Education

So the other day I applied to Grant McEwan.  Entering my mastercard information so that they could charge me money to look at my application for something I didn't want to be applying for was brutal.  I was mad all day that I had to apply to stupid school that I didn't want to go to in stupid Edmonton where I didn't want to live and take a stupid program so that I could get a stupid job I didn't want to work at.  So I decided to ask God to make me excited about school.  I didn't even want to ask, because I didn't want to want to go to school.  I wanted him to present me with a wonderful alternative, but I knew school was something I needed to do.  Nothing against people that choose not to go to school, but God has been showing me pretty seriously the value of education.  First of all this renovation.  Don't get me wrong, I am super thankful to have the work.  But sanding all day and ripping up carpet made me realize that I could NOT be an unskilled worker for the next 30 years.  Then today, a guy, about 40, came in to Second Cup and asked if we were hiring.  I realized that that's what not going to school gets you (about 90% of the time).  I realized that I am in a super huge minority in the world be BE ABLE to get an education and I don't even want it.  I want to bum around at my 10 dollars-an-hour job.   There are people that would kill to have this opportunity.  There are people that would kill to only have to pay like 6 grand for school a year.  There are 40 year olds, with kids, who look back and with they got their education, and here I am-- at that turning point in my life and I don't even want to do the smart thing.  So I'm still not excited.  I would still rather take about 5 years off and travel around and then just meet somebody and be thier wife and have a bunch of kids and make supper for the rest of my life.  But, I feel like this is what I need to do.  So the application is in, and we'll see what happens from here.

Labour

So these past few days I've been doing some manual labour.  I know, the last thing you would probably expect from me.  The school I went to last year is doing some renos and ( I have no clue why they chose me but..) they offered me a few days work to help out with some painting.  When I agreed I thought I would be casually putting some paint on the wall with a roller.  Instead, I've been ripping up carpet, taping ...everthing you never knew needed to be taped, and sanding. Oh, sanding.  Yesterday I worked over 12 hours between this and the coffee shop.  In a strange way though, I have really come to appreciate working hard for my money.  There is something empowering about coming home, completely exhausted and spent and barely able to move, and then knowing that you have to get up the next morning and do the same thing.  I kind of like it... maybe not forever, but it's an interesting change.  Realizing that I actually don't need 15 hours of leisure time a day really changes your perspective on work and North American culture.  It's also crazy to think that there's people all over the world working this hard/ harder every day just to barely be able to feed their families.  I can't even imagine.  It makes me realize how truly blessed we are in North America and how we definately have a responsibility to help out people less fortunate than us.

She knows who she is she just forgot for a little while

On our Seattle trip I started Don Miller's new book a million miles in a thousand years.  After Blue Like Jazz I was expecting some pretty awesome stuff. Unfortunately, for the most part the book has been a bit of a let down.  But, being Don Miller he still says some pretty awesome stuff.  There is one line that he says that for some reason I can't get out of my head.  He's talking about a friend's daughter who has been making poor choices and mixed up with a bad guy and then her father makes some family changes that completely turn around her attitude.  Once she has come back to the family and who she really is, Don Miller says, "she knows who she is, she just forgot for a little while." Sometimes I think this is so true, for all of us.  Even if we're not doing acid or pregnant with a drug dealers baby, I think we all forget who God made us to be sometimes.  That's been a big thing for me lately.  Realizing that I was made to be somebody beautiful in God's image and that I need to strive to be that person every day.  I think it relates to other people too.  When we see people we know who seemingly have gone off the deep end, I think we need to view them as an amazing person who's just forgetting who they are, not a lost cause.  I think so often we get scared and choose to reject those people from our lives, when in fact that's when they need us the most.  When people are floundering around, trying to figure out who they are, they need their friends the most to love them no matter what.  I'm not really sure if Don Miller meant everything from that statement that I got from it, but nonetheless, I found them to be some powerful words.

My first blog post. ever.

So I'm new to this whole blogging thing. I used to think it was a really weird concept- people writing about their lives for anyone to read.  And yet, here I find myself doing it.  Maybe it has something to do with what Marc Driscol was talking about on Sunday-narcissism. We're obsessed with ourselves. We want everyone to worship us and care about us and think we're great.  Anyways, be it narcissism or just trying something new, I now have a blog.

I just got back from a trip to Seattle with my family. I love the west coast. Everyone seems like they are on some sort of fabulous journey of self discovery.  You can't walk two minutes without getting caffinated. It's wonderful. I also decided that everywhere should be more like Portland.  That city knows whats up.  They are so green, and everyone there loves recycling. That was my take on it.  And I love recycling, so in my opinion they are doing things right. It baffles me really how everybody else dropped the ball so badly on the whole take care of the earth thing.