New ink!

Coming soon.... In full technicolor.

Hebrews 4:12 For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Awesome new posts and stuff.

Hey, go check out Project 86.
There an awesome band, and about to release a new album. They are one of my all-time faves! And really, who can say no to free music?

An Economical Microcosm

This week has been interesting, to say the least. My perspective on my finances has changed significantly. As most of you may already know, I am living in Dubuque, IA this summer. I am sharing an apartment with a good friend of mine, Jason Bowling. This is the first time I have truly been 'On my own' with no true safety net. I have to support myself. The Army isn't coordinating anything, My mom isn't doing my shopping. I figured it wouldn't be too hard. it got off to a slow start- Jason has been gone for most of the last month and a half, I spent two weeks in fort McCoy on Army pay.

Then it got interesting. I came back from Fort McCoy to find the job I had lined up for the summer didn't have work for me for two weeks. So I sat around, being a bum. I donated plasma a couple times, but otherwise had no source of income. I slowly burned through my reserves of cash. (I don't touch credit cards.) I wasn't worried too much, I was going to be working soon, and making pretty decent money, too. I started work, going steady at 40+ hours a week for two weeks. Then came this week.

I attracted an inner ear infection at some point, causing me dizziness and light-headedness when I move around. Well, the boss sent me home(can't have me falling off the scaffold or anything...) before we even started on Monday and I spent the day resting. My symptoms didn't go away, so i made an appointment Tuesday to have myself checked out. (I got hit on the head last week, so i wanted to be sure it wasn't a concussion. He gave me his diagnosis and told me to rest up for a couple days. So it is Thursday. I haven't worked in four days. I also did not get my check this week, because I haven't gone anywhere. My paycheck next week will be nothing or next to nothing, depending on how I feel tonight/tomorrow morning.

All this to say, I can hear my bank account shrinking. Every bite I take, every time I look at the clock, I hear it. My perspective on money has changed. I realize now that I shouldn't be going and buying a new t-shirt from ThinkGeek every month. I may have to save the Bailey's brand coffee creamer for special occasions. I have to be more discerning with the cuts of meat I purchase. (they can add up quickly.) I may now have to do price comparison between the store brand and the name brand. these are just a few of the observations I have made in the past couple weeks. There may be more on this adjustment later.


*P.S. This is not me in any way asking for money. God has provided for me so far, I believe He will be faithful to continue to do so.

Sunsets

Beautiful sunset just south of Peosta, IA. I love my state.

The Green Dragon

Sushi! Best presentation I've seen of a roll yet. Had it at Cool Basil. Can't remember what was in it, but i'll try to get that for next time.

To His Coy Mistresss (Redux)

This is one of my school projects, based on 'To His Coy Mistress' by Andrew Marvell. The original was from a genre common in the 1800's (I believe) in which the speaker was basically trying to convince a woman to have sex with him. Great literary progress, eh? (Oh, those saucy victorians...)

Well, anyway, the point of the assignment was to re-write in 200 words or less, one of the poems we had read for class. In doing so, we were to use words and phrases from the original text, as well as our own words, to highlight a specific aspect of the poem or character. Somehow, my brain translated that into 're-write this how you would have said it.' So, the following was scrapped, and another was put in it's place, but I like this one better.

This is also the first time I've done a poem in full rhyme, and not just free verse-whatever pops out of my head.

Also! You probably want to read the original first, to give context. I linked it. Up there.^

‘To His Coy Mistress (Redux)’

Had we but time,

Coyness were no crime.

We would walk,

Pass love’s long day with talk,

And I would love you,

Till the Lord comes hitherto.

Foregoing such as my demise,

I would take years to praise thine eyes,

So too, for every part,

Until at last I exposed thy heart,

For truly you deserve no less,

But alas, I would address,

The shrouded spectre at the end,

The hourglass I come to dread.

Time stops for none,

Not till it’s done.

So I do implore,

Fair maiden I adore,

Come, know what is my mind,

Take us two and forever bind.

Place your hand in mine,

Entwine my heart with thine.

Hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think. 

Better than fiction.

So I come to the most random realizations sometimes.

I was watching Chronicles of Riddick with some female friends last night, and they were remarking on how muscled and studly Vin Diesel is(Yes, it was awkward.). So I asked if I could make similar comments about the women in the film. Well, they said it was different because they are girls, but they did give me permission. But at that point I was struck by a realization. I really didn't find any of the actresses that attractive. And I suddenly related the reason for this to the Ontological argument for the existence of God(Strange, I know, but bear with me.) One of the major facets of this argument is that Reality is inherently better than anything created by our imagination(That's not the whole argument, that's for another post sometime.). So, a real apple is inherently better than the apple I'm thinking about. I may think that an actress is pretty, or that her character has a great personality, but that image on the screen or in a magazine or on a billboard will never be as attractive as the girl sitting across from me. Simply from the fact that the girl sitting with me is real. (And, you know, because she's actually sitting with me, and not thinking I'm a creeper or something. lol)

So... that's my thought for the day. I hope you enjoy.

-JK

Oh, and comments are great! Really. They help me know I'm not just sending this to the oblivion of cyberspace. Feedback is essential for writers. Not so much for musicians.(See... that was a joke! Haha)