The Curse of Losing

I get a little depressed every year immediately after the World Series b/c there won't be any baseball for 5 and a half months. So, to help cope I'm going to write about our Pastime. I doubt people will care but that's ok.

The White Sox broke their 88-year curse by winning the World Series on Wednesday. It's the 2nd year in a row in which the baseball gods have reversed what seemed to be an everlasting plague in two cities that have come to live out the lifestyle of losing. Which team will break their curse next? The Red Sox broke theirs last year and the White Sox broke theirs this year. Well, the only team left is the Cubs, who have managed to turn losing into something of a lovable attribute. The attitude on the Northside assumes failure. Nobody will admit it but I guarantee that the players have a dreadul fear in the back of their minds that when they take the field they aren't going to change anything. Losing is expected. I don't think that fixes itself very easily, which is why I think those cities have gone so many years without a title. The Cubs will eventually win, but it makes it increasingly harder when you go into the season thinking that you won't get anywhere, and even if you do, some goat or some fan will ruin it. The Curse of the Bambino, the Black Sox Scandal, those are all things that you take w/ you from year to year, from the end of the previous season to the start of the next, you start off w/ the negative. The players do it, and it seems really hard to play to win w/ a losing mentality. These things eventually correct themselves as in the Red Sox and the White Sox case, but it takes a long time and a lot of luck.

(By the way, the baseball gods is just an expression).

I don't care

I haven't felt like blogging for a while. I have the time, sort of, but just haven't wanted to. Here's my update...I had a really fun birthday party 2 Saturday's ago...those of you who were there know. Work hit me upside the head b/c i wasn't prepared for the hours we're working now. It was just a mental thing. I wasn't expecting it so it sucked, and still does. Saturday and Sunday were bad days for sports...the Cowboys blew it, the Astros blew it, Texas won, and the Aggies nearly blew it. That's about it.

The Onion

I just wanna put it out there that I think www.theonion.com is the funniest web site I've ever seen. If someone from that company came up to me and offerred me a job as a writer I would drop what I was doing and go do it. It is seriously some of the funniest stuff I have ever read. Case in point: Tuesday night worship/Bible Study at Watermark. After a praise and worship session this guy got up there to start his talk. About 1/4 of the way into it an article that I read earlier in the day popped into my head. It was one of those deals where if I had been in a place where silence wasn't necessary then I could've just laughed and got it over with. But no, I had to hold it in which made it worse. So for the rest of time, through his sermon, through prayer, and through the closing worship songs I was ready to combust. The guy who gave the sermon probably thought I was very disrespectful b/c I had a big smile on my face when he was talking about things like sin, and depravity, and other things of that nature. (He didn't just talk about those things though).

So, here are a few of my favorite articles from their website as of late...in somewhat of an order:

1) Iraqi Cop Moonlighting As Terrorist Just To Make Ends Meet
2) Dying Boy Brought In To Cheer Up Kansas City Royals
3) CEO's Success Credited To Unbelievable Handshake
4) Search For Self Called Off After 38 Years
5) Area Man Confounded By Buffet Procedure
6) Israelites Sue God For Breach Of Covenant

I'm going going back back to Dali Dali (w/ a stopover in Austin)

I'm meeting up w/ my English friend Grant in Austin tonight. We figured that out all the cities in Texas (and really the U.S.) Austin is probably the only place that is actually worth making an additional trip to.

With that said he'd been in College Station since Wednesday b/c Jay had some sort of training to go to and I was gonna be in New Mexico. College Station is not a city that is worth making an additional trip to but anything can be fun for a couple days. I was there for 5 years and I made it fun.

Anyways, I'll be back in Dallas for good on Saturday...and it turns out that my really good friends Amy and Nicole are moving in right next to me on that day. That's kinda cool b/c another one of my friends Blake lives in the building across the street. It's kinda becoming a pseudo community in our own little area. I never thought I'd say this but I'm really enjoying Dallas. It took about a year or so to get settled but the last 4 or 5 months have been really good. I usually don't like routines (the whole familiarity breeds contempt deal) but for some reason I'm very content in this city.

Ok, time to catch a flight to Austin.

Ready, Fire, Aim

Sorry for the lack of posting. I've had the time but not the will.

Since we last heard from me I had plans to go to Coldplay/ACL for a barrage of musical talent. I didn't do either of them. Whether it was from my own choice or others neither happened. I mostly blame New Mexico for Coldplay and my own gut and grit for ACL.

I got in late Friday night from New Mexico so I couldn't go to Coldplay. ACL was a different story. It turns out I'm not hardcore whatsoever. I drove down to Austin Saturday and got there in time for one of my favorite bands. It also turns out that it was really really really hot. It also turns out that we were about 1/2 mile from the stage. That was really stupid b/c I didn't want to drive to Austin to "hear" all of these bands. I could do that in the comfort of my own car/room/anywhere else that wasn't 108 degrees (no kidding) w/ no wind...except for the occasional dust storm that we endured. And I had a flight out of DFW at 6:50 am on Monday and wouldnt' get back to Dallas til about 3 that night. Long story short, me and my roommate got there, stayed for about 30 minutes and left. The thought of sitting on my couch was the main driving factor. Most people I explained this to didn't understand but to me and Chris it made perfect sense. I heard phrases like "What?", and "Nobody does that". All very good points.

I think 5 or 6 years ago I would've hacked it down there but this was just a case of not wanting it bad enough. I just don't care.

The last week was spent in New Mexico. On that Friday I was told that I would be spending the next week (i.e. yesterday, today, tomorrow, etc.) in New Mexico. That did not go over well. My friend Grant, who came all the way from Bracknell, England, has been planning to come to see me and Jay for a while now. I had been scheduled to be in town the whole week, and then I get pulled off to go to Las Cruces. I don't think so. It's amazing what a little anger mixed w/ tact can do. After several attempts to get myself in town for the time he was gonna be here my resolve paid off and I'm sitting in Dallas right now.

Here's the coolest thing we've done w/ him so far. We took him to shoot guns. He had never in his life even touched a gun but on Sunday, after the Rangers game, he found himself riding in a 4X4 Silverado w/ a gun in the front seat on his way to shoot clay pigeons. Surreal was a good word he used to describe the situation.

Anyways, we're planning on taking him to Austin this weekend after he spends a couple days in College Station. Then he takes himself back to England and w/ him will probably go any chance of me perfecting my English accent anytime in the near future.

So that's what's been up. I'm off to New Mexico tomorrow, Austin on Friday/Saturday and then life should be based out of Dallas for a while.

Do you know the music man...I don't

This weekend is full of REALLY good music. Friday night it's Coldplay and Rilo Kiley at Smirnoff in Dallas. Saturday and Sunday it's ACL. Here's the problem:

Coldplay - I'm in New Mexico and flying from El Paso at 5pm today. Doors for Coldplay open at 6pm. My flight lands at 7:40pm. Rilo Kiley goes on at 7:30 and Coldplay goes on at 9:00. My friend who I'm going w/ has been nice enough to grant me leeway and hasn't given me the boot from the concert. I'm not so sure I wouldn't have if I were in the opposite position. Apparently, flights from El Paso to Dallas are notoriously late on Friday...so basically I'm probably not going to go to Coldplay.

ACL - Saturday is fine. Expect for the hurrinane winds and rain that may be present. Sunday is worse. I bought tickets to ACL about 2 months ago. I found out I was scheduled on the New Mexico job about 2 weeks ago. I booked a flight from Dallas to El Paso on the Sunday of ACL at 7pm. ACL gets over at 10pm on Sunday. Oops.

Better Than Wine

I’m sorry to steal the title from Derek Webb…but that song is so good. I don’t even know how to describe the depths of the truths of that song except to say that song sounds like love. And not the romantic love that the world typically thinks of. It sounds like the love of Christ, something from the Bible. That actually works out well b/c at least two of the lines from that song were taken straight from the Song of Solomon.

Whether Derek is talking about his new bride or the bridegroom of Christ, it doesn’t matter…I’m going to interpret the song by the latter. What I love about the Song of Solomon is that it takes truth and passion and unifies them. The author’s excitement towards his lover is so evident that it jumps off of the page. At my old church, which is a great church, one of the principles that was taught was fact before feeling. I still agree with this, and I think this principle is outlined in the Song of Solomon. You can just sense the truth oozing from the book and at the same the raw emotion that results from the truth is exhilarating.

I’m really fascinated w/ being the bridegroom. Although there isn’t much evidence to support this, if the Song of Solomon is viewed as a spiritual allegory that is a metaphor of Christ’s love for his bride, this is what I think would be cool about that.

In a typical Christian marriage there is one bride and one groom. Ideally, they live in faithfulness to each other for their entire mortal lives. Although they have each other, they still need 2 main things. They need community w/ other believers and reliance upon Christ. However, our sinful nature doesn’t allow us to rely on Christ 100% of the time and lots of marriages are spent in a lack of commune w/ other believers. It’s not perfect.

But the beauty of the bridegroom is it takes care of both of those problems. With our glorified heavenly bodies we CAN live in perfect relationship with our savior…and we get to do so not w/ just one bride (i.e. myself) but we do it with all other believers. It’s the best of both worlds. To have perfect communion w/ Christ w/ a bunch of other Christians. That lights my fire.