I have had nothing of value to post for a while... that's a lie.  I have had lots of great things to post about.  I just haven't done it.

Yes, the rumors are true.  I will be in Brownwood next semester.  No, I am not a loser.  I am going to be making an album in the studio with Bill Watrous in October.  There are no other options for me right now that would be anywhere near as beneficial as doing this recording.  He is the living legend of jazz trombone.  I can not pass this up.  Not to mention I would be happier working at J.C. Penny then teaching High School and Junior High band classes. 

Now for an incredibly funny and dark comic.  Thank you Mr. Booth for introducing me to this.  I read it everyday without fail.

one of these days I will post something of value... but not today.

So get this...  my mom and sister are starting a buisness.  They are going to be wedding decorators.  Not planners, just decorators.  Planners do everything, decorators just decorate.  If you have seen how my mom decorates and how she did my sisters wedding, you would see that they stand a chance of making it.  There is no one else in Weatherford who does this so there is'nt any competition. 

I really am going to write that post about those who want to believe and those who want to know.  I also have another one mulling around in my mind about how machines and technology have made us impersonal people.  But not yet...

G

Something a little more light hearted

     This question has been mulling around in my mind for quite sometime.  I feel as if the answer to it could reveal one of life's great secrets.  This information could change many lives for generations to come.  But for me to find an answer I will have to work long and hard and many people will be affected by my search.  In the end though, I know that my efforts will pay off and the benefits will so greatly outweigh the sacrifices, I will feel as if I have not lifted a finger.  This question must be answered for the good of America and all of mankind for everyone shall reap the benefits and goodness shall be aplenty. 

     I began my search slowly and maticulously.  I knew that the matter at hand was too delecate to be rushed, for things could splash out of control if not handled well.  In order to find the real truth, I had to search every nook and cranny.  High and low I wandered.  Far and distant lands flowed to me with priceless information that could only be retrieved from the darkest of minds.  Many times I was forced to flush my work and start over with new direction.  As my research continued, I realized that my work load must double in order to finish within reasonable time.  I continued to reach out to the greatest streams of conciousness that had any knowledge of my inquiry.  Many lids were lifted in order to dig into the deepest bowls of information.  As the information flowed forth, I began to find golden opportunities that would indefinately answer my question.  All that was left now was one final target, one final goal to put things to rest. Once it was found, I was relieved when I finished my work, for I knew it was time to pull the handle and let everyone know of my accomplishment. 

     A conclusion has finally been reached.  Most men aim at something specific when they pee.  The only reason I say "most" is because even though everyone I have talked with aims specifically, there must be some who don't.  I want to credit this to mens goal oriented thinking.  Men have a hard time doing something without creating a goal, or something to aim for (no pun intended).  We almost always have a goal in mind when doing any task.  Women are relational and tend to think more about the circumstances.  Take driving for example, most men would be concerned with where they were headed, most women would be enjoying the scenery and conversation between passengers. 

     Nonetheless, the great question has been answered and now I shall rest, at least until I have another 44 ounce drink from Sonic.

Later...

Mexico, part dos

I know it has been a while.  My apologies.  This post will be less about specific events in Mexico and more about cutural differences.  Keep in mind that these are thoughts brought on from spending 4 days in Mexico and I experienced a very small portion of the culture for a very short amount of time.  None of these things I am stating about the Mexican culture are stated as concrete facts because I understand they come from a very narrow perspective.

The trip after the point that I left you all off at was sucessful and a good time for all.  Nothing happened on time except for 2 or 3 of the meals and the Sunday morning service.  I don't know if that was a cultural thing for them or it just turned out that way.  I saw the largest bag of Cheetos in existance... 3 kilograms to be exact.... I think.  I was about 3 feet tall.  I also got the best shoe shine of my life... as well as the only one... but they were very good. 

One of the biggest characteristics of the Mexican people I noticed was their lack of individual pride.  This wasn't something I only saw with the people involved in the church, but also with people in the entire community.  This trait was demonstrated during numerous occasions.  Driving a large truck through the town we were in proved to be difficult, but there were many helpful people around the community.  Random people on the street sidewalks would help me drive by telling me if I was able to finish making a turn, if I had more room to back up or if traffic was clear for me to pull out (with hand gestures of course).  All of this was done without anyone asking for their assistance.  After a few occurances of this I realized that this was not something I had experienced before.  In America these kind of gestures would many times be considered offensive and personally oppressive.  I believe in America we are told to live for ourselves, take care of ourselves and stay out of each others way.  If someone randomly helped another person in a similar manner to what I experienced, most would immedeately react along the lines of thinking "this person doesn't need to be telling me what to do", "I can do this on my own", "this guy probably doesn't know what he is doing" or "I wish he would get out of my way so I could park".  We are caught up in too much individualistic philosophy here.  In Mexico people are just people.  One is very much the same as the next.  I think some of this has to do with socioeconomic classes not being as diverse.  We don't seem to view things the same way, which I believe to be a mistake.  That is a whole different can of worms though. 

Along those same lines I enjoyed the sense of community and family.  I knew a little about this trait going in but I wasn't thinking about it until I saw it.  Everyone supports others much more than we do here.  As I was saying above, one person is the same as the other.  It was neat to see. 

When we played for the sunday morning service, I was blown away by the congregation.  There were about 100-150 people in the room but they sounded like 1,000.  Everyone contributed the same as if the room was one body aimed at one specific purpose and nothing else.  No one singled themselves out by contributing too much or too little.  I think this signified a cultural difference between Americans and Mexicans.  (generalization time...) In american churches we seem to be afriad to be heard.  We are very self concious/self centered people which many times causes us to focus on how we are percieved by other people during a worship service.  We are afraid for people to hear us sing, or see us raise our hands (don't get me started there though) and on the other side people do things to be seen and heard so that they are percieved by others as worshipful and strong.  Because most everyone is on one side of the fence or the other, of course this makes it nearly impossible to be comfortable in a community worship service.  I think the approach of the people of  First Baptist Church in Monclova is something to be admired.  Think amongst yourselves.

On another note... I am thinking about something I heard the other day.  "There are two types of people, those who want to believe and those who want to know."  Tell me what you think about that.  I am going to write my next post on that subject... I think.  Partly depends on what you all think.  I would post about it now but then this post would be really long.... er than usual. 

Later