I guess I still had tons of stuff to be doing.

So today could have been much more productive... but it wasn't too bad. I have a handful or more projects that need some attention and I guess it's okay to get rolling on them a little bit slower than normal. I don't like being a jerk about it but I'm not perfect.

So, the rest of the week is looking pretty solid. I think it'll be all kinds of good experience.

The power of a song.

Music is one of the most powerful, yet somewhat mysterious, forces in the universe. How does it actually work? What is it about audible frequencies that can have such personal impact? These are not new questions, either, but I don't really feel like they have been answered with any real clarity before.

I am quite glad for music. It has always had a big place in my life even when I am not the participating contributor of said music. I am honestly not sure which I prefer more - playing or listening?(especially since playing is essentially just a different form of listening) It's all pretty cool in my book.

Working on the next album.

It hardly feels like work sometimes even though it never feels easy either. It was the first time practicing in more than a month and I think it went quite well. It was my first time playing with the new sax player and I was quite impressed. I'm really digging the songs we're writing for the next album, too. They are pretty challenging but nothing ridiculous. I really look forward to see how the next ones turn out!

28 daze later.

It is strange to me that I had never seen this movie before today considering it's highly attractive position in culture and media. Nonetheless, it deserves a review relative to the current state of life, as its general message seems even more relevant today than it did when it was originally released.

I watched this movie in the regular theatrical release form and everything about it was excellent. It felt very believable, had excellent character development and relationships, was unpredictable, intense but not necessarily dark, and I found it to be a great movie experience. I really enjoyed watching the director's commentary on the deleted scenes and alternate endings which also gave very interesting insight to the movie retrospectively. It definitely made very poignant commentary on some of the challenges of society today. I was surprised to read the dvd case afterward stating the movie was "hailed as the most frightening film since The Exorcist" since, even though it was a fairly intense movie at times, it never really seemed actually scary to me... which is a fairly unusual thing for me since I usually don't go for horror movies since I tend to have an overactive imagination. It certainly left me thinking about things, don't get me wrong, just not the horror sorts of things that a horror movie usually does.

Anyway, I think that covers all the base points I wanted to hit. Giving the movie a number rating, I would put it at a 25 out of 28 days. Not perfect by any means but strong in every respect. High quality film making that would entertain any fan of the zombie-horror genre or Danny Boyle(the director.)

The myth of extra time.

It really feels weird not working constantly after having gone through the fair experience. To be honest I am really enjoying it even though I really enjoyed working at the fair as well. Now the challenge is actually planning how to spend that time the most efficiently, productively, and not overwhelmingly... which is something I have never been very good at... so I best practice good tomorrow!

Nothing quite like cleaning the bedroom.

And I think I've probably written about this very subject before... which, I suppose, might lend emphasis to the idea that there really is nothing quite like cleaning the bedroom. It does all kinds of good things for life... the least of which is a clean space to be in.

A good bit of brain stretching.

I really like school because it offers me great opportunities to flex my brain muscles nearly to their limits. I get to interact with intelligent, dynamic, humorous people. My time feels well spent despite the seeming lack of observable production. School is definitely my friend!

Mini life reset.

Today was quite the pleasant non-day. I slept in. I ate food. I watched videos. I took a nap. I did some cleaning. I worked on some photos. I thought about the coming week a little bit. I also put some gas in the tank so I wouldn't have to do it tomorrow morning on my way to work. Pretty much exactly what I wanted to follow my bazillion-hour work weeks as of late. Now I'm really looking forward to a solid week!

Revealing yourself.

It is a very tricky, and powerfully transformative, are of personal and social dynamics. I am normally quite for opening myself to others in order for them to know me better... but I think I have realized today that I have taken a couple steps away from that position lately. I don't really know when it may have happened, either. And it may not necessarily be a bad thing... but it does feel a little weird. In any case I am curious as to why I think I have changed in this way. Further examination is needed for sure.

I am surrounded by heroes.

Every one of my friends are tremendous inspirations to me. They each contribute their own unique perspectives and experiences which truly motivate me to strive for the best things in life. I want to be like them. I want to give everything I can in return. Truly!

Only two days left.

The pain of working a bazillion hours will soon come to a close. Both shifts in between me and this freedom will be long and likely painful but I'm down. It'll build character I guess. Ha.

Squeezing in a few more hours.

I am glad I had a lot of nap sleep today since it helped me feel pretty good during the evening which enabled me to happily head into an unexpected shift at the Dairy Bar. Energy, my friend. Energy. It is the key to a positive attitude most of the time. And, as we all know, life is something like 1% what happens to you and 99% how you react to it. Okay, I'm sure that's not the quote but I think it's basically true anyway. Ha.

A little bit if disorientation.

I guess it is a natural thing since I am far removed from what I expected to be when I was a child. I don't recall thinking 35 and unmarried even seemed possible. So here I am... treading daily in territory that didn't really exist in my mind for most of my life. I think, in many ways, I might subconsciously deny the reality of it on a pretty regular basis as it is. But time just keeps pressing on no matter how much I might think(or try to pretend) otherwise. Maybe it's not so bad to do that anyway... I rather prefer to live in ignorance of certain things that have the potential to turn my attitude sour anyway.

Court is interesting.

We had a mock trial at school today and it was quite the interesting experience. There was a reasonable level of preparation and creative production that went into the whole thing and it really made it have a somewhat viable feel to it that made me think hard about the circumstances surrounding it. It also gave me a somewhat real feeling of tension and relief when it was all over. I would like to witness a real trial at some time in my life just to see the difference of how it feels comparatively(not as a connected participator, of course.)

Compression.

The day is so similar to yesterday, and the number of significant activities was so small, that it basically feels like I was just writing my entry in here just hours ago... or something like that. The day was solid, as far as things accomplished is concerned, but somewhat boring in it's execution since it was mostly just a work day. Tomorrow will definitely be something quite different, I am sure, since it is a school day.

The unending machine.

Even though work was remarkably easier today than it was yesterday I still feel the exhaustion of the ongoing expense of my personal time and energy. My brain is pretty zapped as well(if it wasn't easy to tell by my clunky word usage this post.) And tomorrow... it all continues just as expected... so much for the homework. Ha.

Slowing down at work.

I have become so exhausted over the last couple or so days that my pace at work has definitely slowed down. I don't think this is really a bad thing, though, as it just seems like the natural, smart thing to do most of the time.

Survival of the energiest?

These long days are pretty rough on the body and mind... and life. Ha. I am glad they won't be lasting too much longer. Oh, the return of sanity will be nice!

A possibility of extended education.

Talking with a rep for a school offering master's degrees today I came to think of my possibilities along that particular line of thought. There are many factors which need to fall into place for me to consider it more heavily but they are not entirely unlikely to occur so I guess it might be a possibility in my future. Either way it is a somewhat exciting prospect!

Hotter than heck-knob!

It is one thing to work on a hot day...

 • it is another thing entirely to work inside without a/c on that hot day...

 • and it is still another thing to work around and among things which could quench that particular heat...

 • and yet still another thing to work nearly non-stop for most of the day...

But... who's complaining?(I mean, other than me. ha) I actually had fun, despite all of this. Memories!

Political division.

It is certainly an interesting thing to listen to all of the opinions and ideas that people have about various political topics. So many things create such distinct lines for people despite the lack of clarity and definition certain situations may have. In some ways it seems like simply having an opinion is the default reaction even if there isn't a very evident body of knowledge to support it. It might simply be a part of the nature of politics themselves.

Appearances.

I suppose things are never really as they appear. And, as much as I prefer to be as open, honest, and outwardly visible to others as possible, I will always appear to be something/someone else than I really am... and I suppose I should be totally fine with that. I guess it is a reality that I have been unnecessarily fighting against for so much of my life.

Crankin' out the cream.

I am definitely getting better at serving out the soft-serve but I know I have a long way to go. I think I have probably cleared a hundred or so cones so far... I wonder how many it will be when this whole fair thing is over and done in a couple weeks.

Anyway... I like my new temporary job. Good fun with good people and good ice cream!

It's nice to take a day off once in a while.

Even if all you do all day long is pretty much nothing. I like to keep myself busy, generally speaking, but totally continuous busyness is not good for a person either. Thus... today...

The horrifying non-trail.

Next time one decides to hike in the dark on a beautiful, dangerous mountain top... he or she should be more diligent to follow the known, safer path... it's just smarter to do that... believer me, I know.

Standing in line takes talent.

I would know... I tried to do it for about two and a half hours today and, even though I didn't complain about it, don't really think I was much of a "standing in line" sort of person. It felt like a serious ordeal. It turned out to be worth the time spent but that doesn't really make it all better in the long run. Ha.

Working at the fair looks to be fun!

I think the energy of the place is quite infectious. The environment is just full of life and excitement in a way that I was not really expecting. I guess part of it is the simple fact of the cool people I will be working with. It should be quite an experience!

Seeing the other side of the fence once in a while.

I am not a very politically active person in general but I do have my own opinions about things from time to time. I often think of my self as a fairly conservative-minded person but do, on occasion, have feelings of a more liberal-minded nature. My guess would be that, in reality, every person does this more than they would like to admit.

I got to watch a documentary which is heavily liberal-minded in class today and I found myself sympathizing with many of the points it made throughout the movie. It was a little surprising but nothing revolutionary. I think it is a healthy thing, to learn about the thoughts of what is typically considered counter to one's own thinking, and I am glad I took the opportunity to do it tonight.

Grave of emotions.

This will be the review of what was, quite possibly and realistically, the saddest movie I have ever seen.  The movie is called Grave of the Fireflies, an animated feature from Japan, and really is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. Being described to me as "the saddest movie you will ever see", and being drawn to that sort of movie in general, I felt like I would test the hyperbole of that statement by watching it today. Wow. It was a beautiful kind of sad unlike anything I have ever seen before. It has been several hours since I watched it and even now, as I reflect on various moments in the movie for this review, some of the lingering emotions still resonate deep within me. Seriously.

So... what do I say about it now? The animation is top-notch but nothing overbearing or flashy. Perfectly suited to the story. The music is perfectly complimentary as well. The pace was occasionally slow-ish but never annoying to me. The story is very life-like and tragic(not to say life is tragic, really) and the characters are powerfully realistic to me. It seems to be the story of how war deeply affects the most normal people. It was very easy to imagine myself in such a similar predicament despite my own lack of war experience.

Ultimately, I would give this movie as close to a perfect score as I can feel okay giving a movie... perhaps a 6 out of 7 fruit drops. Truly excellent filmmaking in every respect! I would highly recommend it to anybody who enjoys a high-quality tragedy for sure!

Finding the center.

I'm not a monk or anything but it is certainly good to find my core direction and refocus it once again. The many awesome reminders I find at church are always a good way to recharge that direction. Now, I need to work to carry it all the way through the week into next Sunday so I can repeat the process and continue my path of improvement in life. Easier said than done!

All day games.

I guess this seemed like a good way to wrap up my two-week break from school. I technically still have Monday to go but this is still basically the end of my break. It felt quite lazy but a good way to go. Not much else to say about it, I guess.