achavy007

“I think there certainly are those in Michigan that are having difficulty. I think you always find that in a vibrant, dynamic economy. I think that not enough has been done to tell what some call the greatest story never told, and that is that we are enjoying a period of growth right now, and we should acknowledge what got us there and continue those same policies on into the future.”
-Fred S. Thompson, Republican Presidential Candidate

Michigan's economy has totally collapsed, and this prick comes into our state and has the gall to argue that the status quo is OK? And who exactly are "those" in Michigan having "difficulty"? To dismiss the vast majority of our state's population as "having difficulty" is beyond pretentious and condescending; it is, in fact, downright cold-hearted. And the argument that a successful economy depends on the presence of disenfranchised people is precisely what is wrong with capitalism in general (and conservatism/neo-conservatism in particular).

I wish I could just be upset at "The DA" for his remarks, but that certainly would not be right or proper. The fact is that the current Republican agenda is to (at best) ignore the marginalized and (at worst) to blame them or accept their plight as a necessity (not a necessary evil, but a requirement). Obviously the Democrats have their problems as well, but I can't believe that a party that has been this blatantly cruel, conniving, and heartless continues to be able to play itself in the media as the party of morals, the party of restraint, the party of character and integrity. This is one more in a line of examples that shows just how far the Republican party has gone from its roots.

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie.

Opening Credits - "Set Me Free" (Casting Crowns) - Pretty funny (and slightly disturbing)

Waking Up - "You Will Find Me" (Drake)

First Day at School - "Call to Worship" (MercyMe)

Falling in Love - "Royal Oak" (The Corsairs) - My "falling in love" song is a pirate song?

Fight Song - "Time and Time Again" (Eric Engblade)

Breaking Up - "Hear My Voice" (Jeremy Camp)

Prom - "Diggin' Your Scene" (Smashmouth) - LMAO I forgot I even had this CD!

Life - "West Coast Friendship" (Starflyer 59) - Chorus: "These are the best days of our lives / Crazy as it seems"

Mental Break Down - "You Found Me" (FFH) - "You called me from the wilderness / from my pain of emptiness"

Driving - "Daring Daylight Escape" (Caedmon's Call)

Flashback - "Fantasy" (Earth, Wind, and Fire) -

Getting Back Together - "Have Love" (Lost and Found)

Wedding - "Man of Constant Sorrow" (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) - Wow, I would have to disagree, but that's still damn funny!

Birth of a child - "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever" (Delerious)

Final Battle - "It Don't Matter to the Sun" (Rosie Thomas)

Death Scene - "Sodom, South Georgia" (Iron and Wine)

Funeral Song - "The River" (Garth Brooks)

Ending Credits - "Another Song for Another Night" (The Dark Romantics)


By the way, I'm mostly doing this because my music selection is strange and I figured it would be good for a laugh. Because I have so few artists, I cheated and picked the first song by a new artist (otherwise I would've had 5 FFH songs)

Once tagged for this entry, the assignment is to write a blog entry of some kind with six random facts about yourself. Then, pick six of your friends and tag them; no tag backs. This explanation should be included.

1) I'm about 6 months away from receiving my BA in economics. I hate economics. I've hated economics for about 2 1/2 years. If I could go back and start over, I would be a philosophy, religious studies, or history major.

2)Saw III made me feel sick to my stomach and lightheaded, and I had to leave the theater for about 5 minutes. I'm hoping it also had something to do with the fact that all I'd had in the 8ish hours before I saw the movie was 2 1/4 donuts and a large cup of coffee. It was definitely a good movie though.

3) My earliest memory is lying on the ground and crying at Cedar Point in the middle of the night after I somehow slipped between the mattress and the side of my family's pop-up camper and fell out.

4) Knowing that this might be the last year I spend fall in Michigan makes me sad.

5) I'm currently waiting to hear back from Gettysburg about my application and I'm pretty nervous about it (even though everyone I talk to tells me that I shouldn't be).

6) I miss camp. Knowing I probably won't be back next year (except as a volunteer) is definitely one of the saddest things I can think of. It's like a chapter of my life is ending forever (but I guess that will be happening a lot in the next few years). Stony has given me so much, and I've learned so much about myself and others from being there. Without that place I would not have many of the amazing friends I have (including my best friend), and I would truly not be the person I am. Stony is kind of a big deal (and Michi-Lu-Ca is pretty sweet too).

I don't tag anyone in particular because I think everyone I'm friends with has been tagged already, but if anyone wants to do it again, you can say that I motivated you....

Google Image search the answer to these questions. Then either post the first picture you find for each question or include a link to it. No cheating: the picture MUST be the first one shown. You need not disclose the actual answer.

1. Your age on your next b-day
2. Your Favorite color
3. Your middle name
4. The last meal you ate
5. your bad habit
6. Your favorite fruit or vegetable
7. your favorite animal
8.the town you live in
9. the name of your pet or past pet (pick one)
10.your first name (or nickname)
11. your last name

1) Sweet, my next birthday = instrument of destruction! (22)


2) What's up with the green icebergs? Nicole, any ideas? (Green, duh!)


3) Dude, I don't know who this guy is, but he looks kinda creepy... (Vincent)


4) Mmmmmmmm, sandwich... (PB&J)


5) They made a game just for me? (The game is called "Pushover")


6) It's green.... It's an apple.... It's a green apple!


7) I couldn't avoid this right now, because we're in the World Series (Tiger)


8) I type in "East Lansing" and the first image is the Engineering Building?


9) Wow, I almost wanted to change my answer when this picture appeared, but I figured that if nothing else, Hil would get a kick this picture being on MY LJ page....


10) I know it's not Ralphy, but I can't resist: "My favorite flower is grass!"


11) I don't know who this Fred guy is, but as far as I know we don't have any relatives in WV, which is weird because I also thought the only people in the US with my last name were related to us...

Hey all, I'm at camp and up ridiculously early, so I might as well update....

It's hard to believe I've been here for 6 weeks already. It seems like I just got here and got to meet everyone on staff, and now there are only 5 weeks left until I have to leave this place knowing that I'll never work here like this again... It has been an interesting summer though; between all the inside jokes in my cabin that are so dumb I can't believe I've tolerated them as long as I have and the problems with my campers' health that seems almost constant, I have definitely been challenged more this summer than any other. Consider that less than two weeks ago I had to call 911 for the first time in my life. Consider that I spent most of last week trying to convince one of my campers that he was going to be OK after he left his rescue inhaler at home and needed to have it dropped off from 4 hours away (something that didn't happen until Wednesday for some unknown reason). And Good Lord, we have had so many weird things happen on staff that sometimes I wonder if any of us were paying attention during staff training at all (i.e leaving one cabin behind on two separate offsite trips in one week). I've never been able to say this before, but in a lot of ways I am glad that this is my last summer... I'm not sure I would be able to handle this for another 10 weeks; it's the most rewarding job I've ever had, but it's also one of the most draining.

On a slightly lighter note, last night I made one of the worst decisions of my life. The entire Stony Lake Lutheran Camp staff decided to visit the Golden Arches to witness a spectacle that truly has no comparison: The 40 Nugget Challenge! As the name suggests, the object is to see who can consume 40 chicken nuggets in the least amount of time. Eight staff members(including myself) and one former director actually walked up to the counter at the Whitehall McDonald's and uttered the words, "I would like to order 40 chicken nuggets." From there, it was pure mayhem. The previous record for completing the 40 Nugger Challenge was 12 minutes, 34 seconds. Last night, the record was shattered! My friend Mike finished in 8 minutes, 7 seconds, my boss CJ finished in under 10 minutes, and Hilary finished in 10 minutes, 20 seconds. From there, the field grew thinner and thinner. Paul (last year's champion) bowed out after eating only 30 nuggets, Gary also stopped with 8 nuggets left, and Nicole was disqualified after she puked with 5 nuggets left. Josh and Dan finished later, and the only person left was me... I struggled to throw down nugget 38 and promptly proclaimed, "I'm done!" I couldn't leave it there though, and after sitting for a minute or so, I tore through the last two (one of which took me about 2 minutes to swallow, another of which I had to swallow twice) and finished with a time of 23 minutes, 30 seconds. There are some great pictures out there somewhere, and I will definitely post them when I get a chance...

Well, I think I'm done for now; I hope that everyone (regardless of where they are) is having a great summer, and I hope to hear from people soon!

This is how it works: Comment on this entry and I will give you a letter. Write ten words beginning with that letter in your journal, including an explanation what the word means to you and why, and then pass out letters to those who want to play along.

Nicole gave me: "W is for w00t"

W is for:

W00t - as in the last word heard on the Stony Lake 60th Anniversary Commemorative DVD courtesy of yours truly...

Weird - as in weirding people out in Mt. Pleasant on the way to Bass Lake last year; Anyone else up for a repeat performance of the Superman grace mere feet away from one of the busiest intersections in town?

Wayne - as in Wayne County, the seat of which is Detroit, my hometown...

What? - an inquisitive phrase that (among others) causes new "Almost Uno" players tons of problems...

WHEEEEEE! - as in what I'm thinking when we all surf during the third verse of "He Is Alive"...

Water - as in what 70% of poop is made of or as in the stuff that comes out of the taps at MSU that tastes like licking the bottom of a Matchbox car...

Woohoo! - as in what I think about everytime I realize that the end of school and the beginning of camp is getting closer and closer...

Word - as in Jesus (and alternately and much less importantly, one of the more amusing recurring segments on "The Colbert Report")...

Waiting - as in what I should have done before completing this survey because I should be studying for Roman history...

Wednesday - as in the day of my last final for this school year!

OK, maybe not, but I witnessed an event today that was truly amazing (in the "dude, that was awesome" kind of way).... First of all, (for those who haven't already heard it) you need to know the back story:

At MSU, there is a small group of people from an organization known as "Soulwinner Ministries" who preach to students during the late morning and early afternoon. They are normally referred to as the Wells Hall preachers, which does nothing more than give them more credibility than they actually deserve. The extent of their preaching is telling students that if they don't spend every second of every day reading the Bible and thinking about Jesus, we are all idolaters and sinners and blasphemers and adulterers and.... I think you get the point. They personally attack individuals and refer to students as children of Satan. They are, for all intents and purposes the antithesis of what I believe Christianity to be.

Recently, it has come to pass that a group of students have taken to harassing, verbally abusing, and generally being obnoxious and petty with the main preacher (Michael). One of the main students doing this is a loud, flamboyant, proud gay man who stands in the square with Michael and basically just yells over him whenever Michael says something he doesn't want to hear. I can understand the frustration, anger, and need for retaliation against someone who is so patently unforgiving, cold, and non-compassionate. Admittedly, some of the things that were said made me laugh and applaud, but after a while what it became was a large, loud group of students shouting down and taunting Michael, with Mr. Bullhorn leading the way by referring to Michael as 'Mikey' and generally being offensive and obnoxious.

As I stood there with the others assembled to watch this spectacle, I was struck by my sympathy for Michael and my increasing anger at the other man, who was resorting to personal, totally irrational arguments (formally known as "ad hominum" fallacies) to get his point across. One of the people standing near me obviously shared my sentiments, and went over to speak with Mr. Bullhorn. He feigned interest in the bullhorn itself, and when it was handed to him, he examined it before rearing back and heaving it as far as he possibly could (a good thirty to forty feet). I wouldn't have done it, but I found myself being extremely satisfied at the outcome of the whole thing. I left to the person formerly known as Mr. Bullhorn yelling "That's OK.... God made me with a loud voice!"

It was one of the greatest things I've ever seen, and it helped to somewhat restore my faith in people on this campus. The things that go on at Wells Hall only divide our community, pitting Christians against non-Christians and creating even more division within Christianity itself. I was glad to see someone point out that we don't have to resort to shouting matches. The best outcomes will be achieved when we sit down together, talk about things from our individual perspectives, and try to see where everyone is coming from. Pluralism and Christian faith are NOT mutually exclusive. Preaching Christ crucified does NOT need to occur in an atmosphere of condemnation and judgment. The love of God is not only available to a select few, and God does NOT hate sinners ("But God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" - Romans 5:8 NIV). We need voices that call for reconciliation, inclusion, genuine conversation, acceptance, and tolerance. If everyone is a part of the conversation, I truly believe that this country and this world can be a better place for all of us, regardless of what faith we happen to profess.

I hope that everyone had an awesome spring break... For those of you who don't know, I went down to Louisiana to help with the hurricane relief efforts that are still going on (and will be going on for 10+ years). It was one of those experiences that is at the same time heart-wrenching and incredible. The opportunity to help families who lost much of what they have known for years and years was incredibly hard, but also immensely rewarding. For the most part, people just appreciated the fact that there were other people in the country who cared what had happened and were willing to do "their part" to help pick up the pieces.

In a sense, I didn't find the devastation to be that surprising; sadly, at first glance many of the neighborhoods didn't look that much different from parts of my hometown. Of course, this feeling gave way to sadness when personal stories were shared and we could see the impact of the storm on individuals and families. I'm very glad that I had a chance to go there and be helpful, and hopefully our work allowed us to show these families love and compassion. That was certainly my goal, and I know that the others that I went with would agree...

None of them will read this, but I had an amazing time getting to know everyone that traveled down to LA. Pastor Martin, Pastor Mike, Bryan, Mike W, Mike H, Chris, Jay, Kenny, Piotr, Kari, Ashlee, Amanda, Caitlin, Jacinda, Jessica W, and Jessica B were all truly incredible, and I will always share fond memories of our experiences as a group.

Well, that's it for now... Take care everyone, I will hopefully be able to catch up with you at some point soon...

The Helper
Test finished!
you chose CX - your Enneagram type is TWO.

"I must help others"

Helpers are warm, concerned, nurturing, and sensitive to other people's needs.

How to Get Along with Me

* Tell me that you appreciate me. Be specific.
* Share fun times with me.
* Take an interest in my problems, though I will probably try to focus on yours.
* Let me know that I am important and special to you.
* Be gentle if you decide to criticize me.

In Intimate Relationships
* Reassure me that I am intersting to you.
* Reassure me often that you love me.
* Tell me I'm attractive and that you're glad to be seen with me.

What I Like About Being a Two

* being able to relate easily to people and to make friends
* knowing what people need and being able to make their lives better
* being generous, caring, and warm
* being sensitive to and perceptive about others' feelings
* being enthusiastic and fun-loving, and having a good sense of humor

What's Hard About Being a Two

* not being able to say no
* having low self-esteem
* feeling drained from overdoing for others
* not doing things I really like to do for myself for fear of being selfish
* criticizing myself for not feeling as loving as I think I should
* being upset that others don't tune in to me as much as I tune in to them
* working so hard to be tactful and considerate that I suppress my real feelings

Twos as Children Often

* are very sensitive to disapproval and criticism
* try hard to please their parents by being helpful and understanding
* are outwardly compliant
* are popular or try to be popular with other children
* act coy, precocious, or dramatic in order to get attention
* are clowns and jokers (the more extroverted Twos), or quiet and shy (the more introverted Twos)

Twos as Parents

* are good listeners, love their children unconditionally, and are warm and encouraging (or suffer guilt if they aren't)
* are often playful with their children
* wonder: "Am I doing it right?" "Am I giving enough?" "Have I caused irreparable damage?"
* can become fiercely protective

Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele

The Enneagram Made Easy
Discover the 9 Types of People
HarperSanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages


The Quick and Painless ENNEAGRAM Test

I've had a xanga for a while, but more of my friends use livejournal, so I'm hoping that having this will keep me better in touch with more people! I love you guys, and I hope to hear from you soon!