"So This is [Friendship]..."
For those who are screaming in their heads, "I know that subject line from somewhere," I took the first line from John Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War is Over)" and changed "Christmas".
I thought the three days that started the week were interesting. It got better yesterday:
That awkward moment when you discover that not all tea kettles whistle to indicate they're boiling and ready, thus prompting the burning of the tea leaves in the kettle strainer/infuser, and thus setting off the fire alarm because of the smoke.
There isn't much to write, but what there is happens to be worth the while. I made Michiru's day by getting her the Boysenberry Tea, which came in...and was about two more packages and $20 more expensive than what I was believing it'd be given Michiru's own stash at the beginning of the semester. I thought it was eight ounces to a package...instead, it was four, so with a pound of tea to my name, I gave four ounces to Linn since she really liked the smell, and then gave the one package to Michiru, both for their Christmas presents. Oh, how I missed its fruity flavor...even if I burned the tea leaves on mine. It was actually akin to coffee with a nice flavor, just with a little honey and a little sugar to make up for my mistake.
Nagar. Wow. She is a very, very interesting person for her age. We had a great talk today, even after helping some students with chocolate ice cream that was so frozen, it was borderline nasty, and getting some silverware changed, and helping the guy who I switched shifts with for today. Enough happened back-to-back that I apologized and assured Nagar that I really was coming to sit down. From there it was just really, really nice and mature the way we talked back and forth about the subjects at hand. It's exactly why I make the correlation to Caspian because this is what I've been wanting to do for a long, long time. Yes, I also want a relationship, but I respect the women for what they want, even if I was the idiot who couldn't resolve his feelings for the earlier.
Speaking of respecting the women, the more I think about it, the more I regret the way I closed the letter to Caspian for her birthday. You know how they say that sometimes too much of a good thing is detrimental? That was a clear example because I was in such a good mood that while it was a friendly closing, it was the friendly that I exuded back in the day, a complete contradiction to my goal to be the friend that is needed today. I didn't think much about writing the two lines that rhymed, but I can't shake the feeling that I kind of messed up again without trying to do so, which sucks because I'm well aware that the trust that once was needs to be built again, and the last thing I want to do is wreck it. I suppose I'll find out in due time if I actually need to kick myself for it.
That said, two things happened tonight that really have helped a whole bunch, things that I know God set up. First, the talk we had not only allowed me to rethink a thing or two about how I approached life, but with my current understanding I was able to be useful again, and in a deep and meaningful way. Deep, meaningful help that I might be able to provide gives me fuel and encourages me so much that I know tonight I'm going to sleep well given where we were able to head. I love other perspectives because, as I discussed with Nagar, I believe that we as Christians need to come back together and unite on the major issues, while learning that we all are different and need to stop letting our opinions divide the church. Therefore meaningful discussions where I can learn this are quite useful and very, very energizing because now I can serve God to an even greater extent now.
This provides the context for the second thing: a hug. And it was just the right length, too, so that it wasn't too short, nor could it be misunderstood for romantic by being too long. It was interesting to learn something about hugs, too, and to learn something about myself. My goodness, I feel like I'm on cloud nine after all of this, and it has been a while since I walked up there, too.
Oh yes, before I forget, I finally worked up the courage to speak with a friend from CCCB and finally say what I was too scared to say last semester, something of which Lawrence played upon to get her and another student nervous and worked up just for fun. I admitted that it was childish of me and Lawrence for all that to happen, and that I should've just said that I liked her. No dice on that. Oh, well. It will be interesting to see where things go as friends as well, especially since I now have an information source regarding the anime Bleach. This should allow for some more fluid conversations with Michiru on my end.
I suppose it's true what they say: the worst they can say is "no". Just as long as they don't precede that with something similar to Bob Smiley's routine about the major and the money made or something like that. Come Monday I'll see what I can do regarding Perri and/or Push.
Speaking of Bob Smiley, as I close this entry, I have a green light from him to resurrect the message boards once I clarify one particular detail. Since Michiru's introduction to her world, it has been revealed to me that message boards are still alive and well today and would make an excellent tool for youth ministry outreach. Then again, I should've seen that more clearly when I was looking into how the youth that play Yu-Gi-Oh were anticipating the list of cards that couldn't be used in tournament play (of which even I commented on just because I thought it was kind of fun). Either way, I'll be taking the lead on this project and I'll make sure that Bob has a prominent place, too, since many will want to communicate with him since he's the one that they trust, and that trust is what is needed for them to make a decision one way or the other for Christ in the end.
I thought the three days that started the week were interesting. It got better yesterday:
That awkward moment when you discover that not all tea kettles whistle to indicate they're boiling and ready, thus prompting the burning of the tea leaves in the kettle strainer/infuser, and thus setting off the fire alarm because of the smoke.
There isn't much to write, but what there is happens to be worth the while. I made Michiru's day by getting her the Boysenberry Tea, which came in...and was about two more packages and $20 more expensive than what I was believing it'd be given Michiru's own stash at the beginning of the semester. I thought it was eight ounces to a package...instead, it was four, so with a pound of tea to my name, I gave four ounces to Linn since she really liked the smell, and then gave the one package to Michiru, both for their Christmas presents. Oh, how I missed its fruity flavor...even if I burned the tea leaves on mine. It was actually akin to coffee with a nice flavor, just with a little honey and a little sugar to make up for my mistake.
Nagar. Wow. She is a very, very interesting person for her age. We had a great talk today, even after helping some students with chocolate ice cream that was so frozen, it was borderline nasty, and getting some silverware changed, and helping the guy who I switched shifts with for today. Enough happened back-to-back that I apologized and assured Nagar that I really was coming to sit down. From there it was just really, really nice and mature the way we talked back and forth about the subjects at hand. It's exactly why I make the correlation to Caspian because this is what I've been wanting to do for a long, long time. Yes, I also want a relationship, but I respect the women for what they want, even if I was the idiot who couldn't resolve his feelings for the earlier.
Speaking of respecting the women, the more I think about it, the more I regret the way I closed the letter to Caspian for her birthday. You know how they say that sometimes too much of a good thing is detrimental? That was a clear example because I was in such a good mood that while it was a friendly closing, it was the friendly that I exuded back in the day, a complete contradiction to my goal to be the friend that is needed today. I didn't think much about writing the two lines that rhymed, but I can't shake the feeling that I kind of messed up again without trying to do so, which sucks because I'm well aware that the trust that once was needs to be built again, and the last thing I want to do is wreck it. I suppose I'll find out in due time if I actually need to kick myself for it.
That said, two things happened tonight that really have helped a whole bunch, things that I know God set up. First, the talk we had not only allowed me to rethink a thing or two about how I approached life, but with my current understanding I was able to be useful again, and in a deep and meaningful way. Deep, meaningful help that I might be able to provide gives me fuel and encourages me so much that I know tonight I'm going to sleep well given where we were able to head. I love other perspectives because, as I discussed with Nagar, I believe that we as Christians need to come back together and unite on the major issues, while learning that we all are different and need to stop letting our opinions divide the church. Therefore meaningful discussions where I can learn this are quite useful and very, very energizing because now I can serve God to an even greater extent now.
This provides the context for the second thing: a hug. And it was just the right length, too, so that it wasn't too short, nor could it be misunderstood for romantic by being too long. It was interesting to learn something about hugs, too, and to learn something about myself. My goodness, I feel like I'm on cloud nine after all of this, and it has been a while since I walked up there, too.
Oh yes, before I forget, I finally worked up the courage to speak with a friend from CCCB and finally say what I was too scared to say last semester, something of which Lawrence played upon to get her and another student nervous and worked up just for fun. I admitted that it was childish of me and Lawrence for all that to happen, and that I should've just said that I liked her. No dice on that. Oh, well. It will be interesting to see where things go as friends as well, especially since I now have an information source regarding the anime Bleach. This should allow for some more fluid conversations with Michiru on my end.
I suppose it's true what they say: the worst they can say is "no". Just as long as they don't precede that with something similar to Bob Smiley's routine about the major and the money made or something like that. Come Monday I'll see what I can do regarding Perri and/or Push.
Speaking of Bob Smiley, as I close this entry, I have a green light from him to resurrect the message boards once I clarify one particular detail. Since Michiru's introduction to her world, it has been revealed to me that message boards are still alive and well today and would make an excellent tool for youth ministry outreach. Then again, I should've seen that more clearly when I was looking into how the youth that play Yu-Gi-Oh were anticipating the list of cards that couldn't be used in tournament play (of which even I commented on just because I thought it was kind of fun). Either way, I'll be taking the lead on this project and I'll make sure that Bob has a prominent place, too, since many will want to communicate with him since he's the one that they trust, and that trust is what is needed for them to make a decision one way or the other for Christ in the end.