Found some funny stuff

Found these hilarious videos.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-444363488647893860

from here, you can click on video 2, 3, and 4. The voice of jesus is weird, but the content is nonetheless really funny.

So, whats new?

1) got a girlfriend name Nicole. she promptly moved to Atlanta as she got a job with Habitat for Humanity International and will be required to travel to europe. Sweet gig.

2) I got a job with Carrier. My title is Rust Czar. Looks like I might become a quality engineer soon. (unless i move to Atlanta)

3) I am working 4 days a week, 10 hours a day. wednesday I take off and work with Habitat. Did drywall today. Covered in dust.

4) Hiking the AT next spring. Looking forward to it. its going to be Epic.

5) trying to decide if I want to keep learning Jiu-Jitsu. I want to save money, but it is a lot of fun. I get quite the wrist workout as I am mostly tapping out alot.

6) If I move to Atlanta, I will likely try and get a sweet job at the aquarium...maybe i can help breed whalesharks.

let me know how you are. love you, --DAlen

Twisty Life

DAMMIT...I just wrote a long post and pressed publish and my internet went down...and now its gone!

i'll rewrite it later. going over to my girlfriends house. she is moving to atlanta. i think i might move to atlanta to. Then i will be closer to the start of the AT.

Anyone want to go for a walk next March? Maybe start in April.

Breakfast thoughts

So, as I ate some mancakes for breakfast (exceptionally stout pancakes), I watched a Hispanic guy in my neighborhood interact with his son. He was loading the mechanical jeep his 3 year old drives into the bed of his pickup. the son knew what was going on and of course wanted to help. As the father basically lifted the entire jeep, the son "helped" lift the back end up. I can imagine the son felt like he was really helping, when in actuality, he wasn't doing any of the work needed.

Then I thought how at some point in time I got older and realized when it was that I was actually doing work. People around me didn't tell me I was helping when really I wasn't. We come to know the difference.

Then I thought about how I got older still, and went to school for engineering. I learned that indeed, the little kid was helping. Simply by maintaining contact, he was exerting some force. Whether or not it was substantial is null. Its impossible to keep contact without imposing a force. So, he really was helping.

Then I though how full I was because I had eaten too much pancake.

More FLOWERS!

The magnolia tress that i saved are still alive and one of them is actually blooming! It makes me happy and they smell wonderfull.

So, as I sat in traffic yesterday, i got to thinking. Why does traffic originally going 70 MPH in two lanes slow down to 5 MPH when it gets turned into one lane and goes through construction? Is it the fault of those people who dont merge until the very end? Or is it just that people are trying to look over and see the dang asphalt machine? Maybe they are interested in what it feels like to be only moving at 5 MPH, like that guy on the giant flattener machine. Either way...it makes me angry. Now, I dont really get angry about much, but for some reason this just gets under my skin. I dont know why, but i'll think about it and get back to you.

Less than 9 weeks until I am done with Habitat and I either become an Engineer (i know, it just might be crazy enough to work) or I go somewhere (maybe MO) to burn the forest with TNC. We'll see.

Happy Birthday.

--DAlen

Gone to MS/WI

Saturday I leave for MS for a week. Its just like going on Spike when I was in NCCC. This Spike will last 1 week and entail us building twenty houses. Its going to be a little bit crazy, but I am really looking forward to it. They are putting me in charge of a crew, so that should be an interesting experience. I enjoy leading people, and I enjoy building houses. There is probably going to be a lot of pressure though, so it should be interesting.



Friday, I will be leaving MS to fly up to Appleton, WI. There I will see my close friend Brianne for the first time since NCCC graduation in Charleston. I am superexcited to see her, especially to see if we pick up right where we left off. We are going to a wedding in SD, then its back to OshKosh for some relaxing and down time. I am really excited about this little bit of vacation.

I come back to catch the last day of May, and then its 3 months to go until my term of service is up. Its crazy how it has flown back. I am ready to move on though to a new venue in life and to start really preparing financially for my AT hike in spring of 2008.

HAPPY SUMMER TO ALL!

My first rose!

The other day my first rose bloomed. It sort of happened over night to. I have been watching the plant, as it sent out its first stalk, but there were no buds yet. Then, Voila! Not only has it produced a bloom, it has also created 3-5 more buds, so it will be a vibrant bush of red soon enough.

the same day that it bloomed, I got rid of one of my bicycles. I'll consider it a cosmic karma reward. Since I had 3 bicycles (a road bike, a mountain bike, and a bmx bike), I decided to part ways with one of them. I have never really ridden the BMX bike regularly, so it had to go. I donated it to a re-cyclery (yes, what an incredible play with words). The program requires kids to spend a certain number of session learning about bike maintenance, and then upon completion they get a bike of their own. More info here (http://bikecharlotte.com/index.asp?page=12) I also gave them my helmet (I need to get one more geared towards mountain biking), some old pedals off the road bike, and some cables i had for the BMX bike. now, I can fit all my bikes (2) on top of my car when i move in August.

The question is where will I put the rose bush?

Bruises

I woke up this morning and the first thing i noticed was the pain in my left wrist. Maybe I didnt wrap it correctly last night, or maybe I was just hitting to hard, or maybe i got kicked in it. I dont know. All I know is it hurts. then, I noticed the bruise right on my xyphoid. i didnt think you could get bruises where there isnt flesh...new experience to prove my wrong. There was a general aching everywhere to. So, it got me thinking...

Maybe I dont want to be an MMA fighter. I find there is doubt in my head. The aching from the Muay Thai and Jui-Jitsu is just bothersome and uncomfortable. I think the doubt it probably a normal part of it though, just as doubt exists whenever you train hard for anything. But, I dont feel like I am really training hard. Maybe the distance I travel to statesville is just getting to me. Maybe its the feeling that I have so so much further to go if I do really want to compete. Maybe its the doubt that once I get there, I will find it was all an unrealistic dream anyway because of my leg issue.

Maybe I am already too old to start. Who knows.

Maybe I am seeking validation as a man, while wanting so desperately to experince real, intense, character building competition. One on one. The better man right now wins.

--DAlen

Newest Muay Thai inspired thoughts

(Warning: no apostrophes were seperated from their parents to make this)

Do you ever want life to just be easy? Why cant things just be nice? Why cant there not be injury? Why cant the sun always shine? Would it really be so bad to only have the light without the dark? Wouldnt you rather live in Eden?

Short Answer: No
Long Answer: Read on

It really is the rough times that shape you. So, what shape are you in if there are no rough times? Well, I would believe that you are on the verge of a total collapse, having no shape, no thickened skin or toughened bone, simply a matter of time before the wind blows too hard and you crumble. Nice is dull. Nice is too predictable. There is no excitement on the couch. Excitement comes from knowing that life might try and punch if you continue down the path youre taking. Life might try and kick you in the head. So, what do you do? You persevere. you learn that getting kicked in the head isnt catastrophic. Its unpleasant. You learn that getting punched also creates discomfort. So, what do you do. You keep your chin tucked. You keep your hands up. You counter, you conquer, and then laugh at Life's feeble attempts at derailing your desire. Then when youre there, standing on top, you realize that life wasnt working against you at all, but molding you to something better. so you look over and say, "Thank you life, may I have s'more." Hands up. Chin tucked. Counter.


Question of the Week: Why is it that the philosophy in my brain spills out more so after getting hit in the head. Shouldnt head injuries slow down your thinking? Its like I have a bubble of deep thought that builds and builds until something jars me, its breaks, and then it pours out my nose and ears...kidding...actually it seems to flow from my fingertips.

Happy Easter Bunny Day
and dont forget to thank Jesus for washing your soul clean.

Life needs mouthguards

I discovered two incredible things tonight at Muay Thai, thanks to my mouthguard.

First, when you wear a mouthguard, you cant talk real well. I actually knew this already, but I had never really thought anything of it. the cool part though, is that when you cant talk, you have a tendancy to listen and think more. you listen more intently because its hard to say "what?" You think more about what is being said, because youre sort of on your own to figure it out. You breathe through your nose, and you just settle and think. Maybe I should wear a mouth piece in my daily life.

The 2nd benefit, is of course that it protects you. But why would you do things that might cause you harm? Because life might cause you harm. Maybe if your not occasionally doing something that could cause you harm, you should rethink your hobbies and add a little more risk in your life. Someday you will get old and regret having never needed to wear a mouthpiece (or you'll be old without the teeth you lost because you werent wearing one and you should have been).

The Genesis Group

I have come to a new beginning in my life. It seems the ideal epiphany to come to would be to figure out what I want to do in order to make lots of money and grow wealthy in order to buy BMWs while affording luxurious vacation homes for my parents. Would we all like this sort of transformation and guidance. Read no further if you are vigorously agreeing.

I have decided to give away 1,000,000 dollars by the year 2017. The inspiration came from me seeing a lady on TV at the State of the Union who had created a business that made millions off of a few simple ideas. She looked as ordinary as myself, and I have many simple ideas...more everyday. All I really need is 10 ideas, each producing 10k per year. Seems easy when you break it down like that.

So, as often has been the case in my life, I am nothing without the people around me. If you are reading this, I am assuming we know each other and you are one of the aforementioned people around me. Want to get involved in my grand scheme?There are currently two ways. 1) If you have an idea that you think just might be crazy enough to work, I am likely to agree. or 2) you can take part in the first small manifestation which I like to call...

The Genesis Group seeks to pool "tithe" money. I call it tithe, because there is a biblical reason why I give the amount I do. You, of course, don't need to believe in God or tithing to give. You simply have to want to help others by giving your money and you have to have at least one idea for who you want to give it to. You get to choose the organization the first time you take part in the pool. the rest of the time it will be a consensus or democratic vote. the amount to match of mine is $38. I get paid this Thursday (3/22), so I am looking to make a donation by Friday. let me know if you want in.

love y'all, --Will

I'm back?

I just saw the new movie "300." It was absolutely incredible. Somehow I feel like there really was a larger takeaway message there. Maybe it was that we should fight and be willing to die for where we stand. Leonides stood for the freedom of his people. Maybe the message is that everyday should be treated as training for that moment in your life when you will have the choice to stand for what is right against all odds and despite total costs. In that moment, we might die, or we might buckle and give way to evil, living "a long life." (this was verbalized as the hope from Leonides to the traitor at their last meeting, moments before Leonides died) Maybe the Spartans had it right when they lived life in search of a "good death," not shrinking in fear from the worthy adversary, but hoping and excitedly looking for that moment and enemy that would put them to the test, a test that they prepared their whole life to pass. The test of giving your life for another, standing in unison on the side of good.

Maybe living life in preperation for this is really the only way to LIVE LIFE. Otherwise, arent we all just waiting to die?