Well this week I didn't technically buy a stranger a Coke but I did get something for someone that they didn't expect. One night I heard my friend saying that she didn't have anything in the house to eat and couldn't get to the store until the next day in the afternoon. The next morning, before I left for school that morning, I packed a small breakfast and a snack into a paper sack and left it at her doorstep with a note saying, "I heard you didn't have any food. I didn't want you to go hungry, here's a snack!"
I think she really appreciated it and it certainly made the day a bit more manageable since she had something to eat that day. Besides that, this week I got sick, got better, did homework, and then somehow ended up at Saturday night. It was a pretty crazy/stressful week but its over. Just in time to start a new week and a whole new set of projects and obligations. Life has been really busy this semester, I feel like with so much stuff going on it's hard to catch a break. Oh well, being busy is better than being bored I guess.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
In the Criminal Justice System, the people are protected...
If I was convicted tomorrow of some heinous crime that I had never committed and sentenced to life in prison with solitary confinement I think I could make it if I was allowed to watch Law and Order every day, all day. If I could swing it, I would try to get the judge to throw in Law and Order: Special Victims Units and Trial by Jury too, but if the judge didn’t go for it, I could settle for just the original and get used to solitary confinement.
I’ve been watching Law and Order since I was a kid. Starting in preschool up through high school graduation, family rules banned television and video games during the school week, and playing street hockey with friends was allowed only after all our homework was completed. However, about the time I entered junior high I discovered a small loophole in the system. When I got home from school every day my mom was watching Law and Order on TNT. I discovered that if I sat and talked to my mom I could delay doing my homework and just watch the show while reviewing the day with my mom.
What initially started as a convenient method of procrastination soon became a strict daily ritual. Do I realize that most of the commercials they show on TNT in the middle of the day advertise birth control, unemployment benefits, disability insurance, and retirement plans? Absolutely, I know that my fellow Law and Order fans are mostly the moms, the unemployed, the disabled, and the elderly citizens of America; nevertheless, I proudly take my place on the couch of unproductiveness and with them I faithfully watch.
Now, some ten years later, I still watch almost every day—I watched three episodes yesterday—and still enjoy solving the case with Detectives Lenny Briscoe and Ed Greene. Is it obsessive that I own the first 19 seasons on bootleg DVDs from China? I submit that it is not, it is merely a display of loyalty to the detectives and district attorneys of Law and Order.
R.I.P. Jerry Orbach.
I’ve been watching Law and Order since I was a kid. Starting in preschool up through high school graduation, family rules banned television and video games during the school week, and playing street hockey with friends was allowed only after all our homework was completed. However, about the time I entered junior high I discovered a small loophole in the system. When I got home from school every day my mom was watching Law and Order on TNT. I discovered that if I sat and talked to my mom I could delay doing my homework and just watch the show while reviewing the day with my mom.
What initially started as a convenient method of procrastination soon became a strict daily ritual. Do I realize that most of the commercials they show on TNT in the middle of the day advertise birth control, unemployment benefits, disability insurance, and retirement plans? Absolutely, I know that my fellow Law and Order fans are mostly the moms, the unemployed, the disabled, and the elderly citizens of America; nevertheless, I proudly take my place on the couch of unproductiveness and with them I faithfully watch.
Now, some ten years later, I still watch almost every day—I watched three episodes yesterday—and still enjoy solving the case with Detectives Lenny Briscoe and Ed Greene. Is it obsessive that I own the first 19 seasons on bootleg DVDs from China? I submit that it is not, it is merely a display of loyalty to the detectives and district attorneys of Law and Order.
R.I.P. Jerry Orbach.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Inexpensive Chinese Food--A Lesson in Repentance
I like Chinese food. I like inexpensive Chinese food even more. I'm a fairly cheap/frugal guy--I've only had to buy one box of sandwich bags for the last year and a half because I just reuse the same ones from my lunch--so when I have the opportunity to buy Chinese food for under five dollars, I usually jump at the chance. However, while the initial purchase and consumption of the oriental delight is quite thrilling, the effects of picking price over quality usually torment me for several hours after the fact. Such an incident occurred today at about noon.
While driving I had the sudden urge to purchase the lunch special at Saigon Cafe, a combined Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant that offers soup, an egg roll, fried rice, and an entree for only $4.99. I heard a whisper from deep within my stomach remind me of past experiences with places such as Saigon Cafe, but my carnal desire for a pound of unnecessary fat-saturated calories overpowered the soft warnings of past experience. After devouring my Sesame Chicken lunch special, I sat down to watch General Conference. At the start of the first speaker's talk I felt a familiar growl of discomfort escape my stomach and carry with it a dozen memories of lost battles fought on the quality vs. price battlefield. I sat through conference listening to the discourses on gospel principles and realized that my repeated painful experiences with cheap Chinese food was a profound lesson in repentance and that my repeat offenses might be considered some type of dietary transgression.
Think of what we learn with respect to repentance, carnal desires cause us to yield to temptations that present unholy and painful stimuli as pleasurable and harmless. When we reject the still small voice of the Holy Ghost, with His quiet warnings and reminders of past experiences, we fall into temptation and commit sin. In the moment we fail to realize the future consequences of our actions, in fact, often we enjoy the sin we are committing. Nevertheless, just as the pleasing taste of an inexpensive Chinese feast quickly transforms into the bitter pains of indigestion, so too will the exhilarating thrill of transgression fade to the devastating burden of guilt and remorse. Though we may rationalize that this General Tso's Chicken seems fine or if I drink this liquor it doesn't matter and I'm only affecting myself, the consequences always come. Our pain will continue until we humble ourselves and seek out the aid of an intercessor whose power to heal exceeds our own. In the case of a lunch special from Saigon Cafe, a palm-sized handful of Pepto Bismol tablets provide relief. In the case of personal transgression, we humble ourselves, accept our mistakes, and seek out the cleansing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Following the purification that comes only through the Savior, we must forsake our previous sins; in other words, we must never return to them. Unfortunately, it appears that today I returned to my former dietary transgression and thus once again embark on the long road to repentance. Hmmm, where is the Pepto Bismol anyway?
While driving I had the sudden urge to purchase the lunch special at Saigon Cafe, a combined Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant that offers soup, an egg roll, fried rice, and an entree for only $4.99. I heard a whisper from deep within my stomach remind me of past experiences with places such as Saigon Cafe, but my carnal desire for a pound of unnecessary fat-saturated calories overpowered the soft warnings of past experience. After devouring my Sesame Chicken lunch special, I sat down to watch General Conference. At the start of the first speaker's talk I felt a familiar growl of discomfort escape my stomach and carry with it a dozen memories of lost battles fought on the quality vs. price battlefield. I sat through conference listening to the discourses on gospel principles and realized that my repeated painful experiences with cheap Chinese food was a profound lesson in repentance and that my repeat offenses might be considered some type of dietary transgression.
Think of what we learn with respect to repentance, carnal desires cause us to yield to temptations that present unholy and painful stimuli as pleasurable and harmless. When we reject the still small voice of the Holy Ghost, with His quiet warnings and reminders of past experiences, we fall into temptation and commit sin. In the moment we fail to realize the future consequences of our actions, in fact, often we enjoy the sin we are committing. Nevertheless, just as the pleasing taste of an inexpensive Chinese feast quickly transforms into the bitter pains of indigestion, so too will the exhilarating thrill of transgression fade to the devastating burden of guilt and remorse. Though we may rationalize that this General Tso's Chicken seems fine or if I drink this liquor it doesn't matter and I'm only affecting myself, the consequences always come. Our pain will continue until we humble ourselves and seek out the aid of an intercessor whose power to heal exceeds our own. In the case of a lunch special from Saigon Cafe, a palm-sized handful of Pepto Bismol tablets provide relief. In the case of personal transgression, we humble ourselves, accept our mistakes, and seek out the cleansing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Following the purification that comes only through the Savior, we must forsake our previous sins; in other words, we must never return to them. Unfortunately, it appears that today I returned to my former dietary transgression and thus once again embark on the long road to repentance. Hmmm, where is the Pepto Bismol anyway?
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Cooks in Seven Minutes
Do you ever have times when for two or three weeks you crave the same thing all the time? The last two weeks I’ve had a craving for Top Ramen at almost every meal. I bought two cases of Top Ramen at Smith’s a couple of weeks ago and since then I’ve been eating them every day. Odd, I know. I don’t particularly love the taste, nor am I always in a hurry and have no time to fix something else. I simply crave a bowl of Top Ramen day in and day out.
I guess I should be grateful, I mean I could certainly have more expensive cravings: steak, seafood, or even hot dogs would cost considerably more—the whole case of Top Ramen cost me three dollars—so I shouldn’t complain. I prefer the oriental soup, but chicken soup isn’t bad either. The only problem with the oriental soup is it doesn’t go with much else. With the chicken soup I can make a sandwich and dip it in the soup; however, I can’t with the oriental soup because it’s too salty. I’d like to add something to the oriental soup because it doesn’t quite fill me up, perhaps this week I’ll write a letter to Top Ramen Inc. and ask for items that tastefully complement the oriental soup.
I guess I should be grateful, I mean I could certainly have more expensive cravings: steak, seafood, or even hot dogs would cost considerably more—the whole case of Top Ramen cost me three dollars—so I shouldn’t complain. I prefer the oriental soup, but chicken soup isn’t bad either. The only problem with the oriental soup is it doesn’t go with much else. With the chicken soup I can make a sandwich and dip it in the soup; however, I can’t with the oriental soup because it’s too salty. I’d like to add something to the oriental soup because it doesn’t quite fill me up, perhaps this week I’ll write a letter to Top Ramen Inc. and ask for items that tastefully complement the oriental soup.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunday Games
This past Sunday I was thinking about what my Sundays were like when I was growing up. It struck me that now, as a college student, I cherish Sundays because I can relax and rejuvenate a bit before starting another week. However, as a kid, it seemed like my three brothers and I couldn’t stand Sundays because Sunday was the day when we were forbidden to do anything fun. No friends, no hockey in the street, no going to our clubhouse in the woods, no fighting. Well actually, I guess there wasn’t technically a rule against fighting. You see my parents’ foremost rule for Sunday was that all activities had to be Church-based. Therefore, an activity was only deemed appropriate if we could verify to them that the activity somehow related to a scripture story or eternal principle.
With this as the only proviso to our Sunday games, we soon discovered that the scriptures, particularly the Old Testament, actually provided several ideas for games conducive to roughhousing and fighting. The first game we developed was called Stone the Prophets. In this game, one of my brothers would stand on a chair or couch and try to read a section of the scriptures that called the people to repentance. The rest of us would stand back a few feet and armed with Nerf balls, rolled up socks, and eventually pool noodles we would try to hit the prophet and keep him from prophesying. During all of this, we would yell at the prophet saying things like, “we don’t want your false prophecies” or “we are the children of Abraham, and you come here to teach us you fool!”
Another Sunday classic was entitled “Hold to the Rod”. This game was played exclusively on the stairs that came up from the basement. The object of the game was to reach the top of the stairs by holding to the banister and avoiding the “temptations” of the devil. To represent the temptations of the devil, one brother would punch and shove those attempting to climb the staircase and pull them away from the rod. This game ended when my little brother Taylor got the idea of sprinting up the staircase and attempt to bypass the temptations all together. As he ran up the stairs, I kicked him in the head, causing him to fall all the way down the stairs and put his head through the wall. While this incident persuaded my father to forbid us from ever playing this game again, I believe my brother Taylor walked away with a valuable and physical object lesson that prophets have stressed for generations: there are no shortcuts in the gospel or quick routes to the Tree of Life.
With this as the only proviso to our Sunday games, we soon discovered that the scriptures, particularly the Old Testament, actually provided several ideas for games conducive to roughhousing and fighting. The first game we developed was called Stone the Prophets. In this game, one of my brothers would stand on a chair or couch and try to read a section of the scriptures that called the people to repentance. The rest of us would stand back a few feet and armed with Nerf balls, rolled up socks, and eventually pool noodles we would try to hit the prophet and keep him from prophesying. During all of this, we would yell at the prophet saying things like, “we don’t want your false prophecies” or “we are the children of Abraham, and you come here to teach us you fool!”
Another Sunday classic was entitled “Hold to the Rod”. This game was played exclusively on the stairs that came up from the basement. The object of the game was to reach the top of the stairs by holding to the banister and avoiding the “temptations” of the devil. To represent the temptations of the devil, one brother would punch and shove those attempting to climb the staircase and pull them away from the rod. This game ended when my little brother Taylor got the idea of sprinting up the staircase and attempt to bypass the temptations all together. As he ran up the stairs, I kicked him in the head, causing him to fall all the way down the stairs and put his head through the wall. While this incident persuaded my father to forbid us from ever playing this game again, I believe my brother Taylor walked away with a valuable and physical object lesson that prophets have stressed for generations: there are no shortcuts in the gospel or quick routes to the Tree of Life.
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