a good weekend, lost sweatshirts, and familial minefields

This weekend was the acacia retreat, and oh baby...it was awesome! It's been amazing to see God showing us his presence and goodness through the studies and discussions. Do you remember in grade school science class, how we'd get a bean in a cup with some soaking paper towels? We'd take it home and put it on the windowsill, and in 4-5 days the bean would begin to sprout and grow. ringing a bell?? (i hope so :P )This simple little experiment provides something no amount of words and pictures in a textbook can give: the experience. When that bean sprouts out of that cup, that's not a science lesson, that's science. Well that's what I saw this weekend at retreat (not beans growing out of cups obviously...). I witnessed people experiencing God working, not hearing about it. Even though we'd call them individually as bible studies, but the whole weekend was most definitely not a lesson, it was an experience; a bean in a cup, not a blurb on botany. There was something we could take home, something tangibly applicable we could put into practice and watch grow into something beautiful. This weekend was definitely something else.

After an interesting car-ride with Alex, Sylvie, Geo, and Lisa to Stinson beach on sat (I know...one way ticket to 5th wheel city), I left my sweatshirt in Alex's car. **btw the drive was actually pretty fun, chock full of everything from google voice-recognition fails to awkward questions (for both sides). Anyways, on sunday since I was in the bay, I went over to their place to pick it up. Since I didn't take my car down, it was time for a family minivan adventure. Of course by family minivan, we're talking a 1999 white toyota sienna with a small dent in the back left pillar and a pink bunny slinky keychain hanging from the rear-view mirror, so in other words, a total chick magnet (no not really). Now you have to understand, I’m not used to driving a car this big, so as you can imagine the first few miles were what I’d like to call, the guinea pig miles (don't worry... mailboxes were safe this time). Since I forgot my GPS in Davis, finding the place was an adventure in its own right. After 3 u-turns a missed greenlight and by the grace of God, I made it there. 5 minutes later, after a quick visit to Silvie and Alex, I came home wearing the sweatshirt, a little wiser and a lot warmer.

So my aunt was in town, and of course, there was much catching up to do. How's work going? How's Kathy (my cousin) doing? How's ministry at church going? and a whole slew of other questions. Then she'd get a half turned smile on her face and i knew the next question that was coming. You know in those movies when you know something bad's going to happen, and all of a sudden time will slow down? Basically all you'd be able to do is say nnnooooooooooooooo in slow motion? Yeah that's how it felt as the question was coming out...so, you got a girlfriend yet? oy. I supposed if it weren't for extended family, awkward moments might just be an endangered species (unless i take some more car-rides like saturday's). No, i'd sheepishly reply as my mind goes into overdrive trying to figure out a way to change the subject: so how was your weekend? Unflappable. **sigh** I suppose it could be worse, but at this moment…sinking a little in my seat seemed like the most viable option.

You know…no matter how much we can plan a weekend; God’ll come by and turn it into something beautiful. Now it’s 2am and I’m still sitting in my bed with a burning hot laptop and a tired look, wondering if He will turn the rest of my week the same way…

happy st. patrick's day!

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

-St. Patrick

anyone else notice today's the ides of march?

As a kid, I've always been fascinated by history. In school, while all my classmates bemoaned the daily US history lecture, I relished in the information. Even though it never seemed to matter to most people, since it was in the past, I've always enjoyed the significance of seemingly minor events, of which individually would have passed unnoticed, but when linked together created such large ripples that they would alter the course of history. Franz Ferdinand, who was the nephew of the Austro-Hungarian emperor, was assassinated by a group called the Black Hand. And because they were a Serbian nationalist group, the empire declared war on Serbia. Then Russia, which was bound by a treaty, was forced to mobilize which meant that Germany had to declare war on Russia. Then France declared war on Germany, and that was World War I; because the emperor's nephew was killed.

I enjoy everything from decade-long eras of which volumes have been written, to the little morsels of trivial facts that dotted each page of my history book. Everything was consumed with the same level of excitement and anticipation. By the time I got to college, the only things keeping me from majoring in history were the fact that I probably wouldn't be able to find steady employment after graduation and I hated writing term papers. While I wasn't able to pursue my passion for history in college, I still harbor deep enjoyment for the events that not only shaped our past, but paved the road for our future.

I wasn't really sure if anyone else knows or cares, but today is the Ides of March, a random day in march, and a date with events that precipitated the end of the Roman Republic.

THANK YOU!

From the texas-shaped waffles to the mystery box adventure, everything was so wonderful. Thank you!

the hubbert peak

3/11/10
74,921 mi.
351.5mi.
16.458 gal.
$3.159
$51.84

Standing at the chevron pump this morning, I began scribbling these numbers down on my little notebook. A habit my parents imposed upon me, I’ve been keeping notes on every time I’ve filled up at a pump since I was 16. For the first few years, it just seemed a hassle. Who wants to know this kind of info anyways? Then by the time I hit college, the basement statistician in me emerged, and I began throwing these numbers into an excel sheet, figuring out everything from the average life of a tank to the gas mileage efficiencies of my latest adventures. 21.36mpg average for this last tank. As I stood there, I watched the other cars at the pump: a Toyota Tundra, a Dodge Grand Caravan, and a Hyundai Sonata. There was a Toyota Prius parked at the air/water station, and an old Camry parked in the corner. As I watched the people fill up, I began to think about that one particular statistic, MPG. All the cars filling up were gas guzzlers, mine included.

Recently, the White House has been on a push to increase CAFÉ (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards. Basically, it’s a mandate to car manufacturers that by a certain date, they have to ensure that the average MPG of their line of cars meets a certain minimum. Of course, car manufacturers don’t like this. From seatbelts, to airbags, to the current fuel economy standards, the auto industry was dragged into each kicking and screaming. Now fuel economy is the latest battle that they’re gearing up for. This is especially dicey territory, since fuel efficiency is at the heart of the Obama administration’s energy strategy.

As I watched as the Tundra pull away from the filling station, I began to wonder why we have these vehicles to begin with? A quick trip to any other country will easily confirm that, outside the US, pickups and SUV’s aren’t at all that common. As the Tundra drove off in the distance, I then began to wonder, with the technology we have today, why we even put up with such inefficient cars. The answer, I quickly realized, lies with that fifth number I scrawled in my notebook: $3.159. as long as gas is $3 or $4 a gallon, we’ll complain and moan about how we’re getting gouged by the gas companies, how OPEC is colluding to keep gas at an artificial high, how much of our paycheck is going to transportation costs. We’ll complain and moan today, and then quietly go back to the pump and fill up tomorrow. Prices today are high enough to make us complain, to rail against oil companies, but not enough to make us do anything substantial about it.

Gas prices…aren’t high enough. If we really want to make grand strides with fuel economy, if we really want to push for development of alternative energy sources, if we really want to push for more efficient cars, we have to start with that gas price. Imposing a $5-$15 tax/gallon (yeah $15, that’s not a typo) not only helps edge the price to unbearable limits, but that initial pain at the pump will be enough to spur people to demand more efficiency out of their vehicles. M. King Hubbert asserts that oil production is on a bell curve, and production will increase exponentially until it reaches it’s peak, and then climb back down as resources dry up. He correctly predicted that US oil production would peak in the 1970’s, and then creep back down to today’s figures. The reason that OPEC is very careful about setting oil production figures is that they want the end price to be high enough to get a sizable profit, but not high enough where we will start looking for alternatives to oil. Gas prices need to be pushed to that far extreme, so it becomes an issue for discussion, sparking a national debate. In the meantime, that $5-15/gallon tax can be used to fund tax incentives for hybrid/electric vehicle development, alternative energy technology, etc.

$51.84. I could have bought 2 coffee tables at Ikea, lunch for more than a week, or a few new books. Instead, I was paying for gas. As I pulled away from the pump this morning, my mind was set, my wallet felt lighter, and my resolve grew stronger.

ot madness...

Sitting my cubicle day in and day out…I’ve been thinking about a lot of things. Don’t get me wrong, there’s always a lot of stuff going on at work, but there’s always thoughts going through my head. One of my prime frustrations these days is the overtime. The sheer volume of OT is enough to make one shudder. When I tell people how much work I do, all they do is look at me like I’m lying. I’m not. The fact that the OT dominates most of whatever little free time I have, has quickly become the most apparent externality of work. It’s affected many avenues of my life, such as church and fellowship time, time with my family, bum time (time I spend bumming around), and errand time.

I can’t begin to express the frustration that has arisen from doing so much work. First of all, most of my friends label me as a workaholic, which I’m not. Workaholics like their job enough to want to be there constantly. It would take the Budweiser Clydesdales to drag me into work if I don’t have to be there. Secondly, those days when I have to work till 11pm and go home to sleep only to have to come back in at 7 the next morning can get aggravating. I don’t understand how it can be expected for any sane person to do that and not go nuts. I’d like to have to work/life balance where I can effectively get things done, but at the same time be able to go biking after work, or catch an episode of House, or be able to go to see a movie on a Tuesday. Luxuries like that are exceedingly rare these days. Lastly, I’d like to be able to meet up with people, whether it’s after work or during lunch. I’ve had to cancel on a few people during the week because I’m either stuck at work or can’t get out of a meeting. It’s been months since the last HH, months since the last Temple pumpkin muffin run, and at least a week since the last successful coffee email. The simple pleasures in life, that human interaction with friends, where I can meet with people and catch up, is slowly dying away. This isn’t what I expected, coming into the workplace.

In Acacia, when we did a series on time management, I felt especially self-conscious. How can I lead a bible study on good vs. bad time management when I can’t even get it together? God is good. He uses the defective, the weak, the poor, the meek, and the weak-willed for His glory. I am definitely not the poster-child for good/effective time management, but God can use anyone He chooses, no matter how flawed, to demonstrate His power, His presence, and His provisions. God is good, and I know that I’m in the situation I’m in right now, because that’s where He has placed me, for His greatest glory is my greatest good.

twitter passion?

While driving home today, I heard on klove that a group of actors plan to re-enact the Passion story over twitter. Basically each actor would tweet their lines over a 3 day period. To tell you the truth…I’m not really sure what to make of it. I can’t really say if it’s a great idea or a bad idea simply because, I really don’t know what to think. On the one hand…this is definitely an original concept to get the Passion story out there, but on the other hand, wouldn’t the story be too difficult to follow? How effective would twitter be at sharing a re-enactment of the Passion?