Precious babies...

I met a very incredible little guy this evening. He was adorable, strong and silent. I've never met someone so young before & to the people that called me Uncle Jason... Thank you! It feels good and I cannot think of anything I would rather be to that little man.

On that note, and after being told by Angie's mother that she would like more grandchildren, I felt even more accepted by her family if not a bit intimidated. I had a great chat with Lorne, who I was told isn't much of a talker... Ya... so our two month anniversary of dating is in just under an hour and I'm full of wild crazy joyful emotions. What an incredible week. Things have been so wonderful this week from the weather to the miracle of life. My song of the week is DEFINATELY "tobyMac - Monentum" because "We got momentum baby!" And everything is raging ahead in an awesome direction. Could I be any more blessed!?!

What a day!

So after an wonderful evening full of great meaninful conversation and a smaller amount of great small talk, I come home absolutely all smiles. Say one last goodnight to my dear sweet Angie and go to bed for a refreshing sleep. I woke up to sunlight beautifully peeking in through my blind as I started stretching my legs and trunk. Yesterday's excessive, painful workout and resulting soreness made today's much easier and hopefully future ones even easier. I've decided to increase my workout regardless of the temporary discomfort because in the end it will be better for me.

After a little while I thought I heard my phone ringing. I picked it up to hear Angie's voice. My first thought, which cut off kinda in the middle was "Oh cool! What a nice surprise! I know we had a great evening and I'd like to talk to her too first thing every morning, but this is an unprecedented phone call... uh oh, something's up!" Indeed something is up. She informed me that her sister had called and was in the hospital in labour! :D

So as I sit here digesting this (my cousin who I wasn't very close to just had a baby which was exciting but not as impactive) I find myself getting very excited, joyful, concerned, somber and prayerful. I've grown close to this family and learned much about them from Angie. As much as I care about my cousin, I haven't heard from her in some time so I find myself full of all kinds of emotions at today's upcoming events. It's exciting and after meeting Kianna with her sweet little smiles the thoughts of another little miracle is pretty overwhelming.

So the sun is shining in every way today & I ask everyone to keep the new mothers in your thoughts and prayers. It is a good day today.

Bright and early...

Some would call me brave, some would say silly, but I'm pretty anxious, running on about 4.5 hours of sleep, to go to church (I'll probably be nearly an hour early again :P). I guess my mind is busy and decided to wake me up at 6:30 instead of sleeping until my alarm at 7:15. I guess I'll snooze this afternoon, but until then, I'll just hope for enough fuel to keep going & pay attention. Ya, I think i need a night of deep sleep to catch up. My body is sleeping funny lately. Maybe it's my bliss. ;)

My senses...

Feel a warm summer breeze tickling me, see boats towing toy riding people loving every spray the lake throws at them, smell burgers grilling from distant shores, hear the ice cream truck, and taste the cold iced tea. Ahhhh I'm there.

I know, I know. The truth is it's cold, windy & not very much like the 6th day of spring but we can imagine. :) Hey, it's supposed to be 17 on Tuesday. Sounds great to this cat! Until then, reread my first paragraph. ;)

They say things can change; that reality is harsh and diminishing...

But I think reality & truth are beautiful. I had my full day (12.5 hours) with Angie yesterday and it started questionably because neither of us were feeling great. Infact, we both felt crappy physically. So after a day of limited activity, just relaxing, hanging out and trying to ease our discomforts I came to a realization. Not everything is or can be perfect all of the time. yet, that realization of truth and reality was beautiful to me; that we could just hang out watching Simpsons DVDs feeling ill, but just glad to be together.

Yes, it was a great day. The weather was just awesome, we had a great day, I used my Christmas money from the grandparents to buy a new NIV Bible & case, and despite our ill feelings, we had an awesome time hanging out and just being together, Pizza Hut was great, bladder infection seems to be gone (I'm stoked and thankful for that!), and I'm just continually growing closer to Angie and feeling great about it the more that I learn and experience together, with her.

Place amusing title here...

So things have finally slowed down. It has been pretty crazy for just over a week and as much as I enjoy my parent's company, a limited amount is about my maximum level of tolerance. Perhaps I should correct that, a limited amount of seeing mom. My reasons for this are simply that she cares too much and her efforts to be motherly grow straining on my nerves when she does laundry that was done just 42 hours ago and has not yet been used ie: a hand towel on a towel rack that's purely for show. And the old, "Oh Jay! You've lost weight! (Negative connotation) Here eat, eat!" Now that my van ramp is easier along with everything that is easier since I've slimmed down. I know, she just cares, but the caring begins to sound like nagging. But I didn't start writing this to complain because I'm happy.

My bladder infection seems to have subsided a bit (I could still use prayers for it to go away completely & thanks in advance), my homework is finished, mom & dad are safely home, it was a gorgeous day today & supposed to be nicer tomorrow, my muscles aren't too sore etc... but biggest & most pleasing to me is that in less than 12 hours I'm picking up my dear Angie for a full day together which we've dubbed Angie-Jay day part 2. :P It's going to be great. Pick her up, go buy a NIV Bible with my Christmas money from my grandparents, then come here for lunch & an afternoon matinee (Left Behind I & II), then supper at Pizza Hut (I'm drooling already), then date #4 ;), then take her home. But the fact that we get 12 hours together is very exciting to me. So after 7.5 stressful days I think I/we deserve tomorrow together! I hope you all had a great day & have a great one tomorrow! BTW, Ang's blog is one of my new links on the right. check it out! :)

What's new...

I worried for nothing. The meeting of Angie and my parents went just fine. Everyone liked everyone else. This morning I heard high praise and comments about my sweetheart from my parents. Right now I'm a bit stressed. Just off a bit and my mom is being overconcerned about a great number of things & it is wearing on my nerves. I feel a bit like a stuck record: "It's fine like that mom. Thank you, but just leave it where it was." ;) Great parents just too concerned sometimes. Better that way than if they didn't care. Still I feel a bit off.

I think I'm a bit nervous about seeing The Passion today. I think it might hit me HARD. I'm also a bit concerned about my homework I need to do. I'm not quite sure where to begin on the essay. I just can't wait for Angie-Jay day #2 on Wednesday. Ok, better get ready to go. :)

May I complain for a bit?

Firstly, I just finished reading the most awful book ever called “The Mountain People.” This was not by choice but by requirement for my most pointless class yet which has only increased my disgust with universities and the pointless classes they require a person to take. Yes, many are valid, but I ask you this. How will I benefit in my career as a “bean counter” by studying a class entitled “Change, Society and Technology” and includes exclusively content regarding evolution, Darwinism and other things like the history of other uncivilized cultures? What does that have to do with modern day accounting?

The “Ik” (pronounced Eek like eel) in the book are an African tribe that has been forced to begin an agricultural lifestyle away from their former hunter gatherer society. Ok, maybe the government should not have stepped in, but the Ik were starving and farming was their only hope. Now, since they seem unwilling to either hunt or farm, they scavenge what they can and are about as close to being cannibals as one can be without actually being one. For example if a mother puts a child down for a moment to gather a gourd full of water & a leopard takes the child away for lunch this is considered a good thing amongst the Ik because they can now find the full and sleeping leopard and kill & cook it before the child is even digested. I’m sorry for the graphic nature of that example, but that was one of about 75 -90 examples of things I had to read. I thought I was reading Stephen King at times, not an anthropologist’s diary turned into a novel. So that was a bit depressing.

Yesterday my net went down. It was fixed a few minutes ago, but was down for about 24 hours. That’s a strain when I use it so much! Dad’s here, painted a bunch for me, looks good, but more activity. Had a new thermostat put in, ok, no biggie, but more stuff going on. New storage cage installed downstairs, cleaning lady was here, got groceries, gas and washed the van. Read 25 more assignment related pages which is due Tuesday and I haven’t started. I have more to say about that shortly. I miss Angie. Got a van appointment for the check engine light which has been on for weeks, now suddenly the other evening at Denny’s decides to go out and stay out. :P Mom’s arriving tonight. I miss Angie! Tomorrow evening is supper and “meet the parents.” :) Should be good though. Anyway, that’s the extent of the hectic last few and upcoming days. Did I mention I miss Angie! So the net is back up, chores are finished. I may have an assignment to do, but it shouldn’t be too bad & I’m finished the tedious reading.

Finally, a few comments that hopefully should make reading my complaints rejuvenating. While reading the lesson notes in regards to this assignment they made comments relating to evolution, Darwinism, certain philosophers and one that stuck in my head, was a comment of language being almost as old as humans when Neanderthals first started referring to similar objects with the same sounds each time. My point is that they referred to the dates of these philosophers and the earliest languages in B.C. terms. The morons are speaking of their precious big bangs and evolution then referring to their time in history in relation to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Just made me chuckle. This is the last point I will make. The last few days have been busy, my devotions not receiving the attention that they deserve. Today everything seemed to happen at once & I got angry and spouted a few words I shouldn’t have. Thankfully my bible sitting on my desk caught my eye and I stopped everything to pray. Within 15 minutes of that prayer EVERYTHING that was on my mind or causing me stress or anxiety was taken care of. So even with my pathetic devotions and not taking time for Him, He was still listening waiting for me to snap and do what I should have done from the start. Answering my prayers when I really don’t feel I deserved it. Yup, you can’t wipe this smile off my face today & my faith just received a much needed kick in the behind. Today is a good day!

Been awhile...

But for good reasons. I've been spoiled with seeing my Angie three days in a row. Today might be tough but fortunately my dad's arrival will help distract my thoughts from her... at least slightly. I think I will be much better able to understand her desire to move out on her own by Sunday. Dad will be here today, then Mom will come Friday after work. Great parents, I miss them & haven't seen em for some time, but I'm thinking by Sunday I'll be extremely anxious to go pick up Angie & go see The Passion and allow my parents to go home and leave me alone. :P A person gets used to living by themselves. That brings up a few other thoughts about possible future scenarios... but then that isn't so extreme cause parents can sometimes be difficult.

At any rate, it was a great last three days. I got to see someone else's home for a change which was great! (Nice place too!) Church was good Sunday, Lunch was good Sunday. Just had to comment how Sunday it seemed like lots of people were late for church & was funny when Angie pointed out to me that many women were away at the retreat and the men were late as a result. Just found that funny. Last night was great to have some time to ourselves. Company and hanging out with friends is nice, but one on one talk time is so nice & so much better than the phone.

Now the anticipation of Saturday night & the old "meet the parents" game. I think I'm far more nervous than Angie or my parents. I'm just afraid mom & dad'll bring up "stories". Oh well, guess my blushing will be that much more evident with my blond hair. I'll be a beacon to all of how to really look embarrased. :P

50/50 :) ...

What a great day yesterday. Pretty seldom do I spend half or more of an average day away from my home. I mean with my classes being correspondence and everything it makes sense. But yesterday I went blond (2.75 hours), picked up Angie from school and went for supper (2.75 hours), went bowling and then took her home :) (3 hours). 8.5 hours away from home of one of the best days yet.

I'm glad I got my hair bleached (Angie's reaction was great!). Moxies grabbed a high location on my favorite restaurant list and their Mocha Kahlua Cheesecake has a special place in my heart. :P And bowling (I didn't bowl, but it was fun) was a constant thrill. I almost never quit smiling the whole time and when the bingo bowl was going it was pretty exciting. My face hurt pretty bad from smiling when I got home at 11:35 pm. It was an awesome day, very nice to be so busy and to do different things. *sigh* But today it's back to homework & that is kind of depressing after yesterday's fun. Oh well, reality check for Jay. :)

Not my style...

To be aggressive, loud or overly expressive. But when homecare calls a client to inform them that an essential service can only be performed for them by someone who really doesn't know what they are doing that client gets a bit worked up. But, he figures he can survive, just might wreck tomorrow evening's plans with his girlfriend if his guts are hurting. Not the end of the world. Fortunately, with all his might he revived the sleeping monster to aggressively hold his ground and demand that they smarten up, straighten things out and realize how reasonable this client ALWAYS tries to be realizing that there are other clients, not just him. He knows that the system does not revolve around him and he has made more than a few compromises to try and help them do their job.

So fortunately, the aggression paid off though that client felt an unpleasant feeling of the way he used to be. He used to get into trouble from a loud voice and aggressive words. That is why he put that monster to sleep. Unfortunately, unreasonable organizations require unreasonable responses sometimes.

So things were fixed & everything seems good. They turned out fine. It was when the client found out how they fixed it that aroused anger again. Apparently, babysitting (respite) for an old lady for six hours is a more important service than the very very necessary service for this client. And when that client requests 15 additional minutes to his service to a total of 1 hour 45 minutes, they deny and deny but 6 hours of baby sitting is fine. Doesn't make sense to me, but our healthcare system is faltering. Ya, that's my complaint for tonight. Hopefully the monster can be laid to rest for awhile again.

Ahhh relief...

Well, nother exam finished, I know for certain that I've quit smoking for good & Angie's on her way... Life is good.

Exam was pretty good. I guess we'll wait for the marks before too much optomism. If I finish a 4 hour exam and all of the related stress with smoking or even having a craving today I know I've beaten it. Still not going to let my guard down. & Finally it is "Date #2" tonight. For those of you that know... well, you'll understand. For those that don't know, sorry I say nothing more. :P And she just arrived! :D

Bill C-250

Ok, here's my controversial post I've been promising and I really would like your comments if you have anything at all to say.

C-250 basically is an anti-hate bill designed to make hateful speech in a public place a criminal offence. Those public places would include churches. Laws against hate are already in place. This one, from what I've heard, is more detailed and aimed more or less at a number of Christian views. But that is another controversial post. One example of a violation of Bill C-250 would be a sermon speaking against homosexuality. There are a miriad of examples, but that one is pretty straight forward. People are fighting Bill C-250 such as certain pastors I have seen on TV. So here is my question:

What do you think, given what we know about the future increase of Christian persecution to come which will lead to the end times, about fighting these types bills and laws? Is it fighting the good fight that almost certainly cannot be won in the long run as the world deteriorates? Or is it fighting a winable fight that could begin a nationwide change away from securlar humanism? Give me your thoughts. :)

I won't post another blog until after my exam Monday I'm thinking so most people should have an opportunity to see this before it gets pushed down the page. :)

Not too much new...

I'm as in love with Angie as ever. Last night's date involved some awesome, deep conversation. Certain things I'll admit I would rather not discuss, but they needed to be discussed and in the end everything was just that much stronger with us. Yes, I must say I thought there would be more, larger issues. I'm glad there are not. I'm also sure the married people are saying "just wait." But as sucessfully as we have dealt with some pretty major topics of discussion I think things are going to be fine regardless of what comes up. Angie got me the most excellent Board Dokter jacket that is just perfect. So generous and thoughtful. I've got the perfect girlfriend.

Other stuff... I'm sick of school, studying & winter. I don't want to write my exam on Monday. I know that there are 3 days yet, but that is a lot of information to refresh on. I guess as always I'll do my best, quit complaining and get to it. I want my Saturday evening break. And I don't want to miss church on Sunday, but one week will be ok. I dunno. I'm tired, need sleep. That'll stop the complaining. I'll try to come up with something worth commenting on pretty soon.

"E" for effort...

In trying to get rid of this bladder infection, but it is just hanging on and everything I've tried has failed. I don't know. Me and my allergies to so many antibiotics combined with a man's stubborn streak about seeing a doctor (especially a second time) plus a doctor with a three week waiting list to get an appointment make for a bad situation. The only thing I haven't tried which used to work every time back a few years ago, but the thought makes me sick, is a stiff drink. Not for the purposes of drinking or increasing bathroom visits cause iced tea or lotsa water works for that, but the unfiltered alcohol (missed by the liver) enters the bladder and beautifully kills the infection. I just hate the thoughts of more antibiotics or anything else this close to my final exam. I think the best solution is to ask you guys for a prayer for me cause I NEED to get rid of this infection. Thanks in advance.

Now I really need to try to study more so I have time for a quick guilt-free chat with Angie tonight. Thanks again guys.

Most of what I have to say tonight is aimed at killing the last half hour before I talk to Angie since I need to do the responsible thing and give her the agreed upon study time. Ya, I could study more, but I've worked pretty hard all day and just feel like relaxing a bit. Though like any job, the less you have to do the longer it takes and vice versa.

So, as I sit here giving my new tobyMac Cd a good listening to at a very loud volume (headphones are on :P) I'm thinking a lot of thoughts such as:
- How important Angie is to me. That is by far #1.
- I don't want to write my exam next Monday.
- Why is the parking at the CGA office so poor?
- Why must I deal with parking and the fight to get into the building before I even write the exam? Pointless extra... not worries... things to think about all the while pushing out useful information.
- I don't need much of a washroom to make use of one. Just enough room to get in and close the door. Why doesn't the CGA office have a decent accessible washroom so that after a 25 minute drive to the office, 4 hour exam, and 25 minutes drive home, I'm burning to get there to relieve the pressure?
- I've blown so much money on this course & all I keep seeing are failures (along with just under half of the other students) and more theory classes. I guess by entering accounting I had this crazy idea I might be dealing with numbers which I enjoy, not stupid theory which I don't care for. Why do I continue on this path? I guess I just need to wait for God's answer to my request for direction in regards to career.
- Could a be a jerk & make an issue of that awful CGA office and it's lack of accessibility? Ya, but that's not my style.
- Do I want to be associated with an organization of ignorance?
- Sigh, patience, prayer & perserverance until I hear the answer. I know what I hope it will be. Wake up able bodied one morning and spend the next year LIVING life to the fullest before taking on the most physical job I can think of.

You know I really enjoyed my work before. Running my own business (yard maintenance), smelling that fresh cut grass, seeing those uniform lawnmower lines in a gorgeous lawn, seeing the customers' appreciation of the appearance of their yard. And let's not forget meat cutting. Yes, the seniors could be trying, but in all truth, dirty bloody hands, fresh product wrapped ready to throw on the BBQ, seeing sales boom in summer and the watering customer mouths' just waiting to put the heat to the meat. Very tiring work, but very satisfying at the end of the day. Ok, I think I'm ready for Spring now. :P Anyone else ready for the snow to take a hike? :)