| sleeping hasn't been the same |

My wife, Engelina...better known as Gina, has left me for a couple of days to visit California - a church trip. This is a totally new experience for me. There has been times when she was gone for a night, but it is five days this time... it really sucks! Along with sleeping, here are reasons why it sucks.
It is really lonely, especially at night time.

The house does not smell as good. Women smell better then men, it is a fact. So I cleaned today, that helped a little.

It is a little bit more chilly at night in the bet.

People start singing weird songs to you... Like This Bed Is Too Big With Out You by the Police

People have huge amounts of pity on you because they assume you cannot cook or anything without your wife. I had cereal and a Twix for dinner last night at 11pm.

Gina got hit on by the rental car guy. The guy went to the car and got his iTrip and let her borrow it the whole time they are there.

Also, she took the iPod, I am without my iPod for five days. Good thing I am not addicted to it.

Our pet fish, Sushi, seems really upset. Gina talks to him and spends more time with. She also feeds him a lot... I put him on a fast.

Saturday seems so far away.

Peace

| the kong |

I am really frustrated. Sunday afternoon my wife and I went to Blockbuster with coupon in hand ready to choose our rainy afternoon entertainment. The discussion in the car was whether to get King Kong or not. My wife was reluctant to rent the movie. Not because there has been a lack of excitement in our friends’ opinions of the movie. Not because she would have rather rented a chick-flick. And, not because of the film’s rating. She was reluctant because she thought that she might get nightmares from it. I was nice, and said, “I can watch it while you are away,” but she said, “ I don’t want to watch it without you.” I suddenly became confused. However, after the movie my thought was, “Is it even possible for people to get nightmares from cartoons?” (those of you who have seen the recent King Kong movie, it is not a cartoon)

So we went into the store, and checked out. However, the coupon did not work for some reason, so I had to spend a fortune to merely borrow a movie. I could have decided not to get the movie, but by that point it was like telling a child he could not go to the amusement park after waiting and anticipating for hours in a ticket line. It just does not happen, and so the credit card seems to walk right from the wallet and back without thinking twice. I left the store five dollars poorer, but giddy as a schoolboy because we are about to watch King Kong after weeks of waiting and debating.

We watched the movie, and then we continued to watch the movie. After that, we continued to still watch the movie. The movie was so long we almost had to call off work the next day. I am afraid for when I will have to talk to God. I can see it now, God and I are walking and he looks at his watch and says, “You did pretty good, but a huge chunk of your life was wasted on that horrible movie Kong,” and I will respond, “Forgive those movie producers, they had no idea what they were doing.”

As much hype as this cartoon got, you would think they would have had people help create a film that might make it realistic. Anyway, didn’t this movie already exist? Woman falls in love with beast, town tries to kill beast, and woman gets upset. Besides the happy ending, I think Disney should sue for the copying of their cartoon.

Was it a cartoon? I know you can teach a monkey to do a lot of things. Grant it, they have been in several commercials lately, but come one, kung fu, karate, and the English language? My wife and I were getting so frustrated we began to yell at the movie, “Come on, get on with it! You got to be kidding me! Are you serious!” But the TV kept saying to me, “MMMMMMM, ROOOOOOAAAAAAAR!” Also, there were moments I imagined the conversation of the special affects artists creating the movie. One says, “How should we have Kong defeat this dinosaur?” A moment of silence, then abruptly the other says, ”I know I know, we can have him bite his tongue off, and then snap his jaw, and then play with it like a broken Jurassic Park figurine.”

In the end, we will say that we were disappointed, but the truth is… without the sour, the sweet is not as good (Vanilla Sky the movie). Also, movies are art, and the expressions are subject to the artists and the opinions are subject to the observer who experiences the artwork. Depending on the experience in which the artwork is viewed, and the observer herself, the masterpiece can exist as something totally awful or as something totally beautiful. Similar to a lot of things in life, but the one that comes to mind, is the church. This can be viewed in many different ways... so how do you see it, comment and let me know

Puerto Rican Jesus

The other night at youth group, Mike, was the only person that showed from our small group. So, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity. But, let me explain what small group has been like since the fall. I love the guys who are in my group, but as far as group dynamics and accomplishing something as a group, we have not been so good at that.
If you knew Mike, not having other people there in the group would not discourage him from being funny, or getting off topic. He is a tenacious Puerto Rican comedian. I love that... I guess our time together was different because I did not try so hard.

Since it was only us we snuck into the main auditorium of the church. I tried to turn on the lights, but it was computerized and way too complex for me to figure out. Mike tried punching all the buttons at once. I dont blame him, he is a boxer. We continued to walk into the dark, massive, room. Mike said, "What are you doin? I am scared. I cant see where you are. Are you going to attack me." I said, "No, sit down." So we sat there in the dark, massive room. Then I said, "Lets have complete silence for 5 minutes." I acted like I had a plan the whole time, secretly I just wanted him to be quiet for once (by the way if read this he would be laughing because he knows he is like this... we are boys).

We sat for 5 minutes in the dark, then we talked about sitting in the dark. It was a great conversation. Then we talked about some other stuff. Generally, it was about God, love, life, Jesus, karma, etc. That conversation was about ten minutes. Then we prayed. Mike prayed for me, and he encouraged me a lot. I prayed for MIke, and I dont know if I did anything for him. But I prayed that the Holy Spirit would challenge, prod, comfort, and take over Mike's life so much that anyone who he encountered would see a Puerto Rican Jesus. He laughed in the middle of the prayer, I chuckled, but I was completely serious.We stumbled into the lobby because our eyes were adjusting to the bright light, and we talked about how that was the first small group where we actually did something.

My nail

Remember when I told the story about me stepping on the nail on Demo day...it was in Feeling Manly. Well here is the nail, and this is the actual nail. Does that look like blood?

In Memory of...

I just got finished listening/air jamming to Come Sail Away by the Styx after youth group by myself. This was in memory of my boys who I used to jam with at LCBC. It is not the same!

My toothbrush

My toothbrush
Originally uploaded by jj smith.

I have discovered a beautiful thing. However, I am embarassed of it ...a little. I have discovered electric tooth brushes. Not, that I have never seen them... I have never used them. This experience is invigorating.

Thousans of little fiingers spinning round and round creating a constant message for the oral cavity. The vibration, the bubbles, the annoying sound of the little motor, it all adds to the experience of brushing teeth that I have never felt as long as I had teeth. It seems the opposite is true in the case of the electric toothbrush - I want to brush my teeth longer and more often. Rather than shorter and less frequent b/c it is brushing more per second than manual tooth brush. I try to get Gina to try it, but she has some thing against using the same toothbrush... I dont know.

I am embarassed b/c this is one of those things that is completely luxury. Something as simple as brushing my teeth, I fell into the trap of needing something bigger, better, and easier.

Peace
josh

PS if some advertising person reads this and wants to use this for a comercial... at least give me a free toothbrush