sometimes...

...life sucks.

my wrist has hurt for about 2 months now
my back has been hurting constantly for over a week
i haven't slept well enough to wake up rested in over a week
my mower has developed a transmission problem
my (new) bike has blown up and decided it no longer wants to run
my truck's starting problem is getting worse
my truck needs an alignment
beth's car needs an alignment
we have a wedding to go to this weekend (which, weddings are good, but since beth is IN it we have to drive to cincy separately, on separate days, which means i'll have to sleep alone, and when i do get to see her we'll have to sleep on the floor of her old bedroom, and all this costs money because beth will also be going out for the bachelorette party (haha, google doesn't think bachelorette is a word) and the rehearsal dinner and all this means lots of money)
we currently have in our account... umm, ok i won't tell you that but not nearly enough to cover half the things listed.

now, stepping away from my life and looking at it from the outside... from a "christian" perspective, i know we're supposed to have "trials" and "tests of faith" and all that... but HOLY CRAP! CUT IT OUT! I'M TIRED OF BEING PISSED OFF, WORRYING, AND NOT GETTING TO RELAX AND BE HAPPY WITH MY WIFE!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

i want to walk outside and start swearing at the top of my lungs until my throat is so sore i can't continue.

Another Tract...

soo...
beth came home from work today with another tract someone had left her at work. it reads (the parts in curly braces {} are my comments, they're not actually printed):

Thank You! {then it opens to say} Thank You! We say it so often...{gives examples} Sometimes we show as well as say our thanks...{gives examples - and one of them is "when we leave a small tip" - remember this later} I'd like to show my appreciation to you by telling you something that is of far greater value. It is simply that the greatest gift in the world can be yours for the asking. That give is the friendship of my best friend -- Jesus Christ. He took away my sin and guilt and gives me joy and peace. I serve him with loving obedience and find in Him my life, my hope, my everything!

and then it has a bible verse and another line or two about how this is the best thing the person who left the tract can do to say thank you to the one receiving it.

at first glance this one seems much nicer than the last one. none of that fire and brimstone type of outreach. (that's soo 1600's) but look a little deeper - the person straight up says that a 'small' tip is a great way to say thanks. so they think a larger tip isn't? or just that less money means they liked your service more? (remember, beth is a waitress...) honestly i think most people would disagree. a 'small' tip generally means they DIDN'T like the service you gave and are just leaving a tip cuz it's the right thing to do, not that they want to say thank you. a tip of 15% or more is what is generally considered a 'thank you.' especially since the VAST majority of a waitress' salary is made up of tips, n'est pas?
it also says that leaving this tract is the best way the person could say thank you. OK...show of hands: who out there really thinks a single sheet of paper 5" square saying basically "Jesus loves you" is the penultimate way to say thank you? even the tract AND a tip would be better. or if you don't want to leave a tip at all, what about actually TALKING to the person you're trying to outreach to? be interested in people. ska albums notwithstanding, quality really is job one - not quantity. and even if quantity really is job one, what good is it to tell someone Jesus loves them without giving them any help getting to know him? the closest comparison to handing out a tract is:

~you're walking down the sidewalk in town and someone with out of state plates drives up and asks you how to get to a store in town. you reply "go to the library. they have maps" and walk away.~

now, yes your response was slightly better than ignoring the person. and there very well may be maps at the library... but how can they even find that? telling a person to become a christian does no good without AT LEAST pointing them in the right direction to make that happen. it's much better to actually walk with them and HELP them on the way.

oh did you also notice that in the tract, when 'he' and 'him' referred to Jesus, sometimes it was in caps and sometimes not? inconsistency is dumb. just like misspelling. grr.

it unscrews the other way

i've been quite lax about updating my blog. but yes, things have been going on. here's a short overview:

-work has added a new portion to the building and i had to move all the stoves to it
-work has started selling tractors and i had to learn everything about them
-work has decided to send me out on the road making me work nearly 10 hours a day
-my parents and local restaurants have been making it difficult to plan the rehearsal dinner
-had to finish up invitations and get them sent out.
-did you get yours? i hope i didn't forget anyone.
-got all flustered because the church decided we couldn't have the house
-got all flustered because everyplace else to rent was more money for less home
-got all confused and untrusting cuz the church said we could have the house again
-started moving stuff into the house
-been having to mediate between my parents and myself, beth, and her parents (those were only 2 sides)
-do you know how hard it is to mediate when you're on one of the sides?
-went to see Order of the Phoenix this past weekend
-couldn't have our last counseling session cuz pastor forgot
-zair has been keeping me up at night some times
-i've been very exhausted most days
-i'm broke
-seriously this was the past 2 weeks. the short version. and i probably forgot half the things that happened.

i'm getting really tired and annoyed about all this stuff again so i'm going to bed.
one upside to all this... starting saturday i get to take a short break from planning and all other responsibilities and read HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS!!!!! w00t!!!!!!

they put them there for a reason, you know...

i realised today that i must have missed a memo somewhere. honestly...how could there be this many people on the roads today who have no idea what a turn signal is when (at least i thought) there's a law requiring their use? are there really that many people out there who don't give a flying f... no, umm... a rat's ... wait... who have absolutely no respect for their fellow humans?
think about it... even if there WASN'T a law requiring them, how sadistic do you have to be NOT to use them? let me illustrate: "i'm traveling down the highway, at 15-20 mph over the speed limit. i'm not here to drive, but rather to play an extremely complex game of lane changing such that no other driver on the planet not specifically informed of said game, would ever be able to figure it out. i will drive within 6 inches of your car on all sides, i will cross 4 lanes of heavy traffic to cut into exit ramps after the exit lane has already left the highway and has a 3in. concrete curb between them, i will fully expect you to know and anticipate my moves in this game even though i know this is utterly impossible since i haven't informed you beforehand and therefore will honk my horn loudly and continuously when you do something i don't like until you fix this. throughout all of this, i refuse to use my turn signals or my brakes in any fashion. if i hit you it must be your fault anyway, so what does it matter?"
HAVE A LITTLE DECENCY! do you really think the people around you are telepathic? or just that they don't matter enough to be given any consideration? that's it. from now on if you don't use a turn signal, i won't move out of your way for anything. i won't let you merge, i will cut you off if you try to pass me, and i will purposely drive alongside another car to block the passing lane if there's more than one of you. maybe you'll learn to be considerate of other drivers. ...or at least crash and therefore stay off the road for a few weeks.

the bike's broke

ok here's some background for this one:
-my family is on vacation.
-i'm stuck at home.
-the day before vacation, my sister wrecked my motorcycle and broke her wrist.
-after wrecking my bike, we agreed she would pay for any broken parts.

now on to the story...

today's my day off, so i spent a portion of it working on fixing my bike. (duh) well in the process, i determined the parts needed to fix it properly. so i told my sister the cost of those parts. that's when all hell broke loose. after arguing with her through several terse and CAPS LOCK filled txt messages, i started getting phone calls from my mother.
seriously now... my sister is almost 19. and when she gets into an argument (that she started) she still goes running to mommy to make it all better? since when is this an acceptable action for a supposed adult?
let's take a poll...how many of you out there (over 18) go to your parents to get them to settle your arguments? let's be clear, i'm not saying tell your parents about your arguments, who out there still asks their parents to settle your disputes for you???

in other news, goodnight.