Picture this if you will. An aging amazon of a woman wearing a purple knit wool sweater, squat-thrusting. I'm talking all 6 foot a millions inches of her. This is the scene some days at the gym where I go to try and maintain some sort of physical respectability.
Here's where it gets a little more humorous. A young guy, maybe 19-21ish was lifting about 175lbs on the inclined bench press, when this woman(who will remain nameless), sees what's happening out of the corner of her eye. Worry set in. "Excuse me? Young man? Do you need a spotter?", She shouted in her almost barbarian voice. He couldn't here her. He was intent on his exercise, and also had the added distraction of a blazing set of ear buds in. Panic set in. As she quickly left her bench, and made her way to his side, she bellowed again, "Excuse me? Young man? Isn't that too much weight? Do you need a spotter?" He finally saw the commotion she was creating and assured her that he was fine. "Are you sure? I couldn't lift that much!", she says. From across the gym I couldn't contain the laughter, and felt like telling her, "Maybe that's because your like 100." Needless to say, I'm pretty sure that guy is cancelling his membership after that episode.
I just thought that was worth sharing. Some of you might know this woman, or someone like her. Just imagine the situation and I'm sure you'll laugh to yourself.
jake
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
weekend update
First... The Packers lost, ending any slim possibility of a potential playoff birth, and it leaves only the hope that we don't get embarrassed by the Lions in week 16.
Second...The Jets won, but barely. That keeps their playoff hopes alive and makes the next two weekends that much more intense.
Moving on.
This weekend I drew some conclusions and also some questions about a few things. I attended a concert featuring some local bands and a couple youth guys in Windsor at the Chubby Pickle. I find that bands, no matter how good or well rehearsed they may be, NEED stage presence. The first two bands were terrible to begin with, but also lacked any sort of energy, and what they did have seemed like the same generic stage movements in an almost choreographed way. Then the guys from youth came up and I forget now what the band was called(queen Anne's lace...maybe?), but they are all super young. The majority of the band can't even drive, but they have what it takes to be on stage. The sounds weren't always appealing, mind you, but that's not necessarily important when thrashing around to a chainsaw breakdown. If there was a point in this paragraph, than here it is. I absolutely love seeing young musicians take what they love(music), and absolutely take ownership of it. When you can tell that it's something that is born in them and not just the most recent fad to take part in. When you know that 10 years from now, that person will still be passionately using their gifts in one way or another, professionally or otherwise. That's all on that.
Friday night we had our staff Christmas party in Windsor. I find myself meeting new colleagues every time I go up to Windsor and this was no exception. After the main portion of the party, some of the staff went to a bar just up the road to hang out afterwards. I was there for just over 3 hours and I found myself very uncomfortable with my surroundings. I kept looking around to make sure that no one I knew suddenly walked in, which left me questioning whether it was good or even right for me to be there. Now, I don't drink and that's not because I think that it's necessarily wrong, but in my experience I've always seen the harm and destruction alcohol causes outweighs the pleasures. In the Bible when Peter talks about eating meat sacrificed to idols, he basically says, "I don't NEED to eat it if it's going to cause someone else to stumble." I also took note of the conversations happening, and there were many. They were really no more Christ centered than those of my Christian friends. Some crude jokes, some profanity, a little bit of gossip, but you know how it is. And please don't think I'm pointing fingers, because the first person I'd be pointing at is myself. I heard a speaker once say that North American Christians are an absolute joke for the most part, that the only difference between us and everyone else, is the fact that we go to a building with a cross on it once a week for an hour. Sometimes I believe that. I remember one Sunday that was supposed to be incredibly spiritual at church, and the worship leader invited people to stay and worship after the service and there were 3 people in the entire church that stayed behind. If that is any indication, that only 3 people out of 300 have a few extra minutes to worship God, than what this speaker said is entirely accurate. I refuse to believe that the we are not capable of more. The onus is on myself, and each one of us individually to change that perception, but that will only come when we are in fact in the world, and not of it.
jake
Second...The Jets won, but barely. That keeps their playoff hopes alive and makes the next two weekends that much more intense.
Moving on.
This weekend I drew some conclusions and also some questions about a few things. I attended a concert featuring some local bands and a couple youth guys in Windsor at the Chubby Pickle. I find that bands, no matter how good or well rehearsed they may be, NEED stage presence. The first two bands were terrible to begin with, but also lacked any sort of energy, and what they did have seemed like the same generic stage movements in an almost choreographed way. Then the guys from youth came up and I forget now what the band was called(queen Anne's lace...maybe?), but they are all super young. The majority of the band can't even drive, but they have what it takes to be on stage. The sounds weren't always appealing, mind you, but that's not necessarily important when thrashing around to a chainsaw breakdown. If there was a point in this paragraph, than here it is. I absolutely love seeing young musicians take what they love(music), and absolutely take ownership of it. When you can tell that it's something that is born in them and not just the most recent fad to take part in. When you know that 10 years from now, that person will still be passionately using their gifts in one way or another, professionally or otherwise. That's all on that.
Friday night we had our staff Christmas party in Windsor. I find myself meeting new colleagues every time I go up to Windsor and this was no exception. After the main portion of the party, some of the staff went to a bar just up the road to hang out afterwards. I was there for just over 3 hours and I found myself very uncomfortable with my surroundings. I kept looking around to make sure that no one I knew suddenly walked in, which left me questioning whether it was good or even right for me to be there. Now, I don't drink and that's not because I think that it's necessarily wrong, but in my experience I've always seen the harm and destruction alcohol causes outweighs the pleasures. In the Bible when Peter talks about eating meat sacrificed to idols, he basically says, "I don't NEED to eat it if it's going to cause someone else to stumble." I also took note of the conversations happening, and there were many. They were really no more Christ centered than those of my Christian friends. Some crude jokes, some profanity, a little bit of gossip, but you know how it is. And please don't think I'm pointing fingers, because the first person I'd be pointing at is myself. I heard a speaker once say that North American Christians are an absolute joke for the most part, that the only difference between us and everyone else, is the fact that we go to a building with a cross on it once a week for an hour. Sometimes I believe that. I remember one Sunday that was supposed to be incredibly spiritual at church, and the worship leader invited people to stay and worship after the service and there were 3 people in the entire church that stayed behind. If that is any indication, that only 3 people out of 300 have a few extra minutes to worship God, than what this speaker said is entirely accurate. I refuse to believe that the we are not capable of more. The onus is on myself, and each one of us individually to change that perception, but that will only come when we are in fact in the world, and not of it.
jake
Thursday, December 11, 2008
hooked...for some reason
Yesterday, I made my blogger debut, and this is an awfully quick followup. I was just reading some articles this morning on ESPN.com and really got to thinking about how much energy and emotion I spend on football alone. I'm not a sports fan who knows everything about every sport, but I do know what I need to get by.
Football though, has really taken over as the primary sport of choice. The last few season's I have grown more and more in love with the sport, and therefore have committed that much more time to watching and reading about it. This year has proven to be a trying time. I've been a huge Packer's fan since I started watching football, but with the messy departure of my favourite player, Brett Favre, I've been conflicted this year, having two favorite teams. Right now both are not in ideal playoff standings. The Pack basically needs to win out, and both teams above them lose out in order for them to make the playoffs. You might think, "impossible!", but that's just it; it's not mathematically impossible, so it continues to occupy my mind every day until Sunday comes. The Jets are in a slightly more favorable position, being tied for first, but they've got to start winning some games and soon. I almost envy Lions fans. At least with them, you know what your going to get every year.
Another three weeks the battle continues...than...the playoffs.
jake
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The Beginning
Well... let's see how this goes. After spending about 6 hours over the last two days reading blogs, I figured it was getting to be time for me to create my own. I really don't know what to write about, but maybe some comical stories and possibly some insightful thought could seep out at some point.
I have been listening to the same 5 songs on repeat on my computer at work for what is approaching two weeks now. The purpose being, to memorize the lyrics. I'm not positive that it's working. Somewhere along the line my brain lost that capability, and probably used that space to store some useless information about some obscure bands' favorite past time. The reason for the memorization is that my improvised "band" is playing a Christmas show and for some reason I can't contain some simple song lyrics. Let's hope it works out.
In other news...my brother John is engaged. The first of the clan to head in that direction. It may be a while before there's another. My dad asks me the other day in a thick Mennonite accent, "So, John's getting married. How does that make you feel, that your little brother is getting married before you?" "Ummm....pretty good?" I really didn't understand what he wanted as a response. If this had happened a few years ago, I probably would have been pretty bummed, but something has changed in me over that time that has completely contented me about the whole marriage thing. The Bible talks at some point about commending men who have the self control to not marry. I'm not saying I'm one of those men, but I've learned that it's not going to happen in my time or on my agenda, and that is perfect for me.
That's all for now, or maybe ever, we'll see.
jake
I have been listening to the same 5 songs on repeat on my computer at work for what is approaching two weeks now. The purpose being, to memorize the lyrics. I'm not positive that it's working. Somewhere along the line my brain lost that capability, and probably used that space to store some useless information about some obscure bands' favorite past time. The reason for the memorization is that my improvised "band" is playing a Christmas show and for some reason I can't contain some simple song lyrics. Let's hope it works out.
In other news...my brother John is engaged. The first of the clan to head in that direction. It may be a while before there's another. My dad asks me the other day in a thick Mennonite accent, "So, John's getting married. How does that make you feel, that your little brother is getting married before you?" "Ummm....pretty good?" I really didn't understand what he wanted as a response. If this had happened a few years ago, I probably would have been pretty bummed, but something has changed in me over that time that has completely contented me about the whole marriage thing. The Bible talks at some point about commending men who have the self control to not marry. I'm not saying I'm one of those men, but I've learned that it's not going to happen in my time or on my agenda, and that is perfect for me.
That's all for now, or maybe ever, we'll see.
jake
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