Wicked Wednesday - 20110309

Hi and welcome to Wednesday Wickedness! We are like other memes in that we will ask you ten questions each and every Wednesday. But our little "twist" is that each week we will pick a famous person and pick ten of their quotes. Each of our questions will be based on the quotes. Got it? Great! Let's begin this week's meme!

Today we picked Whoopi Goldberg. Here's Wednesday Wickedness!

Note:  My responses are a week behind the meme as set up, but it is to allow me to get the responses done (in my opinion) adequately.

1. An actress can only play a woman. I'm an actor, I can play anything.
If you could experience any life form that was not a human of your sex, what would you pick and why?

LOL - it took me a few times reading the question through to get it.  I would love to experience a lifetime as an Elf.  It's not that i think they have a perfect life, but the mythology of the Elves as i know it (which is predominately of the Tolkien variety) really appeals to me.  To have lifetimes to focus on and study different things, and not just one lifetime to study say music, but several such lifetimes.  And not just one subject, but many different ones.  I do not know what Heaven will be like other than i will get to worship God in person, but there are times when i imagine we will get to explore different aspects of His creation and how it pertains to His glory.

2. For some reason, all artists have self-esteem issues.
Do you have any self esteem issues? Do tell. (Since we all do.)

Indeed i do.  I tend to feel that i am i unable to be all that i could want to be, and yet... i know i think to highly of myself.  This may seem like an odd dichotomy but let me expound upon this.  I tend to be very critical of myself.  I perform self evaluations almost daily.  What have i done that i could improve upon.  This is a never ending deal because there is always something that i could have done better, a harsh remark not spoken, a reassuring compliment not spoken, more time spent doing something other than playing on my HTC EVO.  Then there is my relationship with my Savior.  Although God in His kindness has shown me glimpses of my own sin and depravity, the image is but a shadow of just how deeply i had/have offended the Holiness of God.  Just a pinch of leaven will pervade a batch of dough, so does a pinch of sin in my life.  It is only by the grace of God through the work of Jesus Christ am i am able to stand before the Throne.

3. I am the American Dream. I am the epitome of what the American Dream basically said. It said, you could come from anywhere and be anything you want in this country. That's exactly what I've done.
Do you believe in the American Dream or has it passed through time?

I do for the most part.  While i know it is not perfect, i do feel that many of the freedoms that make it so are slowly being stripped away.  America is great, not because we have given everything to some, but because we have allowed hard work to be rewarded.  I do not have all the answers, nor are all my opinions correct, but i do know that you cannot legislate morality and you can not tax a country to prosperity.

4. I don't have pet peeves, I have whole kennels of irritation.
It's been asked before, probably weekly, but what's irritating you today?

This quote brought a slight chuckle out.  8) Nothing particular at the moment.  Things like "failing to plan on your part, shouldn't constitute an emergency on my part",  just because you have to do something you didn't expect or take an extra step in a process because things were not laid out exactly how you wanted does not give you the right to whine and complain - put on your big girl panties and actually do the extra step or two to achieve success.  I tell my children all the time that life is not fair and that they need to learn how to figure out how to overcome the obstacles that appear to be blocking their way.  The sooner one learns to adapt and accept that the world does not revolve around them, the further along the path of success they will be.

5. I don't look like Halle Berry. But chances are, she's going to end up looking like me.
What do you think you'll end up looking like? (A picture would help.)

I can only hope that i will age as gracefully and handsomely as my maternal grandfather, or my father-in-law.  However i think it is going to be more like Statler and Waldorf - those two hecklers from the Muppet Show.

6. I grew up in a time when it would never have occurred to anyone to tell me there was anything I couldn't do.
Has anyone told you that you could not do something?

Way back when i first joined the Army National Guard, i remember being pretty gung-ho.  On my first Annual Training cycle we trained with a team from the 82nd Airborne division.  I wanted to go full time that summer, but the full timers were less than encouraging.  Essentially they mocked and told me that i couldn't do it.  I never did go full time, though i am OK with that.  I like where i am at in life.

7. I want Carl Sagan to explain the sky to me.
Is there anybody dead that you'd like to talk to?

I would love to talk to Peter, James, or John - the disciples of Jesus.  I would also love to talk to the woman who poured the Alabaster jar of perfume to anoint Jesus and washed his feet with her tears.  Lazerus would be an interest evening, especially in the company of Mary and Martha.  These are the ones that immediately jumped to my mind.  As Jesus has risen from the dead... that is the reason He is not on the list.  8)

8. If every American donated five hours a week, it would equal the labor of 20 million full-time volunteers.
Have you ever done volunteer work?

I have, but not as much as i should.  I have assisted with coaching soccer teams, i have helped with some church projects.  My life right now is mostly spent working with my children and getting them where they need to be, etc. Although, i am slowly getting back into some things here and there as i include my oldest... well, to be honest... he is including me.  8)

9. It's being willing to walk away that gives you strength and power - if you're willing to accept the consequences of doing what you want to do.
Have you ever walked away from a job and regretted it?

Several actually.  The first one that comes to mind was the summer i spent working with a pool re-plastering company.  Being the low man on the totem pole i spent my days on the back of the truck busting bags into the mixing machine that weighed between 80 and 120 pounds.  That was hot, dusty work, but i actually enjoyed it.  One day, i just stopped going.  Another was as a shipping and receiving clerk for a machinery testing company.  That was a cake job, decent pay, not very hard work.  Again, one day i just stopped going. Unfortunately there were others as well.  That is what steered me towards the National Guard eventually because potential employers began noticing a trend in my job history.

10. Normal is in the eye of the beholder.
Are you normal? Explain.

Of course i am normal, it's all you other wackos out there that are not.  8)  I once heard a good quote.  Everyone in the world is insane.  Why else would we walk through life that we do.  It's the people who have been institutionalized that have had their eyes open and see the world for how it really is.  Personally, i don't subscribed to that point of view, but it made me chuckle.  We each mold ourselves on our perception of 'normal'.  We see the world through our individual lenses (even as members of a group, we still have unique points of view) and respond as we have learned, or trained ourselves, to.  "Normal" is only a median of a particular group of people.

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I need help

How many of you out there have seen the movie Office Space? Raise your hand... come on, don't be shy. Ok, hands down. How many of you remember the scene where Joanna (Jennifer Aniston) is getting chewed out for not taking to heart the "Flair" concept?

Joanna: You know what, Stan, if you want me to wear 37 pieces of flair, like your pretty boy over there, Brian, why don't you just make the minimum 37 pieces of flair? Stan, Chotchkie's Manager: Well, I thought I remembered you saying that you wanted to express yourself.

Well, way back somewhere my friend "Big Mama" sent me my very first piece of flair, and it has been all down hill since. That was March of last year. It was slow at first. I was able to control myself. I'd add one or two pieces of Flair, maybe share a piece or two. Then the "makers" of the flair app on Facebook added a second flair board to display your flair. So, all of a sudden i didn't need to pick and choose which pieces i could put up. Now i had enough room and i could expand my collection. Later on, i found out i could not just collect other people's flair, i could create my own! WHAT! So far i have created 28 different pieces of flair. Some i have shared with my fellow Facebook addicts, some i haven't. My most popular creation has a mere 70 adds, while the least popular (and still listed in the search engine) have just 1 add - mine. But that has not stopped me from searching for new pieces of flair from time to time. For example, i took some "which ____ are you most like test" for fun. Afterward i thought the result funny enough i searched out a piece of flair that matched the result and added it. Other times i will just search through the top 10-20 pages of flair for that day. If something reminds me of one of my Facebook friends, i send it to them wether they have the flair app or not. *snicker* Or, if i spot one that strikes my fancy i just add it to my collection. Here is a peek of some of my favorites... Each one of them has some meaning to me. Counting from left to right (1-5), top to bottom (A-D)... A1 - DS2 struggles with Aspergers. I love him so dearly, and he tries so hard. A2 - I love music and if i am doing any kind of project i HAVE to have some kind of music playing. So much so that it is fairly common for me to have a song pop into my mind first thing in the morning, and throughout the day. This is sort of my incentive behind my Music Monday entries. A3 - I enjoy Celtic 'weaves', and i am also fond of the 'trinity' symbol. A4 - Come on, you chuckled when you saw this one too. Admit it. A5 - This one just made me smile. I don't really have voices in my head. Yes you do! No I don't! Now be quiet! B1 - There is just something about the rain. I love being out in it, i love running in it. I enjoy doing almost anything out in it. B2 - Fallout 3, enough said. B3 - This piece says it all. Jesus is my Lord. B4 - I LOVE flute music, and my most favorite music from when i was in my late teens and early twenties, was Jethro Tull. B5 - This piece of flair is a picture of the passion i feel for my beloved. C1 - This is a rune symbol combining Tolkien's initials. I love his books so... C2 - Love Kanji - again, it expressing my love for my beloved. C3 - This was the first piece of flair to represent my beloved. She loves Monet. C4 - In the Artillery we had a saying, "Once you pull the lanyard you can't get the bullet back". This is true with the words that come out of the mouth. C5 - I love to write, and when i really get going my fingers fly as fast as they can, but of course mistakes occur and i've found that i've even left out whole sentences/ideas. D1 - Have you ever just gone for a walk with no destination in mind? I love those kinds of walks. D2 - This is a snapshot of one of the statues outside the Carolina Panthers stadium. I love those statues, and i love the Panthers. D3 - This was made from a snapshot of my Honorable Order of St. Barbara award. D4 - I love music... like i said before... and this represents my desire to actually learn how to play the irish whistle D5 - This one was one of the first pieces of flair given to me... also given to me by "Big Mama", and it makes me smile. I am a little concerned... the application's developer is working on even more flair boards! So, then i will have even more room to display my flair!

Balance in all things

When i enlisted in the Army National Guard back in 1986, i had joined the 29th Infantry Division (Light). A division with a proud history that traces back to circa WWI, and the regiments that make up the division can be traced back much farther. At least one Maryland regiment had found itself fighting for both sides during the American Civil War, and on at least one occasion actually facing one another on the battlefield. That is how the division came to have a blue and gray ying yang symbol (pictured above-right). In a way this is what my blog is about today. Now, there may be some of the handful of people who come by this blog who might wonder, "what is a 'samurai' doing talking about a Chinese symbol"? A far enough question, but it has more to do with the concepts behind it - and in a round about way, a tie in to yesterday's blog entry. While there is a well known eastern philosophy based on opposing forces in constant conflict, and yet making the whole, there is at lease some Biblical agreement to it.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, ESV)

Yesterday i broached the subject of how i liked the background of Elves. I seemed to focus on how these mythical creatures live in harmony with the environment, but that had not been my sole intent. What i wanted to illustrate is that the concept of the Elven race is that they truly try to live in harmony not just with the environment, but within the world in which they find themselves. They pursue whatever they are trying to learn about and understand, not just at face value but in how the particular subject interacts with the things around it. In an ideal world i feel that is how we Christians should be living as well. Before i go much farther i also want to say that in a fallen, sin filled, world - it is impossible to live at peace with everyone and everything. There are some people, and some things, that just don't want to live at peace unless it is on their terms. Christians are not innocent of my accusations here either (the Crusades and the Inquisition come to mind). As i read through the Bible there are several things that speak to me about searching out balance in my walk with Christ. I am completely forgiven (i.e. fully justified), and yet i am to work out my salvation (i.e sanctification). While the husband has been made the head of the wife, they are equals in the sight of the Lord and the husband is to serve his wife. There are many other examples of how "bad things" are turned on its head and result in God glorifying things. I am in no way trying to twist the Bible to make it conform to a form of eastern philosophy. Nor am i attempting to make my understanding of the Bible filter through such a philosophy. But what i am trying to say is that - i am a finite being. I do not have insight to things that i am not directly involved with, and when i am directly involved - even then my point of view is skewed because it is strictly from my own. Even Paul talks about trying to live in balance with those around us:

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23, ESV)

While Paul is illustrating from the point of view of personal relationships, and i am sure that is the way he intends it, i feel that it lends it self to other areas of our lives as well. Because people interact with things and situations, our focus of being 'all things' needs to be more than just the 'thing' in front of us. How does this impact the things and people around it. Will we ever be able to do that perfectly? No. It is impossible to be "all things, to all people" because we are truly finite, but that does not mean we shouldn't try. That is what peaks my interest in the folklore of the elves... at least as they are portrayed in the world of Tolkien (and subsequent 'universes' based where he first trod). Ultimately we find our balance in Christ. He is our ultimate source of the balance that we need to seek out. Why? Because we are finite and it is not possible for us to be all things to all people, but He is. That does not prevent us from trying to adjust as God leads. Can we be what we need to be? Yes, because as we put ourselves in position to be used of God it is He who makes the changes, it is He who speaks through us, it is He who is at work in/through us, it is He who is putting us in balance. So, i guess in a way, not only do i try and live my life as a samurai in the service to my Lord Jesus Christ, i also try and live out my life as an elf would in regards to how i try and interact with my surroundings.