the BUSY-ness of life

My entire life I’ve been accustomed to hearing some variation of the comment, “Wow, you’re really busy…” and most of my life I’ve heard that and felt a twinge of pride and self-accomplishment. I felt that being busy meant that I was spending my time effectively and “making the most of my time.” But recently I’ve begun to question that intuition. While being busy may imply that one has many tasks and is involved in many different things, being busy may also imply that one is too busy… too busy for God, friends, and chill time.

It’s weird to say this but now as I begin thinking about internship opportunities this summer and ultimately post-college career choices, I’ve begun to realize that I’m on the second half of my college career. I can see the end right around the corner and it’s quickly approaching. I want to spend the rest of two remaining years in college not being “too busy;” to some extent this means that I want to spend my time even more effectively, on the other hand it also means that I also want to more intentionally spend my time being available, doing things I love, and enjoying the simple moments in life.

In the busy-ness of life… let’s not forget our business in life.

man-love

This past weekend the GCC ’09 class went on a fall break trip to Jersey Shore; it was a really amazing time. We spent time playing on the beach, watching movies, traveling into the city and sharing something that I like to call “man-love.” That’s right man-love. For the ladies who will never experience man-love, I’ve included a definition below.

Main Entry: man-¹love
Pronunciation: maen\’ləv\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English lufu

1: Strong manly bond with another man arising out of kinship or personal ties; completely non-sexual affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests
2: Unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another; brotherly concern for others
3: Comraderie felt by men on the same sports team (as demonstrated by the love-tap)
4: Common method of displaying affection among GCC brothers

It’s crazy this thing they call man-love.

lessons in heroism

So lately I've been hooked on a great show called "Heroes," but yesterday a friend sent me an article about someone dubbed a "hero." You can read the article here but essentially a female student was walking home alone late at night in Philadelphia when she was mugged by a man. After she gave the man her purse, she followed her instincts and ran. Unfortunately the man chased her down and began pummeling her on the ground. This is when another young woman Leslie Rogers happened to be walking by on the the other side of the street. She immediately called 911, yelled and began running toward the man. The man heard her calling the police and ran away.

I thought this was a really great act of bravery. Of course in those instances we all know what kind of action we need to take, but I think that in the moment it really takes a lot of guts. But it's in those moments that our true character is revealed. I loved the quote: "I remember, while I was running, thinking maybe this isn't the smartest thing to do," Rogers said. "But I didn't want to wake up the next morning and not be proud of how I handled it."

I think there are a couple lessons to be learned from this story:
1) Please be aware of your surroundings and be SMART. Ladies, this means that when a guy offers to walk you home that you should let him. Also, if no one is offering, you should ask someone. Boys (GCC boys in particular!), you SHOULD be offering to walk girls home. I know it's an inconvenience sometimes and it can really disrupt your studying or schedule, but I see it as a really tangible act of love to our sisters.
2) Consider what you will do in the case of an attack or if you are to witness an attack. If you see an attack you don't necessarily have to go fight off the attacker but you should call the police. The last thing we need is another Kitty Genovese, who was stabbed to death over a span of half an hour with more than 30 neighbors watching.
3) These type of attacks DO happen. Just last year one of the older guys from GCC was mugged about 50 yards from lower quad gate.

I realize that these past couple posts make Philly out to be a really terrible and scary place, but I figure it's better to be slightly on edge and aware than nonchalant about the city.

one thing i'm thankful for...

This sounds ridiculous, but one thing I'm very thankful for are disposable toilet cover sheets. You know what I'm talking about, the thin-filmy-flushable paper that you place on the seat before sitting on it. These sheets are a rather new phenomenon that have become quite common in the last couple years or so.

I was thinking about it today as I was sitting on the toilet (sorry for the details)... it's funny how a thin piece of paper 1/10th of a millimeter thick can give us such a sense of security. Some of the filthiest toilets in the world you couldn't pay me to sit on are bearable with some cleaning and the placement of just one disposable sheet. But yes, I'm very thankful for that and for the brilliant man who just got tired of carefully placing strips of toilet paper down before using the toilet.

This is kind of a random post, but I've found that life is so much more pleasant when you are thankful for the little things.

(btw, it's pretty exciting to see comments being left on the posts... so please do!)

the world's a scary place.

Growing up in the suburban Kansas I think I lived a rather sheltered and protected life. But just last week, I was disturbingly reminded that the world’s a scary place.

Last week a friend and I went downtown to do some shopping. As we were wrapping up, my friend went to go make one more purchase while I decided to head back to the subway terminal to listen to some of the subway performers. As I was standing there listening, an older gentleman about 50 years old strolled up next to me. He gave me a friendly smile and said, “Hi, how are you.” He looked like a homeless man seeking out some pocket change so I said, “Good, thanks.” He then proceeded to introduce himself so I shook his hand and then nonchalantly moved away.

About 5 minutes later, he showed up next to me again. “He’s really good, huh?” the man said as he looked around. At this point I began to get a little uncomfortable and suspicious; but I figured that he was just a lonely old man. He asked me where I was from and I told him I was a student in the area. Then he proceeded to say, “I can see you like the music… you know, I’ve got a lot of music videos at my place.” I nodded politely and said, “I see.” Then he said, “Do you want to come over some time and listen with me?”

It was at that moment that everything clicked. Something about him had struck me as odd, his hand shake had lingered a little too long, he was standing a little too close, but it was then that I realized what he was inferring. In shock, I said, “No I’m not interested” and I hurried off.

The rest of the day I was quite shaken. I just couldn’t believe what had happened to me. Sure, I have seen shows about sexual predators but I never really believed that they were out there. What was most disturbing to me was the thought that a child or young teenager could potentially fall victim to that man or other men like him.

The reason I’m writing about this is because I want to remind everyone to be vigilant and aware of the dangers out there. Unfortunately, the world’s a scary place. I hope and pray you’ll never encounter anything like that.