Monday Muddy ramblings

I have been trying fairly hard to come up with songs further and further in advance for my Monday blog entries, but the past seven days have been a whirlwind for me, and i am writing this in a somewhat fuzzy state of mind so it may be even less coherent than usual.

First, i do not have a song for this week. 8(  Alise is so much more faithful than i when it comes to this weekly offering.  I apologize dear readers.  I love music so much, but it is often hard for me to narrow it down to just one song, especially a song that i have not (preferably) used before.  And then, when i wait until the last minute, i often run out of time.

Last week i made a new "friend" on Facebook.  It is a woman who is a fellow MouseHunt player, but she also has a daughter who deals with Autism.  Granted she has been placed in a restricted group of my friends, but through her i found a new blog of her struggles with Autism (she lives in the UK), and as a result a whole new set of "link branches" to click and read.  Soon my mind began to swim.  Not that i do not feel for these parents, or care about what they are going through, but i began to feel overwhelmed in regards to my own struggles with my son.  Still, it was nice to meet someone with similar interests and struggles.  In a way... it was nice to see we are not alone in our struggles.  I would have to read some more, but i think the parents in the UK have it harder, or maybe it's just how good the support is we have where i live.

I want to develop my own little blog award.  Is that egotistical?  I do not come across a lot of blogs that i admire in regards to spiritual matters, and i am not trying to say that because i admire it, it is right or wrong.  I just want to have a way that i respect it, and perhaps have a way of creating links to such blogs to personally recognize them.  I mean... i am not anyone famous... my blog does not really have all that many followers... please feel free to post a comment and share your thoughts...

I was poised to get going on my writing last week when i had a minor revelation... i am hesitating because i really am not sure how to think, and write, from an alien perspective. As i have done "research" i have found someone i would consider an "Authority" on all things (Warhammer 40k) Eldar ~ Gav Thorpe.  I recently sent him an e-mail to ask a few questions in regards about how Eldar think, etc. and he took the time to answer!  His answers made me re-examine a few character traits, or at least how i might try and write them.  And not only his answers, but the brief excerpt from his book.His first Eldar novel, The Path of the Warrior, was just released and Amazon.com has notified me that it is on its way to me!.  I am really looking forward to reading his book, and over the course of time i have learned that this is just the first of three!  Yippie!  The Path of the Seer, and The Path of the Outcast are the next two.  While i am eager for the last title the most... i will have to wait the longest... but i think it will be worth it.  I have another "chapter" to release on my short story blog... but i think i should proof it at least one more time.

I will close this week and say that i have learned that no matter how "noble" my intentions are, my execution of such are not always at an optimum level.  For many reasons, many of which i do not fully comprehend (and that is OK), COWGIRL and her children have moved out.  She was offered a whole house to stay at rent free (just utilities), and that is an awesome opportunity for her and her family.  A ton more space and a chance to just be alone as a family - which is really important during this time.  Please continue to pray for her as she continues to seek out treatment for stage IV colon cancer.  The path ahead is still uncertain, and is filled with many a rock, but she has a really good fighting spirit and is really taking charge in making sure she gives herself every chance to fight this disease.  Changing her diet, seeking the elders to pray over her, and anything else she can think of.  I will try and keep people updated in the weeks and months ahead.  If you know me IRL and want a better means to keep up, please let me know.

Happy Birthday!

As of tomorrow my Toyota Echo will be10 years old!  It has a little over 126k miles on and all but one of them has been under my ownership.  It has been a great little car and i am hoping it goes for at least another ten years.  When i bought it i had considered the Prius, but went with the Echo because it has a timing chain instead of a belt, it gets over 40mpg at times, and the battery technology was still too new for me to feel comfortable over the long haul at the time.  If i were making the choice today i would probably side with the Prius though ~ even with all of the troubles in the media of late.

Last night i had to do some work at the "widget factory".  it was the 4th time in the past two weeks i've had to come in at midnight, and it is wearing on the mind and body.  But that is not really what i want to talk about.  The season is moving on towards summer and last night was a beautiful demonstration of this.  I have grown up, and really lived most of my four plus decades, in the Washington D.C. area (this region is pretty big stretching from almost the Baltimore beltway down South to Fredericksburg, and from Annapolis all the way out to the foothills of the Blueridge Mountains).  I have many memories of Washington summers, hot, sticky, and powerful thunderstorms growing up.  Last night the air was still, but heavy with humidity.  The air had not cooled off all that much as of midnight so it felt really thick.  As i got ready to come in i could see the flashes of "heat lightning", even though the sky looked clear with the almost full moon in radiant display.  As i got into my car i could see the line of clouds that the lightning was flashing throughout.  While it didn't rain while i was on my way to and from work it was a magnificent display of the incredible power of summertime Thunderstorms.  I love thunderstorms.  I found myself missing being out in the wood line at night, sitting in a field chair, with my rain gear on of course, and just watching a storm come through.  Especially at night when the lightning flashes subtlety.

For whatever reason, it made me think of how man has learned to capture and use that power to some degree.  Some might claim we have mastered it, but i will not.  However, we can light up cities like Los Angeles or we can make pulses so fast and yet subtle (the power level equivilant of a barely noticable static shock) that we can use computers to display little characters and pictures on a screen from anywhere to anywhere ~ that has an internet connection ~ in the world.  And then we can turn these "virtual" images, into "hard copies" in print.  Amazing.

My Beloved and COWGIRL were coming through a thunderstorm from Johns Hopkins yesterday.  High winds, hail, all that.  She said that when they broke through the other side of the storm is was beautiful.  While i did not get the sense that this was a sign from God or anything, it is a beautiful real world representation of how our walk through this world is - even for those of us who do not face sever trials like cancer.  Our time here on Earth is but a poor reflection of what those who have their names in the Lamb's Book of Life will experience.  For whatever reason Tunnel by Third Day has been playing over and over in my mind today, so i thought i would share.

I hope everyone who comes by to visit the "dojo" has a restful, thoughtful, and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend.  God Bless.