Dammit, I just lost the beginnings of a good journal entry. Craporama!
Well, suffice to say the week has seen quite a few more changes than my previous entry. Just over a week ago, my brother was sane, I was struggling to make ends meet, and the Yankees were fighting to have a postseason. Now, the Yankees battle the LA Angels of Anaheim in the playoffs (and there's NO way whatsoever I'll ever root for a team with a name change as dumb as the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim"), I've got secure work for the next 2 months AND several commissions coming in, and my brother has stepped over the line of openminded encouragement and gone into Full Blown Evangelism. Please, somebody call the CDC, STAT!
So my response to his first email was responded to in a 2nd email with appreciation for my support and understanding of him / his new perspective on life. Good. And then followed by several paragraphs on how, no matter how I live my life, if I don't accept Jesus as my savior, I'm not getting in. At all. No way, no how. That's how it is, and it's like that!
Um, pass.
It's one thing for my younger, less experienced, less traveled, more sheltered brother to be giving Ol' Trial-N-Error Me some pointers on how to approach life, but I think just about everybody reading this, let alone the millions who won't read this, would take exception to this ruling. And nevermind that this guy might even be right (although what a Deital shame that would be), he's doing a shit job of marketing this to demographics outside his target audiences (ie. the supposed lost souls who need saving and haven't accepted Christ yet). In all fairness, my girl did mention that converts tend to be very emphatic about their faith when they first become "Born Again," so perhaps this is just a mix of his excitement, enthusiasm, and immaturity in not realizing that much of the rest of the world hasn't taken the same leap of faith that he has, and thus hasn't landed in the same spot he has. But most definitely, this is the kind of absolutist, no-shades-of-grey tone of thinking that I was afraid of.
I suppose I'm a heathen for choosing to write this journal, rather than returning his follow up call yet either. I've needed some time to cool down in all this. You know, I really do think that it's good to have a humility of self towards a Higher Power, but if nothing else, as flawed humans that we are, even if we mean well in trying to guide each other towards a certain direction, "otherwise, you're not going to make it" is only going to push people back. Which defeats your purpose to begin with.
On the other hand, this new gig of mine is a temp gig that will put some cash on the table. . . wait, I can't believe I just wrote that. Well kids, let that be a lesson to you -- sometimes the similies, metaphors, and analogies get mixed up in the wash, so be sure to separate whites from colors (laundry and literary terms only), and always have enough quarters to complete a full wash of writing. . . at any rate, it's good to have a steady schedule again. I'm working with a group that does sleep analysis research --- a far cry from my career aspirations. I do have some concern that I'll fall into a rut of complacency, but at the same time, I'm optimistic that this will be the kick in the ass that I need to get out and really hustle. Not that I haven't been this year, but sometimes, whether we like it or not, you just gotta take it to 11.
Finally, yesterday I had a rare but fun opportunity to do a SUMO WRESTLING workout (Enjoy photos here, by the way). Yep, the big fat dudes shoving each other in diapers. Except it wasn't nearly as dismissive as that description. I'm a huge fan of just about any kind of wrestling, and this was my closest first-hand exposure to it. On top of that, the great Yokozuna Musashimaru was on hand, running the workout.
Now I'm not too well versed on many Sumos, but I do know a handful of the more recent superstars from the past decade or so, and I had watched this guy's performance during a Spring tournament on TV while I was in Japan 8 years ago. Man, it's hard to envision that I was in Japan 8 years ago, but to think that A) I'd get into Sumo so much that I'd pick a "favorite," and that 2) I'd work out with him years later, really kind of mind blowing. You know, living in LA, you run into the occasional celebrity, and its always kinda cool (try as you will to play it off), but for the guys that truly rank in your world as Impressive, I say g'head and mark out for 'em. And Musashimaru is one of those people.
Now go check out sets from Mnislahi, Seska, Kitty, and Inocencia (mother of two and a body like that?! Good on ya, girl!). And go look at Rhys and Amielle again (hellooooo, ladies!).
Well, suffice to say the week has seen quite a few more changes than my previous entry. Just over a week ago, my brother was sane, I was struggling to make ends meet, and the Yankees were fighting to have a postseason. Now, the Yankees battle the LA Angels of Anaheim in the playoffs (and there's NO way whatsoever I'll ever root for a team with a name change as dumb as the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim"), I've got secure work for the next 2 months AND several commissions coming in, and my brother has stepped over the line of openminded encouragement and gone into Full Blown Evangelism. Please, somebody call the CDC, STAT!
So my response to his first email was responded to in a 2nd email with appreciation for my support and understanding of him / his new perspective on life. Good. And then followed by several paragraphs on how, no matter how I live my life, if I don't accept Jesus as my savior, I'm not getting in. At all. No way, no how. That's how it is, and it's like that!
Um, pass.
It's one thing for my younger, less experienced, less traveled, more sheltered brother to be giving Ol' Trial-N-Error Me some pointers on how to approach life, but I think just about everybody reading this, let alone the millions who won't read this, would take exception to this ruling. And nevermind that this guy might even be right (although what a Deital shame that would be), he's doing a shit job of marketing this to demographics outside his target audiences (ie. the supposed lost souls who need saving and haven't accepted Christ yet). In all fairness, my girl did mention that converts tend to be very emphatic about their faith when they first become "Born Again," so perhaps this is just a mix of his excitement, enthusiasm, and immaturity in not realizing that much of the rest of the world hasn't taken the same leap of faith that he has, and thus hasn't landed in the same spot he has. But most definitely, this is the kind of absolutist, no-shades-of-grey tone of thinking that I was afraid of.
I suppose I'm a heathen for choosing to write this journal, rather than returning his follow up call yet either. I've needed some time to cool down in all this. You know, I really do think that it's good to have a humility of self towards a Higher Power, but if nothing else, as flawed humans that we are, even if we mean well in trying to guide each other towards a certain direction, "otherwise, you're not going to make it" is only going to push people back. Which defeats your purpose to begin with.
On the other hand, this new gig of mine is a temp gig that will put some cash on the table. . . wait, I can't believe I just wrote that. Well kids, let that be a lesson to you -- sometimes the similies, metaphors, and analogies get mixed up in the wash, so be sure to separate whites from colors (laundry and literary terms only), and always have enough quarters to complete a full wash of writing. . . at any rate, it's good to have a steady schedule again. I'm working with a group that does sleep analysis research --- a far cry from my career aspirations. I do have some concern that I'll fall into a rut of complacency, but at the same time, I'm optimistic that this will be the kick in the ass that I need to get out and really hustle. Not that I haven't been this year, but sometimes, whether we like it or not, you just gotta take it to 11.
Finally, yesterday I had a rare but fun opportunity to do a SUMO WRESTLING workout (Enjoy photos here, by the way). Yep, the big fat dudes shoving each other in diapers. Except it wasn't nearly as dismissive as that description. I'm a huge fan of just about any kind of wrestling, and this was my closest first-hand exposure to it. On top of that, the great Yokozuna Musashimaru was on hand, running the workout.
Now I'm not too well versed on many Sumos, but I do know a handful of the more recent superstars from the past decade or so, and I had watched this guy's performance during a Spring tournament on TV while I was in Japan 8 years ago. Man, it's hard to envision that I was in Japan 8 years ago, but to think that A) I'd get into Sumo so much that I'd pick a "favorite," and that 2) I'd work out with him years later, really kind of mind blowing. You know, living in LA, you run into the occasional celebrity, and its always kinda cool (try as you will to play it off), but for the guys that truly rank in your world as Impressive, I say g'head and mark out for 'em. And Musashimaru is one of those people.
Now go check out sets from Mnislahi, Seska, Kitty, and Inocencia (mother of two and a body like that?! Good on ya, girl!). And go look at Rhys and Amielle again (hellooooo, ladies!).
VIEW 10 of 10 COMMENTS
rhys:
thanx. 
she has too much personality for her own good.
she has too much personality for her own good.
nicolelee:
I really don't change all that often. Okay, maybe I do... But you have to consider that the pictures from my sets are over a 2 year period. That gives a girl enough time for a few changes in hairstyle, eh?