ninjanun

The Story of Stuff

2009-01-24T15:40:00.001-08:00

Lots of people have "consume less" as one of their New Year's Resolutions. Even if you don't, you really should watch the video on this website:

The Story of Stuff

It's time we all became mindful of where all our stuff comes from, and realize the true cost of our consumption.

E-Mail Debates Or, Why I'm Voting for "That One"

2008-11-03T22:52:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine recently sent a link to her family and friends about the Keating Five scandal. In response, her dad has been sending vitriolic e-mails in which he bashes Barack Obama, those voting for him, and even his own daughter.

This is the latest round of e-mails, and since I hope it will be the last, and I've put a lot of time into this one, I decided it was blog-worthy. Thanks for reading.

Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:41:52 -0700
From: a friend of mine's father
Subject: What About Reality?
To: My friend (his daughter)
CC: many of her friends, including me, her step-daughter, her mother, her husband, and other friends of hers from various facets of her life

Being almost sixty-six years of age, and, while possessed of both a stratospheric IQ and one hell of an education, obviously a stupid idiot who just doesn’t get it, I have questions, which I am positive the Enlightened Generation (you) will have no trouble answering. At least, it is my fervent hope you won’t, because I seem to be running out of resources, and in my desperation for answers, have turned to you, who have all the answers, and don’t want to be bothered by questions that are designed to – well, QUESTION your answers.

I struggle to internalize the willingness of so many obviously bright – and well educated – at great expense from those of my generation – children, to be unable to come to terms with the fact that it is physically impossible to pick up a turd by the clean end. Yet, it would appear that, in Obama’s case, that is exactly what you are trying to do.

Why is no one from the left willing to answer the many questions raised about this person? (I hesitate to call him a man – he just doesn’t meet the definition my generation puts forth regarding manhood!) Do you seriously NOT think they are important?

Frankly, I’m puzzled. What positive values exist that can lead a person to accept a candidate with so many secrets? Now, I don’t seek a debate over George Bush, or anyone else, for that matter, and any attempt to bring another person into this discussion is obviously a very blatant attempt to obfuscate. The subject is Barack Hussein Obama, and no one else. If you want to discuss another person, write separately, please. And don’t give me that tired old crap about comparing qualifications, I’m just not interested, at this point.

This man has no leadership experience, no balance in his social outlook, and very obviously, no belief in fundamental American values – those that are based on morals and our historical documents – the Declaration, the Federalist Papers, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Monroe Doctrine, and the Emancipation Proclimation.

How many presidential candidates in the History of the United States, have the equivalent of all of the problems the liberal media is not willing to allow to be brought forward? I mean, major problems, that no one from the left will even admit exist, let alone challenge? College education enshrouded in secrecy? Hate-mongers opening doors for this twit? (“God wants you to cut off their noses, cut off their ears, take flesh out of their body; don’t worry, GoooOOOD . . . wants you to do that!” And you think the Christian right is some kind of extreme? My STARS!) Jeremiah Wright. Rules for Radicals. “Community Organizer – don’t tell me you really believe that hornswoggle! Louis Farrahkan (sp? Is that even his NAME?) The Weather Underground, and their Declaration of War against the United States.

Look, folks, it would be easy to come up with a list of talking points based around how none of this could be proven in a court of law, or something, but if you have to go to that extreme to justify why you’d vote for this twit, what's wrong with this picture?

I suggest if you want to vote for him, go ahead, but do two things I won't have to do, because by the time you have to, I'll be gone:

1. Learn Arabic.

2. Study the Koran.

Best,

Chuck

From: Ninja nun
Sent: Mon 11/03/08 10:51 PM
To: Friend's Dad
Cc: Everyone he CC'd

Charles,

Seriously, if you want to REALLY know why I'm voting for Obama (actually, I already HAVE voted for Obama), perhaps you shouldn't refer to him as a "turd," a "twit" and less than a man. Your phrasing of the question does not deserve a polite response. Really? Reality? Did you write this yourself? Because it seems quite the departure from your usual style of writing in tone, word choice, sentence structure, etc. I truly hope that you did not write this yourself, but even just passing it along shows you agree with the viewpoint and don't care about offending others.

Nonetheless, I hold on to the thin hope that, if you at least cannot see beyond your own biases, those you CC in your e-mails will at least see what kind of person you, and the candidate you endorse, truly are by the tactics you employ.

Clearly, you've fallen prey to the Right Wing Fear Machine that has caused yet another knee-jerk reaction so strong that you've again resorted to name-calling, sarcasm, fear-mongering, and bullying of those whom you know disagree with you. I find it hard to believe that you even want an honest answer to your question, as you seem incapable of phrasing the question in a way that shows you respect others' opinions.

I wonder what Republican filter you get all your news from, that you think Obama is some kind of Muslim socialist terrorist? Do you think that's true just because Sarah Palin and the Right-Wing Pundits repeat it ad nauseum? Are you familiar with confirmation bias?

Confirmation Bias

Obviously, you believe the myth about the liberal media--fed to you repeatedly by such Republican Filters and Hate-Mongers as Rush Limbaugh, Faux News, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, and Bill O'Reilly. It works to their advantage, per your own biases, to think the media is biased against you and other conservatives, so you can dismiss anything that rubs up against your beliefs and, when it reinforces them, you can say, "see? Even that damn liberal media thinks so!"

But, as you yourself pointed out with the snopes hoax, discrediting reliable sources often works to the favor of unreliable sources, and those too lazy to do the research themselves; reinforcing their beliefs and never being challenged.

The Myth of the "Liberal" Media: (if you are man enough to read it and have your biases challenged):

Consortium News

The Myth of the Liberal Media

Liberal Media?

Oh dear. It seems we can't rely on that good ol' "liberal media bias" to explain why Republicans are continually caught with their hand in the cookie jar, doing back-room deals, and unethically pressuring their employees to fire ex-relatives. It would seem that in spite of the fact that the media is *not* really that liberal, the Republicans do a bang-up job of making themselves look bad with their own illegal activities, temper tantrums, and unpopular policies.

Oh, and let's not forget voter suppression! If you can't beat 'em honestly in this election, cheat:

Voter Suppression

You make fun of us younger generation, claiming you can't understand why, with all of our education, we'd vote for, as you called him, a "twit."

To quote you:

"This man has no leadership experience, no balance in his social outlook, and very obviously, no belief in fundamental American values – those that are based on morals and our historical documents – the Declaration, the Federalist Papers, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Monroe Doctrine, and the Emancipation Proclimation.[sic]

How many presidential candidates in the History of the United States, have the equivalent of all of the problems the liberal media is not willing to allow to be brought forward? I mean, major problems, that no one from the left will even admit exist, let alone challenge? College education enshrouded in secrecy? Hate-mongers opening doors for this twit? (“God wants you to cut off their noses, cut off their ears, take flesh out of their body; don’t worry, GoooOOOD . . . wants you to do that!” And you think the Christian right is some kind of extreme? My STARS!) Jeremiah Wright. Rules for Radicals. “Community Organizer – don’t tell me you really believe that hornswoggle! Louis Farrahkan (sp? Is that even his NAME?) The Weather Underground, and their Declaration of War against the United States."

My education (two degrees--one from the very conservative Oklahoma Baptist University, in the very buckle of the Bible Belt, thank you very much) taught me to not trust opinions just because they were repeated ad nauseum without some actual EVIDENCE and FACTS to back them up, such as the entire paragraph of yours I just quoted above. My education also taught me to use LOGIC and REASON rather than be swayed by common debate tactics (employed repeatedly by Right-Wing Pundits) such as circular logic, guilt by association, hearsay, and other logical fallacies. Obama's college education shrouded in mystery? Says who? Not Wikipedia. Not Columbia and Yale, which have his enrollment on public record for anyone to look up. "Hate-mongers opening doors for "this twit?" Says who? you? Rush Limbaugh? Not any credible news source. "This man has no leadership experience, no balance in his social outlook, and very obviously, no belief in fundamental American values – those that are based on morals and our historical documents – the Declaration, the Federalist Papers, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Monroe Doctrine, and the Emancipation Proclimation[sic]" Um, source please? Quotes? Anything to give credit to this statement beyond your own unfounded opinion? Pardon me while I ppppbbbbbt! I've read those historical documents (yes--all of them--I was almost a poli sci major and took a few classes beyond my general education in U.S. Gov.) and don't see any evidence that what Obama has said, or his policies, go against the lofty intentions of liberty and justice that our Founding Fathers espoused. Give me some Facts (not right-wing talking points and pundits braying endlessly to scare us) and we can have a civilized, honest debate. Stop wasting our time with this unsupported drivel. I guess it's the standard M.O. for Republicans these days, since the truth hurts them more than helps them. Really, the BEST you can do is whine about his lack of experience and claim his education is shrouded in mystery and he knows some extreme characters (guilty by association--that darn logical fallacy republicans use the most--until it hurts them, that is)? That's it? No affairs? No bipartisan committees finding him guilty of ethics violations or poor judgment? No real estate scandals? No shopping sprees at Neiman Marcus?

Why am I voting for Barack Obama? Because he's not a Republican. And he's not John McCain. I used to have great respect for John McCain. I thought he was a true war hero and had an even temperament; able to reach across the aisles, so to speak, and work with other Republicans AND Democrats to get valuable things done in Washington DC. If he had won the primaries against Bush, I would have voted for him in a heartbeat against Al Gore (as it was, I now weep to admit I voted for George W. Bush in 2000--yes, I was a die-hard Republican before I learned to pay attention and think for myself). But the more I've seen how John McCain runs this election, and the more I've researched HIS background, the less respect I have for him. He got admitted to the naval academy due to his father (nepotism). He graduated in the BOTTOM FIVE of his graduating class. He crashed two planes (costing the taxpayers millions), which normally gets your wings taken away, but due to his father, he got to keep them and even train other pilots. He gave up military secrets in Vietman while other POW's in the same situation were tortured and didn't divulge information. He cheated on his first wife and left her for a younger woman. The father of his 2nd wife (the "other woman," Cindy McCain) funded lots of money to his campaign for U.S. Senator.

Make Believe Maverick: The Real John McCain

Finally, I am ashamed at the behavior of the Republicans, their misstatement of just about everything Obama has done; saying he's "palling around with terrorists" for instance, and inciting already-riled up crowds into hating a fellow American because of the color of his skin, his religious upbringing, and his ancestry. The racism has really become apparent among some Republicans--and I don't mean just b/c they're not voting for Obama--I mean by their own mouth; calling him a nigger and a "black asshole" and other unsavory racial slurs--

Republican Idiocy

And McCain has done too little too late to change their faulty thinking or convince them that Obama is a fellow American who is a political opponent with whom he disagrees; they think he is an enemy of the State!
I am ashamed how Republicans use logical fallacies (such as guilt by association), fear, and bullying, instead of LOGIC to sway voters. I am ashamed that Sarah Palin has been found guilty of ethics violations and abuses of power, yet is upheld as some kind of moral leader. I am ashamed she feels the need to distinguish between "real" America (those who vote for her and McCain) and "fake" America (those with whom she disagrees and votes for her opponents). I am ashamed that Republicans lynched Clinton in 1998 for having an affair, but say nothing about McCain's affairs--I guess this moral failing only matters when you're a Democrat. And I am ashamed that John McCain hired the same political advisers (Bush's) that smeared him and used misleading questions and implications about his adopted daughter during the 2000 primaries when he was running against Bush. Looks to me like he's sold his soul in order to gain the presidency.

I'm voting for Obama because he's led a (fairly) clean and much more gentlemanly campaign. In spite of the fact that there is LOTS of amunition (heh) against John McCain re: his affairs, his dishonorable conduct as a U.S. Marine, and his filthy campagin tactics, Obama has not stooped to the level McCain has. I give him credit for NOT bringing up the affairs, as truly, they do not determine how a president will conduct himself as a public official. It takes quite restraint to not bring up something that would potentially be so damaging to his Christian base. And you don't hear Obama saying someone is "unAmerican" or a "fake American" just because they're not voting for him. In short, he has not demonized his opponent the way John McCain and Sarah Palin have done to him. Christians, indeed. Obama has not used fear as a campaign tactic, but hope.

I'm voting for Obama because he's well-spoken, even-tempered, a TRUE gentleman, and he gives me hope that America is NOT about bipartisan politics, but about upholding values that ALL Americans hold dear. Colin Powell (a decorated general, Republican, and former Bush cabinet member) endorses him, and I've always respected Colin Powell. Lots of respected Republicans endorse Obama, actually (Republicans that are concerned about America, that is, instead of just themselves and their own political party winning) including Charles Fried, former endorser and advisor to John McCain! Obama is smart, diplomatic, and untainted by years of cynical and corrupt Washington DC politics. In these difficult times, he gives people HOPE instead of making them turn on their fellow Americans by spreading fear, hate, and lies.

Finally, I leave you with something my mother-in-law, a very homespun, down-to-earth woman from Arkansas sent me regarding the campaign. This is from a forum/blog she frequents (I think it's actually a quilting forum!):

If You Are Undecided, You're Not Paying Attention.

Best,
Ninjanun

Wii Fit

2008-09-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

Finally, a Church That's Honest About What's Important to Them:

2008-08-06T00:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's really a church!

The Worst Places for Your Health

2008-04-06T17:03:00.000-07:00

MSN presents The Worst Places for Your Health. Some of them have to do with germs, others have to do with your hearing, eyesight, or ability to fall asleep.

The main ones I knew about are NOT storing your toothbrush out on the bathroom counter, NOT wearing shoes in the house, and knowing that your kitchen sink is even nastier than your toilet. The others are good to know, too.

If You've Been Wondering

2008-04-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

If you've been wondering what I've been up to, I've started a daily photo project on Flickr. It's a bit like blogging, but shorter, and with a picture everyday. If you want, you can sign up for a free account and make me a contact, which means you'll see when I post a new picture everyday (and you can post pictures, too). If you really like taking pictures, you can get a pro account for like, $25 for the whole year, which allows you to store more photos on the site, and do more with them.

At any rate, you can check out my photostream and various photo sets of mine at my flickr homepage.

So that's what's been going on with me.

That'll Preach

2008-03-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

This is where we are right now. It’s a racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy – particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union. ...

It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.

In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world’s great religions demand – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother’s keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister’s keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.

For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle – as we did in the OJ trial – or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright’s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she’s playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, “Not this time.” This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can’t learn; that those kids who don’t look like us are somebody else’s problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don’t have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn’t look like you might take your job; it’s that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should’ve been authorized and never should’ve been waged, and we want to talk about how we’ll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

I would not be running for President if I didn’t believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected.

(Title taken from slacktivist, speech by Obama).

Religion ala Eddie Izzard

2008-03-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

My 400th Post!

2008-02-23T11:12:00.000-08:00

And it's my birthday! Hoku and Reese Witherspoon are helping me celebrate.

Buy Organic

2008-02-14T22:55:00.000-08:00

It's sad that "organic" is the term we use for food that's grown as nature intended, whereas the chemical and pesticide-laden version is considered "normal." And now, of course, GMO's and cloned foods are a concern.

Buying organic is more expensive, because growing foods without the aids of chemical fertilizers and pesticides means that crops are smaller due to not being hopped up on plant steroids and being subjected to their natural predators (bugs). It's hard to buy all your foods completely organic, but just doing a little can make a big change for your health and the livelihood of organic farmers. As demand grows, it will encourage more farmers to switch to running their farms organically (a certification process that takes three years), which in turn will bring down the cost so more people will be able to buy and benefit from eating organic. Here's a list of the top 12 foods that you should really buy organic, due to their permeability, and/or high and varied pesticide content. Organic foods tend to cost a bit more, but they make up for their higher price by being tastier, safer, and more nutrient-rich than their feeble, chemically-laden counterparts.

Maybe one day "organic" food will go back to being the norm, and the chemically-grown, pesticide-laden, genetically altered and cloned food will require a label and be regarded as a sick anomaly (right now no labels are required for these cracked-out Food Frankensteins).

Snow Day and "Secret Resolutions"

2008-01-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

It snowed about 4-6 inches early this morning, so I can't go to work today. Grrr. I hate having only rear-wheel drive. Anyway, I'm having to stay at home due to the weather, and I thought I'd update my blog roll on the side there. I took out some blogs that had become (quite) inactive, and added some new places I've been visiting. Let me know if there's anything I should add, or if you see I took your blog off, but you are actively posting (maybe somewhere else, under a different name).

Okay, so every year, I try not to make New Year's Resolutions, but just outline some general goals/plans. But if I'm honest with myself, I really do make resolutions, I just don't usually tell anyone. I keep them locked away in the back of my brain and only think about them on occasion, either to confirm that I'm actually working on them (somewhat), or to be glad that I kept them secret, since I'm failing so miserably, and hey, that's okay, because I didn't Make Them Official. Does that make sense?

So, my secret resolutions are pretty typical, and I secretly make them almost every year. They are as follows:

1. Get in shape/lose flab/eat healthier/work out more/get more sleep.

2. Work on improving my posture.

3. Floss regularly.

4. Stop procrastinating.

5. Get organized.

6. Get my finances in order/create a working budget/save more money.

Maybe I'm just influenced by the culture and that's why these secret resolutions are so typical, but I really do need to improve in all these areas. Some years, I might make one or two of them "official" so that I really try a bit harder. I guess the reason they are secret is because I tend to make so many of them, and if I made them ALL official, I think I'd get overwhelmed. I don't know if posting about them now counts as making them official, but it hardly matters. I don't think it improves my chances of keeping them, whether I make them official or not.

What about you? Do you secretly make any resolutions?

R.I.P.

2008-01-22T16:43:00.000-08:00

Heath Ledger dies today at 28. :(

1979-2008

May he rest in peace.

Top Ten Reasons Why Men Should Not Be Ordained

2008-01-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

Wasp Jerky posted this a while back, and I thought it was pretty funny, so I'm re-posting it here. Women have been subjected to similar reasoning for why they can't be ordained (or really, work outside the home at all). Enjoy.

10. A man's place is in the army.

9. For men who have children, their duties might distract them from the responsibilities of being a parent.

8. Their physical build indicates that men are more suited to tasks such as chopping down trees and wrestling mountain lions. It would be "unnatural" for them to do other forms of work.

7. Man was created before woman. It is therefore obvious that man was a prototype. Thus, they represent an experiment, rather than the crowning achievement of creation.

6. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. This is easily demonstrated by their conduct at football games and watching basketball tournaments.

5. Some men are handsome; they will distract women worshipers.

4. To be ordained pastor is to nurture the congregation. But this is not a traditional male role. Rather, throughout history, women have been considered to be not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more frequently attracted to it. This makes them the obvious choice for ordination.

3. Men are overly prone to violence. No really manly man wants to settle disputes by any means other than by fighting about it. Thus, they would be poor role models, as well as being dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.

2. Men can still be involved in church activities, even without being ordained. They can sweep paths, repair the church roof, and maybe even lead the singing on Father's Day. By confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the Church.

1. In the New Testament account, the person who betrayed Jesus was a man. Thus, his lack of faith and ensuing punishment stands as a symbol of the subordinated position that all men should take.

Furniture for Pets

2008-01-20T23:55:00.000-08:00

Seriously. There's got to be a better solution than generic bone-printed fabrics covering shapeless doggy beds, and beige carpet-covered cat scratchers that announce to all your guests: "We have a cat!"
Pets need furniture too, and the pickings have always been slim. Just like we've realized that pets enjoy better-tasting and healthier food, fresh water, and stimulating toys (yeah, I said stimulating toys), it's time we realized that pets will insist on sleeping on your bed, your sofa, and your favorite chair. Why do they do it? Well, the same reason you do: it's comfortable. But as hairless bipeds, we tend to get frustrated when our fuzzy friends leave their hair all over our stuff, scratch up our drapes, or drool on our sheets, so we get them "furniture" of their own. And, as anyone with a modicum of style cohesiveness will tell you, it's nearly impossible to find pet furniture that manages to keep up the aesthetic you've decorated your house with.

Oh sure, some have tried, but it seems they care more about furniture as art, rather than furniture as function. Hepper Furniture offers these futuristic oddities that look like they'd be fit for the Jetson's robot dog, Lectronimo.

I'm in ur over-designed plastic crap, desiring some cardboard.

And why, aside from those monstrously-huge pet beds, is nobody making

furniture for big dogs?

Now here's a cat-scratcher that's actually pretty sophisticated and well-designed. It's made by moderncritter.com. They have a deal with FLOR carpet tiles so you can get a semi-custom design, plus the ability to change out the carpet when it gets too ratty.

But holy crap, two-hundred and eighty-five dollars for a cat scratcher?! I'm sorry, but for that price, it better also make ice cream and lattes on-demand.

Actually, that's kind of what I'd really like to see (or maybe one day I can take it upon myself to design): furniture that works for people and pets. That is, a coat rack that doubles as a cat scratcher, or an ottoman that is durable enough for a big golden lab to sleep on (and could store her toys inside). I have seen kitchens that incorporated pet food dish storage (such as in a toe-kick) as well as open shelving big enough and close enough to the floor to insert a pet bed. Still, cats like to perch up high and sit on the windowsills, and it would be great to have some furniture that benefits both people and pets alike, although in different ways (for instance, a tall dresser or bookcase that's easy and safe for a cat to climb and "perch" from). And if there was an elegant way to hide the sights and smells of the litter box while making a useful piece of furniture for humans, I'd do my best to design it for the masses--and offer it at a (relatively) affordable price.

When it comes to furniture that pets lounge on, I think it's useless to give pets a version of their "own" furniture when it's not necessary: cats will hop up on the bed with you in the middle of the night when you're too passed out to protest, dogs will steal the comfy chair when you get up to grab a beer on the commercial break, and, unless you are very strict and thorough with training, your pets will sit and sleep on the "forbidden" furniture when you're not home to police them. We have a cat bed to cat ratio of 1.5 to 1, and they still insist on sleeping on the human beds during the day.

It's best in those situations to have a pet-friendly blanket (that's in a color that matches your decor) or slipcover that can be removed when a human wants to sit down. It's unfair to only have one doggie bed or cat bed, because your pets want to be with you--no matter what room of the house you're in--even if it's only to pass out in your presence. Pets are part of the family, and that's part of why we love them: they like to think that they're just extra-fuzzy people, and they want to do what the other people do. They want to hang out with us. Isn't this, after all, why we have pets; for the companionship?

Good kitty.

Which Candidate is for You?

2008-01-15T12:39:00.001-08:00

94% Dennis Kucinich
93% Mike Gravel
84% John Edwards
80% Barack Obama
78% Chris Dodd
77% Hillary Clinton
76% Joe Biden
74% Bill Richardson
33% Rudy Giuliani
23% John McCain
21% Ron Paul
19% Mike Huckabee
18% Mitt Romney
16% Tom Tancredo
7% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Like Water Through My Hands....

2008-01-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

*Warning: this post is pretty random.

Where does all my time go? I had my first class today, and even though I'm not normally excited by this particular teacher and his extremely dry teaching style, it looks like it's going to be okay. I'm actually excited about it, because I think I have a good concept already started.

I meant to do sooooo much over my 3-week break from school: Finish the medicine cabinets, stain the bookcase that's going to be installed in our "library," recover my sleep, and maybe recover some pillows. I did manage to make almost-straight-A's (one A-) last quarter in addition to doing Christmas-y preparations (with lots of help from the Pete on the Christmas-y stuff) throughout December, but the entire week of Finals was a sleep-deprived stress fest as I rushed around, trying to get all my projects finished.

Oh, I also meant to get Really Organized over the break, too, but that didn't happen. And I meant to work on my still-unfinished model from Architectural Modelmaking. It's gonna be cool if I ever get it done. It would make a great portfolio piece. But I never have time to go back and work on it once another quarter is underway. And then my breaks are spent recovering from the hectic pace of Finals week.

I did manage to read three novels and organize the kitchen pantry. That's something, eh? But most of my time has been spent on the internets; which is just proof that I'm not out there living my life. One of these days, I'm going to blog about Death and How People I Know Who've Recently Died have changed my outlook on life. As in, when I'm on my deathbed, I am NOT going to be saying to myself, "Gee, I wish I had spent MORE TIME reading about Britney Spears on the Internet/Bitching about Traffic/Sitting on my Ass Eating Chips." But I might say, "Gee, I wish I had spent more time improving my and others' lot in life, hanging out with my friends and family, and generally sucking the marrow out of life."

If someone can give me tips on how to get and stay motivated to do things I know are worthwhile to be doing (career/life goals, etc.), please let me know.

Things I'm Interested in Right Now

2008-01-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

Been loving the Left Behind Fridays on Slacktivist. The comments (and they are extensive) are always insightful and entertaining, as well. Fred Clark dismantles the abysmal first book in the series piece-by-piece, revealing just how horribly, terribly wrong and wretched it is, not just from a theological standpoint, but also as a shining example of literary excrement. Want to know what Left Behind is about without slogging through the series yourself? Then read Fred's reviews; they are much more entertaining and informative, and will give you some nifty talking points to share with your redneck fundamentalist aunt that loves them so much.

I am totally enchanted with Steampunk, both the literature and the style. I totally want to use this aesthetic in my next interior design project.

I've been working on designing the garage-with-living-space-above that the Pete and I eventually want to build in our backyard. It needs to have enough room to park two cars below, plus have extra space for a workshop, and have a 750 sq. ft. apartment above, appropriate for a couple to live comfortably. This is in part because we may wish to rent it out to friends in the future (Chris and Cindy, I'm looking at you); but also because it would be great to host extra family members during holidays and vacations, so that we all have more privacy and autonomy. Plus, since we eventually want to do extensive remodeling on our own house, it would be great to just move into our own apartment garage while the major construction is going on.

I'm also captivated by my friend Brian's awesome photography. You should go check it out, and leave some nice comments for him, okay?

How did I not know about the little brown dress project when it was going on from July 2006-July 2007? It happened right here in Seattle! One woman fights the fashion industry pressure to define yourself with spiffy new clothes on an ever-changing basis by wearing the same dress (that she designed and sewed herself) every day for a year. She has since moved on to a new project: only wearing recycled clothing, but the spirit is the same. Americans especially spend too much time, money, and energy buying clothes that only get worn a few dozen times before they are considered "outdated" and end up in the trash or given to goodwill. In the process, tons of resources are consumed (do you know how much land/energy/water/etc. it takes to grow cotton to fill our insatiable clothing lust?) and Americans are encouraged to focus on shallow qualities like appearance to define ourselves and others by. Hey, I'm as guilty as anybody, but this lady is an inspiration. Go check it out, and reflect on how you can make conscious, small changes in your own life to make a difference and consume less.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T13:49:00.001-08:00

Got any plans for 2008?

I plan on graduating, switching careers, and working on the house more this year.

What about you?

Buttprints

2007-12-30T13:32:00.000-08:00

A parody of that mawkish poem, Footprints:

One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.

But then some strange prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
Those prints are large and round and neat,
"But Lord, they are too big for feet."

"My child," He said in somber tones,
"For miles I carried you along.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."

"You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know,
So I got tired, I got fed up,
And there I dropped you on your butt."

"Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand."

Author apparently unknown.

Discuss.

Darkness and Light

2007-12-23T02:10:00.000-08:00

So, my family had stopped going to church, for which I was relieved. I was dressing in black, trying to be as "goth" as possible--which was kind of hard, since my mom was so controlling. I couldn't dye my hair, couldn't pierce my ears more than one hole each, etc. The best I could do was dress in black as much as possible and wear dark lipstick. This was 10th grade. I had a boyfriend, Zac, whom I had met in a Creative Writing class. He liked my poetry and short stories. He loaned me a keyboard so I could write songs with funky synth noises. He was my first "official" boyfriend, and I did something I suppose is typical for girls with low self-esteem to do with their first boyfriend--I started hanging out with him almost exclusively, at the expense of my other friends. He was a year older, and could drive (unlike most of my friends) so that was a contributing factor, as well. We did the typical teenage romance things: bought each other gifts on Valentine's Day, went to Prom together (he was a junior), hung out at the lake, made out, had deep talks. He had beautiful red hair, which, in retrospect is amusing simply because I've never been attracted to redheaded guys, and I wasn't even very physically attracted to him, but I always thought he had great hair.

And, he was a Christian. I don't think he was dating me as a "ministry," you know, Missionary Dating, because the default position of anyone who lives in the Buckle of the Bible Belt is "christian," unless they specifically state otherwise. And because I had grown up in church, and had frequently said the "sinner's prayer," I waffled back and forth about whether or not I was really a Christian.

Except, I got the inkling I wasn't, because apart from those factors (church and saying The Prayer), I wasn't comfortable with Christianity. And when my best friend Lisa approached me one day before class about the amazing Experience with God she had had over the weekend, I wanted to just get away from her. It made me very uncomfortable, and I couldn't explain why. She mentioned feeling an overwhelming sense of God's presence, or something, and I knew that I had never felt anything like that. It made me feel like a fraud, and I didn't want to hang around her anymore. She started badgering me all the time about Jesus, and I didn't know what to do. I had said the Sinner's Prayer at least a hundred times: in church, at special youth "outreach events," as well as at home. I couldn't make myself feel anything, and I didn't know what else was required of me. I started hanging around Lisa less and less, till we weren't even friends at all. I hung around my boyfriend, and I hung around my "choir" friends, who (in my eyes) were much cooler anyway. They were all Christians, and they talked about God frequently, but didn't badger me the way Lisa did. They, like most people in Oklahoma, just assumed I already was a Christian, so I could safely go about my life without always having "the state of my soul" being the topic of discussion. Hanging around someone who only wants to discuss that feels like being under Constant Medical Scrutiny: you're wearing one of those hospital gowns that doesn't quite cover all the stuff you'd like covered, and the doctor is only interested in you as a patient: did you eat the proper foods today? Take your meds? Let me hear your heartbeat. Let's take your blood pressure. Oh, you say you had a delightful lunch of green eggs and ham? Are you not aware of what that's going to do to your cholesterol?!

The truth was, I was beginning to feel like God didn't want me. This should come as no surprise considering my upbringing, but of course as a teenager I didn't have this level of self-awareness. I had gone to church, said the Sinner's Prayer, didn't have sex, do drugs, smoke, drink, or even disobey my parents (much). Heck, I even made good grades. I must've heard the "Gospel" presented about 100 times. I put it in scare quotes only because I don't know that the full gospel was ever really presented to me, it was usually the truncated "Chick Track" version:

1. You're a sinner who deserves hell.
2. Jesus died for your sins so you don't have to.
3. Say this prayer, accept Jesus into your heart, and God will forgive you.
4. If you really meant it then Congratulations! You're a Christian now!
5. Now go read your bible a whole bunch, attend church, and tell your friends and loved ones the same message. The end.

I had concluded that either a) I hadn't really meant it all those times I asked Jesus into my heart, and therefore he hadn't made me a Real True Christian (RTC), or b) I had meant it (how could I not? I didn't want to go to hell, after all. I wanted to feel God's presence and be a part of what all my friends were a part of) but God didn't want me.

It never occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, there was more to The Message than what I had been told. Oh sure, I had heard a lot about "Jesus loves you, God loves you and that's why he Sent His Son," and a bit about "Grace that is Greater Than All Your Sins," but it wasn't real to me. I had never experienced such unconditional love and acceptance in my life. The message I heard loud and clear over and above the Love and Grace Message was the You Don't Measure Up message. Yes, I heard it frequently at home (not in so many words, of course) but also at church. You don't know the right Sunday School Answers, so you don't measure up. You don't read your bible enough (or, it's obvious you don't read your bible at ALL, since you don't know the Answers), so you don't measure up. You don't want to pray out loud, so you don't measure up. Everyone seemed to be keeping me at arm's length because I didn't measure up. Nobody accepted me just the way I was. Gotta do more, gotta be more. "You have to be one of us to really be accepted," was the message the church gave.

The fact of the matter was, the reason I didn't measure up, didn't want to read my bible, pray out loud, etc., was because I wasn't a Christian, duh. Of course I didn't measure up. I was unsaved and doomed to hell. How could I be enthusiastic about that? I was lost; not because I didn't want to be found, but because no one was searching for me. They wanted me to be one of them before they really cared. Even God, apparently. It seemed, despite what people said, that my salvation was dependent on me; my response to God (say the Sinner's Prayer, muster up the right "feelings," read the bible and abstain from sinning). I had done what I could, and I didn't measure up. And God didn't seem to be responding to my efforts. You can only muster up so much enthusiasm for a God, and a belief system, and a church, that says You're Not Good Enough; Let Us Know When You Figure It Out. We don't like you for who you are, only what you might become. And you're not IN until you actually become it.

It was a gospel without hope. The sin and guilt and threat of hell were real enough, but God's love was merely a theoretical exercise. I don't think most "unsaved"* people have a problem believing they're guilty of wrongdoing in some capacity--everyone has experienced such attitudes of hate, greed, lust, pride, etc. I think most people have a problem believing God is real, good, and She really loves us as we are. As humans, we are confronted quite often with our own failures and thus have no problem believing in them, yet rarely are we confronted with a level of goodness and purity of motivation that loves and accepts us in spite of those failures.

The message I got from those in the church was "all you have to do is say this prayer, repent of your sins (sins being thoughts and feelings too--good luck with that, as a teenager going through the typical teenage changes), and you'll be IN; it's going to be sunshine and rainbows of absolution and atonement. You'll feel the presence, peace, and joy of God!" Yet I didn't feel those things, no matter how I longed for them, because the Big Bouncer in the Sky was saying, "I'm sorry, you can't come in, you don't measure up for mysterious reasons which I refuse to articulate." It seemed to be working for everyone else, and I couldn't understand why it wasn't working for me. Because of this gradual realization, this wearing-down of my spirit, reinforced by the constant criticisms I was receiving at home, I began to fall down a slow, soul-sucking spiral of despair.

I came home from school every day and ate through my depression. Some days I ate a candy bar (or two), followed by several servings of chips, and then went on to have a big dinner at around 5:30, and then a full dessert every night. I wasn't clinically overweight, but I wasn't exactly fitting the category of "slender," either. I see pictures of myself from then, and I have a lot of "baby fat" (which I didn't have at the age of say, nine or ten). I didn't fit in at home, at school, at church, and I felt lonely, despite having a few people I called "friends," and even a boyfriend. I contemplated suicide seriously enough to compose "goodbye, cruel world," letters in my head, and get out the sharp kitchen knives and dare myself to slice my wrists on occasion. I could never go through with it, obviously--the thought of pain and blood and going to hell made me more than a little squeamish. But I couldn't see a way out of my dilemma: nobody loved me for who I was, not even God. It was like being at the fringes of the popular crowd: close enough to see how wonderful and happy it must be to be one of them, but not close enough to call those people your friends or be considered part of their group. Even when you tried to do their song and dance, play their games, wear their faces and clothes, they still didn't accept you.

The only person who didn't seem to keep me at arm's length was Zac. One night, while hanging out at the lake, we had a deep talk about God. And I confessed that I thought God must not want me. I broke down crying. I was just so tired of trying to be accepted: by my friends at school, by people at church, by my mom, by God. Whatever I did was never enough. I was always on the outside.

I don't remember much else about the conversation, but I do know that shortly thereafter he loaned me a book, This Present Darkness to read. Now, I know it's not a very good book from a theological or even literary perspective, but it did accomplish what sermon upon sermon over the years had not: the love of God became real to me.

Philip Pullman is quoted as saying, "THOU SHALT NOT might reach the head, but it takes ONCE UPON A TIME to reach the heart." That was certainly true in my case. I can't tell you which day I "became a Christian:" it was a series of imperceptible steps; a gentle unfolding that took place not over days, but over my entire lifetime up to that point. I had read The Chronicles of Narnia and recognized Jesus and the gospel presented therein, I had heard sermons that had made me face my sin and felt guilty and recognized my need for God, I'd had conversations with friends and even my mom about God, and this book, imperfect as it may be, was the final turn of the Rubik's Cube that made everything, at least momentarily, click into place and make sense. And it was as authors, preachers, and saints before had said: like hearing the voice of one whom you'd always, deep down, known and loved, calling to you, and you finally understood that it was always calling to you, only you couldn't hear it properly till that moment. C.S. Lewis observed, "every story of conversion is the story of a blessed defeat." It was this surrender, this letting go and merely Being in the Presence of Being that was such a relief, a sort of waking up as from a strange and lurid dream of being lost in the forest at night, to discover that you're really safe at home, and always have been.

As a child I'd had these momentary flashes of Something Greater, Something Deep and Lasting and Infinitely Good, that was somehow just beyond normal perception: Slivers of Joy, I came to think of them. When I had barely perceived this Something, on the edges of my awareness, I had the momentary sensation of some curtain being drawn back, and the universe and all within it being lifted up and held in this Something; this infinite Goodness. He's got the whole world in His hands.... I had never imagined that this Something might be the stoic and disciplined God of the bible stories, that he was unbound and beyond even those, and that He did, in fact, know who I was, call me by name, and want me for His own, until this Something came crashing in upon my awareness in a way I had never experienced before. Suddenly that Something was not on the edges of my vision, but staring me full in the face. It was beautiful and terrifying, yet reassuring, all at the same time.

I cannot deny that this was an emotional experience. I've heard that people of all faiths have experienced such things, so I'm not going to say the sensation was specifically Christian. Obviously I interpreted this through the lens of Christianity, since that's what I had been brought up to believe. At some point on some otherwise insignificant day in August, at the age of 16, during the course of reading that second-rate Christian thriller novel, I got down on my knees and asked Jesus into my heart, but in retrospect, that was merely a formality. I had already had the paradigm shift away from Nobody Wants Me, to Somebody, the Ultimate Somebody, Loves Me, and that outlook began to change me.

*I put the words "unsaved" in scare quotes for a reason--I think the term itself is misleading and flawed--but I'll try to address that in another post.

To Catch You Up....

2007-12-20T13:32:00.000-08:00

Here is my story so far. I'll continue where I left off, so if you want to read what's come before, here's your chance.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 2.5
Part 3
Part 4

All Those Still Interested, Raise Your Hand

2007-12-19T23:00:00.001-08:00

Okay y'all, it's about 11pm on a Thursday and I was going to post something really profound, either about Christmas and What It Means to Me, or Death, or continue My Life Story (remember that? back in frickin' 2005? But now I'm wondering if it's even worth it. I mean, does anyone even care (about my life story, anyway)? I started school, I've healed more, I've moved on a bit (that comes into the Death post, too) due to Changing Life Circumstances.

But...if I don't tell My Life Story, other things I might want to blog about in the future might not make sense. Stuff I'm still dealing with. Stuff like church (the organization), and Why I Don't Want Anything to Do With It.

Also, I've noticed there's this Culture of Silence, as I've come to call it, regarding Church and how it's implied (both when you're attending and when you leave) that you're not supposed to say anything bad about what was going on, or why you left. I think that's partly because the people who most need to know why you left still attend That Church, and if you try to tell them why you left, you imply that they are part of That Problem, or they are endorsing The Person, or Church Model, or Belief System (or all three) that you think is wrong, or did you wrong, by still being part of it. Does that make sense?

So you can't explain why you left to people who mean a lot to you, because you know if you start to, you'll be accusing them oh-so-subtly of Being Wrong. And whether you really think that or not, that's the impression you give, and hence, the Culture of Silence. And THAT means you can't defend yourself against the reasons they supply in their heads about Why You Left, which may be uncharitable, and certainly do not take into account Specific Events or Things That Were Said that they know nothing about, which you cannot say because it puts a Certain Someone who Pretty Much Runs the Church in a bad light, and you don't want to be seen as that sour grapes/gossiper/malcontent/whatever person trying to get people to join you in leaving the church.

And soon, the only people you can tell about it are other people who also don't go to Church, but most of them don't go to church because they just don't; it's never interested them or they weren't raised to think IT WAS IMPORTANT, and so, while you agree with their reasons for not going (it's boring, it's banal, I'd-rather-be-sleeping-in-and-eating-pancakes-in-my-jammies) they don't really understand your reasons for not going.

So. That's where I'm at. Does anyone care about any of the above mentioned topics? Or should I just do another "confessions" thingie?

To All The Scrooges of the World

2007-11-25T00:12:00.001-08:00

Whether you be of the pagan persuasion or the Christian persuasion:

Lighten the hell up already. It's a holiday. It doesn't matter if you choose to celebrate as a way to give props to the Baby Jesus, or as a way to pay homage to Mother Nature's burrowing instincts. Or hell, I don't even care if you choose to wield your almighty hard-earned republican dollar to buy overpriced cheap-ass plastic crap made in China at Wal-Mart to celebrate the season.

My point is, life is short. And this is supposed to be a time of joy and good cheer toward your fellow man, not a piss-and-moan contest to lament the fact that the way others celebrate is different from how you think they ought to. Drink some egg nog (preferably with lots of rum), or the beverage of your choice. Hug a child. Sing some songs. Feed some hungry people. Whatever it takes to make you a solution to a problem, instead of being part of the problem.

"Gilgamesh, where are you going?
You will never find the eternal life
That you seek. When the gods created mankind,
they also created death, and they held back
eternal life for themselves alone.
Humans are born, they live, then they die
this is the order that the gods have decreed.
But until the end comes, enjoy your life,
spend it in happiness, not despair.
Savor your food, make each of your days
a delight, bathe and anoint yourself
wear bright clothes
let music and dancing fill your house,
love the child who holds you by the hand,
and give your wife pleasure in your embrace.
That is the best way for a man to live."

A Half-hearted explanation about why I'm going into Interior Design

2007-11-02T20:55:00.000-07:00

This is a little "soul-searching" exercise I had to do for my Professional Practices class. It was meant to help crystallize our goals and such, and isn't meant to be edited and refined. We ended up not turning it in (since it was meant just to help us), but I thought I'd post it here, since it explains a little about my past and my thought process for going back to school for Interior Design. Since I promised, when I first started, that I'd blog about the reason for my (seemingly) sudden career change, I thought posting this would be a pretty good explanation, or at least a jumping-off point. The history/explanation part is a bit condensed, and of course there's more to the story than just this, so if you have any questions about it, feel free to ask in the comments. I mean, if you even care. I don't know if anyone even reads this anymore, since I haven't posted in so long. But anyway, if you ask questions, I promise I'll respond.

What I Really Want to Do

Growing up, I always wanted to be an entertainer; singing, dancing, performing music. I also enjoyed writing short stories and poems. As I got older and learned how to play the piano, I found that writing music came pretty naturally to me. I was constantly hearing songs in my head.
At the same time, I was growing up in a household where my parents were constantly remodeling our house. Almost every aspect was a work-in-progress, and I enjoyed going with my mom to look at model homes and seeing the latest designs. My mother had taken a drafting course in high school, and could return from these excursions and make a rough sketch of the floor plans of the houses we had seen that day. I began to develop a sense of what made a house “work” and how space planning was the backbone for that sense of flow.
During high school and college, I participated in lots of musicals, choirs, band, and variety shows, and eventually got to showcase some of my own songs. I was also volunteering at various churches in their music programs, as well as helping teach Sunday school to jr. high kids, as I worked on getting my own degree in Religion with a minor in Music in preparation for ministry work.
After graduating from college in May of 1999 I moved to Seattle to help out at a church as an intern, where I contributed to the music and youth programs, and eventually became the worship leader (music director). I got a “real” job working as an administrative assistant at Allstate Insurance, and got my agent’s license so I was authorized to sell policies when my two bosses weren’t there. I hated being stuck answering the phone all day while my bosses went home early. I was also frustrated that my job offered no creative outlet. I started a band with some friends and we began learning the songs I had written and performing in local book stores, pubs, and coffee shops. We even placed in a few talent contests, played the Folk Life Music Festival twice, and got to be on a local TV program once. I started saving up money for us to make an album.
I was so frustrated with my “day” job, however, that I quit and went to work for a lady who had a housecleaning business in 2000. I really enjoyed seeing inside a variety of homes again, and appreciated the fact that I was alone for the most part, and could do the job while writing songs in my head and singing. It also gave me more time, because I could leave when the job was “done,” and didn’t have set hours I had to stay and wait around until 6pm, like at my old job. Also, I got a real sense of how people lived in their houses, and what layouts and materials were beneficial and which were not, for their lifestyle. I noticed a lot of homes were really too big, and if they had just been designed better, they could actually live more comfortably in a smaller footprint.
In 2003 I started my own housecleaning business, which gave me greater control over who my clients were and how often I worked. In 2005, after years of working and saving up, the band released an album, but it never went anywhere. I wasn’t good at all the administrative tasks it takes to promote it, and the other members of the band weren’t nearly as passionate about it as I was, and didn’t have time, either. Two members quit or moved away soon after the album was released, and it was frustrating to keep rearranging the songs to fit new people. This also made practicing and performing gigs difficult, which meant the album wasn’t being promoted at all. At the end of 2005, my husband and I left the church where we attended and volunteered, because we disagreed with the direction it was heading. This meant all my opportunities to do music were pretty much gone. I didn’t want to do music on my own; I really enjoyed being part of a “team,” whether it was with my fellow band members or the other volunteers at the church.
I went back to school in 2006 for interior design, because I wanted to make a concrete difference in people’s lives. While I enjoy performing music and know this entertains people and possibly encourages them, I want to make a lasting impact on their quality of life in a day-to-day sense. I have a friend who has MS, and she and her husband have finished out their basement with a wheelchair accessible master bath and laundry area. I would like to be involved with designs like this, that really improve someone’s ability to live and work, and help them continue to function. Also, I am very interested in sustainable design, especially as the earth’s natural resources are depleted, toxic materials enter the environment, and more and more people are hindered by chemical sensitivities and wasteful practices. I like the idea of providing people with good designs, along with the resources and information they need to really improve their quality of life and help them live in harmony with nature.

Anam~Rae

2005-07-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

Anam~rae is celtic for soulspace.

A Quiet Place

When this life is cold and lonely (like it is)
I reach back into my mind
to a quiet place there
and I stop and I stare at Your beautiful face
And from this I gather strength.

When I'm agitated
and I feel berated
and I'd like to end it,
but they say that death that way is overrated;
But I feel like a candle flickering
'Cause I'm not getting enough oxygen
When I feel like I'm being suffocated...

I go to a quiet place where the mist hangs over the water
I go to a quiet place where my soul hangs over Your feet
And I can breathe, and I can drink in Your spirit
And I can hear Your voice saying,
"Reach out, and touch My face."
I go to a quiet place.

When this life is making too much noise in my head
With its glitter, and its gossip, and its lies all retold
And the cymbal crashes, and the lightning flashes,
and the thunder, it roll, roll, roll, rolls....

I go to a quiet place...

On a cold misty morning late December
When the rain fell, and the wind blew
and the walls crashed in
Well, I did not tremble and I did not falter
For my house was built on a firm foundation.