Retreat

For those of you who don't know, I was at a church retreat from last Thursday to this Sunday. That is the reason for no blogs in that time. It wasn't particularly a "restful" retreat, but I was glad I went and found it to be a worthwhile time. If people are interested in hearing more details about it, just ask me, but I'm not planning to talk in depth about the retreat here. This is more of my typical list of meaningless observations.

Surprisingly, with nearly 4 days of no internet, I didn't think a whole lot about fantasy baseball. Normally, I would be worrying about how my pitchers were doing throughout the night and dying to check some box scores. I will admit that when I got home, probably the first thing I did was turn on my computer and see how my team was doing. As for my beloved White Sox, it seems another season has gone in the crapper and I have all but stopped following the AL Central race. It's sad, but I can't let their losing ways drag me down any longer this summer. With that said, I'll still inevitably return next spring with bright starry eyes, wishing that the coming season would be the season for my team.

College and high school kids are so old, yet so young. I remember when I was that age, only a few years ago, thinking that I was on top of the world. Now, I realize that I couldn't have been more wrong. I don't know how parents put up with kids who think they know everything. As if 20 more years of life experience means nothing, that a son or daughter has the right to feel like they know more than their mother and father who brought them into this world. And yet, I always end up at the point where I feel like I know everything, before being humbled; whether I was 10, 14, or 22 years old, I was quick to look back and see how much I had matured, rather than look ahead and see how much I had left to grow.

Still, it was quite a sight to see a lot of the kids I knew since they were little squirts, now all grown up; some with girlfriends, others as small group leaders, all with deeper voices and many having grown taller than me. I imagine someday when I have kids, it will be such an exhilirating experience to watch them grow from babies to adults. It's really hard for me to understand how people wouldn't want to have kids, but I guess everyone has their own reasons for everything, and who am I to judge?

I've gotten used to not having a roommate over the past few years. I guess it's some sort of destiny, but even at this retreat, my assigned roommate never showed up. Pretty much since second semester of sophomore year at college, I haven't ever had to share a room with anybody. I had 3 roommates at school the past couple years, but that was an apartment and I had my own room there. It's kinda nice, actually, to have the privacy of your own room, but still have friends around. I consider it a nice luxury to be had... and probably the single thing I miss most about college life.

The retreat was at NIU in DeKalb, and even though the facilities and campus were nice, I don't think I would have enjoyed going to college there at all. Something about the place just doesn't feel right. After 4 years at Champaign, I can't picture college life anywhere else. And, if Champaign-Urbana seemed dead, DeKalb is a whole lot deader. I know it's summer, but I took summer class at U of I and there was still things to do, at least there were signs of visible life around. It's seriously pretty depressing.

I used my cell phone as an alarm clock for the first time, and I don't know if all cell phones are designed the same way, or only the folks at Nokia are mentally retarded. The alarm is probably the softest sounding alarm I can imagine. It gets louder the longer you let it go, but there is no way that thing could wake me up if I was heavily in Stage 4 sleep. I ended up setting it for like 5 minutes before I wanted to actually wake up, so that hopefully by that time it would be loud enough to get me going. Oh, it vibrates too, and that is somewhat puzzling to me. Do they think that people sleep with their cell phones in their pockets? Am I weird for not going to sleep clutching my precious phone tightly? Or, is it just supposed to rattle your dresser and make noise that way to wake you up? Come to think of it, the rattling noise was probably louder than the ringing itself. In that case, why didn't they just make the ringing louder to begin with? Like I said, puzzling...

I'm dead tired from lack of sleep, so I will probably be hibernating much in the next couple days. Just a forewarning to all who happen to care.

Things to Do

Now I know this blog is not a "To-Do" list, but I don't care. I have a thing of post-it notes from Panasonic at a job fair, but it sucks so bad. The sheets don't stick, they keep falling and getting lost around my room. Because of this travesty, I have decided never to purchase any new Panasonic products, nor shall I accept any given job offer to work with the company, if for some strange reason one is proposed. How can I be associated with the company if they can't even make good Post-it notes?

On the other hand, Raytheon gave me this little digital clock/calendar thing that I actually use on my desk, and it even tells me the temperature. Now there's a company that's obviously going places. If such ingenuity is any indication of the work put into this country's military fighter jets, then our national defense has very little to worry about, believe you me. And now they've got me begging on their doorstep to take me in. "Hire me!! I'll be a janitor, anything!!"

Anyways, since Steven Covey said it's good to write down goals, I am going to record them here where everyone, not only me, can see. This will hold me accountable, so I hope. Also, it reminds me of when blogs were .plans. Even though nobody ever wrote anything they "planned" to do in their ".plan", I buck the trend.

- Buy more of those Listerine Pocket Pack things
- Open a checking account
- Refill my I-Pass and/or sign up for the Automatic refill
- Get an optical mouse
- Read up on fantasy football

Hmmm... hopefully that is not too ambitious. For those of you reading at home, that might seem to be an unrealistically tough list, but remember that I am no ordinary man. My brain has a memory like a Palm Pilot, but also advanced multitasking capabilities like Windows XP Professional. Ok, maybe not. Somebody please remind me about these things when they see me.

Dismissed

I'm just wondering, could there be a worse show than MTV's Dismissed? I remember watching it a couple times last semester at school before I realized it was a terrible waste of time. Then yesterday, I was flipping channels around 11 or 12 at night before going to sleep, and for some reason I ended up watching like 2/3 of an episode. I don't know why, because on any normal night I would be watching Baseball Tonight. Maybe I was a little spaced out and got careless with the remote. It's kind of like when I'm driving in my car and I don't pay attention to what's playing on the radio. Before I know it, I'm singing along to En-freak-ay Iglesias, subconsciously of course. That usually leads to a strong feeling of regret afterwards, when I finally realize what I just did. See, normally I am a vigilant radio station changer, otherwise I'll put in a CD or play something off my Rio rather than put up with a crappy song. But accidents do happen now and then.

So was the case with how I ended up watching Dismissed last night. Come to think of it, anything would have been better. Conan and Kilborn were on too. I'm such an idiot! Anyways, once in a while something entertaining might happen on the show, if only by pure chance, but the rest of the show is 100% garbage. If you watch one episode, you've seen them all. Two girls compete for a guy (or the other way around), they go out on a date, and after a couple hours, the guy picks the girl that is hotter (or if they are similar in hotness, he picks the one that is freakier). Seriously, I could tell you within the first 2 minutes of the show which one is gonna win. After the guy "Dismisses" someone, the winner gloats and they interview the loser, who always says "I don't care, I didn't like him to begin with" even though 5 minutes ago they just showed her all drooling over him. That's pretty much it.

Oh yeah, there's the Timeout card, how could I forget. Each contestant gets a card that they can use to spend like 20 minutes alone with the guy. This part is always pretty funny actually. Three people are all just sittin there, and one of them pulls out a special card, forcing the other girl to leave. I've always wondered what would happen if someone disobeyed the card. Maybe the MTV Dismissed Enforcers would come on and carry the rulebreakers off and set them in lockdown. But yeah, sometimes I seriously wish life was like a TV show. Like if a cop pulls me over, and I don't feel like talking so I would flash him a "Get out of my face" card. Or I'm at Dominick's and every line is long. I really don't want to wait this time, so I dig into my pocket for that "Move to the front of the line" pass that I've been saving for occasions like these. Ahh... that would be sweet. Anyways, when they have their Timeouts in Dismissed, it's basically just a matter of one girl trying her best to impress the guy by throwing herself on him, and they show the other one sitting around waiting patiently for her turn, while they interview her and she's insisting that she's not worried one bit.

Ugh... I really can't believe I watched that show for over 20 minutes. See, before when I watched it at school, it was a relatively new show so I might have tuned in once in a while for the novelty factor. Now, there is absolutely no excuse. Still... it might be one of those things like heroin, like Chris Rock says. You know somebody is doin it, but nobody will admit to it. Not me, I hereby refuse to watch another minute of that God-forsaken show from this moment on.

Me And My Car

I've briefly mentioned how I love my car in previous blogs, but I thought this subject deserved its own entry. For the past few years, I've been the proud driver of a 1997 Nissan Maxima GLE, and in these years, I think I've fallen in love to the point where I don't think I ever want to give up my baby. (I don't think Olivia reads my blog, so that's probably a good thing). Anyways, a lot of guys will know what I am talking about, but the fact is that the relationship between a man and his machine is one of the most important in life. It might sound like overkill to consider it a relationship, seeing as how one side is living and the other is not, but I don't think there is any better way of describing it.

In any good relationship, the two sides are relatively balanced. That is, one should never dominate the other. If all you expect from your friends is to serve you, or do what you want them to do, that is hardly a healthy situation and chances are, it's not gonna last long. But, if by way of being friends, you "serve" each other, not doing things only to get something in return, then a true bond is formed and the relationship benefits both sides a whole lot more. When it comes to cars, a lot of people just see it as a thing to carry them around. We fill it with gas because we need to, and we step on the pedal and go. When the car breaks down, we curse at it and blame the car for being a piece of crap, not ourselves for failing to maintain it well. Sadly, these people fail to recognize their car as a relationship, as a friend to be treated with respect and care. As a result, they miss out on the benefits of such a relationship in the end.

Ok, so I realize that there are very many cars out there that are actually crappy, and that they break down even when the owner puts a lot of work into it. I'm very sorry for the owners of such cars, but keep in mind that most of you have some choice over what car you get. Of course, not everyone can afford a Benz or Lexus, but say you have around $20-25,000 to spend on a new car. This would allow you to pick between a mid-range Chevy Camaro and a pretty good Honda Accord. At the risk of insulting some Camaro owners, the one who chooses the Camaro is obviously more interested in speed and flashiness rather than the reliability and class you would find in an Accord. Then, should we feel sorry for the Camaro owner when, 5 years down the road, their car is falling apart, while the Accord is still running like it was new?

Anyways, when it comes to my personal experience, I drove an aging 1990 Ford Taurus for a few years before I got the Maxima. That thing was a piece of crap, my mom got it because it was a cheap used car, not realizing that it was cheap for a reason. When it came to be my turn to pick a car, I vowed not to buy American. Not because I am unpatriotic, but because it's very obvious that Japanese cars are a much better deal in the long run than domestic. I wanted a 4-door, because I like 4-doors, so that left me choosing between the Toyota Camry, an Accord, or Nissan Maxima (or to a lesser extent, the Corolla, Civic, or Altima). In the end, I figured that I did not want a Camry or Accord because every single Asian family has one. So, even though Nissans are not as reliable on the whole as Toyotas and Hondas, I went with the Maxima because it was a little bit cooler looking than the others, and with a little extra kick from the engine in comparison.

Since that time, I have not regretted for a moment that I chose the Maxima. I have been in love with this car pretty much since the first time I got in, sat down, and test drove it at the dealer. Other kids like to parade around in their 2-door sports cars, but I have never envied someone's Mustang or Celica. My car isn't all that slower than those, and it's supposed to be a family sedan.

Anyways, back to what I was saying about maintaining a relationship with my car. By now, a lot of you are probably thinking I am acting queer, but let me assure you that I am purely heterosexual. I'm sure I can't be the only one who understands that your car is more than your slave, more than a combination of moving parts. It is, in almost every sense, a living, breathing companion. So, I don't merely fill it with gas and go, waiting until the day it stops working. I put in my own sweat and blood to take care of my car, like it takes care of me.

Filling it with the right octane fuel is only a start. I recommend that anybody who owns a car should also wash their car and change its oil on their own at the very least. These are two relatively simple things that will help keep your car running smoothly and help you build a better bond between you and your car. When you take it to Jiffy Lube or Walmart to get your oil changed, it might save you time (and even money, maybe), but you lose out on the opportunity to take care of your baby yourself. It's like sending your kids to day care, when someone else is taking care of your children, who knows how they are gonna turn out. Well, if you don't have any idea what kind of engine oil people are putting in your car, what kind of oil filter they are using, and whether or not they tightened the bolts carefully, then don't complain if you don't know why your car is leaking or why the engine isn't sounding as quiet as it should. All you did was drop off your car and keys, and pick it up 20 minutes later, paying 15 bucks or so to have someone else do your job.

In the same way, it pains me to see so many people relying on the automatic carwash at the local gas station to clean their car. It's a simple thing to do: get a bucket, sponge, hose, and a few cleaning agents and towels. When you just drive through a one-size-fits-all car wash, there's no way it will get all the nooks and crannies of your car. And, it's bound to wear away at your paint's glossy finish in the long run, if not waxing in some dirt or unwanted water along the way. Just imagine if you had to take a shower by walking through a machine like that. High-speed spinning brushes press up to you until it feels "resistance" while high-powered jets of water spray from every direction. Then, globs of soap are splattered all over your body, before the brushes and jets return to rinse. Not only is this system gonna miss some spots, but I personally hope that it does miss certain spots, the sensitive ones especially. I would definitely be wise enough to wear an athletic cup or something at the very least. So next time you think it would be a good idea to take your car through the wash, please consider the pain. When you wash and wax your car yourself, it will make your car so much happier and appreciative for not having to endure the brushes and jets. And not only this, but you will get to know each and every last corner of your car's body, every nick and scratch, every stain in the carpet, every little detail that might all seem like imperfections, when in reality, they are all marks of age, or personality, of experience... making the machine more alive and less of an inanimate hunk of metal.

There are plenty more ways to treat your car right, but realistically, not everyone has hours on end to spend working on their car. I think it is one of those things where you get what you put in. I may not do as much for my car as some fanatics might, but I think I take care of it more than the typical owner. This car has given me so much through the years, and it's been one of my best friends, that it's the least I could do in return. There's few things I enjoy more than taking a long drive, just me and my car, listening to music and chilling for a bit. And when I need some time by myself to clear some thoughts, I take a couple hours off to wash my car, and that has never failed to cheer me up or at least get my mind off other things for a while.

My car never complains that I don't spend enough time with it, nor does it get jealous when I turn my head to check out a Ferrari going by. When I got my speeding tickets, or when I crashed into a mailbox, we shared the pain together, just the two of us when nobody else cared or understood. My baby isn't ever gonna leave me for another owner if I go through hard times. And I wouldn't ever trade in my car for a newer model unless it died, and in that case, there would still have to be a period of mourning. It never says a word, but I know what it's feeling at all times. Without my car to drive, I would be absolutely miserable, and without me to drive it, so would my car.

There are few things I love more than my car, because it's my car, I'm its owner, we have a great relationship, and it makes me happy. Some people have pet dogs, some people love fishing, but my car is what brings me joy. It's so much more than something to get me from one place to another, it's like my best friend. Don't laugh at me, it's true.

"I like to max in Maximas" - Notorious B.I.G.

The Joys of Napping

With my schedule the way it is these days, I have been forced to take naps in the late afternoon-early evening every day in order to stay somewhat alert for the rest of the night. When I was at school, I was also known for my messed up napping habits. I would sleep at like 5 am, wake up for class at 9, go to class for a couple hours, come back, play Starcraft, and then nap for like 3 hours. Or, I'd pull an allnighter, try to make it through an entire day, then give in around dinnertime and "nap" for 16 hours (seriously, I did that). Anyways, you might consider me to be something of a nap expert, a nap connoiseur, if you will. So here are some of my thoughts on this wonderful art of life.

A lot of so-called "experts" say it is good to take short, 15-minute naps during the day as refreshers, rather than a long extended nap. To this, I say "pish-posh" and heartily disagree. So what if they have "medical degrees" and "years of research" and "scientific evidence"? Experts schmexperts... I really can't imagine getting anything out of a puny little 15 minute nap. It's comparable to eating 1 Pringle for a snack. It's like the Diet Coke of naps, "Just one calorie, not nappy enough."

Anyways, to me, a nap isn't a nap unless it's at least an hour and a half to two hours. Real men take long naps (real women, too). I personally feel very dissatisfied with a nap unless I wake up in a complete daze. You know what I mean, when you have no idea what time it is, your hair is all messed up, the wrinkles of your blankets and sheets are permanently engraved upon your face, arms, and legs, and drool is running continuously down your chin to your pillow. Ah, that's the stuff.

Whenever I get the chance to take a nice long nap, I make it a big deal and prepare for it in advance, kind of like when people invite a guest over and they prepare in advance. Well, when my favorite guest, the Nap Fairy, is coming to visit, I gotta make sure everything is in its right place (hey, that's a Radiohead song, "Everything in its Right Place"). That is, I gotta brush my teeth, wear my most comfortable clothes, shut down my computer (the sound of the fan gets annoying), and, for those naps when I treat myself to some extra sauce, I turn off my cell phone and lock my door. Ah, talking about it makes me want to take a nice long nap right this moment. But I guess I can wait for another 7 and a half hours. So as you can see, I don't take naps lightly, nor do I take light naps.

Oh man it's dark outside right now. I hope we don't get struck by a frickin tornado.

Ok, so naps are great and all, but even I will admit that they have their limitations. I'd take sleeping in any day over a 4 or 5 hour night's rest and 2 hour nap. And it's definitely inconvenient to depend on taking a long nap in the middle of the day. So that is why I value a good nap so much, because the opportunity to enjoy one is such a luxury that is not to be overlooked.

The moral of the story is, don't call me between the times of about 4:30 to 6 pm today.