Blue Merle is Back Again

A friend let me borrow "Burning in the Sun" a while back and after listening to the CD for the second time, I realized how amazing Blue Merle really was. I became a huge fan and they are, quite possibly, my favorite band, surpassing even the beloved Coldplay. But despite their phenomenal lyrics and awesome sound, the members of the band have decided to move on to solo projects. It saddens me that such musically talented people will not be producing any new albums together, but atleast they left us with a second taste of their greatness. You can dowload some live music off their website for free. Check them out at www.bluemerle.com. In the meantime, enjoy the band that was Blue Merle.

Boxcar Racer

I'm walking the streets
With my hands in my shoes
I'm out on a date with a picture of you
I got a boxcar racer
It's faster than the speed of sound
It takes me away from here

She's walking the streets
With her hands in her shoes
And she's in love with a boy
Who only gives her the blues
She loves the boxcar racer because
He's faster than the speed of sound
He takes her away from here

And if you look oh if you look
You'll find nothing at all
You'll find nothing at all
But if it's good oh if it's good
You'll find a love a great lover
If you let it go

So now I'm walking the streets
All alone in the night
I take alook at myself
And I kiss you goodbye but why?
I was a boxcar racer who was driving so
Fast that I couldn't slow down
I was running away from here
I was a boxcar racer who was driving so
Fast that I couldn't slow down
I was running away from here

46 Gallons and Counting...

Upon returing home from my softball game last night, I found that the middle section of my basement was flooded. The carpet was not just wet, but water was actually standing atleast 1/2 ft above the carpet. And this is not clean water, folks. It came from the hole in the ground where my sump pump sits, pretending to do its job. I couldn't believe it. I got some small buckets to atleast collect some of the water, and then I just gave up. Overwhelmed is a word I am very familiar with these days. I had to run to Ace Hardware and fork out $45 for a Shop Vac, come home and assemble it, then begin the three hour job of getting 46 gallons of water out of my carpet. It's just a mess.

So, even before the flood, I've had a really strong desire to sell my house and move to a different state. I'm single, so nothing is keeping me from staying here except fear. I believe God has something much bigger for me than what I have currently. Something that, at this point, I'm not quite sure of, but I know He's calling me "somewhere" to do "something." I need to fill in the blanks, so I've been praying desperately that He give me some answers. I'm almost 27 and life has certainly not turned out the way I had planned. It hasn't even come close, so I think it's time I did something about it. I will keep you posted if I decide to change my geographical location. Just pray that I won't do it because I'm scared. Pray that I will do it because I've listened to my Father.

Control, Alt, Delete

Lately, I have found myself with a strong desire to completely pound on my "control, alt, delete" buttons at work. A heavy sigh comes over me, I watch my index finger as it heads towards those three little keys, almost as if it were in slow motion in a really bad John Woo film, and then it happens. You Dilbert fans know what I'm talking about. The phone rings. "I need the status on this project ASAP." ASAP...post heed. However you want to say it, the acronym just makes you cringe. You know what I want ASAP? A day off each week, like the Europeans. Maybe an extra long chili dog with a guarantee that I won't gain five pounds. Or even better, a trip to Italy or some remote island paradise. What's the status on those projects, huh? I'd better get started on them. I don't want to end up like a bald comic icon in the newspaper.

"Take it from me, kid. This one's gonna hurt."

So, sometimes life can be really cool and suck all at once. I'm not sure how that works, but I believe it has something to do with people being pretty self-involved. Today, I was self-invovled. My niece spent the night last night and we had a great time. We played, laughed, colored, watched "The Incredibles." But when she woke up at 5:30am, all I could think was, "Please, God...just a few more hours of sleep." Alas, that did not happen, nor did the nap I planned on taking in the afternoon. Stupid pile of laundry. But I got angry with myself because I have this opportunity to reflect a woman of God to someone who is at such an influential stage in her life, and all I could think about was myself. "I'm not good enough. You don't have anything to teach. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep." I know this was an attack and I fought through it today, but the attacks take their toll and sometimes I just give up.

I continued to think about myself throughout the evening because sometimes life is a lot harder than you believe it will be. I guess you can't prepare yourself enough for those moments of the long and arduous journey. But my friend reminded me of a very cool passage in Samuel. One where a woman is crying out to God because she's hurting so badly. She wants a son and believes herself to be worthy of motherhood, but it hasn't happened yet. So she continues to just pour out her heart and at the end of it all, she praises God. She gets up, eats something, and basically says that she knows God has heard her cry and has felt her heartache. She doesn't continue in the downtrodden state. She has faith that the Lord cares for her and wants the best for her. I need to remember this passage.

Freshman

Countless times within the past year, I have heard the words "My Space" and "blog" thrown around like they've been in our language for centuries. As I usually do with all new technology, I looked at the blogging concept as silly and one in which I would not partake. However, as time progressed, I began to warm up to the idea of sharing my thoughts on movies, music, faith, and life with the small amount of people who will actually read my blog. I am a freshman here; not quite sure of myself, but willing to give it a try. I'm sure it won't always be exciting or creative, but it will be me and that's why I'm here.