*Insert Title Here*

I've been sick for the last three days. I've spent more time in the bathroom then I'd care to admit and I still feel pretty gross. But that's not gonna stop me from seeing Spider-Man 2 tonight at 12:30. My computer is still pretty weak. I'm thinking of converting back to Mac after hearing their virtually bulletproof when it comes to viruses.

Not Even Creative Enough to Come Up With a Title...

After a short sabbatical courtesy of the creators of the Keylog-Briss and Downloader-GT Virus, I'm back to blogging. My computer still isn't completely up to par, though. I've got a few bugs upon startup that I can't seem to work out, so it looks like I'll be picking the brains of my more computer-savvy friends soon. I found out Monday that one of my major job sites was given only a certain amount of hourse, a fact that I had forgotten, and I ended up giving them 20 more hours than required. That wouldn't be a big deal if I had other places to fall back on, but now I only have one site a week. So I dropped off an application at the Pennysaver, and I'm gonna be pounding the pavement a bit more in the next few weeks, hopefully landing a solid job that pays halfway decent. And no, I'm not gonna blame my job loss on George W. Bush. But I'm not going to steer political in this post, mainly because I'm tired of all of the focus on the Clinton Memoir (Who else thought that ol' Slick Willie would've tried to get Fabio to pose for the cover at one point?) and the Michael Moore Propeganda film (I refuse to acknowledge Moore's latest piece of clever editing as a documentary), I'm a little burned out on the political thing right now. So I'm not going to write about politics, at least not today. I actually don't have a lot to write about. Small random things, and that's about it. +The House+ Well, the Mortgage Process is in full swing, and I spoke with our loan officer today about when we'll find out about approval and what not. Since we've been pre-approved, she told us it might be as soon as two weeks from Monday. Our closing date is mid-August, and we're currently looking into early occupancy, so we can enjoy our new home for the better part of the summer. I went to look at the house last Friday and I can't wait to move in. There's only a few projects that need immediate attention, but other than that, it's gonna be awesome to have a place of our own. I won't have an office per-se, but I do have an office area, and my own work shed. I do need to buy a new desk though, along with a few other things. +Summer Plans+ We'll be house sitting for the first two weeks of July, and since I won't have a laptop, I might end up "going dark" on the internet for that time. There's a computer there, but I'm not sure how accessible it will be. I'll keep the three or four of you regulars posted. VBS is in a few weeks too, and I have to print posters. I also have to confirm teachers, etc. Ahh, the joy of youth/children's ministry. I'm going to a midnight showing of Spider-Man 2 next Tuesday. I can't wait... We bought season passes to Six Flags Darien Lake on Sunday, so we might be going out there a few times. And I've got a few books I want to read, but that's for another post. +Reader Survey+ Just because I like to feel popular, post a comment below so I know how many of you are out there. Think of it as a statistical study. Soundtrack: Rich Mullins - The Jesus Demos

This Dream is Made of What?

I had the weirdest dream last night. Not exactly sure what brought it on, but I’m pretty sure it was a volatile cocktail of Dr. Pepper, Lays Stax Chips, and reading Michael Moore sites into the night last night. So this dream, I have no idea where it started, but I think the first scene I was sitting on the steps of this big building. Like it was a capital building or something, but in the dream this building was where Bill O’Reilly taped his show The O’Reilly Factor. So I’m sitting on the steps, and the only reason I can think of for why I was sitting on the steps is that I was hoping to meet Bill O’Reilly. I have absolutely no idea why I would want to meet him (not that I don’t enjoy his show, but I don’t think he and I would click on a “buddies” level), but I’m pretty sure that was why I was there. I’m sitting, and out of the doors comes Bill O’Reilly, but he’s not dressed like Bill O’Reilly. No shirt or tie from this decade. He’s dressed more like Charles Osgood from CBS Sunday Morning. Striped shirt from Wal*Mart, Brown checkered bow tie and glasses. I’ve never been a fashion mogul myself, but I know Bill O’Reilly doesn’t wear bowties. So anyways, he comes barreling out of the building and I catch him. I’m not sure what I asked him, but his reply was “I dunno – I’m in a hurry. Wanna come with me to watch the taping of a reality show?” Now, what kinda dumb monkey would turn that down? So I raced with Bill O’Reilly to watch a reality show being taped. I think I remember saying something like, “Why aren’t you harder on Michael Moore?” and he replied with “I dunno – I ended up hugging the man once.” And the look on his face when he said that was one of disgust. And it was quite funny. So we get to the television studio, and it’s set up like a sitcom is being taped. Now, I know, no reality shows are taped like this (or are they?) but this one was. I don’t even know what show it was. I can’t remember if I saw the content of the show or not, because somehow Bill and I were transported to the back of a van with my friend Jes?s, and we’re all going to see Ray Romano. Yep, Ray Romano. And we’re going to his house. And somehow I cut to an exterior shot of the van, flying down the hill in my hometown, the place where I grew up. Why the heck would Ray Romano wanna live in a dump like that? And my friend Jes?s, he’s saying that he knows a guy who knows a guy, who’s pretty sure that Ray smokes pot just about every day. And he’s saying this with a weird Brooklyn accent. So we’re in a van, and all Bill O’Reilly can ask is “So, you wanna go see a reality show?” And my friend Jes?s, is saying, “Yeah, my buddy was saying ‘Yo, Ray really likes to smoke the marajahooch’” And I’m not laughing, but observing. And it’s quite possibly the weirdest thing I’ve ever witnessed. Please post comments and interpretations of the above dream in one of my comments section. The Blogger Comments are for Blogger users, and the Haloscan comments are for others. Let me know what you think this whole wacky dream was about!

I Can Only Imagine the Kind of Ads That Blogger Will Give Me if I put the Word "Sex" in the title of this Post

Saw this today at work. Offering choices to women. Choices about sex. What's sad is the only choices they offered were - 1) Condom and Spermicide 2) Female condom and spermicide 3) Diaphragm and Spermicide 4) Spermicide and 5) Nothing at all. See, the problem with that poster isn't that it's offering options. Options are good, should one decide to imbibe in sex outside of the confines of marriage. It happens. Sure, it's not right, but it happens. But it doesn't happen nearly as often as this poster, and society in general would have us believe. Notice the only choices were sexual in nature? What about non-sexual choices - i.e. Abstinence? Keeping your pants on? Saving it? It's almost like the world's given up on the concept of purity. This isn't too much of a surprise, but it's sad nonetheless. Too many people believe that if they graduate high school or college a virgin that they're failures as human beings; as if everyone else has achieved success by "going all the way". Giving into their carnal desires. It doesn't have to be that way. We have a choice. It's not anything involving latex and spermicide. It's a choice to save the one thing we can offer our spouse that nobody else can have. I'm so glad that I could give that one thing to my wife. That pieces of myself aren't laying all over Western NY. That I don't have to worry about any kind of diseases because she and I have only had each other and nobody else. It's not impossible. I just wish the world would see it that way too.

I could put my fist through the computer, but I don't want to make a trip to the hospital

I was just putting the finishing touches on a brilliant blog entry, when the computer crapped out on me. All sorts of colorful words came to mind, and some even escaped through gritted teeth. I hate this computer. I need a new one. Anybody willing to donate? Soundtrack: Starflyer 59 - The Fashion Focus

G'bye Ronnie - Thanks for the Memories....

I don't have any distinct memories of Ronald Reagan. I remember that he was the first President that I noticed (I mean, let's face it, despite being born in the Carter era, he was forgettable to an infant...maybe even forgettable to everyone else...) and I remember that ol' Ronnie had more guts than any other president in the twenty years prior to his two terms (I'd say a close second was JFK, ya know, with his Cuban Missile Crisis thing) and I remember when he threatened the bad guys - not sure who the bad guys were - by saying "You thought America would be passive -- you thought wrong." I remember the '84 election, mainly because at the church I was going to, they handed out a flyer with all of the candidates on it, and I thought to myself - "Sheesh, why's the other old guy running with a girl as Vice President?". Forgive my seven year old sexism, but that's what I thought regardless. I remember hearing about Reagan's 49 - 1 victory over "the other old guy" some months later. Then came Iran-Contra, and "I don't recall", and George H.W. Bush winning the presidency in '88. And then Reagan quietly slipped away from the public eye. Bush, and then Clinton were a far cry from Ronnie. Nobody could match his old school toughness, his passionate speeches, his victory over the Soviet Union without firing a shot. Ronald Reagan embodied what a president should have been, and you can whine and moan about "Reaganomics" all you want. With "Reaganomics", Clinton wouldn't have had nearly as good a time spouting about the health of the economy during his two terms. Reagan did a lot for this nation, and his death brings a lot of sadness to a lot of hearts. In a lot of ways, Reagans death is the end of an era. The end of old school toughness. Sure, people have called GW Bush a cowboy, but he's not a cowboy in the "Let's scare 'em all into line" sense that Reagan was. But hey, if he wins in November, he's got four more years to live up to that legacy. So farewell Ronnie, you did us well.

Feel the burn!

Tomorrow we go see the banker about financing the house. I'm trying not to be mad at her, since she said nothing about putting any money down, but now I have to pay her tomorrow and have three grand by closing - and that just ticks me off. Here I thought this was going to be easy. The problem I always have when I feel the stretching come on, is that instinct to look back and try to see what I could have done different. Not faith. Looking back. I doubt that's what God would have me do, but for some reason I struggle when the stretching comes. When I feel that tension in my spiritual bones, I want to relax, pull back, not let the muscles build into what God would have them become. Instead I'd rather fall into a pile onto the couch, thinking back at a time when I didn't have to worry about mortgage payments, school loans, buying diapers and car repairs. When my biggest concern was what time "He-Man" was going to be on TV and what I was going to have for dinner. Funny how we idealize the past even if it was as far from ideal as humanly possible. So here I go, trying to fudge with numbers, not seeing the possibility in them, but knowing that God has His hand in this, no matter how much the clouds of doubt conceal that fact. So I steel myself, feel that burn, and vow not to relax. Even if it's the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life.

Could the Impossible be Possible?

In about twenty minutes from now, my landlady, who is also our realtor, is sitting down with a nice couple to show them our offer for their house. Yeah, you read that right - Michelle and I are actually in the process of buying a house. I am in the process of buying a house. No matter how many times I write that, read that, or say that, it still sounds weird. For many of the people that know me well, the words: "Jeremy Zehr, Homeowner" sound as normal as "Jeremy Zehr, Professional Baseball Player". It's just not something that I would ever aspire too, mainly because of lack of talent. Because, in a lot of ways, I don't look at owning a house as owning a home, I look at it as owning a long-term, never-ending project. Maybe it's because I've seen The Money Pit with Tom Hanks far too many times, or I've watched people I know buy homes and sink a lot of money into them. Maybe it's because I grew up renting and the concept of owning a living space is just weird to me. But most of it's because I have a great fear of tools. I don't know what it is, exactly - but when God seemed to be handing out the "mechanic" gene to the guys being born the same day as me, it's quite possible he ran out when he hit the "Z's". Maybe it's because I've never had to worry about learning how to fix stuff. But mostly it's because, I'm just too darn clumsy. Either way, I'm trying my hardest not to be cynical about the home thing, but I can't deny my excitement. I guess in some weird way, I often expect disappointment so I set myself up for it. I'm not saying that's a good thing, but it's something I struggle and fight with every day. Even moreso now. And in fourteen minutes, we'll know if we have to negotiate further, or if we're going to get the price we want. Either way, I'll try to let my excitement get the best of me. Dissapointment, or the thought of it, just plain sucks.

Lyric of the Day ---

"I must be an acrobat, to talk like this, and act like that, you can dream, so dream out loud, and don't let the bastards grind you down..." ~ U2 "Acrobat" from the album Achtung Baby

Isaiah 49: 24-26

"The Lord Contends with those who contend with us - the victim of the tyrant shall be rescued."