Welts, welts, and more welts

Well, I came home from work early today. Actually, I left about 10 minutes early but still. I left with a terrible itching all over my upper body. Around 3:00 today I reached over to scratch my arm because it was itching and I noticed a string of welts on my arm. Upon further investigation I discovered welts on my other arm, and my torso as well. Current hypothesis is that the laundry we did at Mom and Dad's this weekend, is causing me to have an allergic reaction as the shirt is the only thing that had been washed there, and the only places on my body where welts were is where my shirt was. Well, after a cold shower and running around in shorts all evening, finally the welts are going away. Alegra may have had something to do with that as well. Hopefully I can prevent this from recurring again tomorrow. I sure hate to itch.

On a side note, Dad and I trailered the Bronco last night and took it to Aamco to have them diagnose my transmission. Well, I got a call from Aamco today. I was on a support call at work so I couldn't take it, but the technician said I was right, that the Bronco is making some noise when it's in 2nd gear. Gee, thanks. He told me they needed to put it up on the racks and wouldn't be able to do that until tomorrow, so I'm still waiting for now. Hopefully I'll find something out soon.

Later,

David

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Sometime

One of these days, something is going to come along and strike me and make me say...I need to blog about this. Until that day, you're just going to have to put up with my boring entries that say nothing much has happened. Here's a run down of my day. I went to work, I came home, I fixed dinner, we went on a walk. The rest is yet to happen. So, maybe something will happen this evening after I write this that will spark that old familiar thought...Speaking of old familiar thoughts, I need to go check on Erin, sounds like she's demolishing the upstairs bathroom!

Later,

David

Nothing

I just wanted to say that I have nothing to say.

Later,

David

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Hit the sack

Well, I just finished reading an interesting article regarding how Google does their page rank system. Some very interesting information if you have any desire to know how to better rank your webpage in the good search results. Well, I'm getting pretty tired, and need to go to bed. I've been having trouble getting up in the mornings... Well. I'm off.

Later,

David

MSCE

Well, I have some exciting news to share today. I was speaking with one of the owners of the company today and he was telling me that we're in the process of apply to become a Microsoft Certified Partner. Currently we meet the criteria to be a Silver member, but are 10 points shy of meeting the Gold member criteria. Some of the ways that we can get points depends on the skill level of your employees. So, he talked like they were going to start having me take some certification tests, with just one test passed we should meet the criteria needed, but over the long run, I'll continue taking the tests until I've met the full criteria for being a Microsoft Certified Engineer. I'm very excited...

Later,

David

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Tempted

Well, I was very tempted to post a new entry on the blog last night, but I decided it would be best not to. I had a really bad day and if you want me to summarize it, here is a phrase I used to describe how I felt yesterday:

"I need money, so I've whored myself out to corporate America, and I'm tired of getting screwed!"

Sorry if that was a bit vulgar, but that's the cleaned up version. Well, today was a much better day. I actually felt like I enjoyed working today. There were a few scenarios that I was irritated by, but for the most part it was a good day. I really don't have a lot that I want or need to say today, so I'm going to go.

Later,

David

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New Book

Well, I've started reading a new book tonight...Jesus In The Margins by Rick McKinley. I don't really know much about it, but decided to read it after reading this review of the book. Anyhow...as I said, I started reading it tonight, and have completed the first chapter. There were a few stories that I really feel like I can relate to and I wanted to pass them along to you all.

David, Age 24

I'm still in college. It's my fourth college, and I've changed my major about a hundred times. I know. What a loser, right?
I see friends moving on to careers and becoming successful. The American dream. But I'm still here, lagging behind the rest of the pack, not even sure I want to catch up. I work just like they work. I just don't make as much money. I serve coffee at a franchise of the ever-present, ever-famous corporate coffee vendor from the Great Norhtwest.
The truth is, I don't think I'm even gonna stay in school. What's the point? For the most part, even my friends who have graduated are still working simple jobs.
I never knew my dad. He left when I was around three. My mom told me he was living in another state, but I've never tried to get in touch with him. I don't really care, I guess. I know this has affected me somehow, but I just kind of avoid thinking about it. My mom was great - She did all she could to fill his shoes. I just kind of wish I had that man in my life to prepare me for this whole deal of growing up.
You grow up with all this pressure to succeed, and you think, Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll get it together one day. Then you wake up and you're twenty-four, still having to live with a bunch of people to make rent. Seems like life is passing me by.
I'm educated beyond my potential. I've taken philosophy, which taught me that life is meaningful only if you create meaning for yourself. I've taken biology, which taught me that I evolved by chance out of the primordial pond. I've taken business courses, which assumed my goal in life was to make money, a mistaken presupposition for this coffee bistro. All of them led to my collective pile of knowledge, and none of them connect into a meaningful whole. Not once in all my education has anyone asked the question, why are you here? That would have been a great class, had I possessed the fortitude not to drop out of it.
Why am I here? I guess that's the question I'm waiting for someone to answer. I don't want to create my own existential reality. That would only be kidding myself. Who am I to create my own meaning? I can hardly get to work on time. If I ever buy into the fact that I'm here by evolutionary chance alone, I'm afraid I'll just "off" myself one day. I mean, what's the point?
But alas, if I join the rat race and buy into accumulation of cash as the meaning of life, I would simply die inside. I can't wake up, kiss my little blond wife on the cheek, climb into my Lexus, and drive off to throw elbows in the corporate boxing ring. I want something that's true and can speak to the growing emptiness that world seems to think I don't notice. (Tricky, aren't they?)
It's not that I'm in the worst place to be. I just can't get through a day without someone asking me what I want to be when I get done with school. That question pushes me into this loneliness where I feel like I'm huddled in a glass box that's only big enough for me. I guess I just wish I was something, so I didn't have to become something.

Liz, Age 27

I grew up in a great home. I had two great parents who loved me. We went to church as long as I can remember, and my father was a deacon there. When I was seven, I remember having a very real encounter with God. The preacher was preaching and I don't even remember now what he was talking about, but I remember feeling touched by God deep in my heart. I went forward at the end of the service and asked God to forgive me and enter my life. From that day forward, I've had a relationship with God.
Growing up in the church was a different kind of growing up. I never really understood where I fit in the church. When we came through the doors, I would be rushed off to a class with people who were my age. I went from class to class as I grew up, all the while wondering when I would get to be in the real church. I felt kind of like God's kid who needed babysitting while God did his real business with adults who could understand him better. We learned all the stories of the Bible, but didn't talk much about how it was supposed to fit into our lives.
As I got older and went to high school, I remember the focus changing quite a bit. The lessons began to be about protecting us from the world around us. I had friends in high school who didn't go to church, yet they were my best friends. For some reason this was wrong. We were often taught that if we wanted to follow God, we would need to leave the friends we had because they would bring us down.
It seemed that somewhere along the way God quit liking nonreligious people. The only way I could really live for God was by living my life in a religious world and not in the world where everyone else lived. The problem was, I really liked these people. They were my friends. The only way to solve the problem seemed to be to create a little compartment in my head where I could keep my God stuff. I could bring it out on Sundays or when I was with religious people, then the rest of the time I could just live my life.
I guess it made me feel like I was in no-man's land a lot, loving God but not fitting into the religious world. Loving people in the real world, but feeling I shouldn't hang out with them. I was an alien in both worlds.
I've gotten older and I've married, and I now have two kids. I live my life pretty much in the religious world. We're in a great church and our kids go to a Christian school we love. I don't really have any friends anymore who don't believe in God, so I guess I've crossed over. I feel like it's not right though. I feel like I should have relationships with people who are different. It's been so long now since I lived in that world. I don't think I would even know where to start making friends with people like that.
My relationship with God is still there. At times I feel like I'm going through the motions. I just can't make it all connect. It's like I have to do one or the other. It's a weird place to be.
I think I may be the only person who struggles with this. At church everyone seems happy, like they never want to know what's happening in the real world. I do, though. I want to love God and the people around me in the world who don't understand God yet. But that feels wrong. Or maybe it's just me.

Well, this is sort of where I've been recently, trying to make sense of it all. Thanks for enduring a long post...

Later,

David

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