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So I know that I have a lot of Med, Nursing, Biology, Health, Kinesiology, etc. students who read this blog, and I have a question for you:
What effect does sugar and/or chocolate have on mood? I have the vaguest layman’s idea of it, but I’m curious about the technical, chemical process, and/or studies that have been done, and/or controversies about it 
. Please still weigh in, even if someone’s said it before. I want to hear all of your opinions and learning!
And don’t tell me to Google it (you tech-savvy bunch!). I want to hear what you have to say 
In an environment where you are only permitted 140 characters per post, every character counts. I can be long-winded and overstate things as much as I want on my blog. But in Twitter, I must cherish brevity, and use it to my advantage. Thus, long-forms, spaces and sentence structure are often sacrificed, favouring whatever method may best get across the spirit of the post.
The following two paragraphs make up a very brief “how to read Twitter” guide.
Remember, every character counts. When looking at the snapshots of Twitter below, the first phrase (ie, little_bro, taralorraine, mikepurvis, etc) identifies the author. When there’s an @ symbol in the post, followed by a user name, that generally indicates that the author is directing their comments to that particular user. IM rules apply, ie, short forms and emoticons and asterisks around words to indicate actions are all fair game. The timestamp after the comment isn’t super important, but can help you establish what is going on (like, for example, if you’re going back over my logs. You can tell when when things were written, and that generally helps to figure out what is related and what isn’t).
Twitter isn’t really designed to be an isolated thing. What makes Twitter so much fun is the connectivity that goes on. It’s fun reading and commenting on what other people have to say. And when you’re following people, you read what goes on in a more real-time environment. Twitter loses some of its effectiveness when context is missing. And so, in an effort to share some of what is lost, I give you
a) context; and
b) conversation.
Oh, also, did you know that little_bro is on Twitter? Yea..
Also, I was cooking this delicious recipe for an h’or d’oeuvres party we had. First time cooking with jalapeño peppers.
There really isn’t much of a point to Twitter, I guess, beyond taking whatever transient and random thoughts you might have and verbalizing them. But it’s fun. I think that’s primarily why I use it. It’s fun, and is a unique and enjoyable way to keep in touch with people.
Interesting:
ISFP – The Artists
The gentle and compassionate type. They are especially attuned their inner values and what other people need. They are not friends of many words and tend to take the worries of the world on their shoulders. They tend to follow the path of least resistance and have to look out not to be taken advantage of.
They often prefer working quietly, behind the scene as a part of a team. They tend to value their friends and family above what they do for a living.
If you have a blog and decide to do this, link to your results in the comments! I’d love to read them
There is something very exquisite about silence. I alluded once before to this quote by Aldous Huxley:
After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
I have just spent the day in the house, in fact almost constantly in the same room, with a very active 11-year-old. He is a dear. He also had a P.A. day today, and beyond finishing up the last bits of a couple of projects he has due this week, the day was spent in pure entertainment. He managed to keep himself entertained with various “quiet” activities for parts of it, but there were also parts where movies were watched and computer games were played, and the music and sound effects from both filled the room.
Our current house has one room that has the kitchen, eating area and TV/living room all within the same four walls. It is actually a lovely design. It is nice being able to have all of these areas interact.
However –
This next ties in with a post I attempted to write several nights ago. Unfortunately, when I was writing it, it was into the wee hours of the morning and was not nearly as coherent as I had hoped. –
there is something about silence, after a day that is full of noise, that is simply beyond compare.
The day is coming to a close. We haven’t begun supper yet (we had a late lunch), but I requested that the 11-year-old continue whatever activities he was planning on pursuing in his room. Then I spent an hour and a half cleaning the kitchen, doing the dishes and tidying the random bits of things that scattered themselves about the room while the 11-year-old was hard at work at projects and play. And now I am reclining in one of the armchairs in this room, listening to the dishwasher run and just marveling at the peace that has come from a silencing of the movies and video game sound effects.
It is rejuvenating.
It can be uncomfortable. In the course of writing this, I have been tempted several times to minimize it and pull up my various other online accounts instead, substituting visual noise for aural. But sometimes it is nice being able to turn off the distractions and to give yourself room to think.
What I wrote about several nights ago was the importance of solitude in our lives. We need other people a great deal, but I think we also need time to steal away, to sort through our thoughts, to centre ourselves, to pray.
In the Bible, Jesus was constantly surrounded by crowds, but he often sought times and places to be by himself, to meditate and reconnect with his Father. I think it is a good model.
Writing as a fresh graduate, I recall how easy it is to spend all of your waking hours with other people. Meals in the cafeteria or off-campus with friends, studying in groups, movie nights, dances, etc. It was often difficult to find time alone.
Something I wrote about in the doomed post from a few nights ago was the discomfort that comes with solitude. I had found a coffee shop in my University town that I quite liked, and in my third year, I regularly patronized it by myself with a book or notebook. While I appreciated my time there, I often found it uncomfortable. It was a place I was used to going to with others, and there were not many who went simply to seek solitude. Some were there on their own to study, but most of the patrons were in pairs or small groups.
It is important, though, to have time to examine your thoughts and your actions. It is valuable to carve out time to pray. It is wise to spend time focusing your thoughts and your heart on God. For me, anyway, I struggle most when I haven’t made time for solitude and silence in my life. Purposeful solitude, though it is often difficult, is a discipline that is worth developing.
I don’t really have anything imaginative to write.
The movers are here, currently going through our house, looking at what goes and what stays. Even though I haven’t been really blogging, I have been Twittering something awful. So, for better updates on what’s going on in my life, check it out.
I had an amazing weekend, though. That is something worth blogging about. Hmm, well, perhaps not worth blogging. It’s like Steph said here. It was an exceptional weekend, not for any big event, but just a lot of small bits of lovely, all put together in a couple of days.
Went dancing Friday night in my University town. It definitely ended far earlier than a lot of us were ready for, but I suppose considering it’s summer it makes sense. There were a lot of enjoyable dances, especially one where my partner ended with several quick spins and a sudden dip I wasn’t expecting (one that cause me to squeal a little bit, much to my own chagrin). But despite that , on my way home the next day, I gave him a ride into Toronto. It was a good day. I was too focused on the road, but he managed to keep conversation going. Looking back, I think I may have been too tired to divide my attention. We’ll go with that theory . And then we went for lunch on the Danforth, an experience, which, believe it or not, I have never had before, despite living an easy drive from Toronto for the past nine or so years.
The “too tired” theory is further supported by the fact that I took a deep nap that afternoon after arriving home, to the point where I literally did not hear my family going in and out of the house, and calling for each other throughout the course of the afternoon. (Sorry, family, especially Josh…)
Then yesterday, I met with a good friend of mine. Our plan was to spend some time together before the move, but I also needed to do some shopping. “I love shopping,” she told me, and so the plan was set. We spent the afternoon shopping and chatting. And Saturday’s and yesterday’s evenings were spent at two different churches, saying goodbye to friends and people I would consider family from there, people who will be greatly missed.
Anyway, the movers are now laying down moving pads over banisters and carpets. More updates to follow, especially on Twitter .
Well, this is about the most frustrating thing ever. </exaggeration>
This is the right song that was playing here, but the wrong version. I’ve only been able to find two versions of it, one by Lee Dorsey and one by Willie & the Poorboys, both artists I’ve never heard of before (and neither one the correct version). And then a whole bunch of sappy songs and/or Enrique Iglesias. Foiled by Enrique! The first two or three pages on YouTube are all just different clips of his song “Can you hear me?” (which is, just so we’re all following, not the right song, even though it is the right title).
If anyone has any better luck, please let me know. But I suppose it would be better for your sakes to warn you off the search. I clicked through the iTunes and YouTube search results, as well as searching for “can you hear me” + “cover” and “lyrics” in an attempt to find other artists, but agh, Enrique! Foiled me again…
It is a frustrating search…
Update: Apparently there is another version by The Artwoods. Version from the clip still not found. Recommend cease and desist to all search parties to prevent ensuing insanity.
We have made an idol of love. Love can never fill the place of God, but it feels like it can because God is love. Love, however, is not God and that is where the issue lies. And our disappointment with love (because it doesn’t do in our lives what we need God to do) is the cause of so much pain. Love is not an active agent. It is a product of the combination of feeling, familiarity, attraction, dedication, choice, commitment, etc., but it cannot act. It is not independent or in possession of a self. Without something to experience, create or be love (ie, without God), it cannot exist. And yet we are turning to it, begging it to be active in our lives the way only God can.
What do you think?
M: “You called me stupid!”
J: “I said you weren’t stupid. It was a compliment.”
D: “Well, that depends where you put the comma.”
J: “Ha. I said you weren’t, stupid.”
You know, I’ve never just sat and watched the garage door opener work before. I mean, sure, I’ve seen the garage door open and close, countless times, hundreds of times, thousands of times, but always with impatient waiting. I never looked at it to see it; it was always because I was waiting to go in or out of the garage.
It’s actually quite amazing how it works. I’m not going to bother with explaining the logistics – I’m sure that most people understand how it works – but I was inside the garage, watching it open, and for those 30 seconds, or however long it took, I pictured myself manually opening the door, and compared that action with the slow, measured working of that little machine.
It’s actually pretty cool.
This, friends, is a well known truth about myself: I take pleasure in small things, and noticing the garage door opener, taking the time to really see how it worked, was a little bit of added cheer to my day today.
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