Business & Marketing

Missing the Cranky Lady

Leave a comment

We walked into our usual restaurant and took a booth in the non-smoking section. But something wasn’t very usual. The restaurant was extremely busy for 10:30 on a Saturday night. Something else was off, too. We didn’t recognize any of the employees. There had to be four or five people waiting tables, as well as a manager and someone manning the cash register. All of them were new faces. We read over the shiny new menus several times during the twenty minutes we waited before someone took our order. When the food finally came our waitress abandoned us, and our Cherry Cokes went dry. When you pay $1.59 for a Cherry Coke, you expect multiple refills. We had to actually call for her from across the restaurant to get her attention. Wisely, we asked for our bill along with the refills. Something had definitely changed.

Usually the place was a well oiled machine when we made our late night stops. One particular waitress always seemed to keep the place going. She hustled around the restaurant with a permanent scowl etched in her face. She was probably in her early fifties and rarely cracked a smile. We always heard her sighing and more than once I watched her walk away rolling her eyes. We always tried to be extra nice to her. You can’t expect much of a tip from two college students ordering muffins and water. She earned the nickname, “The Cranky Lady.” Anyone who frequented this particular restaurant would instantly know who we were talking about if we mentioned the Cranky Lady. Now she may have been cranky, but she knew how to do her job. She was fast and efficient, always being sure to come back and check on us. You never know when we may need another water.

There’s something cozy about the familiar. I miss the Cranky Lady. In fact, if the Cranky Lady isn’t there anymore, we’ll probably find ourselves a new usual restaurant.

Domicile

Paying the Visa Bill

Leave a comment

You crunch the numbers, the bills stack up, and you hope the bottom line is a positive number. You have to remember to pay for this, but you just got this check in the mail to cover half of it, and don’t forget that extra money over here. But you also have to pay this new bill, and you need to pick up one of those. And don’t forget about the money from the bike you just sold. You also owe Joe money for this. You owe some, you get some, you pay some. Sometimes I just want to crawl in a hole and hope money takes care of itself.

The funny thing is that I don’t have to worry about it. God’s watching over me, and he’ll worry about it. Now I’m not naïve enough to think that the money just takes care of itself. I don’t sit on my butt and watch the bills get paid. But somehow the ends meet and you scrape by. And it doesn’t come without sacrifice. I’m fretting over money and whether or not I have enough to pay my bills—and I certainly do, I’m just worrying too much. But then I sit there thinking about how much I want a pop. Which is exactly the problem in the first place. If we want stuff we really don’t need, we’re going to have problems with the dough. Believe it or not we can get by only on what we need.

Why all the talk on money? You’d think I just finished school and had to pay the rent, the phone bill, the gas bill, the electric bill, the insurance, and all that. Oh no, I just had to pay my Christmas Visa bill. I think I worry too much.

Blogging

Slacking Off

Leave a comment

Okay, so I completely slacked off.

Break is finally winding down and school starts up again on Monday. It’s been a pretty relaxing break, and I actually got a few things done. I’ve once again noticed how I can’t go very long without doing something. I have this innate desire to be useful, to accomplish at least something. I suppose that’s probably a good thing. Of course I don’t think I quite accomplished as many somethings as I wanted to this break, but oh well–it’s supposed to be a break.

(Hey, just because the ReAL Thoughts are back doesn’t mean they’re going to be deep. I’ve gotta work my way back into this.)

Introspection

Christmas Eve Thoughts

Leave a comment

The days blur together and the blessed night finally comes. The night children look forward to all year long: Christmas Eve. I’m twenty now, and somehow it doesn’t seem so magical. The family traditions have been forgotten, I don’t even stay up as late as I can so I’ll be tired and immediately fall asleep. Now I have other things on my mind, other worries, other concerns, other joys. The ripping of wrapping paper doesn’t bring monumental change.

So what does the future hold, Lord? Tonight Santa rides the clouds, satisfying wants across the country. In another week the tension will build as we all find out if there’s any reason Y2Kare. Then the holiday season ends, and it’s back to the usual. I know that He holds all in his hands, and I have nothing to fear. But you can’t help wondering. How’s it all going to work out.

And I’ve noticed from skipping these thoughts the past several days, my thoughts don’t quite pull together as nicely as they used to. I answered an email today, telling the person my one desire is to make him think. Perhaps I need to do more of that myself. Now that I’m home for break, I don’t have my roommate pestering me to write my daily thoughts. He’ll be glad to know he’s influential.

I do know the one thing I want for Christmas. I’ll probably be disappointed. But I want a white Christmas. I want lots of snow. Maybe I’ll get it before the year’s end.

Merry Christmas. And to all, a good night.

Society

Question

Leave a comment

Your mother tells you not to cross the street. An elderly neighbor across the street tumbles to the ground, and desperately needs help. Although you’re only seven, you’re the only person around. Do you disobey your mother, and cross the street to help the old person. Or do you obey your mother and let the old person struggle to get up?

Do you follow the letter of the law, or the spirit? Your mother most likely told you not to cross the street out of concern for your safety. You’re usually too excited to look both ways, and she doesn’t want you to get run over. At the same time, your mother has also taught you to be kind to others, and to help you neighbors.

Scenario 1: You wave at the old man, explaining that you’re not allowed to cross the street. The old man curses and fumbles around for twenty minutes before finally getting to his feet.

Scenario 2: You look both ways and carefully cross the street and help your neighbor to his feet. He kindly thanks you and smiles as you skip back across the street.

God, Church & Stuff

God Doesn’t Follow Scripted Plots

Leave a comment

So what do you believe? What’s your answer to life? And do you have anything backing up that answer? Sometimes that’s a difficult question to ask. Most of the time it’s an even more difficult question to answer. I claim to know the answer. But do I live it? Is it evident? Sometimes I really have to struggle with my answer. I have apathetic urges that tell me it’s worthless and that I’m nothing. Sometimes you just have to suck it up through those times. What am I saying? Am I saying Christianity is a sham and you have to do it all yourself? No. I’m saying Christianity isn’t easy. It’s not a walk in the park. It’s difficult. It can hurt. Sometimes it feels like you’re all alone. You want God to reach out and save you, you want the light to shine down from heaven. But sometimes it stays silent. Sometimes it stays dark. God doesn’t follow scripted plots and sitcom resolutions. But he is always there for you. He gives us so much more than life.

Society

I Don’t Get Christmas

Leave a comment

I still don’t quite understand Christmas. We run around the malls, scouring the stores looking for the perfect gift for everyone on our list. Half the time we get them something they really don’t need, sometimes something they don’t even want. And half the time we do it out of a sense of duty. It just doesn’t seem right.

When I was a little kid Christmas was always the best time of the year, because from Christmas morning on, the world seemed different. I had a whole new set of toys to play with. Nothing would be the same again. As I grew up, this feeling came less and less, as I realized that receiving toys and gifts isn’t a life changing event. In essence, I was greedily looking forward to the new toys I could play with, never quite content with what I had.

I can’t help but wonder how much of this stuff we really need. How many of this year’s presents will be collecting dust in the basement in a few years? This year’s fad, next year’s garage sale item. Isn’t my desk cluttered with enough stuff? Sometimes I just have to wonder.

Education

Finals Week

Leave a comment

Finals week. Stress pours out in strange forms. Five friends spent three hours sitting around talking about eunuchs and Unix, trying to knock decks of cards over with their noses. They sit in the dining center making balloons screech and trying to fashion a sling shot from plastic knives and popped balloon pieces. Suddenly time has no meaning. All that matters is what you have left to do before the moment of glorious freedom.

What a strange breed.

God, Church & Stuff

Why I Get Up For Church

Leave a comment

The alarm went off this morning, and I really wanted to shut it off. I hit the snooze instead, and pushed the decision nine full minutes away. It screamed again, and I smacked it–this time forced to make the decision. Do I sleep in on a Sunday morning, or do I get up and go to church? I’d already made the choice to sleep through Sunday School. Now I was flirting with skipping the whole thing. But I got up. I wiped the crud from my eyes and took a long shower. It’s funny how long, hot showers are the worst thing you can do when you’re getting up way too early.

Continue reading Why I Get Up For Church →

Introspection

Wonder At It All

Leave a comment

Sometimes I sit in my seat and wonder at it all. The tiny blue dot, chockfull of six billion people, floating through the unending empty blackness of space with no particular place to go. Six billion people, all with their own agendas, their own lives, their own worries, their own dreams–all hoping in someone or something, or maybe even in nothing at all. They are a speck of sand on the beach, unnoticed by the other 5,999,999,999 people and completely insignificant in the limitlessness of space. They each have their own goals. They put their hope in friends or money or power. Some search for good times, ultimate thrills, or a cozy place. Some look for acceptance, love, belonging. Some just sit quietly in the dirt, content with their lot, waiting for time to pass and life to finally leave them. Some have big plans that never really amount to anything, inflated dreams that simply float away, never realized, never actualized, never attained. Some just save themselves the trouble and don’t bother dreaming. Some would rather stay safely at home, where things never change, never get old, and never have to readjust. Some look to the stars, and some look to technology. Some look to themselves, and some look to others. But in this cosmic search of life, it seems odd to me that so few come to understand their futile hunt–they journey their entire lives and never really get anywhere. It’s just one rite of passage after another and life continues on, hardly even interrupted, hardly noticing the change, hardly noticing that what once the goal is now fleeting, and that a new, even more unattainable goal has taken its place. The journey is circular. Around and around in a downward spiral, falling farther and farther into the great unknown. People have a deep desire within them to find something. They usually don’t know what they’re looking for, but they keep looking anyway. If only they could stop. Realize the answers to their questions. Enjoy new life, and new hope.

A work-at-home dad wrestles with faith, social justice & story.