I'm a Nerd.

Ok, this totally hasn't been expressed nearly well enough here, but I'm quickly showing my nerd colors to everyone in my life.  As a result, I'd like to introduce you to the following comics from a new favorite site.

On computers:

On scientists:

On life:

Merry-Go-Round

Last night a few friends and I ventured to the nearby city of Berkeley for a dinner of fondue and watery wine. Two of the others handled most of the planning, and I was surprisingly content with allowing someone else make decisions on my behalf. That is, I was content until I discovered that visiting Tilden Park would not be among our adventures for the evening.

To say I was devastated would be an exaggeration, but only a slight one. I don't know what it is about that park. I just love it. The merry-go-round is a merry-go-round much like every other I've ridden. It's surrounded by stand after stand of ornament vendors of things I'm sure will never fit the decor of my tree and yet seem so appealing. Hot cider tastes better, even if it's the same package I use at home. Something about the lights and anticipation of tradition gets me excited anytime I hear the park's name. I've never fought at Tilden Park. I've never been disappointed or angry. It's almost as though there is a magical protection keeping the sacred grounds from any 'bah humbug' spirits. I'm glad Christmas spirit is safe somewhere.

My life...

And no, this is just what typically happens, not what is currently taking place.

Vacation

va⋅ca⋅tion /veɪˈkeɪʃən, və-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [vey-key-shuhn, vuh-] –noun

1. a respite or a time of respite from something : intermission
2 a scheduled period during which activity (as of a court or school) is suspended
3: a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation

I love vacations. Really, I just love short changes in pace. I like knowing I can go home or go back to a sense of normalcy, but that for the time being I can mix things up a little. This past weekend was exactly that. When my camera is fixed I'll bring it along on things like this but until then you get the thousand words one is worth.

A friend and I went up to a cabin on the lake everyone in Danville visits and stays. She has a family cabin there, so we rushed out of town on Friday and returned home Sunday evening. Wonderful. From the moment we got into the car we started talking. Much like typical women do, we continued this pattern for the entirety of the weekend. We talked until 3:30am on Saturday night without realizing it. By Sunday I wasn't sure I'd be able to talk again, and I actually spent most of Monday without talking to make up for the weekend. The conversation was all over the board but focused on a few specific topics, specifically relationships, growing up and family, three rather touchy points for me.

A few bottles of wine and many soggy tissues later, life seems a little simpler. Saturday morning as I was sitting at the bar eating pancakes, the Lord put a few of the puzzle pieces together. I had an aha! moment unlike many others and was at peace again for the first time in almost 2 months. I realized that I was accepting responsibility for what wasn't my fault and I realized what I needed to be accepting the responsibility for. I so often am so afraid that people will let me down that I'm afraid to do anything to make them mad. Granted, I'm a bit of a joker and I do like to push buttons, but in my heart I'm desperately afraid that if I say the wrong combination of words everyone in my life will walk off. It seems to have worked more than once before. The relationships I know could end are the ones I'm most afraid of, and the ones in which I'm most afraid to be honest and be myself. I figure if people know who I truly am, they'll dislike me for who I am rather than who I've made myself out to be. More than a little ironic, all things considered. I realized over breakfast that I'd been afraid to confront pride because I didn't trust God's provision in my life. Scary.

Vacations are a blessing in so many ways. They allow us to remove ourselves from the daily hustle and bustle that distracts us from our Savior. They let us slow down for a minute and do what really matters. They make it ok to sit on the couch all day long and only leave it to fetch food from the kitchen. They give us time set aside to converse with the ones we love. They let us see a different part of the Lord's creation and His work in our lives. And sometimes we come back from them truly knowing what God is up to in this crazy adventure of following Him.

I love this.



Brilliant.

Love it.

Tips
for Avoiding
Swine Flu.

BY KRISTIN HILLERY AND JANICE CHAN

- - - -

Don't share drinks with livestock.

Disinfect your sty.

Wash your hands before and after eating garbage and dead insects.

Drink lots of fluids, but not the stuff that's been sitting in the trough for the past two weeks.

Cover your snout when you cough.

You know you're pathetic when...

... you think this joke is AMAZING just like me.

"Rene Descartes walks into a bar.
The bartender says, 'Yo, Rene, how you doing? Can I get you a beer?'
'I think not,' replies Descartes. And then he disappears."

So good. I know.