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cats_n_cetchup
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Name: Jon
Gender: Male
Interests: God. Taking walks and runs in the woods during the rain. Writing, laughing at the humorous aspects of life. Life. Letting my mind trudge through the world of imagination. Using words like trudge, and wondering if people catch the reference.
The people God has given me in my life.
Expertise: Walking and chewing gum at the same time (it has taken years to perfect this). Accents.
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
MSN: rooflayer2@hotmail.com
Member Since:
5/22/2005
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| So the other night, after church, we were hanging out at a friends house. In the middle of the conversation, one girl goes "Oh, look, you have a whitetail" - speaking to the guy whose house we were at. He looks down at the ground between his feet, and then casually moves one foot away. "What's a whitetail?" I ask - seeking clarification of what sort of thing we were talking about. From where I sat, it looked to be some sort of insect, but that was all I could tell. Yet apparently I don't speak Australian well enough yet, because they proceeded to describe what it can do - but not what it is.
"Oh, it's really poisonous. It's bite can cause necrosis of the skin." In plain English - ITS BITE WILL MAKE YOUR SKIN DIE. Naturally, I pick my feet up off the carpet. I prefer my body with skin on it. It's a wierd thing, but I've developed a taste for it. No one else is even moving. A few moments later, the guy who's feet this thing is by says, "I suppose I should get a glass." So he then gets a glass and catches it and then procedes to look at it. At this point there are three thoughts in my head. The first is - so is a whitetail some sort of ant, or spider (I'd narrowed it down to that by then)? Cause if it's an ant, there are more. The other two thoughts were KILL IT!!! KILL IT!!! I mean seriously, who observes a creature that is capable of killing your skin - apparently to the extent that some people even lose limbs over this - and then a while later suddenly thinks - hey, maybe I should get rid of this? And barely even move your foot away?!?! Maybe this is just another one of those cultural differences in priorities. Maybe things like skin and feet aren't as important here as they are in most places. PS I later learned the thing was, in fact, a spider. | | |
| Well, since the last time this was updated, Jon left Tennessee, went north to the state that interestingly was one of the last hold-outs of slavery, and is the horse-raising center of the world. That's right - Kiiiiiiin-tuckey. There I enjoyed a great BFA time, made sure Ryan got married, and left the US of A. So now I find myself in Melbourne (not Beach), Australia. So I thought I would list some lessons learned both while being here, and that were learned from my factory days. 1. I truly am a chameleon. I also really do have southern roots. After several weeks of working in the factory, I had a nice regler drawl goin on. yep, I was saying y'all and 'they done' and yee haw and slapping my knee to country music. It was at that point I decided I needed to leave. 2. Older people are crazy fun. I spent every Wednesday evening and Sunday lunch every week with my grandparents and their friends, and to be honest, they're a good deal funner than a lot of much younger people I've run across. 3. I really am related to about half the state of Tennesee. I don't think anything else needs to be said here. 4. As small as airplane seats may be, they can get incredibly smaller when you have to share part of it with the stranger next to you. 5. Never watch Lost before getting on a flight to Australia. bad things really do happen. For instance, eight fireballs coming out of one of the engines. 6. Whoever said Aussies understand English didn't understand English. 7. DC was an incredibly easy city to navigate- albeit traffic was terrible. Elsewhere, roads curve and such crazy things. 8 You know how they always say "So many million people can't be wrong"? Well they can. Case in point, vegemite. 9. The whole which side of the car do I get in dilemma that happens when you go to places where they drive on the other side of the road gets a lot more complicated once you start driving yourself. 10. Aussies are big fans of the ecosystem. I mean BIG. How big? Well, so big that people down here actually believe that Al Gore knows what he's talking about. If Nader ran down here, he might win. 11. If you plan on living in America, go to college. the alternatives are not that fun. 12. It doesn't take 5 years in a tight community to make good friends that you miss later. A year can do the trick too. 13. That whole thing I said last post about having a little bit of home everywhere - well it's true. That wedding was the most at home I've felt since June 9th 2006. With those people - I belonged. 14. Aussies can't make French fries. It's as simple as that. 15. Being a 30-40 minute walk away from someone is way better than being on the other side of the world. 17. When people drive on the left side, they usually walk on the left as well. Failing to do so may result in collisions. 18. Don't put chewing gum directly in you mouth from under movie theater seats. 19. Skipping a number in a list can really drive some people crazy. ;) Pea sout. | | |
| You know, I've been really wanting to say something sound and wise ever since BFA's grad this year. But I just kept on drawing a blank. It's just such a sticky situation, cause it's supposed to be a happy time (at least so they tell me). But at BFA it's mostly just a lot of grief. Then I read Grace Park's xanga entry. And I was once again, astounded at Grace's ability to impart information to others. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Grace will make an awesome teacher. Anyways, I say that because anything that you read below here, you should supplement by reading her entry. (her xanga thing is sparkeeparkee. Grace, you can pay me for the advertising later). So, since she covered stuff so well, i'll just say one thing. Hold on to your friends from BFA. They are precious stuff, guys and girls. As someone very wise has told me time and again, those friendships that we built there, those close ones - they're a taste of heaven. And it's amazing how you can arrange to meet up with them. Since graduating, I've seen Alana, Toby, Liz, the Koerbers, Tim Chew, Greenie, Thornton, Jen Smith, Lauren Woods, Ryan and Tabs. And within the next month, I will more than likely double that figure. So while the goodbyes hurt, you will see people again. And when you do, it is wonderful. It's like fresh spring water from in front of HBR to the soul. But don't be fooled into thinking that only in holding tightly onto the past can you keep them close. THings change enormously. You can't fight it. But that doesn't mean that you have to lose those dear to you. And don't think that you have to shut yourself away from all the people you're going to meet, just to stay close to those from BFA. Cause not only is that a recipe for self-destruction, it will cause you to miss out on all the other incredible things that God has planned for you. Do I miss those people from BFA? Yes. Even now, it feels like my heart has been torn into pieces and scattered across the globe. And this recent grad makes it a little bit more painful - cause it reminds me of those who are dear to me who are now joining the Scattered. My first BFA roommate, my sidekick, my favorite korean dish, the man who's twice as much as me, to name a few. But consider this - through BFA, many of us have been blessed with an deeper understanding of what relationships with other people should look like. Why shouldn't we attempt to spread the blessing? And even though no matter where I go, I never feel like I'm home, all over the world there's a little bit of home all spread out. | | |
| 1) NUDITY
I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year- old shout from the back seat, "Mom, that lady isn't wearing a seat belt!"
2) OPINIONS
On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a note from his mother. The note read, "The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents."
3) KETCHUP A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. "Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle."
4) MORE NUDITY
A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, "What's the matter, haven't you ever seen a little boy before?"
5) POLICE #1
While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, "Are you a cop?" "Yes," I answered and continued writing the report. "My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right?" "Yes, that's right," I told her. "Well, then," she said as she extended her foot toward me, "would you please tie my shoe?"
6) POLICE #2
It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me. "Is that a dog you got back there?" he asked. "It sure is," I replied. Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said, "What'd he do?"
7) ELDERLY
While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs. One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, "The tooth fairy will never believe this!"
8) DRESS-UP
A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, "Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit" "And why not, darling?" "You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning."
9) DEATH
While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin. Feeling that a proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased. The minister's son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said: "Glory be unto the Faaather, and unto the Sonnn, and into the hole he goooes."
10) SCHOOL
A little girl had just finished her first week of school. "I'm just wasting my time," she said to her mother. "I can't read, I can't write and they won't let me talk!"
11) BIBLE
A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages. "Mama, look what I found," th e boy called out. "What have you got there, dear?" With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, "I think it's Adam's underwear." | | |
| Despite the current flow of people forsaking their xanga sites for something or other, I realized that there is a considerable number of people who receive their information about us through the xanga community (sidenote - it cracks me up that these things are considered a collective community. Like I'm really in community with the majority of xanga users). Anyhow, I figured a semi-update would be appropriate. So. First year of college done. It has flown by. My own grad night feels like just yesterday, and a lifetime ago. Since that time I have become skinnier, started shaving more often, and eaten at Subway more times that i have in the rest of my previous lifespan. I've learned a lot about this country called America (apparently, there are cats here). I've met my first Jewish friend (surprising, I know, considering the places I've lived). I've discovered what it's like to live in a place where most people are at least expected to speak some version of my native language. (For clarification, that would be English). And I have been more than neck-deep in the midst of secular Western society (also provided for a lot of learning). I've learned more about the nature of God, and come to understand a little bit better how I can be obedient to his plan for me. Right now, I'm in Middle Tennessee, in the city of Murfreesboro - just south of Nashville, home of MTSU, the largest university in the state of Tennessee - staying with the g-parents, and working on the floor of a factory that produced filter systems for all sorts of different automobile brands. I'm working the third shift - which is from 11PM to 7AM. So interesting sleep pattern readjustment has been going on. Already, although I've only been working there for 2 weeks, it's been a major learning experience. For instance, I've learned that the blank smiling and nodding that people have done to me all my life actually does work when used correctly. I've learned that there are a lot of people from Indochina in middle Tennessee. And I've learned that setting off firecrackers on a factory floor is not something that is smiled upon. So the plan is to work here till this little shindig going down in Kentucky. I think some people might be planning on getting married around that same time - I don't know. But in any case, I'm heading up there for that. After that, I'll be leaving for Melbourne, Australia, where I'll be studying abroad for at least a year. We'll see where that goes from there. So, that's what's been going on in a nutshell. Cheers. | | |
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