I'm "That Guy"

I just ate at Cookies & Co. again. I ate there last Wednesday (see previous post), Thursday, and maybe even Friday, too, but I don't really remember. So good, so right, so pathetic.

So I got outed again last night, but this time it was about having back hair. And in front of the woman I'm dating, who has certainly not seen me with my shirt off, yet. (Sidebar: unlike some people I know, I don't take my shirt off on a first date.) I'm fully aware of the disgust American women have for back hair on men, but what am I to do? It's not like I ordered it when I ordered my chest and leg hair ("I'll take the Hair Package, please"). I got what I got, and if I have to have hair in unattractive places in order to have it in attractive places, well then I'll just deal.

Plus, it's more common than women think, and I know many many men, including the models you women see in magazines and in movies, who have back hair. They shave, wax, dipilate, electrocute, and/or trim in order not to be found out.

So I raise a glass to men being Men, and not to trying to fit into the rather perverse image of looking like a pre-hormonal, prepubescent teen in order to be attractive.

Here's to a testosterone-full life!

In other news...

Good Lord, talking about back hair. Lessee... I saw part of Jeff Foxworthy's standup act the other night while I was studying for my music history test (more later), and he gave redneck definitions of words. For example, "initiate". Usage: "My wife ate ham, initiate her dessert." Another example, "Wijja-dijja". Usage: "You didn't bring your truck wijja-dijja?" I laughed out loud.

I'm going before my church's Session (ruling elders) tonight to request that I come "under care" of the Presbytery. This is part of the discernment process in having an outward call to be a minister of the Gospel. I have felt the inward call for the past few years, and it has been confirmed again and again. This is the next step as I seek whether and when God would have me attend seminary.

Let me anticipate the question: "How many degrees do you need?"
Answer: Just one more.

I hope to launch the website for Near The Cross in the next two weeks. I will let y'all beta test it and make suggestions. FYI, there will NOT be a comment wall on it. I've learned my lesson.

Until next time, may the words of your mouths and the meditations of your hearts be acceptible in His sight.

Cookies & Co.

Just ate there...so good. One of the "8th Day Creations" if you ask me.

I'm starting to get anxious about my music history test on Monday. It's covering the Renaissance period, and I have only listened to one of the required pieces in its entirety. Not ideal, really. I cancelled an out of town event this week so I could have more time to prepare.

But once that test is past, I have a small paper due on Wednesday and a test on the Tuesday after fall break. I'll enjoy studying over the break, but it stinks that my major time commitment over the break will be studying and not something more...away...from Athens.

I want to get away from here for a while, not just for conferences. My only trips out of Athens this entire year were for two conferences. Neither allowed for much sleep because of the schedules. I want to sit near a beach drinking at an outdoor cabana, reading a book and eating cabana-bar food. Not exactly Margaritaville, but that would do nicely, thank you very much.

I miss my desperation for Christ. I feel He may be reawakening it b/c the more I am aware of my sin, the more desperate I am for Him. It may be unpleasant to be desperate for Him, but it is necessary, and I want to despair of myself (as the old people said it) and cling desperately to Him.

Desperation makes me happier in serving others, keeps me from being upset at not being in the shape I was in four years ago, makes me less judgmental of others, and pushes my focus off myself and onto loving those who really have it bad. Even my pseudo-guilt at being white, upper-middle class is useless. Why should I feel guilty about where God has placed me? I shouldn't abuse it or feel as if I deserve it, but I also shouldn't feel as if I need to scoot on down the ladder to be a more sincere Christian.

That way, if God pushes me down that ladder, I'll still be content with what He has given me. Or even if He pulls me up.

Is anyone else ashamed to admit that they want to hear Madonna's new CD?

False Advertising

In my relatively short life, I have used a variety of methods to eliminate odors in the bathroom, including matches, candles, and sprays. Regarding the sprays, I have decided that they are advertised with misleading information.

Instead of covering the odor, they actually enhance it by adding a pleasant scent to an unpleasant odor. Thus, the nice "Garden Mist" smells like the garden is planted on a septic field. Or the "Tropical Rain" is falling on a sewage plant. Or the "Country Potpourri" is in the outhouse.

They should rename the scents to "Strawberries and Shit" or "Mango Crap", because that's what I smell when I spray them in my bathroom.