Something different

Today being my nine-thousand, five-hundreth day alive, I figured that the time was ripe for you all to know what is going on in the ever-evolving life of me. Several months ago I applied to another job that I was overqualified for, that I would be great at, and gave one helluvah interview. In my opinion only, seeing as that I did not get the job. I began to ask myself the incredibly important question: what am I doing with my life? This is a good question to ask one's self every once in a while. I was tired of getting turned down for jobs that I was overqualified for and that wouldn't make me that happy anyway, so I decided to think through the possibilities that were laid before me.

One of those possibilities was going back to school. My parents had suggested this idea late last year, whilest I was in the midst of a near-nervous breakdown. I hadn't given it much thought, seeing as though I had no idea what I would go back to school for. And so, as I was reconsidering this option, I found myself running. A lot. It was before it got hot enough to not go running nearly everyday, so I was out running quite often. The questions I was asking myself while running were this: a) what type of job would make me happy [happier?]?, b) what type of job would allow you to help people?, c) what type of job would fit within my theological mainframe?

As I was reading through my journal this afternoon, I realized that this idea occurred in my mind months before this much more thought out realization. My friend, the Britch, had graduated from Trinity with a health and fitness degree, and now is a personal trainer [kind of]. This is a job in which I can help people, enjoy myself and feel comfortable theologically [I have a high view of the stewardship of one's body - you only get one!]. So, I researched, job shadowed, chatted with all sorts of folks and I'm taking the steps to complete a degree in health and fitness management at Iowa State.

Now, along with this came the whole process of trying to figure out whether or not to move, or to change jobs and all the other decisions that come along with this sort of thing. And then things started lining up. Chris and Katie got engaged and bought a house and Chris' room at the Wilson house opened up. This is house with five other great guys and is pretty much what I was hoping for. There are several painting jobs that are going to be available for me, and in the meantime I still have my job at the firm [warehouse]. And in the fall I'll be taking classes at the local community college, just to give a buffer zone, in case I realize that this was a stupid idea and decide to back out.

I realize that this is a bit of a jump, and that I am [at times] quite nervous about the endeavor on the whole. What seems like a great idea at times can turn out to be a complete and utter disaster, so I am walking with fear and trepidation, asking God to bless this journey. If nothing else, I feel that the new community will be a blessing in my life. This does not, however, negate the community that I have developed in DSM, I will still be participating in PLEDGE groups and with Survivor nights. It will just require a bit more driving.

And that's the news. My apologies to those who I wish I could've shared it with in person, but since I'm beginning the moving process next weekend, I figured I should declare it sooner that later. It's new and exciting and a little bit scary, so do pray for the whole thing to make sense and work out according to God's will. And come visit me up in Ames, we'll have fun times and maybe go running. Peace out. you have my love.

Twenty and six

I turned twenty-six today, and for some reason it felt much like any other day. Maybe it's because I worked more than I usually do from the hours of nine to five. Twenty-six makes me realize that [most] birthdays will no longer be milestone-esqe. Certainly they will allow for the occasion to enjoy the company of friends and a belly full of good food, but the numbers don't mean as much. What did matter to me was the well wishes of those that care about me. A good friend of mine told me "happy birthday", ten or so times, and I appreciated it each time. This is my first Facebook birthday, and it was certainly fun to get all sorts of messages from my Facebook friends, even if the only way they know my birthday is from an online networking site reminding them of it. I received one voicemail of a duet rendition of the song "happy birthday," it was quite marvelous. I guess the realization I'm coming to is that from now on birthdays, for me, may be less about what I get or how old I become, and more about who shares in the joy that I was indeed born on that day in July some years ago. And I'm quite alright with that. As for the obligatory thoughts on the past year, I feel that my post from the twenty-eighth of May will suffice. Life has been hard, weird, good, fun, and at times, mundane. But these times, they are a changin', aren't they? I'll have to tell you all about that at a later time. As for now, I just want to thank you for all your kindness and love on this twenty-sixth birthday of mine. you have my love.

I've got some theories

Okay, first of all, Ryan and I discovered today that there is a muskrat living in the warehouse. There was some initial confusion on what it was, and one theory that it was jut a huge rat, but it's definitely a muskrat. We've decided to befriend, then tame it, with the hopes that one day we can train it to do our warehouse tasks. Outsourcing, it's a wonderful thing. The rest of this post is my thoughts and theories on the new and last Harry Potter book that arrives after midnight tonight, so if you haven't read book six, which you should, and you don't want to know what happens, read no further. But you should check out this picture, which a) is awesome and b) resides somewhere in West Des Moines. Also check out these guys, who love music and Harry Potter, and are some of my friends from up in Ames. Yeaa.



Snape: is he good, is he bad? I just finished rereading The Half-Blood Prince a few days ago, and went very carefully over chapters containing the battle in, and outside of, Hogwarts. There are lots of things to draw on, but the one thing I think that says it clearly is when Harry calls Snape a coward and Snape freaks out on him, declaring that he is indeed no coward, and screams this with a great deal of pain in his voice [page six-oh-four]. My thoughts are that it was incredibly difficult for Snape to go through with what Dumbledore asked him to do, and that it pained Snape very much so to kill the only person that ever trusted and believed in him. So I would imagine that we would find Snape to be a good guy, though he'll have a hell of a time convincing Harry of that. And I would be glad for it to come about this way, it's always good to see redemption, whether in literature or in real life.

Second. Will Harry die? Now, to preface this is the idea that Harry might be a horcrux. But honestly I don't think Harry can be a horcrux, for Voldemort would have wanted to create the horcrux with the most important death that night, that being the murder of Harry Potter, the one of whom the prophecy spoke. But since the curse backfired and Harry survived, Voldemort wouldn't have been able to create the horcrux, if that's what he was even intending to do. So, saying that, I don't think it's necessary to kill Harry to bring closure to the story. But all in all, I think he will face the hero's death. I'd sure like him and the rest of his friends to survive, but I just can't see that happening. I guess we'll find out soon. Okay, that's enough nerdery for one post, enjoy the read my fellow nerds. you have my love.

Eibsee

I was talking with a government official today about passport renewals and it struck me that it was almost five years ago that I left this continent for the first [and only, thus far, for those of you keeping score at home] time in my life. As I sit in the warmest room in the house [the only room with internet and without air conditioning] I can't help but think fondly of those days in Garmisch when we would go into the mountains and it would be cool enough to wear wool sweaters [in August!]. For some reason I think of those times as simpler, though I know rightly that they had plenty of strife. If I had known that the coming school year would have been so instrumental in my life, would the trip have been any different? I had a dream more than a few months ago where I was in Germany and on a run, I can only hope that someday I will live out that dream. I'd definitely run around Eibsee Lake a few times, if only to enjoy the scenery. Until then I'll just have to put up with the searing heat of these midwest [post East?] summers. you have my love.

Footnoted

One day last week I had a short but powerful dream just before I woke up. It was just so real and the emotions within the dream were so strong that they carried with me throughout the day, and still, six days later, I am sometimes emotionally nudged by the dream. I'm not sure what the dream means, or if it was any sort of omen or prophetic vision [doubtful], or perhaps a foretaste or glimpse of something I had taken for granted or even given up on. It is very strange how much impact that this one dream, probably less then two minutes long, has had on me over the past week.

A few other notes on the life of Travis; I've been overcoming a cold that absolutely ravaged me this weekend. There was a lot of time spent watching television and movies to say the least. It has been a great few weeks seeing friends from out of town and having a lot of good laughs and chats. I've been letting my beard go a bit and it is wonderfully full and fluffy and not-so-pretty. I feel like I should be shirtless and changing a tire or cutting down a tree or something, i.e. I like it. And lastly, I'm visiting Portland in less than a month and I'm very excited to see the city and my friends again, it will be better than good. Yep. you have my love.

Potato salad or politics

It seems fairly appropriate to talk politics on Independence Day, especially since every [most] oh-eight presidential candidate is in Iowa this week. Including Senator Barack Obama of Illinois who spoke at a local park this afternoon, with yours truly in attendance. I've come to the point where I realize that no one candidate's platform will line up perfectly with my own opinions, and that really, in U.S. politics at least, you have try to find a candidate that gets as close to what you want and make a lot of the decision based on the candidate's character, attitude and such. Now, do I agree point by point with Senator Obama? Not really. But I believe that his attitudes towards the issues at hand [education, healthcare, Iraq, the world's perception of the U.S., etc.] are agreeable to my own attitudes regarding such issues. Does this mean that he has my oh-eight vote? Not entirely, but he's close. And yes, I did get to shake the senator's hand and get a picture with him [see below!]. I've also had several good chats/readings/viewings recently about power, politics and revolution lately, so I thought I would post a few quotes and make you think a bit.

"It's hard enough to start a revolution, even harder to sustain it, and hardest of all to win it. But it's only afterwards, once we've won, that the real difficulties begin." - Mohammed Larbi Ben M'hidi, from the film The Battle of Algiers.

"Any system that demands power for its own sake will never be capable of doing what is truly good" - Myself, in a conversation with the ever brilliant Monica [back from Peru for a short while!], discussing the nature of governments and organizations in general that have great power.

"It is impossible to be both a Christian and a nationalist... Do we believe in the holy, universal church, the communion of saints? Or do we believe in the eternal mission of France [or maybe the U.S.]?" - Jean Lasserre, as quoted in Wind's Dietrich Bonhoeffer, A Spoke in the Wheel. Later in the book it tells of the point in World War Two where parts of the German state church replaced the cross with a giant illuminated swastika. Nationalism became idol worship; it's sad and scary, but think about how easily it could happen in this age and day where fear abounds. Thank God for His Kingdom [and its theology]. you have my love.

[My apologies to those of you who thought that potato salad would be mentioned in this blog. It's just that I had some really good potato salad tonight and I couldn't really land on a titile for this post. It's totally whatev.]


Senator Obama, Monica, and myself.