I found a penny on the road while walking to the library. So does that mean I'll have good luck for the rest of the day? Does anyone remember that old rhyme?

Find a penny, pick it up,
And all that day, you'll have good luck!

Wonderful! I could certainly use a little luck, especially in the monetary department. This oh-so-well-put-together rhyme has provided me with a means to be optimistic for the day. It's as though we as people need to validate our existence by quantifying something insubstantial.

Come to think of it, humans are quite proficient at that, in relation to more things than just luck.

In this case though, it's a thin round piece of copper, emblazoned with the words "One Penny" and the numeric value of '1' that symbolizes my hope for the day. Who could expect so much from something so little? It should be noted though, that one must observe a precise chain of events in order to enjoy the prize. If I didn't pick it up immediately following the discovery of the coin, thus breaking the chain of events listed in the rhyme, it would be safe to assume that I wouldn't have any luck for the day, or at worst; bad luck. Damn, these things just become so complicated. I'm pretty sure I observed the correct order though.

So can I expect some good luck today? Should I subscribe to all of the above? I'm not sure, but here's what I can tell you; In the 15 seconds following the discovery of my lucky penny, I was assaulted by a gust of leaves, and something managed to find its way into my eye. That, I've decided, is rather unlucky.

Good news! James and I got a call from BlueArrow, and we have work for Sunday. It's only 7 hours unfortunately. I was hoping for more because they originally said the entire weekend, but hey you gotta take what you get. It's cool though because we'll be working at Celtic Park, home of the Glasgow Celtic. For those of you who don't know, Celtic are the #1 club team in all of Scotland. It'll be pretty damn cool working in the stadium for a Celtic game, and we can be reasonably sure it'll be really, really loud. Why? Because the Celtic are going to win, of course. In 34 premiership games this season, the Celts have only lost once.

Even better news for James though, it seems like his money worries have had one hell of a boost. Along with the work we both were given for Sunday, added to that he was given a 8-3:30 shift for today and tomorrow, along with all next week. That makes a total of 59.5hrs for James, and even at minimum wage (£4.50) that's a nice pile of cash. Suddenly fixing the broken window doesn't look like the straw that broke the camels back. I wish I could get some more hours as well, but I certainly don't begrudge James his hours, because he needs the money more than I do. So it works out. :)

Last night we went to a pub called Scream and hung out while watching some soccer. In the first match, we saw Scotland lose 1-0 to Denmark. In a more entertaining follow-up game, Portugal and Sweden tied 2-2. In other games, Germany suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Romania, 5-1 (I'm sure the Germans and others are pleased the Romanians failed to qualify for Euro 2004, after seeing that last performance), and the Netherlands snapped the Greeks 15-game winning streak with a handy 4-0 victory. We played pool with a few Scots for the bulk of the time, suffering a few defeats but gaining some wins as well in the Canada vs Scotland matchup. The final game went well past the bars closing, and we played on as security urged a decision, in spite of some bad breaks and unlucky bounces, Canada took the final match when the Scots scratched on a final 8-ball shot. We gladly accepted that gift.

I made a huge supper last night, and it was bloody good. Unfortunately we still managed to eat it all, so no leftovers for today :s. Just thinking about it makes me hungry, ever since we got here we've been skimping on food as much as possible to save money.

I've been trying to keep up with working out as much as possible. Though I lack the tools and resources to continue on a real program, I still do 200-300 situps every night along with 100-150 pushups. It's not much, but anything is better than nothing.

Anyhow, thats about it for today, have a good one peeps!

Jon treated James and I to The Passion of the Christ last night. He said that the fellow at the church he was at said something along the lines of 'if you can get a non-christian to see this movie, then we'll pay for their ticket'. Jon took that to heart, and while he isn't applying to get his money back, he displayed the same generosity towards James and I.

Looking at it from the perspective of a simple movie-goer, I'd say it wasn't bad. There were a lot of things that were fairly well done, though there were a lot of things that I wouldn't say were done very well. For example the man representing Satan would float sometimes, and walk others. Or I thought it was absurd the way Jesus would go on about loving your enemies, and then a man who trash talks him suddenly gets his face mangled by a crow - it was portrayed as divine vengeance, and I was just forced to shake my head. The same with the temple of the Jewish high priests getting destroyed and the high priest that condemned Jesus burning himself in the fire. I can see Gibson wanted to have some sort or revenge, or something to please his audience, but I just found it contradictory in its portrayal. But that's just me.

James brought up something interesting about representation. Pilate was shown to be worried about condemning Jesus to death, saying that if he did, then there would be rebellion and bloodshed, but if he didn't, then there would also be rebellion and bloodshed. This implies that there are two groups of people, and they are numerous and passionate enough to fight for this. But in all the scenes in the courtyard, only the side that wanted Jesus crucified was represented. No one called out against it, only 3 or 4 people stood there without agreeing, but the rest were cheering and calling for blood. Now, if Pilate is worried about rebellion and bloodshed, shouldn't that other side of the populace have been represented?

Another thing was the way the Jewish leaders had power over the Romans, for example they pressured Pilate to kill Jesus, and they were shown to have all kinds of influence among these people, and then the soldiers are told to do as they say in the crusifixtion. Then, later the Roman soldiers are shown to pull a man out of the crowd, call him a filthy Jew (anti-semitism, it seemed like the Jewish man was a minority in that moment), and force him to carry the cross with Jesus. It was strange. Are they just angry they had to do as the Jewish leaders bid?

The language transition was good, there was some good imagery. I mean, whatever your religious beliefs, you have to feel at least a little empathy for the torture the fellow is dealt. The dialogue was slim, but designed to be effective I suppose.

Otherwise, it wasn't a spiritual experience for me, and I didn't 'hear any voices in my head' or 'feel the holy ghost inside me', as Jon inquired.

Either way, it wasn't a total loss. As a movie I'd say it was par. As a religious experience, then I'd just say to leave that for the believers. I have a whole set of arguments and questions regarding the purpose of this movie, but I'll just leave them for another time because we have to leave soon.

There's a soccer game on tonight between Scotland and Denmark, we may end up spending the evening in a pub watching that. I'm probably cheering for Scotland just because I want to see the entire pub erupt in joyous song whenever the Scots score. First though I intend on making a nice, large supper. I'm bloody hungry for a big meal - with meat and vegetables, something healthy.

Peace out.

Here we go once again. Since I haven't blogged since Saturday morning, I'll start from there.

It wasn't a terribly good day, in fact by the end of it James and I had composed a rant in his little notebook, it was titled "Scotland pissed us off today". It was basically a venting of all the things that have annoyed us lately. I think it started when James' hand burst through the window of our 3rd floor flat. You see, there was a wasp inside because we had opened the window - in spite of all our efforts the place still doesn't smell great. It was bouncing off the top left pane of glass, and James hit upon the idea of killing it before it stung us. So he grabbed one of Jon's sandals, and attempted to crush the wasp under it.

Little did James know; the window is made of single pane - barely even wind resistant glass. His hand smashed it like a bullet train through a cloth dummy. Then, as he griped his hand in pain, blood flowing freely from a newly earned wound; the first reaction was to say "Oh Shit! The window broke! How much is that going to cost me?"

After cleaning up the blood, and covering up our new window (It's so clear it's not even there!), we partook of some eats. We then set out for some adhesive strips, and had to go through several brands before we found any that were actually adhesive.

Remember: In Scotland; Everything costs more. But it's usually a lot worse.

I tried calling MasterCard to get some details ironed out with my new card (Received on Friday - woo!), along with some extra information I wanted. After getting juggled around by a few fool operators, I finally got where I wanted, then was put on hold forever - and just as my goal was in sight, I was cut off by the payphone. Payphones have a time limit, I'm not sure exactly how many minutes it is - but I get a distinct feeling there are operators listening in on your conversations, then cut you off at the most inopportune (opportune for them) moment. I've had 3 calls cut off in this manner in the last week.

We started ranting after that, nothing was spared. Obscene prices, crappy product, dirty cities, rude people, ugly people, crappy flats, pay showers, hot water taps that give you cold water, crappy clubs, indecipherable accents (even they admit they can't understand each other sometimes) and crappy little cars.

Having vented exuberantly, we slept for a long time, having decided that the time would pass more quickly if we slept it away. We even talked about moving our flights (To Rome and Venice) up a week ahead of schedule. But we'll persevere.

Sunday was spent more or less in anticipation of Monday - the day that was to redeem Scotland in our eyes.


(For those of you who dislike long blogs, feel free to leave now and come back later, because this is essentially 2 blogs in one - and right here is the separating point)


Monday started out with wonderful promise - for the second straight day (a record!) we had clean skies and almost balmy temperatures. Jon even wore shorts!

We were taken down a notch though, when we found out we didn't have a car. On Saturday we'd reserved a car for 8am Monday morning. 8am rolled around, but there was no car. After numerous phone calls and a lot of waiting, we finally had one - three hours late. It was somewhat annoying, considering we had a lot planned for one day, and 1/8 of the day was just stolen from us. But no matter, being the stalwart folk we are, we trucked on and made our way to Loch Lomond - driving on the wrong side of the road - singing all the way ("On the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Loooooooomond").

We arrived at around noon, and were greeted by our first views of the Scotland Highlands. I'll be perfectly honest - it was a little bit disappointing. It was really nice, without a doubt. I don't mean to take anything away from the beauty of the place, but it's nothing I haven't seen before. We took a few pictures though for good measure. It was a nice visit, we skipped some rocks on the water and took a walk along a road barely wide enough even for our little Vauxhall Corsa. Jon managed to anger the local rams as he attempted to communicate with the sheep. The males didn't take to his incessant bleating, and lined up in formation; more than ready to meet the threat of this impudent human.

After our retreat, we took a drive further up the Loch, and were greeted by another nice view of the lake (The largest body of freshwater in the UK) nestled between the highlands, with the large Ben Lomond (Highest peak in the area - nearly 1000m) looming to our right.

Having finished with the Loch, we bid it adieu and headed to Stirling to see what we really came to Scotland for: castles!

Stirling Castle was impressive, standing proud on top of it's hill, looking down upon the surrounding land with an arrogance derived from domination. (It's basically a slightly smaller copy of the very impressive Edinburgh Castle) The tall stone walls; once the subject of fear, now subjects of photography, stand strong in spite of being around 400 years old.

We also visited the Wallace Monument, situated on a hill less than a kilometre from Stirling Castle. The Monument was built after the death of Scotlands greatest hero - William Wallace. It stands 200 feet tall, thrusting it's spires into the air like swords raised in battle. Though it was interesting, we declined the £5 entry fee to view the innards of the monument.

Stirling complete, we set out for Edinburgh. There were 2 castles along the way, one was so small we barely found it in a town composed of 2 storey complexes. The other was a bit larger, but for some bloody reason it seemed to be immune to all attempts to reach it via pavement.

Finally, around 7pm we arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city. Jon also likes to call Edinburgh the "City of Architect". He informed me on numerous occasions that the city sports the "best architect" and/or "most beautiful architect". I think, on this particular occasion, I wouldn't be wrong in revising Jon's verbiage to "architecture".

Edinburgh was great (check out that link for a gushing assessment), there really is a vast amount of old architecture and it seems to be really well maintained. The city lacks the dirtiness that annoys us about Glasgow, and really has much more of a small city feel overall. We were too late by half an hour to tour the castle, much to our chagrin. But viewing it from the outside was great. Just think of everything I said about Stirling Castle, and then amplify it - that's how one should think of Edinburgh Castle.

After seeing the castle, we walked down the Royal Mile. It was alright, but kind of boring because all the shops were closed. We did however, purchase a 12" Pizza and a...thing(handful???) of Haggis. Not to be eaten yet! That's for later.

We saw the construction grounds for Scotlands new Parliament building, to be opened in 2007. The original cost was supposed to be £40 million, but that somehow ballooned to £461 million. This apparently came as a really big surprise to everyone, but James and I concluded that someone undoubtedly had to know beforehand.

We continued on our way to a really big hill, so big that half an hour later (post-climbing it) we decided to call it a small mountain. It's part of Holyrood Park, and the hill is apparently the result of "an eroded stump of lava flow that erupted around 325 million years ago". It pinnacle, Arthur's Seat, sits over 800feet high. We climbed right to the top, pizza and haggis in hand (we took a shorter, but more laborious route). The panoramas at the top were splendid, and we sat down to enjoy our food with a sense of great accomplishment. The haggis turned out to be not bad, though I wouldn't opt to live off it, but it was eatable - maybe even enjoyable. The pizza was a little cool, but our bodies more than appreciated the sustenance.

Edinburgh conquered, we bid fond farewell to our new favorite city of Scotland (For James and I anyway), and made our way back to Glasgow. We arrived home just preceding the toll of midnight, and lay down for some well deserved rest.

I got up rather grumpy today though, having slept a paltry amount. My air mattress has been a constant problem lately - the stitching has been snapping, and as a result I have a bump in the middle of my back that's about twice as large as the pillow. Being air, one would think lying on it would even thing out, but alas (This morning we remedied the situation by trading the old item in for a new one - this one better bloody well stay in shape). Anyhow, Jon was also snoring at previously unreached decibels last night, and it was all I could do to restrain myself from jamming a pillow up his nose. But in the spirit of being a trooper, I left him alone in his vortex of noise (James, unbelievably, managed to sleep through it), limiting my anger to a morning burst of "You sounded like a damned freight train all night". I realize now that's not a good comparison, a better comparison would be a dozen chainsaws in the room running all night.

Anyhow, now that my fingers are cramping up, I think I'll leave it at that. Suffice to say that the last 3 days have been pretty interesting. Monday was so good, and renting a car and hitting the road was such a liberating experience, that we're already trying to decide which destination we want for our next road excursion. Isle of Skye is one option - apparently very impressive scenery, and some castles, though it's rather far. Ayr is another - it's really close, and there's a few castles nearby; including Culzean Castle (pictures we've seen have turned this one into a very desirable destination).

Either way, Scotland has begun to redeem itself for us, though it appears the remedy to the sickness is simply getting out of Glasgow and doing something. If that's the case, we'll be forced to leave again soon.

Later folks.

Finally, we've cemented a day in history for our visit to Loch Lomond, Stirling and Edinburgh. If you said that sounds like a lot to stuff into one day, you'd be right. I hold no illusions that we'll be able to see and do everything. But at the same time, it only costs £19 for one day with a car; and staving off the cost of another day with the car and a place to stay for a night is more than enough to make me accelerate my natural tourist tendencies.

In other news, check this out: "A team of South African and international scientists working in the Barberton area, Mpumalanga, has found evidence of microbial life as old as 3,5-billion years in volcanic glass. These glass-munching microbes can claim the title of "oldest life on Earth" at 3,5-billion years of age." There you go! 3.5 billion years old...damn, that's...um..pretty old.

I'm almost done Shake Hands with the Devil, by Romeo Dallaire, and I'm still reeling from the content. The incredible brutality exhibited by the genocidaires, the indifference of the world followed by the holier-than-thou attitude expressed by nations like the USA and France afterwards. I'd heard so much of the story before, but nothing I'd ever read compares to the vivid and personal recollections of Dallaire. Dallaire stands to me as the example of a truly tragic Canadian hero - he sacrificed everything for the cause of humanity, including himself, but ultimately failed. Not because he let Rwanda down, but because so much of the world turned its back on the cause. I'm really inspired to write something, probably a poem (because that's what I do), but the only thing holding me back right now is a fear that my articulation simply won't do justice to the subject.

Anyhow, since the library isn't open tomorrow, and we'll be gone all day Monday, my next update won't be until Tuesday. The good news is that I'll have plenty to type about on Tuesday. I'm bloody excited. Wooooo!

What Makes Jon Special...

Living with Jon for the past week and a bit has been quite an adventure. It's also highlighted a lot of those things that make Jon, well, Jon. Those of you who know our wayward friend may nod your heads knowingly while sporting a half smile on your face. The rest will probably shake your heads in confusion.

I provided an example of absurdity in my April 19th entry, but that's just a small dose of the Jon experience. It often seems like hardly an hour goes by without a definite 'Jon Moment'. For example, the other day our flagship radio station 101.7 was playing an operatic piece, and Jon began to dance, or 'move' with the music. It's impossible to adequately explain, but Jon's dancing moves far overshadowed the tenor coming out of the stereo.

At night time, James and I are treated to what I call Jon Snores-a-lot. It's amazing, the types of sounds that manage to escape from his prone form (with a left eye that manages to stay half open). We observed it for awhile last night, and were dumbfounded by the occurence of different finger movements coinciding with different snore-styles. One moment, we hear a basic snore, the next he sounds like he's choking. After that subsides, the sounds of lip-smacking precede a noise that can only be described as a gust of wind pushing through an unsealed window. We tried to stifle our laughter, but it was just too much. Jon woke up, and claimed that he had been awake the entire time.

After we ate the meal I cooked last night (it went over quite well I might add), there was an amusing discussion about the dishes. Jon asked James and I if we had been taking our turns doing the dishes. James looked baffled, then informed Jon that we'd been doing dishes every day since we arrived last week. Jon replied, "Oh, I did them once. Um, i don't, I, I'm not saying I won't do them, um ok, ah, I guess I'll do the dishes." Jon has also vowed that while James and I are gone on our bike trip across Europe, he'll be keeping the flat nice and clean, just like we've been keeping it. No return to the dirty days of old!!

Air Hockey has been another brilliant experience. We have a little table that we put on the floor and play on, the playing surface about 20 inches long and 12 inches wide. The circular paddles and pucks measure in with an inch diameter. We do all we can to keep our hands in positions where they interfere the least with the game, but it doesn't always work. In fact, Jon has managed to bloody himself during one lively contest with James.

The problem is that we don't like to sit back and watch the other player dabble around with the puck, we tend to play hard forechecking games. This more often than not results in injuries. Jon's playing style leads to the most; the way his hand rests on the paddle - his knuckles are facing out like daggers, and he's completely unafraid to barrel into his opponents, wherever the puck may be. Jon forechecks the hardest out of anyone. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. A few days ago Jon and I were playing for the "Stanley Cup" of Air Hockey. I had defeated him in two previous best-of-seven contests 4 games to none. For the final series, Jon really turned up the intensity, forechecking relentlessly and showing no fear whatsoever, amid potentially broken fingers and scathing commentary, we found ourselves tied 9-9 in the final game, with the series tied 3-3 (Each game goes to 10). Jon managed to push through the final goal to win the Cup, and the cheer was amazing. It was like a group of children from Tuktoyuktuk that had just been told they're being taken to Disneyland. The look of pure joy on Jon's face was priceless, he scrambled to his feet; then hooted and hollared some more while jumping up and down. James and I looked on in amazement. It was past midnight.

Today we started a new series of Air Hockey, we made up a schedule, standings, and a playoff tree. After going 2-11 in his first 13 games, Jon concluded that James and I were playing too hard, because he wasn't trying. James, who was favouring a hand damaged in a very intense series against Jon, commented that if that wasn't trying - then he'd hate to see what Jon breaks out in the playoffs.

It's not like any of these things make Jon a bad person. These, and so much more, compile to make Jon an extremely unique person. Jon is Jon, quite simply - he's a really good guy. I simply thought I'd share a few more of our experiences for everyone's enjoyment.

Onto some of those things that make the Scots special...first is the accent. Scots have to r-r-r-r-roll their tongues for every 'r' there is. Along with that, it's perfectly ok to r-r-r-oll words together. If there's an 'r' anywhere in the word, it can be combined with the next one. Also, it's important to push when you speak. Think of sitting on a toilet, and there's just that one last turd that won't come out. Speak like that, and r-r-r-roll as much as possible. If you randomly yell something out, that's also normal. So far, everyday we've been here, we've heard or seen people yelling out. Either at someone, or at nothing at all. Just simply yelling. We've noticed that a lot of male Scots seem to be perpetually aggressive. If there's a fight nearby, they'll be ready for it, and if there isn't, ,they're ready to start one. The women on the other hand, can be the picture of meek. I can't count the number of women I've seen navigating the streets, head down and quick-stepping their way to safety. I suppose it's all a symptom of the prevailing character of Scottish society - they're a rowdy bunch. A couple days ago we saw a man try to steal a Dominos Pizza moped in broad daylight, from right in front of the Dominos. When the workers confronted him, he protested vociferously that he wasn't doing anything wrong.

There's more stories, but I'm being kicked off the computer. The library is about to close. So, I'll just say that the Scots are interesting, not as bad as I've probably painted them to be to everyone. We've met a few polite Scots, it's just the bunches of others that stick out. Such as it always is.

Today's News

Nova Scotia has decided that if the Turks and Caicos islands join Canada, they'll invite the islands to become part of the province of Nova Scotia. Sounds great, but we've been talking about it for too long. Will it finally happen this time? Or is it just smoke and mirrors. I'm still excited by the prospect.

Canada's House of Commons has voted to call the deaths of 1.5million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire nearly 90years ago a genocide. Previously, the official position of the government was to call it a 'tragedy'. Naturally, Armenian-Canadians are pleased at the recognition; better late than never. Turkish-Canadians, on the flip side, aren't so pleased. It should be noted though, that the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist many years ago, therefore the condemnation of an act by the former Empire isn't necessarily directed at present day Turkey. The United Nations recognizes the killings as a genocide. Turkey has fought attempts at inquiries into the massacres in the past, halting defense contracts with France when the French government backed the Armenians. The Turkish government also managed to cow the United States when it pursued the Armenian interests, strategic defense concerns have always been more important to the U.S. than human rights. Prime Minister Paul Martin didnt deign the vote important enough to even show up.

Maher Arar is suing the Canadian government for $400 million. He claims that due process was ignored in his 2002 arrest and subsequent deportation to Syria, where he says he was tortured. It appears that the government was a little too exuberant in it's attempts to find and eliminate possible post-9/11 terrorist threats. As the inquiry gets ready to launch in June, the government could be facing a hefty bill.

I don't imagine the $400 million tag will faze the Liberals though, Billions of dollars routinely disappear under the 'watchful' Liberal eye.

New Ships for the Canadian Navy? It appears so. Paul Martin recently announced funding for three $700-million Joint Support Ships for the Navy. Sounds like great news for the military, new helicopters AND new ships, what could be better? Well, the ships won't be ready for another 11 years, and a lot can happen in 11 years. Does anyone remember the Conservatives promising to buy all kinds of goodies for the military 15 years ago, only to have the project annexed by the Liberals when they came to power - with a loss of a few hundred million dollars that had already been spent. I'm going to remain optomistic on this one though, because at least if a Liberal government initiates the deal, the more military minded Conservatives are a lot less likely to cancel it in the event they came to power.

That's about enough Canadian news for now, feel free to peruse the sites in my soon to be added News section.

As for Glasgow news, there isn't very much to say. It's still raining, we play a lot of air hockey to pass the time in Jon's flat, I've planned out a really big meal for tonight, I'm hoping to make enough that we'll have leftovers for at least one more day. We may also hit a pub tonight, very likely the same one we went to the other night - we fell in love with that place. I took a few pictures of us making asses out of ourselves inside the other day, I'll be sure to show those off when I get home, along with the rest of my pictures. (I really love having a memory card large enough that I can take 1200 pictures at a reasonable quality :D)

Peace out folks.

Today's Penny Arcade cartoon made me laugh out loud, rather rambunctiously; resulting in numerous stares and annoyed looks from the patrons around me. I can't help it, it's just really damn funny. Note to people who may not understand: The "Live" that is being referred to is X-Box Live, the online service used by X-Box owners to play each other. Penny Arcade has griped in the past about the asinine behaviour exhibited by some players.

Last night James, Jon and I went to an Irish pub in downtown Glasgow. Maybe it's just me, but I found it amusing: Three Canadians, in Scotland, in an Irish pub. There was a function on the lower level (the pub consists of 6 gloriously decorated levels). They had a live band, and played an Irish quiz game. There was a brief tense moment when the quizzer asked "What is the currency of Ireland?" and someone shouted back "Which part?" The quizzer was rather befuddled, and the consternation and general offendedness of the audience grew when a few helpful people ran up to the quizzer's stand, checked the answer, and advised him to refer to the "Republic of Ireland". The three of us viewed the festivities from one of the upper levels, and I think we enjoyed it almost as much as they did.

I consumed 2 drinks only, a Tennett's Lager followed by a Rum&Coke. Monetary restraints were the cause of that unfortunate lack. I think I should be commended for the willpower in holding back, even if I'm the one that commends myself...That Rum&Coke went down very, very smoothly. I wonder if it's a sign that the particular Bacardi brand I had is just that good, or a sign that everything else to drink here is so bad - that the rum just tastes that much better. Maybe I was just thirsty.

James and I had a meeting with the people at BlueArrow today - a temp agency. They've promised to find work for us as soon as possible, but unfortunately there's nothing on tap at the moment. I'm really glad I was able to save up as much money as I did before coming here, unfortunately I fear that I'll return home with little to nothing. Then I have to somehow find a way to get myself to Winnipeg. There will be a lot of fun and partying during my time there, it'll be great to see the friends and family again. I'd just rather not be one of those ppl who refuses to do anything because he's broke.

In the long run though, it's all worth it. Were I to subscribe to the absurdist view of life, then I should be bloody pleased about this trip - and I am. James and I, being the philosophers that we are, have had time to discuss a few things about life so far, and doubtless we'll discuss many more. One of our discussions was about absurdism. To sum it up for everyone: Life is absurd. We're born, we live, then we die. That's it. Conclusion: Make the absolute most you can out of it.

With that in mind:

Europe; though you may break my bank, I will conquer you - and be that much the richer for it.

James and I stumbled upon a wonderful little bakery today, for 55p we bought these exquisite tarts topped by a huge (fresh) strawberry with a bit of strawberry sauce on it. We vowed to make regular visits.

We've also been testing out different types of chocolate bars found here but not back in Canada. I had a Yorkie (Slogan: It's NOT for Girls) yesterday, and though it was pretty basic chocolate, it tasted good nonetheless. Today I bought a Lion (Slogan: Approach With Caution), I haven't tried it yet though.

As well, we've managed to discover a radio station here in Glasgow that is truly, truly great. It's at 101.7 and plays classical music all day, all night. The selection is always great, lending itself to moments of silence with all the lights off in the flat. Of particular note is a moving piece that I've always known, but could never place the composer in my mind. That void has now been filled. I highly recommend everyone take a listen to Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. There are many versions of Adagio, and I'm not which one is played, but if it comes down to a decision for anyone, I'll recommend the Thomas Schlippers version. For a choral arrangement, I would advise tuning into the Angus Dei version. I have a feeling many of you when listening will say to yourselves "Oh! I know that song".

Our planned outing to Loch Lomond has been postponed, Jon had to work for the first half of the day; a result of someone getting fired yesterday. Besides that, it was (surprise surprise) raining again today. Even as the sun managed to burst through the clouds for a few precious moments, the rain continued to drizzle down around us. James made the comment (not the first, not the last) that the weather in this country is rather miserable. While we're looking forward to exploring more of the Scottish countryside and it's castles, we're also looking forward to Rome, not just for the history and splendour - but for some gooood mediterranean weather.

James and I bought a tent today at Woolworths for 13£. We were thinking of setting it up in the flat for a test run, but upon reflection that may not be a good idea - I don't think it'll fit in the flat. Either way, we'll be testing it to see if it's suitable for our purposes. Basically, it needs to be light (Weight: 2kg) so we can bike with it on our backs, and it needs to fit 2 ppl (It says it's a 2 person, but we'll find out soon enough). Finally, waterproof is also good (Yes, it satisfies that requirement) - our itinerary calls for about 14 nights of camping - and though I'd love to think we'll have utopian weather the entire way, that's not entirely likely. So, now with the tent bought, we just have to count on being able to pick up some decent/cheap bikes in Venice. Here's hopin for some good luck!

It seemed like something completely absurd when, this morning I woke up to find Jon once again refusing our offers to make scrambled eggs - instead he was having bread and jam for the fourth morning in a row. He stood there without a shirt, bopping to some music he called 'Daft Punk' (it sounds suspiciously like techno funk - especially since there appears to be little to no punk influences - just a beat and the endless repetition of the words "Around the World"). He had a loaf of bread in his hand, and I said "Jon, we were going to have scrambled eggs, I can make them". He stood there, nodded his head, and then proceeded to take some slices from the loaf, put jam on them, and eat away.

Last night the cooking was an unmitigated success. It started with a desire on my behalf to attempt cooking something different that I hadn't tried before. With suggestions and urging from my companion James, it morphed into something quite special - in spite of our limited resources. First I cut up an entire package of mushrooms, some celery, and some green peppers, put them to the side then began cooking the chicken. The only item we can use for cooking is the wok we bought for £10 last week, and it served us wonderfully yet again. The chicken came out excellent (just the right amount of garlic seasoning), then I cleaned the wok so that it could be reused while James cut the chicken into smaller pieces; he was forced to do so while lying on the floor, using a plate as a cutting board. The wok newly cleaned, I added the mushrooms, celery, and peppers. Along with a heavy dose of BBQ sauce. After a moment, we added a pile of chicken to the mix, poured more BBQ sauce, added some salt, and more garlic, let it cook for awhile - then voila! We ate, and I'm willing to admit that it far surpassed the expectations I had set out for myself at the beginning of the endeavor.

We've been doing a lot of planning for the trip, and there have been several revisions to the final plan. Today we made an unretractable step forward when tickets were purchased for a flight from Glasgow to Rome, May 7th at 4:00pm. We were forced to cut Athens out of the journey, after much painful deliberation; Greece is just really out of the way and expensive to get to. Thus, it will be saved for another trip in the future! One of my lifelong goals has always been to take one grand tour that encompasses the locations of all Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - and I WILL do that one day.

This holiday is no less ambitious, we intend to ride pedal bikes across the bulk of Western Europe - visiting no more or less than 11-13 countries in a span of 45 days. That we will suffer immense physical challenges, there is no doubt; Yet we intend to overcome these, like the greatest examples of humanity, to achieve our sought after goals.

Anyhow, possibly tomorrow we'll be heading out to Loch Lomond (Hopefully the weather doesn't suck, like it has for the last 5 days). Looking forward to that.

Ah, I almost forgot to mention. My MasterCard disappeared yesterday. There was a measure of drama in the morning for us as we searched valianty for the lost plastic, only to come up emptyhanded. I was able to check my account online, and I was very happy to learn that no one had used my disappearing card with malicious intent. I promptly called MasterCard and cancelled my card, and had a new one sent immediately to my current location in Glasgow. The lady on the line was extremely helpful. My new card should arrive in 3-5 days. Happy days are here again, so it seems.

Anyhow, that should suffice for now, next update will hopefully be post-Loch Lomond. Peace.

G'day G'day, James and I again spent most of last night cleaning. But I must say, the flat is now infinitely more livable than it used to be. We've done a little bit of cooking in the closet kitchen, but now that it's cleaned up we can get on the ball and make some real meals. James and I were thinking of perhaps some pasta tonight. I'm planning on sometime soon utilizing a recipe I learned recently involving mushrooms.

Otherwise, James and I have started doing the major planning for our mainland Europe romp, it'll either start very soon, or not until next month. It depends on the job situation, most places thus far have refused to accept temporary employment (even 10 weeks isn't long enough). So if the jobs are going to be jerks, we'll just take off sooner rather than later. We're considering hitting the trail in a fashion that could be described as nothing other than off the beaten path - purchasing a pair of bikes and biking the majority of the continent. The great thing about Europe is that it's so bloody small. Five weeks (that's the time allotment we've set aside for the romp) and a couple well placed flights will provide us with more than enough time to see the places we want to see, spend some time there, and deal with blistered asses ;).

Anyhow, research continues...

I'm back yet again. James, Jon and I did a lot of work on the flat yesterday. We turned it into a messy place into a clean place, and we bought a bunch of food and supplies. We fully intend on making the best out of what we have, and I think yesterday was a good start. Anyone curious about just what size it is, I think it's about 200 square feet altogether, maybe 250. The kitchen is the size of a closet lol, but that's cool we'll manage :).

Jon's working security tonight until late, so J and I are gonna have to find some other way to entertain ourselves. We may just end up wandering around Glasgow some more. It seems to be a pretty nice city, James commented on how the seeming mess of it lends to the character. I have a feeling it'll be that way with most European cities.

Anyhow, cosing time now and we're being hustled off the comps, so I'd best head'er...later ppls

I'm in Glasgow now. The bus ride unfortunately sucked.

When James and I made our way onto the bus, there were only single seats left so we couldn't sit and chat, but I was happy to see a small asian man in the seat beside mine, I thought perhaps it wouldn't be a troublesome trip after all. Little did I know that the asian man had the capacity to simply exude the most pungent of smells. Along with that, he snored loud enough to drown out any coherent thought. Finally, he took up more space than any person that size has any right to. I got almost no sleep as a result, but hey, we made it to Glasgow :D.

Jonny boy was waiting at the bus depot to pick us up, which was cool. w00t Jon. We hopped on the subway and made our way to Jon's place. He's got a flat in a pretty nice area, the Glasgow university isn't far away, and quite happily the women around here are a lot better looking than the ones in London.

James and I are going to reorganize Jon's flat though, and buy lots of protein rich food, to go along with the intentions of continuing my weightlifting program started a month and a half ago in Waterloo. Maybe I'll convince Jon to join up too ;). But it's all good, theres a fitness centre not far from the flat. Naturally, all props go out to my homie Jon for providing the place to stay. w00t w00t to that.

It's raining at the moment, I hear that it's pretty normal though. In fact, Jon warned us to 'not look up', as it will become depressing after awhile. Jon hasn't seen the sun in about a month. James and I are conjecturing that the lack of sun may be a direct cause of the somewhat lower standard of female beauty in the UK. But that was conjecture from London, so far Glasgow has been pleasant. As I stated before, Glasgow women = better than London women. I really can't stress enough the complete lack of eye candy in that city. I think the eye candy in London is all buildings, pretty much, as opposed to people.

Scotland appears to be a lovely place, we saw the rolling hills from the bus as the sun came up, and were pleased. It really does remind me of Cape Breton so far, just with less trees. I think someone from Scotland who went to Cape Breton would say it reminds them of home. That's probably why all the Scots settled in Nova Scotia. Probably why it was called Nova Scotia :P (New Scotland). I'm really looking forward to seeing more of the countryside, Loch Lomond is just north of here, and Jon's says it's beautiful. Actually, Jon says the whole of Scotland is incredibly beautiful (I'm referring to the many emails he's send where he goes on about the amazing countryside here).

I almost forgot, at the Victoria Bus Depot in London, James and I had to pay 20 pence to use the bathroom. This would have been ok if it wasn't a crappy bathroom. But it was. I mean, come on, toll highways are supposed to be better maintained, why isn't a toll bathroom in better condition than others!?? The shower at Jon's flat also requires a 20 pence toll. I find that really amusing as well. Oops, I forgot my 20p, can't shower today ;). But it's all good :), I have plenty of change. I suppose if I happen to not have any chance, I can just take my clothes off and go outside into the perpetual sunless/rain land and shower in the street.

Anyhow, Jon's been waiting patiently for me to speed it up, so I'll end this right about........now.

Peace out folks!

Well today has been uhm interesting. Yesterday James made a reservation for a car with Enterprise. So we got up this morning, strapped on our (heavy and cumbersome) bags, and began the 2km walk to the rental lot. Things were going well at the Enterprise office, until the fellow abruptly realized that we meant to drop the car off in Glasgow, instead of returning it to London. It was then that he informed us that Enterprise does not do One-Way rentals, contrary to what we were made to understand on the phone yesterday. (ie. "We want a one-day rate for London to Glasgow" "Ok, that's fine")

Suddenly, our carefully made plans were laid to ruin. We walked to a nearby Avis lot, they do one-way rentals, but not to anyone under 23 years of age. Jerks. Then we tried to use a phone to call some other rental joints to see what could be done. The directory assistance service on the payphone was trying to help us, but it turns out these phones eat coins like a fat cop eats doughnuts. 1 pence = 1 second. We found ourselves feeding coins trying to keep up with the digital countdown, but were defeated when the phone refused to accept anymore coins (for the moment) and cut off our third attempt in a row. Ironically, after it cut us off, suddenly a 50p coin was accepted. How thoughtful.

We decided to track down a phone book, hoping to skip past the directory assistance and get straight to the phone call (armed with as much change as possible, of course). We entered a nearby cafe and asked if they had any yellow pages we could look at for a moment, but were told to: "Get Out".

Finally, we made our way to the current location, an internet cafe not far from the Waterloo Station. We booked tickets on the next bus to Glasgow for 30 pounds each (bloody outrageous). The bus doesn't depart for another 6.5 hours though, so we've got time to kill. It's also very nice putting the luggage down for a little while and relaxing.

The bus ride to Glasgow is 9hours long, in the dark. Not much opportunity for pictures, unfortunately. We'll have to save the visits to Stonehenge and Bath for later on. But at least we'll be able to sleep the ride out. Anyhow, I guess it's time to strap the luggage back on and make like a mule through London's incomprehensible morass of streets towards....somewhere. Peace out folks.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention another important difference between here and Canada.

It's not at all unusual to see officers walking around carrying automatic weapons.

I guess it's to protect the Palace and the Parliament from all the protesters camped outside with huge Pro-Iraq signage. Or from terrorists. :P

Here I am! London, England, the capital of the great empire. Well, what remains of the once great empire. It's been pretty interesting.

We managed to reserve a hostel while still at the airport, which we made our way to via the London Tube (Subway). It's pretty decent, and the price isn't bad. Also quite close to everything. James and I went for a walk after we'd dropped our bags off, and were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in front of Westminster Abbey, with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament right behind it - after about 10 minutes of somewhat aimless walking. James was astute enough to note early on that "the character of this city is such that it can't be seen from a plane or from a distance, you must be in the city to experience it." I quite agree, it reminds me a lot of Old Montreal actually, just instead of a portion of the city - it's the entire city (well, the entire city that we've witnessed, a fair amount - we've done a lot of walking today). On the other hand, it's also dissimilar to Old Montreal in that the buildings are a lot larger and usually more ornate. For example, Notre-Dame in Montreal is beautiful. Westminster Abbey is astounding. The Houses of Parliament are equally impressive - with the immense levels of detail upon the structures.

It was also noteworthy the complete lack of activity last night. It was hard to believe we were in the largest city in Europe and one of the largest in the World. 11pm and the downtown was absolutely dead. We decided that it must just be the area around our hostel, certainly places like Soho and Leicester Square would remain bumping at such an early time?

Anyhow, things are going well. London is interesting. We're currently doing a feasibility study on the option of renting a car tomorrow and making our way to Glasgow with that. We thought it would just provide a comfort zone for visting a few places that we wanted ourside London, as well the cost is tremendously low - right now chances are looking good!

I'll be back in soon to update again, its about 100% likely that I'll be in Glasgow when that happens. :D.

Peace.

It's less than 20 hours until flight time, and I'm getting pretty excited. Packing has been going pretty well, but I've been forced to spend more money on the little things than I had originally hoped. Nevertheless, I'm pleased. I got a really good bag at a store on Yonge street in Toronto for $20. Right now I'm listening to a Hard Rock CD I made probably 2 or 3 years ago, and I'm really getting into it lol. The blood is pumping!

This trip is going to be bloody fantastic. 10 weeks in a land I've never been to, nothin but a couple items of clothing, a few bucks and a good buddy. I really think this'll be a good experience for me. To grow as a person. To be honest, I think there's been a lot of things in my life that have changed me and stifled my own growth. I have shit for confidence in social situations, without a doubt. That could be from having any such potential beaten away at a young age. That's fine though, I'm pretty aware that years spent grovelling and hiding from the next torture isn't necessarily the best way to build up any level of assertiveness. I can understand this.

I may just goto Europe and come back a different person, who knows. The point is that I need this holiday as much as anything, it's a huge opportunity to find those qualities that I've always wished I had, but could never reach.

Enough of that sap. I'd like to send out props to the boys at Ragnarok F.C. in Winnipeg for coming out on top 3-2 in their playoff opener last night. Way to come out strong boys!

Game 3 of the Vancouver vs Calgary series started tonight at 9:30EST. GO CANUCKS! I could point out that the Canucks haven't lost in their last 9 games at the Pengrowth Saddledome, but we all know that in the playoffs - all bets are off. Shoving that statistic aside, I'll just point out the Vancouver kicks ass, and they're going to kick some Calgary ass tonight! Go boys!

On a final note. I hope everyone of my readers continues to tune in to this address in the future. Because all of my updates will be coming in the form of blogs, as opposed to emails. I'll keep things updated as often as I possibly can, but if I happen to miss a couple days, don't fear for my life, just take heart that I'm having a helluva time :D.

Peace out folks! Catch ya on the flip side.

Vancouver is playing Calgary right now, the second period just started and I'm headed down to watch it. GO CANUCKS!

By way of a filler, I'll post the lyrics to a great song. It's a pretty old tune, but some of you may know it. Those of you who do happen to remember it get firm props from your truly.

How Will I Laugh Tomorrow... By: Suicidal Tendencies

Here I sit and watch my world come crumbling down
I cry for help but no one's around
Silently screaming as I bang my head against the wall
It seems like no one cares at all

Always an emotion, but how can I explain; how can I explain?
Kind of like the scent of a rose, with words I can't explain, the same with my pain
Caught up in emotion, goes over my head; goes over my head!
Sometimes I got to think to myself is this life or death, am I living or am I dead

The clock keeps ticking, but nothing else seems to change
Problems never solved, just rearranged
And when I think about all the times that I've had
Some were good most were bad

I search for personality and I look for things I cannot see
Love and peace flash through my mind; pain and hate is all I find
Find no hope in nothing new and I never had a dream come true
Lies and hate and agony; thru my eyes that's all I see

If I'm gonna cry, will you wipe away my tears?
And if I'm gonna die, Lord please take away my fear
Before I drown in sorrow, I just want to say;
How will I laugh tomorrow, when I can't even smile today

Today today; when I can't even smile today
Today today; when I can't even smile today
How will I laugh tomorrow, when I can't even smile today
How will I laugh tomorrow, when I can't even smile today

You think it's so funny...
...laugh at this!

So when I look outside my room
I see the world, but not the reason
What is done to me is not fair
You call it fair I call it treason
But I don't know what to do
Give me a sign I'll take whatever
But if you want me here I am
Ain't gonna die forever

And I tried to hold ya
But you just turned away
And I tried to tell ya
But not a word I say
I cried out so loudly
But you just covered your ears
And gave me all the signs
That you don't want my tears

So if you want me here I am
I sit and wait your decision
But my body fights my mind
I headed straight for a collision
So am I getting near or am I still
Looking in all the wrong places
But the only thing that seems to change
Are the looks on the faces...

Doesn't anyone...seems like no one cares at all
I search for personality and look for things I cannot see
Does anyone even care at all?
Love and peace flash through my mind; pain and hate is all I find
Seems like no one cares at all
Find no hope in nothing new and I never had a dream come true
Does anyone even care at all?
Lies and hate and agony; thru my eyes that's all I see
Seems like no one cares at all

How will I laugh tomorrow?
How will I laugh tomorrow?
How will I laugh tomorrow?
How will I laugh tomorrow, when I can't even smile today

Today today; when I can't even smile today
Today today; when I can't even smile today
How will I laugh tomorrow, when I can't even smile today
How will I laugh tomorrow, when I can't even smile today...

Today was my last day at FLR. WOOHOO!!!

The day started off pretty shitty, I was hella tired from the 5th consecutive night of 5-or-less hours of sleep. Then I got stuck with crappy jobs (as if anything there could be considered a 'good' job). But in the end, it wasn't bad. I decided that since I'd done overtime everyday so far this week, I'd leave an hour early. So I gave props to the good folks there, and took my leave, hopefully for the last time.

Randy said I can have the job again when I get back from Europe, but I'm not so eager to return, as it happens.

Anyhow, I'm really looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. Now that the countdown to my last hour of work is over, the countdown is on until the plane takes off. Just under 82 hours at the moment. w00t!

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has warned that Sudan may be facing a genocide similar to that which occurred in Rwanda in the near future.

Annan stated that "The risk of genocide remains frighteningly real.", and that humanitarian aid is of utmost importance. But in the case that human rights workers are denied access to the hundreds of thousands of needy people in West Sudan; "...the international community must be prepared to take swift and appropriate action. By action in such situations, I mean a continuum of steps which may include military action."

The government of Sudan has rejected the idea that foreign military intervention is required to stabilize the nations problems. "We don't think we need outside military help and we do our best according to the available resources," Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters in Khartoum. "All that we want from the international community is that it helps us with more supplies of humanitarian aid so that we can try and help those in need."

On the other side of the coin, rebel groups in the country have welcomed the idea of foreign intervention. "Yes of course we welcome this. Due to the conditions in Darfur, (sending troops) is the duty and responsibility of the international community because there is a disaster happening there," Abu Bakr Hamid al-Nur of the Justice and Equality Movement told Reuters.

West Sudan isn't the only area afflicted by problems though , the UN estimates that as many as 2 million people have died as a result of civil war between Christians and Muslims in the south of Sudan over the past twenty years.

I think Annan made a good decision in timing with his speech. With the increased awareness of the Rwandan genocide as it reaches its 10th Anniversary, the speech is far more likely to resound with politicians and civilians. The Rwandan anniversary reminds everyone of the terrible results of inaction. It is entirely feasible that in the same way the problems in Somalia contributed to a lack of commitment to Rwanda from Security Council nations, now the problems in Rwanda can have a positive impact by contributing to a strong commitment to save Sudan from a possible genocide.

Could it actually be possible, that we are learning from our mistakes? I guess time will tell.

Tonight was my first time back at the gym since I pulled the muscles in my shoulder and neck last Friday. It's been 4 days, probably the longest break I've taken since I started 5 weeks ago. The good news is that the break seems to have helped - I completed all of my chest exercises with little to no problems! Hopefully by the time I go back to working the shoulders and back either Friday or Saturday - all will be well. Without a doubt though, I'll be making smarter use of that Hammer Strength Shoulder Press.

Works been a bitch the past two days, tomorrow isn't looking to be any better. If fact tomorrow looks worse o_O. The good news is that only two more days of work left! woohoo!

Lastly, tomorrow is April 7th, and marks the 10-Year Anniversary of the start of the war/genocide in Rwanda. I mentioned it a few days ago, but I'll just send out one last reminder of the minute of silence at noon.

Anyhow, peace out folks.

Here's a little something for everyone to watch and...maybe enjoy lol.

My fourth last day at work, and first time on day shift wasn't bad. The time really seemed to fly, actually. But I spent the first 4 hours in the retort room. Emptying trays of cleansed mercury powder (now phosphorous powder), and then refilling them with mercury powder. The gard to get to wear is quite a sight to see. I look like some Area 51 employee with my white tyvek suit, hood wrapped up around my head, long elbow length heat resistant kevlar gloves, safety glasses, and respirator. Basically as little skin is left exposed as possible. Probably because mercury is deadly. That's why I work with it absolutely everyday! All day!

In other news, I went out and bought a digital camera today. It's a Panasonic Lumix LC70 with a Leica lens. Leica is apparently one of the oldest and best glass manufacturers in the world, and produces some of the best lens in the world. It's 4.0MP, has a 3X optical zoom and a 3X digital zoom (9X together), plenty of shooting modes and features. I also picked up a 256Meg memory card.

Now, with this purchase, I'm officially ready for my vacation! Europe here I come, with a good camera and plenty of memory for pictures!

I just read an essay, written by a Mennonite Christian university student about World War 2. The essay outlines the reasons the Allied nations went to war, and why these reasons were wrong according to Christian faith.

Now, I may be biased, because I'm not religious. At all. But I don't think it requires a lack of belief to come to my conclusion here. Instead, I'd say all that's required is a little bit of, shall we say: logic?

Ok, this isn't going to be lengthy. I have to be getting up in 7 hours for work, and I haven't really had time to completely digest and somehow absorb what I've read.

The argument the essay is based around is basically that Christians shouldn't have intervened in World War 2. Or let me clarify, shouldn't have intervened in any violent fashion. Instead, the essay argues that "peaceable witness" is and should have been the only proper course. By peaceable witness, we mean accept the actions of Nazi Germany as evil, but instead of fighting to stop it, watch - and accept that God will judge. The example set by Jesus must be remembered and adhered to. Jesus made his point by loving his enemies, by accepting his fate. By dying.

Here's the problem. This is not one person we are talking about. This is an entire society, an entire culture. The essay writer is proposing that good Christians should have sat back and watched the annihilation of an entire ethnicity with love in their hearts. Why? Because God will judge them. Because we are spreading the truth of the Kiingdom with our love.

It sounds a lot like the apathy and pacifism I've been arguing so strongly against recently, doesn't it? Except it's quite possibly worse. This train of thought thinks that it is doing good, by doing evil. (Although not understanding that it is doing evil.)

(Examples: Imagine NATO didn't stop the Ethnic Cleaning in Kosovo, but instead watched with love the slaughter of the ethnic Albanians by the Serbs, or The Hutu genocide of the Tutsi's in Rwanda, or the Jews in WW2, imagine it didn't stop at 6+million, imagine if the Nazi's were allowed to continue, and complete their quest of eradicating the Jews from the face of the earth, there's more: basically imagine the worst chapters of human history - except don't learn anything from it, think about it with love in your heart, think about God's (apparent) will for you to let people die.)

By evil, I mean this: Willingly allowing an entire people (numbering in the millions) be destroyed, when it should be our moral imperative to protect the lives of our brothers and sisters. What kind of statement does this send to the ruthless murderers? It basically amounts to encouragement. The perpetrators become assured that their actions won't invoke response, and thus continue to do so with impunity. When the time comes, there will be no hesitation upon the decision to dispose of even more peoples. They may think: Why stop with the Jews? The Christians sure don't seem to care.

Oh, but they do care. Care enough to stand back and do nothing. It must be hard, believing in something so strongly that one would be willing to let so many die to validate those beliefs. I should count myself lucky that I face no such moral conflict. I believe that this life is all there is for us. I believe that we should be taking advantage of it. I believe that the loss of a life is the ultimate price, for there is no afterlife (in my belief structure). Perhaps that's why I found this essay particularly disturbing. Perhaps that's why I find it even more meaningless to accept millions, and millions of deaths, than otherwise simple logic dictates. (By this I'm referring to the common phrase used to comfort those who have just lost someone imporant in their lives "They've gone to a better place")

I just can't say it enough, I guess. Apathy is the path to Anarchy. History has shown us this simple truth, Life has shown us this truth. Apathy is not the path to some type of foolish enlightenment.

Lastly, I should point out something important. I'm not trying to insult my Christian friends or their beliefs. The essayist is a Mennonite Christian - arguing that all Christians should interpret scripture the way he does. I don't believe all Christians are party to that same interpretation. I'm arguing only against that particular viewpoint. As it happens, I feel very, very strongly against that viewpoint.

I imagine that if I took more time, allowed the red rage to clear from my mind, I would be able to form a better response. A longer one, as well. But, time is of the essense, and as it happens, I should be getting to sleep.

Hot on the heels of my last blog about how happy I am with the weightlifting, I went and pulled a muscle at the gym. It was near the end of the workout, and we were just starting the final set of reps on the Hammer Strength Shoulder Press, I decided to bump the weight up 30lbs more than usual. Did 1, 2, 3, then on the 4th...halfway up...pain in the left side. Lots of pain, all through the left shoulder, neck, and back. The worst was having to goto work after that. Right now, a full day later, I still don't have full range of neck use. Ah well, it happens. A small setback certainly won't stop me from continuing on with Week 5 on Monday.


I made a compilation CD last weekend, and I've been listening to it pretty constantly. I'm rather happy with it, other than a couple songs that run at a bit lower volume than the rest :\. I figured I'd post the track listing on here and get some opinions (feel free to dish out flames as well as compliments), at the same time hopefully some suggestions! I'm planning on making a few more cd's before I leave for Europe...so maybe my readers can take some cues from this one here and offer some ideas...(all ideas I'd appreciate greatly)

Rockin Out CD

1. Adema - Unstable
2. Adema - Co-Dependent
3. Adema - Close Friends
4. Hed P.E. - Bartender
5. Cypress Hill - Rock Superstar
6. Hoobastank - Out of Control
7. Jerk - Sucked In
8. Linkin Park - Faint
9. Cinder - Soul Creation
10. Glassjaw - Cosmopolitan Bloodloss
11. Lo-Pro - Not Me
12. Lost Prophets - Burn Burn
13. Mesh STL - Down
14. Cinder - Ugly
15. Closure - Look Out Below
16. Nickleback - Saturday Nights Alright
17. Noise Therapy - Inside
18. Noise Therapy - Star 69
19. Noise Therapy - G-Hole
20. Story of the Year - In The Shadows
21. Korn - Did My Time
22. Ill Nino - I Am Loco

Alrighty, I think I already have an idea which ones I'll get some flack for adding lol. But hey, lets get some discussion going. :D

Well, I don't have time to write a lot. About to goto the gym and work on the shoulders and back, did the arms last night. I'm actually really pleased with how things have been progressing. I'm just finishing up my fourth week and I can already notice not just a difference in how I feel and how I handle the weights, but also in how I look. It's especially gratifying, and cements my determination to keep this up. It'll be tough to when I'm on holidays in Europe. But I'm hoping to find a place in Glasgow while I'm staying there where I can keep up my routine.

Anyhow, I'd best be off. Peace.

I just realized that it's April Fools Day. As a result, I was thinking: Does anyone actually care about this once they graduate from junior high? Gone are the days of lame tricks and "fooled 'ja!" for me. In fact, I don't even remember the last time I took the time to play an actual Fool's Day prank on anyone.

Does this mean I'm getting 'old', and becoming a boring lout of an individual as I race towards my geriatric state? I shudder to think so. I mean, 22 isn't that old.

Perhaps I'll do something lame to someone at work, and pass it off as the obligatory prank of the day.

Just to feel young again.