Why I Don't Give Out My E-Mail

I used to give out my e-mail address.

You know, before the everyone and my mom knew about IM. But that isn't the reason I don't give out my e-mail address anymore.

Or before the advent of Myspace/Facebook. But that still doesn't hit the root of why I don't give out my e-mail address anymore.

I don't give out my e-mail address anymore due to the fact that anybody who asks you for your e-mail address is not thinking, "Good! I can finally keep in touch with this person!" They are thinking, "Good! I have 500 chain letters that I need to send out so I won't die on Saturday, and stuff that I deem as funny that has been around longer than Usenet!"

E-mail: Please die, <3 everyone.

I was reminded how much I hate e-mail just today. Although it really started 2 months ago.

My mom and I went to church one night, and it was a good service. I was sitting next to Mom, and next to us was this one woman who I talked to before it started.

At the end of service she asks for my e-mail. Now, here's a bad position to be in. One, I can't lie and say I don't have an e-mail address; my mom is sitting right next to me, knows better, and would've called me on it, and I would've looked horrible in church. Two, I can't give a fake e-mail, or else she'll just bug me about her e-mails bouncing back every week at church. Yet three, I know what's coming as soon as she asked.

So I give it to her, and not three hours later I get an e-mail entitled: "FW: This is funny!"

......................WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Back before myspace, I became very very selective about who got my e-mail address. In '06, after one of my coworkers began sending me 500 chain letters a day, I refused to give it out unless absolutely necessary (meaning, if I'm not e-mailing you an attachment that for some reason, wouldn't send in IM, or I need to e-mail you a referral code for something, you don't get my e-mail). And it's things like this that make me wish that we would revert back to the pony express type crap.

Plans for the next 365 days...

I have decided to try to set a plan in effect to get certain things done over the next year. Granted, my life tends to backfire profusely if I attempt to set plans in action, but I do want to try and get certain things done. These are not necessarily in the exact order of precedence, and some of these may end up taking the backburner in order to accomplish other, more important tasks on this list. If I could get half this list done in a year, I would feel a little more accomplished.

-Go on a mission trip next summer.
-Take a week-long vacation that involves me leaving the midwest and going somewhere I've never been before.
-Get a new job.
-Get a tattoo.
-Design the tattoo I want.
-Get some of my poetry publishes in some way, shape, or form.
-Do something that scares the urine out of my bladder and into my underwear.

The Verizon Files: Geometry and DSL and Hang-Ups

This may, sadly, be the last Verizon File I write. Unless I either think up old stories I can rehash, or some freak accident happens where I have to return to Indianapolis to work for Verizon again.

I was talking to a couple guys in my row who were playing some weird internet game in between calls when I received a phone call from some guy trying to install his DSL. His complaint: He hooked was able to get his modem to reach from the jack on the first story of his house to the second story of his house using our phone equipment, but could not get the ethernet cord to reach his computer. What could he do?

I should also note, that while a DSL signal can go through a maximum of a 14 foot long telephone cord, Verizon, as well as most DSL providers, only provide a 4 foot long cord, as that is usually sufficient.

My response: Wait, how did you get that cord all the way up the stairs?

He hangs up.

Seriously, is it that hard of a question? I just wanted to clear that up, but for some reason, he felt compelled not to answer that question.

I was telling the guys near me about it, when I get another call. I pull up the records...

Me: Wait, didn't I just talk to you?
Him: *click*

Now I'm freaking. I tell the guys again, and one of them gets a call..AND IT'S HIM YET AGAIN!

This time, he doesn't even wait for their long spiel before hanging up again.

While not necessarily a hilarious call, it was just freaking weird. I think the guy was somehow BS-ing, but still don't have enough evidence to say so. Regardless, this guy earns an award for the most nihilistic guy to ever call into a tech support line.

Training Regimen

This has nothing to do with my exercise regimen that I now have myself on. Yes, I am exercising regularly now. I think every one of my friends have now just went #1 at this thought. (Mostly just ab workout and light cardio...I really don't need the cardio as much as I need the ab workout).

I recently got back into playing Street Fighter. What can I say? The trailers for Street Fighter IV were inspiring. Plus, getting out of poker, I needed a hobby that would help fuel my competitive drive just enough that I won't go back to razzercising anymore.

I also realized I had not a copy of Street Fighter to my name anymore. I did have Super II Turbo for 3DO in Naptown, but yeah. No more.

So, I went on a mad rush. Now have Super II Turbo (via the anniversary edition) on PS2, 3rd Strike on the PS2 (also on anniversary collection), and all the Alpha games on the same system. I'm also trying to get the anniversary collection for Xbox so I can start playing online and continue to build my mad skills. I should also pick up Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, and Capcom Vs. SNK 2 (The latter only if I could find a used original Xbox dirt cheap, as the 360 can't play it).

So I'm now trying to get competitive in all said games (well, I guess save the first Alpha game, since I haven't seen any tournaments for it, just Alpha 2 up, then Super II Turbo up in the normal branch of games). I spent a ton of time focusing on 3rd Strike, as I had never really played the Street Fighter III series at all, and that would've obviously been my weakest game as such. I have quickly adjusted, and am doing well in said game.

As a result though, the rest of the games suffered. Gah.

So now, I guess I'm going to focus on getting a set regimen of playing each game, so that I can balance out my playing of each game so that I am conistently playing well in each of them.

I'm going to go ahead and assume that it will go as follows:

Monday: Super II Turbo
Tuesday: Alpha 3
Wednesday: 3rd Strike
Thursday: Alpha 2 (Although, unless I don't go A-ism Chun in Alpha 3, is there really any reason for me to practice Alpha 2? If I play A-ism Chun, I'll just switch this with Marvel)
Friday: Street Fighter IV (When it drops, TBD otherwise)
Saturday: Capcom Vs. SNK 2 (You know, should I find that cheapo Xbox)
Sunday: Day of rest, or just pwning souls on Xbox Live in whatever game I feel like playing, should I feel like playing/have time to play.

There we have it. There is my regimen. This geek moment has been brought to you in part by "SRSLY! NT BTTR!" (Generic/geek rip-off of "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!")

I have had butter on the brain today. Random thought.

College and You

It's that time of year again. And for a lot of young people, this will be the start of one of the toughest transitional phases of their lives. With that, I feel like sharing some words of wisdom for those heading into college that I wish I had received when I first started.

1. Go to all your classes. This sounds common sense, but once you get into an environment where attendance is not mandatory, it becomes very easy for people to think, "well, if I just miss class, it's not the end of the world." Unless you are sick or have a family emergency, show up.
2. You're not in high school anymore. Don't treat the classes like they're high school classes. Once again, common sense, but I know there's quite a bit of slackers out there. You know who you are. The smart kids that could blow up homework/studying till the last minute and still manage to ace your class. Yeah, unless you're one of those 12-year-old child prodigies who are going into college, I doubt you'd be able to do that and get away with it. Get used to working for your grades...hard.
3. Do not be afraid to change your major. Let's say that you get burned out of your original major first year. Do not become hardheaded, and refuse to switch your major. It is not a failure to do so. I guarantee you that you are not the only person that's going to be in line at your counselor's office to do so. Thomas Edison had to try a bunch of times to invent the light bulb, so why should you have only one chance to get your major right? While we're on that topic...
4. Generals first. Then major studies. This will save you time in the long run, if, of course, you're part of the majority that will change their major by the end of their college career. If you take a bunch of classes pertaining to your major, THEN have to switch, you're probably looking at another year tacked on where if you take your generals first, you will still be on the same track as you were in your previous major.
5. That party crowd will not be there 5 years from now. Being away from home is a big deal. But use it to prepare yourself for the future, not to black yourself out by doing body shots off someone. I seriously worry about the young people these days. I know drinking has been a huge staple on college campuses for a while, but it is getting more and more rampant now. A lot of people won't escape that lifestyle. Don't be one of them. There is ton more enjoyable activities on campus than just alcoholic consumption.
   
6. Don't forget God. I thought this would be a non-issue with me, but it wasn't. In the process of getting good grades and the like, it is easy to let God slip to the side. Do NOT let that happen! Keep your first love in the front of your mind, and let school work come second.
   
7. Find a church near your college. This one applies to anyone traveling away from home for college. Pretty much every college town will have churches offering open-houses to incoming students. Look around. Find a church that preaches the gospel and that you feel comfortable in, and be sure to attend it! A good church family (even if it will be a temporary one) goes a long way.
8. If you're staying close to home, keep going to church. Once again, a no-brainer, but you'd be shocked how many neglect that.
   
9. Find a Christian group at college. Once again, sharing in fellowship goes a long way in keeping you from getting too far gone from your relationship with God. Moreover, these are the people who will see you everyday, and will also be experiencing some of the same things you are going through on a daily basis. Stick with them.
   

That should be it. I hope everyone has a good/safe year at school.

Attention Friends: Help Requested

I'm hoping that I can find people that are interested in doing this.

I've been poring over my notebooks tonight, and am considering undertaking a project I've been considering doing for almost a year now.

I want to record a CD of my poetry. I'm working on pulling together all the poetry that I've written that I feel is worth putting on a CD, but right now there is around 20 that are on the table. It will be spoken word, not just a CD filled with copy-protected Word files, and there is doubtful to be a real theme, except for the usual, artistic "from happiness to sadness and back again" deal, but I am requesting your help.

See, when I came up with this idea, this was the thought that came to mind. I want to record some of these personally, but I also would like to have some of my friends record some too. So, I ask for your help, at least to gauge interest in whether this will be feasible.

So, I ask, if any of you reading this want to contribute your voice to this project, please get in touch with me using whatever means you have to do so. Any questions, get in touch with me. Once I see who all is interested and determine exactly how many poems I will use, we'll go on from there.

Uncle Tom

I can guarantee you, that unless you have been extremely close to me over the past decade, this blog will NOT be what you think it will be about.

Right now, I just got out of the shower, and was reflecting back on one particular point in my life, and just felt the need to share this story with you.

Throughout my life, I have had very few people whom I would call mentors. But if I had to start mentioning people to be on that list, my Uncle Tom would be near the top.

In all honesty, he wasn't exactly my uncle. He basically became an interim uncle. While my mom attended nursing school, she became very close friends with one of her classmates, named Teresa. So much so, that a lot of her off time began to be spent over there. I was a baby the first time I was over at their house, and in all honesty, I don't remember a period in my life that did not have Teresa and her family in it.

When my mom was working or at school, Teresa's sister would babysit. During holidays, we were always assured that we would be included in festivities. As such, my mom and I were basically "adopted" into their family. As the family grew, their children's spouses, and, then their own children just learned we were part of the family, and that it was a long story.

Around the time I was 3, Teresa was dating Tom, after having been divorced from her first husband, and soon after, married him. Therefore, it turned into Aunt Teresa and Uncle Tom.

Tom wasn't much to admire in earthly, shallow standards. He had no use of his right hand as a result of a childhood illness that went untreated, he was thin, short and scruffy. But he was one of the smartest guys I knew.

He was an avid reader, in fact, he had a huge library of books that I would just look at and be awestruck. And talking with him, you had no doubt in your mind that he had read through every single one of them.

But the thing that would strike you most was about him was an unparalleled faith in God. He was the calmest, most collected person I knew, and you could tell that he walked out exactly what God wanted him to walk out. I never saw him angry. I saw him engage in arguments, but I always remember the other person coming to their boiling point while he just sat there as calmly as he could.

I remember him never being in-your-face about his faith. The only way I remember him being outward about it was praying blessings over food during holidays. But he didn't have to be. You could see it without him even trying.

However, I don't remember him so much for the way he lived but the way he died.

In September of 2003, my band was playing a decent-sized concert. My mom was going to show up, and made mention that Aunt Teresa and Uncle Tom would show up for support to. However, when Mom got there, she showed up alone, and during sound check, she came and told me that Uncle Tom had suffered a heartattack and was in the hospital.

I was shocked, but at the same time, I was expecting things to go well. He got help before it was too late, and hardly anyone dies from a heartattack if they get them to the hospital in time.

But then, a couple days later, he progressed further and further downhill. A faulty stint and a punctured artery later, and it was apparent he was not going to make it. I remember one night bailing on band practice and going to the hospital. I spent a full day there, just waiting, hoping and praying.

I remember coming home one day, already in a sore mood, and my mom had just gotten off the phone, and told me to sit down. I knew what was coming, and yet, knowing couldn't prepare me for it.

Through my tears, I remember her telling me his last words, with Teresa at his side.

Tom: I'm ready to go home.
Teresa: You can't go home, you need to stay here.
Tom: No, I'm ready to go see Jesus.

And that was it.

The visitation service was hard. It was a pretty somber mood around an otherwise energetic group of people. Teresa, usually so upbeat and fun to be around, was just shellshocked. We all were.

I didn't go to the funeral, as I had classes. In all honesty, I didn't really want to. I take those things too hard anyway. No matter what though, I took his death pretty hard. It's hard to see someone who has done so much for you die, and having not said how appreciative you are of what that person has done makes it harder.

It has only been a few years that I have really come to grips with his death, and even more recently that I could really take in the lesson of his death, one that I really should've learned very quickly.

Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined to their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.
1Cor 9:24-26 (NLT)

You see, so often I see people, Christians even, including myself, living in the here and now way too much. So much so that whatever they want right now, they must have right now, and whatever they want or need tomorrow is irrelevant, because they have today. And while today is important, the fact is that it doesn't negate the fact that we have a future that we need to look after.

A lot of people will read that and start thinking IRA's and Social Security benefits and AARP cards, but it goes much more deeper than that. Paul knew it, and so did Uncle Tom.

We work so hard and pour ourselves into things for an earthly gain that we can't take with us to the grave. Even the trinkets that our family will put into our caskets doesn't mean we'll be able to enjoy those when we are in the ground. We can't even enjoy them when we are lying there for our viewings. Those are merely for aesthetic purposes, and it's the same way while we're alive.

We even do Christ the same way. We're able to serve him today, but tomorrow? If we feel like it. If we don't have something better to do. If something better doesn't come along. I know I have at least.

But Tom had another idea. It might sound crazy, but he lived his life thinking that God wanted him to work toward the future, and therefore spent his present preparing for that future. He wasn't thinking 10, 20, or even 30 years from that moment. He was thinking about September 13, 2003, when he would be lying on his back, taking his last breath. He reached his finish line, and all he could think about was seeing Jesus.

Talking with people at his visitation, you could tell that his steps were taken so that he would be able to do so on that day. And today, just out of nowhere, I was reminded of that lesson, probably the best lesson he could've ever taught me. That, if anything, I want to be like Uncle Tom, and not just live and die, but live for Christ, and die ready to see Christ.

Whoever this Murphy guy was must really hate Laniers

Seriously.

Take last week off work to relax. When you deal with some of the junk I deal with on a daily basis at work, you need a breather.

I start off the week with extra money, and decide I want an Xbox 360. I had been saving up for one for the release of Street Fighter 4, so I figured now was the ideal time to buy.

I get it, bring it home, set it up, put in Halo 3, and the disc won't load. Nor will any CD or DVD in my collection. Mind you, my Hard Drive was working fine, as was my network connection. I call Microsoft to have them tell me to send it in for repairs. I get my 360, and the first thing I have to do is send it for repairs.

Later that night, my butterfly chair breaks.

The next day, I can't write to my external hard drive.

The next day, my toilet overflows.

The day after that, my toilet overflows again.

Friday, my PS2 won't load movie DVDs.

Saturday, my PS2 decides it doesn't like Guitar Hero anymore.

Fun week off right?

Well, there were some fun parts. I just felt like complaining about Murphy's Law for a little bit, since the opportunities to do so are so scant as it never seems to apply to me.

And if you could smell the sarcasm reeking from this blog post, your monitor would smell like my overflowing toilet.

I'll leave that one up to your imagination.