There is no solid evidence that these reasons are true, but by the same
token, there is no evidence that says they are invalid either.Or is there?Arafat was given a deal that would have given him 98% of what he wanted.But he walked
away from the deal.No further
discussion, talking, or anything.He was
given everything, and did not take it.No one knows why.Is it possible
that these concerns were his reasons?Unfortunately, it will be up to the history majors to decide this
question for us.Nevertheless, this is
an important lesson on politics – there is more than meets the eye.
I love the Kennedy Center.It is such an aesthetically beautiful building.When you walk in, it is almost as if you know
that you are going to be in for a treat.As I walked down the Hallway of States and the Hallway of Nations before
my concert, I really was enjoying myself.
I was going to see
The Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra perform “classical works.”It was a free concert (i.e. there were no
tickets) at the Millennium Stage, so my hopes were not set too high.But I figured that worst case, as least I
could fulfill my requirement to attend a concert.I got their early, so we actually got seats,
which really helped with the enjoyment factor of the concert (it allowed for
better ‘resting’ of my eyes).But before
I got to the point where I could sit down for what turned out to be a 45 minute
concert, I had to pay for parking.I now
realize why it is a free concert.It
cost $17 to park! This was $2 dollars
more than the website said.Talk about
false advertising!
But we finally
made it to our seats.There were eight
of us there from PHC.However, they were
not all there for credit.A few were
there for other ‘reasons’ (couples are so strange).Regardless, I was pretty excited.
When I opened the
program, I noticed two important things.The first was that there were only three performers.Anna Ouspenskaya was playing the piano.Ouspenskaya was born in Russia and started playing the
piano at the age of six.Since then, she
has acquired a vast resume including playing in the Einstein Symphony Orchestra
in New York City
and won second prize in the Bach International Piano Competition.However, as I found out later, she only
played during the second piece.Michelle
Kim played the violin.She was born in Seoul, South
Korea. Amazingly, she started playing the
violin at the age of five.She had her
first public performance at the age of 10 and has a very long list of
‘credentials’ that meant absolutely nothing to me except that her purple,
strapless dress obviously had a lot of thought put into it.
The only male
representative on this trio was Igor Zubkovsky.He too started playing his instrument of choice, the cello, at the age
of five.Like Ouspenskaya, Zubkovsky
hails from Russia.He was awarded a fill scholarship to the
Peabody Conservatory of Music and performed all over the US.He also arranged the first piece that the trio performed.
The second thing
that I noticed is that the program did not have any of the songs that were
going to be performed written in it.The
was troubling, especially since I was going to have to write a paper on this
subject.However, the Kennedy Center
has free access to video records of the performance, so life was good.Then I got back on campus to find that the
PHC network would not let me stream the video.Life was not so good.
There were two
pieces performed.The first one was "Sarabande
Con Variazioni" by Handel and Halvorsen.This piece was rather short, only about 6-8 minutes and it was only
performed by the violinist and cello.This was the “world premier” of this arrangement by the celloist, Zubkovsky.Although my music proficiency is somewhat
lacking, I felt that this song had about five movements based on the tempo,
note selection, and mental images I got.The first movement had a slight echo between the violin and cello, and
reminded me of the joy of spring.The
second movement was a very happy, sunny, summer day conveyed through the fast,
staccato notes throughout this section.The third section was played slower, almost a moderato tempo that
brought images of autumn and the leaves changing colors and falling to the
ground.The fourth section had some
plucking by the celloist, while the violin was the dominating sound, even
though it was played at a very high tonality.The ending of this piece was bold and strong, yet sad and slow at the
same time.It was very moving.
The second piece
performed was "Piano Trio No. 2 in F Minor" by Dolinski (I think that
is how you spell his name).Dolinski was
a Russian composer to taught at the Moscow Music Conservatory.His “Trip No. 1” is much more popular than the
song played.This piece also made
wonderful use of the piano, in addition to the violin in cello.There were two aesthetic things I noticed
about this song.The first one is that
Kim, the violinist, sat down for this part of the performance.However, during the first piece, she stood
up.Second, Ouspenskaya had an annoying
lady (I think it was a lady) turning her pages for her.The reason she was so annoying was that this
woman has super fake, bright yellow hair that resembled a giant sun in front of
the piano every time she leaned over to open the next page.
There were four
movements to this piece that lasted about 25 minutes.The first movement started out somewhat like
a person who is confused with life and does not know where to go.As this section progressed, it moved through
several different feelings: happy, sad, angry, and the just dark but ending on
an up note.Sort of like the ups and
downs in life.
The second
movement was pretty sad and slow.I was
tired.It was putting me to sleep.In other words, I do not have anything to say
on this.
The third movement
was much better.As a former piano
student, I really enjoyed how the pianist used all 88 keys of the piano to
sound so happy.It worked very well with
the violin and cello, which sounded like they were running through a field and
the piano added another level of happiness.The was wonderfully captured with several crescendos and decrescendos.There was also a part that used plucking on
the cello in conjunction with some accented staccatos on the piano to give the
impression of a rock skipping across a stream.
The final movement
was very strange.It sounded nice and I
felt I was being told a story, but I could not figure out what the story
was.There were clips of happiness and
sadness and a time of business and peace.Yet I could not figure out what I was being told.
Overall, I was
very happy with the concert.This was
especially true because it was only 45 minutes long but still very
interesting.That was until I decided to
try to get back to PHC.It was dark,
raining, and we got lost.As I was
trying to get off the highway so that I could turn around, I hydroplaned and
hit the curb on the off ramp.I then
popped my car over this curb, onto the small median and then back onto the on
ramp on the other side of the median.My
car survived and so did I.After I got
back to PHC, I noticed that I had ruined one of my tires to the point that it
had to be replaced.
In short, my costs
for the evening were as follows.Parking: $17.Gas: $15.New tires: $200.Finishing a requirement for Music
Appreciation: significantly less than I spent.
Your life will be over soon (you’re only a mist after all).
What have you done for your eternal bank account?
If you spent the rest of your life living as a single person
running a small food kitchen in Montana,
would you think your life a waste? No. The pastor of one of the biggest
churches in TX was brought to the Lord by a traveling preacher who thought his
life was a failure because he had never brought about a revival. This TX pastor
preached to more people every Sunday than the traveling preacher dreamed to talking to in his entire life.
Would spending your whole life looking for one perfect
cherry bloom have been a waste of your life? No, for man is closer to God’s
heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth. Further, God calls use to pursue
those things that are praiseworthy. The perfect flower is praiseworthy. The
pursuit of it will show you the lack of objects worthy of praise in the world. :)
Could an entire life spent in collegian studying and
low-wage work be a waste of your life?See
2 Peter 1:5-11.The short of it is that
knowledge, self-control, and perseverance, all things learned at school while
working a low-paying dead end job will teach you, are necessary components of a
Christian life.
Could a life be a waste if it was spent so focused on its
purpose (running for president in 2040, being rich, having a family, finding a
girlfriend, keeping your grades up) that it missed the beauty of the common
flower or a sunset, the unexplainable feelings of love, the sting of loss, the
joy of friendship, and the art of patience? Do I need to say more?
Girl: Your status messages are typically always about
something guy/girl... you should be totally random and write a message about
aqua blue elephants and bubblegum, just make sure you mention that when
elephants chew the gum, their ears stick out :D
BSAing: Me: "Your status is listed as '[is] Available.'
Are you trying to find a wife on Gtalk?" Guy in the Cubes: 'Dude, totally!
Cube Guy: 'Daniel, I'm going to kill you.'Me: 'Then all the girls would hate you.' Cube
Guy: 'Um, no, I'm pretty sure I would have to fend them all off with a
stick.Actually, I think I could run for
student body president after that. My campaign slogan would be 'I terminate
problems.''
PHC has taken away the grill, decreased bookstore hours, the
global station, email forwarding, the ASE system, raised laundry rates 25 for
each wash and dry, taken the phones out of the dorm rooms, raised tuition,
raised room and board, put three guys to a room on the 1st floor of
RH, and they're making us buy our own cleaning supplies? We are paying 25,000 a
year for...what exactly?
Mom 1 (to me): Here is an eligible young man.Mom 2: Oh, yes.My daughter is 24.How old are you?Me: (short pause) fifteen.Mom 1:(laughing) Really, how old are you?Me: Twenty two.Mom 1 (to mom
2):Hey, that’s old enough for your 20
year old daughter Alice!
Update:
Next day, the moms come back.Mom 1: We were talking about you last night
in our hotel room.Mom 2:Yeah, we were looking at PHC literature, and
we thought we saw you.Me: I didn’t know
that I was in any of the literature.Mom
1: “Oh, well, it was after midnight, and you never know what could happen that
late at night.
One of my BSA analysts: I think I binge eat whatever snack
food is available when I do BSA. Can I sue someone for that?
Random Girl at the Dallas
airport: “I love your eyes.”
Just listened to Adventures in Odyssey for the first time in
years!
Me: My flight was cancelled. Lady: Really? That’s good!
Girl: So tell me Daniel, when you have a family of your own,
will you raise them the ATI way?Me: if
my wife has to wear a Little House on the Prairie dress all the time, the odds
of having a 'family' are pretty low.
Feels poor right now, very, very poor. Darn college bill (and he missed Tuesday
nights at the ____ ) :( :(
Guy: “Why do all your status messages focus on girls?”
The biggest question in my life right now is how long I can
go without shaving and still look good...I love my life :)
HOMESCHOOLING LEGAL IN CA!!!! :D :D :D :D
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=71831 (FYI, this
is up on my Gtalk before even HSLDA has it up :D )
Brother’s idea for my next T-shirt: Front: “SINGLE.”Back: “ARE YOU?”
