Saturday, December 12, 2009

No Posts Indefinitely due to Explosions

My power's out indefinitely, and as such, I will not be able to post (with the computer being at 13% battery and the internet gone...)

However, I witnessed the explosions that made the power go out.

Today was foggy. The rain had started around 2 PM, but by 4 it was gone.

Here's the story:

I was sitting on my couch on the phone. And you know how it was really gray and dreary and colorless outside? Well, suddenly, there's a big flash of orange light, and a shaking sound (the window rattled). I look outside, and there is a ton (a TON) of sparks showering down onto the shrubbery. I think "Oh, fudgesicles...where's my cell phone? I need to call 911" when there's another boom at the other powerline. I rush over there...and there's barrels and barrels and barrels of sparks pouring and pouring out, the power line falling and glowing bright white...

And then I got connected to the 911 operator, and I tell her my name and address...and she connects me to the police station...and I give them my name and address and what happened...and then I get transferred to the fire department...and I give them my name and address, and what happened, and my address, and my city, and my city again, my name, my cell phone number, and my city yet again...

And so meanwhile, I'm looking at a downed power line in the shrubbery, caught on a tree...and for the next two hours, while all my power's gone and all I have is my phone, I'm busy taking pictures of the tree smolder and the fire flare up...

But anyway, I'm safe, the tree is OK, the power's gone, and there will probably be no more posts for a while...

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Stupid Left Contact

I wear night contacts (rigid gas permeable). In short, you put them in at night, and their rigidness and their weight molds your eye back to the correct shape so that when you take them out in the morning, your eyes will be okay for the rest of the day.

Last night, however, when I put my left contact in, it hurt a little- just like a piece of sand had gotten into your eye. I ignored it. Tears usually flush out whatever is hidden inside the contact.

The night crawled slowly by. The agitation behind my contact keeps growing, and growing. I put Visine in my eyes. It brings temporary relief. I roll my eyes around, hoping that whatever it is bothering me will dislodge itself. It doesn't work. My eye feels like someone's pressing hard with a sharp fingernail onto it.

Enter 2 in the morning. I get mad at the dumb contact. I take it out, wash it, then stick it back in (I almost thought I lost it in the dark). It still hurts.

Finally, at 4 in the morning (3:48- I checked), I give up. I take out my contacts, wash them, put them back inside their case, and rub my eyes for the next twenty minutes. Then I went back to sleep.

Ah...sounds like a nice ending, doesn't it?

It's not the end yet...

It's 7 in the morning. I'm awake, and doing work. My left eye hurts like crazy- and I'm tired. Really, really, tired. Every time I blink tears come out because the eye and the eyelid keep rubbing against each other in a really annoying way. My eye was red and sensitive. The contact had left a trail of death.

Until 9, I walked around with my right eye closed...I dunno why that helped the pain. I just know that then the left eye couldn't close, and so it couldn't rub and be annoying.

But yes. That was my morning.

I'm going to clean my contact very well before putting it in tonight.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving! 10 Things I'm Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving guys! Here's what I'm thankful for:

  1. Jesus
  2. Friends (and family)
  3. Good food (I don't like turkey)
  4. A day off of work
  5. A good brain to think and be creative with
  6. A blog to write on (even though I can't post because it's broken)
  7. Someone to fix my computer when it's broken (hopefully fixed by next Tuesday...)
  8. An increase in blog views
  9. Internet
  10. Warm socks
(I'm posting this now because I probably won't be able to tomorrow.)

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

10 Things That Frustrate Me Right Now

10 Things That Frustrate Me Right Now

  1. I'm tired
  2. I'm cold
  3. I'm getting sick
  4. I'm hungry
  5. I can't figure out how to make a back-up CD with Windows Vista
  6. My leg fell asleep
  7. I still have work to do
  8. Navigating my email to attach large files is annoying
  9. Waiting for my email to attach large files is annoying
  10. My computer froze within the span of typing this because it can't back0up my system and attach large files at once!
Gosh!

But Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world and rose again, conquering Death, so I can't be sad about those things...just a little frustrated.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

What Happened 10/20

On Tuesday, something weird happened...

I didn't wake up in the same room I woke up in...I've never been known to sleepwalk...but it was weird not waking up in the same room.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Obama and Nobel Peace Prize, Opinion

Okie dokie...let's talk about Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize.

I, myself, didn't know about this fact until Friday morning...so I searched up "Obama Nobel Peace Prize" on a search engine (actually, 2), and skimmed through a couple articles.

Now, it seems (at the very most basic level) that Obama is being granted this prize because of his promises of peace- that is, nuclear reduction, etc.

As quoted by sfgate.com (Source 2),

"Some people say — and I understand it — 'Isn't it premature? Too early?' Well, I'd say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now," Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, told the AP. "It is now that we have the opportunity to respond — all of us."

Now here's what I think.

First of all, let's start with the quote you just read.

"It could be too late to respond three years from now."
I completely disagree. I don't know about other people, but I was raised in an environment where you achieve your goal before getting your prize. For example, if you get the straight A's on your report card, then you can go to the party on Saturday. If it's your birthday, then you can redeem your free thingamabob on your birthday coupon. Am I making sense? I think so.

So that's a point I'm sorta skeptical on...

Now, don't get me wrong, though. If Obama manages to get everyone in the world holding hands and signing a world anthem, I would be thrilled. A hundred thousand NPPs to him, I would say. Heck, even getting a half, a third, an eigth of the way there would be an extroardinary achievement deserving at least a couple more honors with which he has already been bestowed.

But the point is, you need to do it first.

Now, since we've established that if he's done anything important and substancial that improves peace of the world (not just making promises), then he is completely worthy of the NPP.

I'll make a list of what he's done, then close it with the articles I looked at.

What Obama has done to improve world peace:





Sources:
http://wbztv.com/local/obama.nobel.peace.2.1237783.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/08/international/i221133D49.DTL


My last personal note:

In case if you didn't get that, the answer to what Obama has done so far that's substancial enough to get a NPP is absolutely nothing.

Ladies and gentlemen, America was not built on promises. It was not the signing of some sheet of paper in 1776 that made America her own country, but a bloody, savage war. It was not through promises that Ghandi freed India, but through peaceful action. It was not through megear talks that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for his rights, but unified calls for movement and change. Similarly (on the other end of the spectrum), Hitler and Stalin did not become leaders of their countries through talks, promises, or mere diplomacy- they used force and violence.

We need some action, not some words. Don't actions speak louder than words?

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Scour Paid Me!

(Exciting post from yesterday)

Well, you guys remember the post about Scour, right? (If you don't, see it here) Basically, you got points for searching with their search engine, and if you get enough points (6,500), then they'd mail you a 25 dollar Visa debit card. I've been using Scour for a little more than a year.

Guess what.

I got the debit card. Today. In the mail. So darn excited! Here are the pictures.

NOTE: I'm very sorry. A post-it, white business card, and pair of scissors seemed to magically fall onto the card number and my name and other sensitive data, so you can't tell what it is. Pity.

Here's the envelope I got today:




Here's the envelope inside the envelope (post-it fell on top of the account number, the card number, and the access code):



The actual gift card- darn post-it note! It migrated.



The letter saying I got my gift card, and the actual gift card. You may be wondering where the post it went. Let's just say that scissors beats paper.



Coolio. 25 bucks in my pocket.

EDITED 11/2/09 for clarity.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Bolt

I recently watched Bolt, the movie about a dog who's lost and has to find his way home, and so now I'm going to review it for you all. Here we go:

Bolt is a movie made by Disney Animation, 2008. It's a comedy, and, I have to say, it really is funny. Basically, this dog named Bolt is a TV show dog with super powers (super strength, heat vision, and a 'super bark'. In order to keep things realistic for the dog, the producers absolutely insist that the dog does not know he is in a TV show. Bolt really thinks he has super powers. The plot of the TV show is that his owner (both in the TV show and outside of it) Penny is trying to rescue her kidnapped father from the clutches of evil Dr. Calico (who carries a cat on his shoulder). However, to increase viewers, the producer decides to have Calico kidnap Penny herself. Bolt, thinking this entire kidnapping is real, panics, escapes from the set, and ends up in a box of styrafoam peanuts. The box is sealed, and he is shipped all the way from Hollywood to the East Coast. To find out how to save Penny, he finds a cat named Mittens and forces her to take him to Calico. Mittens, not knowing what was going on, read Bolt's collar and saw that he was from Hollywood, so Mittens 'admits' that she knew where Penny was and starts walking Bolt over to Hollywood. (Yep. From New York.) Along the way, they meet a little hamster in a ball named Rhino, who's a big fan of Bolt. On a train that's heading over to the West, a number of events make Bolt realize that he, in fact, did not have super powers. Skipping their adventure over to Hollywood, Bolt finally arrives in Hollywood, worms his way over to the studio, and sees Penny with another dog, whom she says she loves very much. Bolt, heartbroken, goes away. Mittens, however, stays and sees that it was just Penny doing her act with the Bolt-replacement for the show, and she sees that Penny really misses Bolt. Mittens runs off to try to get Bolt to cheer up and realize the situation. While that's happening, however, the Bolt-replacement gets scared during the shooting of the TV show and starts a huge fire in the studio, which traps Penny inside. In the short, Bolt rushes inside and manages to save Penny from impeding disaster, and they are united and happy once more.

Okay. That's the plot, now onto the funny: In short, Bolt's plot is magnificently done. It's really funny, and I tried not to ruin most of the funny parts in the story...The little hamster, Rhino, who I skipped over, is a hilarious character. This is a great family film, or a good one to just have a laugh with. Funny, suspenseful, and fast-paced, I highly recommend Bolt for anyone who wants a good laugh.
However, I do need to point out, in the sake of fairness, that there are a couple parts near the end which you really want to fastfoward through. The movie slows dramatically when compared to the normal pace, and the slow parts really don't have much to do with anything. But that's pretty much the only bad thing about the movie.

Overall: 9/10

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Wednesday, August 12, 2009- The Day I got Leprosy

Wednesday, August 12, 2009.

As I was taking a shower this morning, I noticed 2 things.
1) The burn mark (in the shape of a ring) on my right index finger turned white in the heat and the water. You know how your skin loses its color when it's dead, but it still looks the same color because it's next to the rest of your skin? (Does that even make sense? Is that even relevant? Point in case: My skin was white in a ring shape, and it was freaky.)
2) As I was looking at the burn mark, I noticed that on my middle finger, there was some brown stuff near the side of the nail, and some white stuff under it. My very first thought was that it looked like my skin was rotting. Following that thought, I realized (because I was completely calm and did not panic after realizing my skin was rotting) that the white stuff under the brown stuff must be the already dead and decayed skin. Yes, blog viewers, I had successfully- in my infinite knowledge- diagnosed myself with leprosy. That was my precise thought that moment- I had leprosy.

I, in my panicy state, threw my hand into the water, and the dirty stuff washed off. But that's how my morning started on Wednesday.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Broken Glass

The other day, I was walking through the parking lot with a couple of guys. We're just walking and talking- you know, normal stuff. Suddenly, I feel something scratch my toe- you know the feeling, where there's a rock in your shoe, right? Well, this didn't quite feel like an ordinary rock; this one was pointy. So I tell them "Wait up a minute, there's something in my shoe." And I take off my shoe, hop around on one foot, and shake out the shoe. Instead of a small rock, a little shard of glass falls out.

Yeah, it was sorta freaky.

Anyway, have a good weekend.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Bee Stings

Yesterday, I was taking care of this little girl, who (I think) is going into either first or second grade. Anyway, she was outside playing in a soccer field. She and her friends screamed when she saw a bee and tried to kill it by stepping on it. I tell them to leave the bees alone.
They, being intelligent females, decide to try to catch the bees with cups. I take their cups away. (It's a rather dramatic story with a rather dramatic struggle, but I'll skip that. It ends with them smuggling a cup and running away from me.) Then they find a shoe and start beating the bees. I take the shoe away. They get the shoe back.
So I'm looking down, entertaining a kindergartner, and then I hear a girl cry...

She got stung by a bee.

She starts hopping up and down and yelling, even when I tell her to lie down. So we hobble over back into the room, and she lies down (finally!) and I roll up her pant leg with a credit card to scoop out the stinger and...

There was no stinger.

And that was one of the small highlights of my day.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

My Fake Arm

Yesterday, I was asked if my arm was fake (by like a fourth grader). I told him no. He kept insisting that it was fake, so I pulled up my sleeve and showed him where it attached to my body. So he gives up in that department.

A minute later he asks me if my leg is fake.

Don't little kids say the darnest things?

Friday, May 29, 2009

Aloe Vera Pups- A "How To"

NOTE: Due to the many Google searches on how to remove and transplant Aloe Vera shootings (commonly known as pups), I have made a new How To page (which would be this one) concerning the aforementioned. To see the other Aloe Vera page, click here. There are pictures of pups here, but not how to remove them.

HOW TO: Remove an Aloe Vera pup and plant it.

Get the Aloe Vera plant pup.

  1. Find the pup.
  2. Wait until the pup is about 2-4 inches tall, 3-4 inches preferred. It should have at least 4 leaves (5+ preferred), be rather green, and large.
  3. Rip the pup off- it does sometimes take a little work. Depending on how the mother plant is growing, it could be really easy (like taking off the plastic covering to a pudding cup) or rather difficult (try clearing away the dirt near it, then work in a variety of directions: up, out, straight to the side...) NOTE: It is okay if a couple leaves get ripped off. There should be some sort of base to your pup, and usually there's going to be one little yellow-green trail (which is a root).
  4. Grab your pot and your soil. Your soil doesn't have to be super good, but it should be mildly decent. Also, it should be a little sandy- if you have some super rich, dark black soil, go ahead and mix a little crummy soil or sand into it.
  5. Stick the pup in the pot.
And that's about it. I would suggest watering it (just a little). Keep in mind that these are succulents, like cacti- they get over-watered easily (consequently, don't water too much).

If your pup is doing good, then it should stay a nice healthy green color. If not, then it'll turn a little purple (actually, most of it will turn a very pale purple) and some bottom leaves will start shriveling up. Don't worry (yet)- just make sure the soil is wet (sometimes the water just stays on top and doesn't get down to the roots). Or sometimes, your soil is too wet and the roots actually start rotting (called root rot).

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Touching Poem by E.E. Cummings- i carry your heart with me

Here's a touching poem by ee cummings (real name Edward Estlin Cummings, but often signed as shown before), titled i carry your heart with me. (NOTE: All spaces and spellings are of Cummings, not mine.)

Unfortuantly, Blogger's being a little weird right now and so I had to take a screen shot of the poem. Click on the picture below to maximize the poem.



I like the last stanza the best..."the root of the root and the bud of the bud."
Isn't that so touching?





Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Kung Fu Panda

Kung Fu Panda is, overall, a hilarious movie to watch. While it's not the funniest comedy around, it does have an overall good plot and some funny jokes in it. Here's the breakdown:

(SPOILER ALERT)

So, there's these 5 animal guys called the Furious Five, which are kung fu-y type people- Tigress, Crane, Snake (or Viper), Crane, and Mantis (who's teeny-weeny). So these guys, trained by a turtle (or tortise?) Oogway and the turtle's assistant, a little koala type looking thing named Shifu, need to protect their village from the snow leopard Tai Lung, who is going to escape from his prison. (Oogway has a vision that it's going to happen.) So Oogway has this bright idea to hold a tournament to choose the Dragon Warrior, who is worthy enough to read the never-before-read dragon scroll, which is supposed to give secrets leading to super powers (or something).

Meanwhile, Po, a giant panda, son of a noodle maker (who happens to be a duck?) and food-aholic, wants to go see the tournament. He pushes his noodle cart to the Palace, but he can't get into the tournament to watch. He's desparate for a way in so he uses a rocket (firecracker/ fireworks) to fling himself in...and apparently Oogway points right where panda-man landed, which means that Po is the new Dragon Warrior.

So now Shifu has to teach Po, and he thinks Po is pretty useless...but Po's really nice to everyone (good noodle cooker) and everyone likes him except for Tigress.

So anyhow, Tai Lung escapes from his prison, and goes straight for the valley where the Dragon Scroll is held (he wants to read it and get super powerful). All the while, Shifu finally realizes the way to get Po to trian is to not let him eat until he is trained. Po finally gets kung fu and is now a kung fu master ninja.

The Five go and fight Tai Lung on a bridge. It's a really good fight scene, actually; if I could, I'd watch it again and again. Very dramatic. But either way, Tai Lung gets the better of all 5 of them with his Nerve Strike (or something like that) which paralyzes the enemy.

But Shifu is still excited because he goes ahead and makes Po the Dragon Warrior. Po takes and reads the Dragon Scroll...which is blank- and Po gets no super power. So Po and Shifu and all the other 5 are like, "Okay, now what?" so Shifu decides that he will stay and fight Tai Lung while Po and the other 5 go and get all the villagers out.

While escorting the villagers out, Po meets his dad (who happens to be a crane--a crane gives birth to a panda?) and from his dad, he realizes that "there is no secret ingredient" and that the Dragon Warrior is just himself, nothing added. So Po rushes back to the temple to help Shifu.

Meanwhile Shifu is getting pounded, killed, annihilated by Tai Lung. It's a massacre. Then Po takes over and then Po and Tai Lung fight each other...long story short, Po wins because he is so fat that the Nerve Strike doesn't affect him, and he masters a Finger Hold, which pretty much obliterates Tai Lung.

And they live happily ever after. (Yeah, pretty much.)

So now that we have that, let's break it down into...

The Good:
  • Very funny. Very dramatic, very logical. No weird jumps, no weird characters. Perfect for the family or just when you're bored.

The Bad:
  • It's actually not that bad. There are, unfortuantly, significantly less jokes than I thought there would be, but it's still funny.

The Ugly:
  • None. Very clean- no adult themes, no bad language, just un-dry (wet?) humor.

Well, yeah. The GBU wasn't as long as it usually is, but there's not much to say. Again, Kung Fu Panda is a video perfect for the family, filled with fun, action, and laughs.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Awful Tasting Asian Drink

So the other day (Sunday?) I was at the Asian supermarket, and, of course, they had those free samples. Needless to say, I took one. Now before we go further, I'd like to point out three things: first, it was free; second, it was a drink- they usually don't give out drinks; third, I got the very last one. So seeing my luck, I figured that this would be good. And so I drank it.

It is the absolutely worst tasting drink in the world.

The moral of this story is to never drink an Asian drink that's a diluted peach color unless if you want your mouth to pucker up, your throat to gag, and that taste in your mouth to stay there for an hour.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

April Fool’s Day Prank- Switch Mouse Keys- A How To

HOW TO: Switch the mouse click so that left click will be right click and vice versa for a good, safe, harmless, non-messy, clean, sound April Fool’s Day Prank.

All you need the computer of the victim and about 3 minutes.

First, go to Start->Control Panel->Printers and Other Hardware->Mouse-> (Tab “Buttons”) Check “Switch Primary….” (Near the top)

Now the left click will become the right click (show that menu that usually pops up) while the right click will become the left click. Yeah, the victim does get the hang of it after a while, but it gets really annoying. Which is why it’s so awesome. To fix it, just uncheck the little box.

Oh, and happy first day of April.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

My MP3- Sandisk Sansa m250 2GB (Black)

I got a new mp3 player (my first!) It's called (from Amazon):

Sandisk 2GB Sansa m250 Black MP3 Player NEW [SDMX3-2048-A18, Hassle-Free Packaging]

And it costs $17.46. Apparently the hassle-free packaging makes it 20 dollars cheaper than it's non hassle free packaging sold by Amazon (whereas mine is sold by BlueProton through Amazon).

It is awesome. Pros and Cons?

Pros: Easy to use- everything is pretty self explanatory. Music's pretty easy to download. And it has a FM Radio in it, and (AND!) it comes with earphones! (And it lives up to its name- the packaging is quite hassle free.) It has a nice screen to it, and it comes with a cool screen protector.

Cons: FM Radio reception isn't very good. Color and shape are pretty...eh. The black doesn't go very well with the silver, and the shape is so...unorthodox.

Overall...I give it a 7/10 (which is still on the good side) for the actual product, but the price boosts it up to a 8/10.

An extremely good bargain. Highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/Sandisk-Player-SDMX3-2048-A18-Hassle-Free-Packaging/dp/B001QLFQOM/ref=pd_cp_e_3?pf_rd_p=413863501&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001LRHZYU&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0QVPEB93M01AVKE022E1

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Customer Service

So today I called customer service for my phone. I use a Sony Ericsson W580i, and as I was turning it on yesterday around 4 PM the screen wouldn't show anything. I mean the lights went on but the screen/display was black. So anyway I call, and after pressing a bunch of numbers to get to customer service, I get put on hold for 5 minutes- and not only did they have elevator music, they advertised, too- I talk for like 2 minutes, she goes to look up a phone number for another 5 minutes, she gives me the phone number ("In case if you get disconnected") and then she redirects me. So again, I'm waiting with my fun advertisements, and after around 7 minutes it suddenly disconnects for no reason.
Total call time: 15 minutes, 53 seconds.

Agh!!

Anyone have any remedy for my phone?

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Not Exactly The Best Book Ever- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I'll be honest; if you ever see this book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon, turn and walk the other way. Honestly, this book stinks.

The story is about a boy (and narrated through the boy) with a mental condition who loves math and is good at it. He lives with his father, and they live in the UK ( England area) and his mother is supposedly dead. Christopher, the boy, sees his neighbor's (a woman) dead dog and goes to investigate and tries to find out who killed the dog. When looking for clues, Christopher discovers a bunch of letters sent to him by his mother after her date of death. When his father finds out, he confesses that his mother (Judy) is not dead and that he killed the dog because he was arguing with the neighbor. Scared that his father will kill him too, Christopher runs away from home and boards the subway train to live with his mother at the address on the letters. His mother is with the neighbor’s husband. His mother takes care of and wants to live with Christopher but the husband doesn’t, and so they break apart and live in different areas. At the end, his father promises to rebuild Christopher’s trust and Christopher gets to take his math tests (A-level) and he thinks he can do anything.

The Good:
  • It has a good plot up to the point where we find out his father killed the dog. It’s a good mystery plot, but the rest of it is stupid and lacks forward movement.

The Bad:
  • Since the book is in Christopher’s point of view and because he has a mental condition, the book is very cluttered and the thoughts are unorganized. In addition, the author goes off on tangents on random math ideas and theories that have no relevance to the rest of the story. This hindered thinking process obstructs the flow of the novel.

The Ugly:
  • The last thing which I can think of is the language used- if you can think of any “bad word”, this book has it, and they’re common. It’s a huge obstacle on me giving this book any good opinion.
2.5/10 stars.

EDITED 11/6/10 for clarity and a couple grammar errors

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Houseplants- Aloe Vera

I'm not a big fan of "Interior Decorating" or whatever they call it. But I do like plants. Especially if they're useful- look, smell, taste (that's a big one), or have some other medicinal use.

(NOTE: Looking for info about Aloe Vera pups/ shoots? See here)

Unfortunately, the only houseplant I have right now if aloe vera, or at least some type of aloe.

These are really easy to propagate, meaning start growing. (Usually plants propagate by seeds or cuttings.) Aloe vera sends out little parts of itself that come from the base called "pups", sort of like if a tree sent out a branch from its base. They do this a lot, too, especially when they are old. Rip off the "branch" of aloe vera and stick it in a pot...and whella, it'll grow. Seriously. Just rip it off- but again, think of the tree. If I were to remove a branch from a tree, I wouldn't go cutting down the trunk- try looking at the pictures, that should help.

Try to get a nice green pup, about 3-4 inches long. See if your neighbor has one. If you can't convince them to give you a pup, tell them it's actually healthier for the plant if you remove the pups (less competition for resources).

The tricky part is when you stick it in the ground the plant will start turning a dull purple-brown color...during this stage it doesn't grow. It's trying to get roots and stuff again, so just give it some time. Could take a couple months, actually. But when they start turning green again you know you've gotten past the hard part.

They're supposed to be good medicinally...rip off a leaf and break it open so you get the juice and you can rub it on your sunburn or whatever burn you have. But I haven't been burned so I don't know about that. And it's also supposed to be good for your body if you eat it- but I think it tastes bad. It also moisturizes your skin; they sell aloe vera facial masks.

Don't water them too much, though. They're succulents, same as cacti. Note: If they turn purple-ish, and there are brown shriveled tips or brown shriveled leaves that are dying at the bottom, you haven't watered it enough. Again, don't super water them- it will take a little (actually a lot) of time (roughly a month or two) for it to look nice and green again.

Let me see if I can get a picture of mine up.

NOTE: Clicking on the pictures gives the full screen view.











EDIT 4/28/09: More pictures.


Aloe with 2 pups- can you see one near the front, and one on the let just barely peeing out? When they get about 3-4 inches tall, I can pull them out and plant them. All I have to do is yank them from the base.



Aloe that's purple- I thought I had too many so I pulled this one out of the soil (you can sorta see how the roots aren't rooted).


Aloe with pups (2) on the left...they're almost ready to be pulled off. Again, just yank from the base. You could use scissors, if you want.




Thursday, January 8, 2009

Retreat

Retreat Jan 1-4 09

Through life and all our work, sometimes we squeeze out God. And, being the little good boys and girls we are, we find 30 seconds before we go to sleep, and think, Hey, this is a great time to connect. And you wait for 10 seconds and you think, Nothing? I’m done then, and you fall asleep.

And naturally, without God, things, at least our feelings, go down. We start to be spiritually lost and stuff and we start drowning in the sea of our sin and our helplessness. So we’re like, maybe games, work, friends, money, family, and other stuff will get us out of this mess we’re in, but we just throw ourselves deeper and deeper in the hole we’ve dug.

And then you finally cry out to God in the midst of your darkness, and you yell “Where are you!” and you curse at his inability to save you and help you and comfort you until you really turn towards Him and find out that He’s been watching you run from idol to idol, shaking his head sadly, with his arms wide open waiting for you to hug him back. And then you do…and everything is…better than okay.

The thing I realized at the retreat is this: God will not answer when we call Him- He’s already done that, and He will if you honestly do- but rather when we earnestly seek Him we find that He’s gone as far as He could and He’s just waiting for you to take that step toward him.

EDITED 11/30/10 to add this line:

Looking back at this almost 2 years later, I suppose that what I was trying to say in this rambling was that God has never left me; rather, when I thought God had left me, I was really just letting go of God because I didn't have time for Him...

Sad, sad story...

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

My Pet Peeve

You know what my greatest pet peeve is (a pet peeve is something that gets you really mad)?

It's this:

For sure, no doubt. In case if you can't recognize that (you poor sheltered child), that is a security type code that some websites have put on so that no spammers (like computers that advertise website) won't get on or for some other reason. What you have to do is you have to type in that code onto a little strip they provide, press enter, and then you're let in.

Unfortunately, as you can tell, these codes are really hard.

Is that a "m"? 2 "n"'s? capital "L"? capital "I"? lowercase "i"? is that an "L" and an upside-down "V"?

Feel the pain. Feel it in your squinted up eyes. Feel it in your brain. Feel it in your very most being.

Feel the pain of a stupid security code.



NOTE: I couldn't figure out what it was. I had to refresh the page to get a new code.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Powerful Quote

"Life is too short to worry about life."
-Anon.

Actually this was said by someone at retreat but I don't know who.
Hopefully I can get some retreat experience posted up here soon...

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