A good day.

I took my girlfriend to one of my favorite places, we sat by the river, explored the waterfall and watched the sunset ... it was a good day.

Spring is here!

And I couldn't be much happier for it!

let's see... I've been drinking a lot of loose leaf tea lately, I've kind of renewed my love of it, and in the process have taken interest in Chinese (Mandarin more specifically), so I've been casually learning the language, although more actively learning French.

I've read a few good books lately, "For All The Tea In China" and "War and Peace", my next read will be "Three Years Wanderings in the Northern Provinces of China" and "茶經" (chájīng, or "Tea Classic") just to go along with my little Chinese kick I've been on ^_^

My girlfriend is moving here in just under a month and I'm renovating the apartment that she will be living in... it's tough work balancing my secular job and this, I must admit sometimes I feel the work I do goes unnoticed :\ But hopefully JH will bless me for the effort that I've taken.

I'm going on a 3 day ocean fishing trip at the end of this month, which should be fun.

Oh yeah, and I've been doing alot of bread baking lately, I feel it's an art that isn't really appreciated in the US. Maybe I can make it popular again ;)

I work at a bank... a BANK!!!

So- a has changed recently in my life- about a month ago I started working at a local credit union- to be honest I was really worried I wouldn't like it because I'm terrible with math, the branch where I started was really busy and chaotic- but I still liked the work, the hours were weird though- but then after 3 weeks they transfered me to a new branch where I could get better hours- it's very very quiet here, but I love it! I get time to think, study, research stuff online! It's great!!! So that is my new job. I'm a banker!

Nothing to see here

Well, I'm on my own, I couldn't go back to work again, it had been too long since my boss could last afford to pay me so I quit and started working for myself, so far I've had work thanks to my brother but we'll see what the coming weeks bring.

I've been doing a bit of investing in the meantime, hopefully I'll see a decent return on my investments by the time I get married.

On that note, I regret waiting as long as I have.

From the breakwater

I don't think I told you, we (N.O. and I) went to Gloucester a while back to go fishing, the waves were huge (I must admit it's kind of humbling to stand before the power of nature), it was an impressive sight. We didn't catch anything, but as you may know, I love Gloucester so I was happy just to be there, it's where many of my childhood vacations were spent. We discovered the bio-luminescence in Folly Cove, that was pretty cool, I've never seen it (apart from pictures) before! All-in-all it was a good time.

I also haven't told you that I sold my car, financially that has helped me but it isn't easy being without your own means of transportation. I'll survive.

So as for work, not really sure that painting is my thing, I don't mind it, and I'm actually good at it... but I'm just not sure it's my thing. So on that note, I started studying for my A+ certification, I know it's not necessary to get a decent job in the IT field, but I don't think it will hurt.

I watched the sun rise over the ocean.

4am... it was cold, very very cold, but Nathan and I survived to be rewarded with one of JH's most beautiful gifts- the sunrise.

It's true...

Nobody knows me at all.

EXCEPT

Cassandra :)

Think I've found our wedding song.

Sleep tonight

I don't want to sleep tonight.

Life

Life is more than just a collection of one-dimensional streams of bits treated as logical units... go outside.

(Am I the only geek who likes nature?)

The world spins madly on

I've been doing quite a bit of ocean fishing for striped bass lately, thanks to my friend Nathan, waiting for the fall striper to arrive, as they migrate down south, caught my biggest fish yet on Wednesday.

Also I've been learning french more actively than before, I listen to audio lessons at night with the lights off so I can focus on what I'm learning and nothing else, it seems to sink in better that way... c'est magnifique!

I've had so many car bills lately that I've decided to sell my car, life is hard :( But JH will bless my efforts, despite it all, every day brings me closer to where I want to be.

I'll leave you with some music.

Flowers? ... FLOWERS!!!

Have I mentioned I love macro mode on my camera? I went to Huntington today to go fly fishing... the river was flooding because of the rain, it looked like a wonderful day to fish though... I arrived early while the morning sun was still shining through the mist, rising from the ground and floating eerily and still above the fast moving water... no bites, but it was still very relaxing... so I feel like I've accomplished something in my trip out there ^_^ The end of the road where people generally park was flooded completely... I had no choice but to roll up my pants and wade out there to get to my second fishing spot! I didn't catch anything... again... well, that's a lie actually... I figured out how to catch baby trout (about 1" long) with my hands... it's all about the spacing of the fingers ^_^ I leave you with these (the first one wasn't actually taken today... or IN Huntington... I've just been meaning to post it!)

Quit job... went on vacation :)

Life can't get much better than this :) J/K ... well, I quit Staples, had my last day, and went on vacation with some friends to Gloucester, MA... it was great! Between snorkeling, catching crabs and *attempting* to catch lobster... having a fire on the beach late at night, with fireworks in the distance and meeting Adam Sandler the vacation couldn't have been much better. I'll leave you with this picture I took.

Tea!!! <3

Click on the images to enlarge.

I ordered tea from serendipiTea the other day, I'd like to give them a good review for just a moment, great tea and the price isn't really bad for the quality, the lotus green tea (to the left) has an intoxicating aroma that I think is up there with chamomile and lavender for it's soothing quality and sweet undertones, the mugicha (to the right) is an old stand-bye and a summer favorite, my friend from Japan introduced me to it a few summers back, he said:

And once you've had it you'll understand why. Also, I'm thinking about trying THIS RECIPE for breakfast one of these days, looks yummy!!!

Work, Weight and Classic Literature.

Painting! It's hard work, and I'm very tired... but I need to be a man about it, if I'm to support a wife I need to be a hard worker. I'm not sure if I'm going to quit Staples... YET... but I have my letter of resignation already written... I'm just waiting so as not to rush into anything.

I seem to be putting on a few pounds... I guess that means I'm getting old :-/ Anyway, I've started doing sit-ups to lose the belly :)

On another note, if I haven't already posted this- I've finally got around to reading War and Peace... not done yet, but it's a great book. I've also been reading Longfellow... intriguing.

In case you've been wondering...

What the top ten musicians/bands are that I'm always talking about... not necessarily in order.

Misquamicut

I made this panorama for you.

If you need a murderer...

I've been working around (it's like sleeping around... just more faithful), helping people out with odd jobs here and there... v remember that post a ways down at the bottom of this blog? v Yeah, well I still work in retail... and I still hate it. What makes me really sad is that many of the people there are so degraded by the environment and the people they deal with every day that they will never have the confidence to just try something new... there are people I can see spending the rest of their lives in dead end jobs that pay very little :'( I'm not one of them... I will have a good job, and most likely at some point run my own business... I wont let this world drag me down.

The way things have fallen

I've taken up fly fishing, it's a great sport- it keeps my mind more active (something I need having A.D.D) but at the same time I can enjoy the peace and tranquility of nature. I've spent some time in Canada recently, I like long car rides- they get me thoughtful. The day after I got home we drove to Rhode Island in the middle of the night just to watch the sunrise over the ocean- there were deer tracks on the beach, and a seal came to visit us on the peer. The sunrise was beautiful BTW.

I'll be visiting Cassandra soon, I wonder if we'll meet our goals? I think we will, but thinking is easier than doing. I will fish the river behind her home and if I catch anything I'll make her dinner for when she gets back from work. Let's hope I catch something ^_^

P90X, Crepes, Bread and Life Changes...

Oh my! So I'm thinking about starting P90X again or joining a gym... I just don't know if I want to spend the money on a gym or the TIME on P90X, somebody has to give me a swift kick in the right direction!

I made pancakes and then crepes and I must say that I'm better at making crepes and I like them more anyway! Maple syrup is expensive so I tapped two maple trees about 3 weeks ago and over 2 weeks managed to make about a gallon of maple syrup, but then lost the desire to make crepes immediately afterward! So i've got alot of syrup just sitting around :)

After the recent memorial of Jesus' death and the unleavened loaves, I've had bread on the brain, so today I made some bread (still am making it actually, the leaven is rising as we speak)... it looks so delicious and I can't wait to eat some tonight with dinner!

Also Cassandra and I have been talking about how long we've been dating, and how we want to get married, so we've come up with a plan, hopefully if all goes right we won't be dating for too much longer! To the future... and beyond!

Depressed...

I dunno, I just feel down these days- maybe because I haven't seen my girlfriend in almost 1/2 a year, maybe because I want to be... someone, maybe... someone important? I want to make a difference, and I just make a ripple that doesn't amount to much.

I need to be somewhere and I can't seem to get there... my life is plagued with questions, like when will I be married? I've been dating for too long. When will I feel satisfied with my accomplishments? Will I ever be happy with what I have? Will I ever live a more simple life... and would I be happy with that?

Anywho... I think too much, let's listen to some music!

7th Time is the Charm

There has been a lot of controversy over Microsoft's newest OS: Windows 7, one big complaint I've heard is that it's supposed to be a more user friendly version of vista and the UI is so different that anyone switching directly from XP to 7 will be disoriented and have a hard time finding anything.

I think this is a spooty reason to not like 7, it's IMHO Microsoft's best OS to date- sure there is a learning curve... hardly something to complain about when you think of all the great benefits you'll gain over XP and Vista- it's much faster, doesn't crash (even though it's still beta!), looks elegant and stylish (easily customizable), toolbar has a unique approach to open windows and such (better than mac? Yes.), it's secure... did I mention it's fast?

And if you're going to complain about how the UI is different and things are hard to find maybe you should try the search feature in the start menu, it's fast and you can find just about anything!

The point is, don't knock it before you try it- I've fallen in love with Windows all over again, 7 is my new favorite OS.

Tea and Pancakes!

I've been eating pancakes almost every day for about a month now... I go on these little tangents every once in awhile! Blueberry, buttermilk, banana... it's all good! I just now am mastering the art of NOT burning them, haha! Next step will be to make crapes!

On the other hand, I miss the good ol' days of steeping my longjing ( 龍井茶 ) gongfu cha style! I still have my yixing pots and a few gaiwans, maybe this spring I'll buy the first flush and indulge after living off of way too many bagged teas!

P90X is going alright, I got pretty horribly sick for about a weak and wasn't able to eat a bite of food for 3 days and lost some of the weight that I put on but I'm getting back into a pattern of working out and eating lots of food again! I went to a gym for the first time the other day... it wasn't as scary as I thought... I don't know what I was expecting but I was alittle intimidated by the thought of going to one... that's one more fear I can X off my list, there is one in-between work and my house... I'm thinking about joining, that way I can get a quick workout on my way home from work... we'll see how that turns out.

Just keep pressing play

I'm on week two of the P90X program, but I'm only considering it week 1 because the first week was more of an experiment to see if I could do it and to tweak the program for better weight gain.

So in just these two weeks I've noticed a visible difference in my size and have gained a lot of weight (more than I thought possible). The results are great, it's a tough workout (my whole body hurts! haha!)... definitely harder than any workout I've ever done.

My favorite part about it is that I can feel and see real results without having to pay for a gym membership or suffer the embarrassment of working out in front of others.

Time for another workout! :)

p90x

I just started the P90X program... I used the hour long 'stretch x' dvd for 3 days before I started (wanted to make sure I wouldn't hurt myself ^_^) and surprisingly to myself, I gained about 4" of reach. The program is very intense at an hour/day, 7 days a week, for 90 days... but I am modifying it a little to get where I want.

My goal is to get in shape and gain 30lbs (putting me at 150lbs)... I'm not as interested in physique as I am just getting in decent shape and gaining some weight. So I am eliminating plyometrics (it would burn too many calories for me to keep up with in my persuit) for all but 1 workout a month. I will use this extra day to do stretch x.

When it comes to diet I keep hearing that I need to follow the diet plan to a T... unfortunately that isn't going to happen, I am a very busy person who doesn't know how to cook and on top of that I'm broke, haha! But what I will say is that I am following the IDEA behind the diet... the first phase is a very healthy, high protein diet, so that's what I am eating, not the same food on the meal plan, but the same idea is there. I working at taking in about 2500 to 3000 calories/day.

The first workout KICKED MY BUTT, I can barely type my arms are so tired! And it was a CHEST AND BACK workout, lol! Where they were doing 25/30 reps, I was struggling with 1/2... pathetic... but I'm looking forward to getting healthier and having the workouts become alittle easier and more rewarding as I see the fruit of my labor.

I DO have a day one picture... but it's embarrassing how weak I am!... I tell you what, I'll make a deal with you... if I finish the 90 day program, I'll post it on the website with the day 90 picture for comparison. ^_^

I Hate Retail

Disclaimer (for the purpose of keeping my job (for now) I will not say exactly WHERE it is that I work).

I hate working retail, it's the exact opposite of everything I've ever wanted in a job, the other day I went to buy a new laptop but was convinced not to buy one do to the other associates not wanting my "dry sale" to effect our store, so I went to the only other store that had it and of course the manager caught me thanks to somebody recognizing me there... she flipped out and called my store and even went as for as to send the general manager over there to yell at my boss... what's the freaking big deal? So the stores % went down for a short time, they'll live... they need to get lives and remember what's important... I really don't want to continue with the work I'm doing and I think I'll be quiting soon.

More complaints about my job to come...

BTW...

...Heima was amazing =)

Glass in the Trees

One of my favorite bands "Dead Poetic" has a song called "Glass in the Trees"... I'd always speculated it was about someone dying, until I found this quote from the band:

Heima

I've just pre-ordered my copy of the first ever film by Sigur Rós: "Heima" (which translates from Icelandic: "At Home"). They've gone back to tour Iceland and create one of (what I think will be) the most beautiful films I'll have seen in quite some time!

Stay alive

"Calender Girl" - Stars

Maybe...

Do you think she knows how I prayed for her until I fell asleep, that I prayed for her before I first opened my eyes this morning, all day and that I'm anticipating her call?

Leaving, not lost

Hmm

Though my existence is closer to perfection than it has ever been, my state is further than ever before.

No wonder it's so hard for me to comprehend something so simple and so close.

Oh the coincidence....

This morning driving to the KH I saw a license plate that read: "IM-DEB" ... yes, it wasn't anything extra-ordinary, but it caught my eye because I have a friend who's name is the same and thought she might like it ... less than 5 hours later in a different city I saw a license plate that read: "IM-JERRI" ... !

Oh the coincidence ... and that was my adventure for the day ...

The simplest thing

Seeing her smile is proof enough that I should be happy.

A Meager Introduction

Hello, I've decided (oddly enough, almost on the exact date as the last time I'd worked on my website, one year ago) that I will reopen my online journal.

It's funny how we ourselves change over time, one year ago my goal was to have an awesome blog that had tons of .gifs and stupid little features that were of little to no importance... I spent my days skateboarding, playing on the computer, playing the guitar, and doing other "fun" things... I've lost much of the desire to do these things now (although music is still a large part of my life). I've always tried to keep my eye simple, my focus is on Jehovah, I live for him and the one whom I plan serving alongside in my pursuit of glorifying his name and teaching others about him. This website reflects my lifestyle, I've decided to keep it simple, no comments, no special features, just a simple journal to jot down passing thoughts, reflections, things that catch my interest and so on.

I won't lie, one of the main reasons for this website is to inspire myself... sometimes we let things out subconsciously that we'd never even have known were inside, and by re-reading what I've written I often find them and come to certain realizations that will help me continue to better myself and to come closer to an understanding of who I really am, what I'm doing and why.

I wont be changing the URL from "decemeberstars" merely because I don't feel this website is of enough importance or even significance to be worthy of my spending money on it... IMO it's barely worth my time to create, hopefully the outcome will be.

I dedicate this and everything here to my girlfriend Cassandra. She is my real source of inspiration and motivation, without her I'd be nothing (still). BTW the picture above was taken by and of her... thank you Honey :)

Just in testing I'd like to end this entry with a quote by one of my favorite bands mewithoutYou, it's a verse from the song: "In a Market Dimly Lit" off of their 2006 album: "Brother, Sister"