In the Year 3000…In the Year Three Thousaaaaand

Mountain Dew, Red Bull, & Amp will form a partership to combine their technologies into one drink….it will be called “OH HELL YEAH I’M TWEAKING BABY!”  It will be a hit.

People will still speculate whether or not Elvis and 2Pac are still alive.

All of Europe will have transitioned into a nudist continent.

Blogging, Facebook, Twitter and the rest will be replaced by ThinkWarp.  You simply think something, in your mind, and your friends will hear it in their ears.

People will think of the A-Bomb, Napalm, and Nuclear Missles the way we think of spears and slingshots…as in, “Wow, I can’t believe people back in the 21st century had such primitive means of battle.  What woosies.”

Braveheart will still stand as the movie to which all other movies are compared to in terms of overall greatness.

Cows, pigs and chickens will no longer need to be raised and killed.  All meat products will be expertly grown in labratory-factories with giant petrie dishes.  All humans will have become lactose intolerant because of 21st and 22nd century steroid enhanced milk, making dairy products obsolete.

Bill Clinton will be looked upon as one of the greatest presidents in our nations history.  George W Bush will still be the butt of presidential jokes.  Barack Obama will have paved the way for future black presidents, hispanic presidents, and eventually a gothic teenage president.

Because of increased fear and crime, Trick or Treat will devolve into “Knock and I’ll Shoot”.  Of course, shoot is such a present day term, as guns won’t exist as we know them in that time.  It will probably be more like, “Knock and I’ll Say Intruder”, at which point the voice activated home protection system will active the magnetic field under the porch (all people will be required to wear lightweight magnetic shoes, enabling law enforcement to stop an individual at any time by activating the magnetic field under the area in which they stand), causing the person to be stuck in that spot.  It will then automatically alert the local law enforcement agency with a detailed report of the both the person (through use of a retinal information scan, or RIS) and the incident.  Police will arrive within seconds through an underground tunnel system (sort of like a hyperspeed roller coaster with protective tubes that you travel in), and take the person in question to jail, where their punishment, which will actually be the uniform punishment system, will be to sit in a room for 48 hours, where they will have nothing but bread and water, and be forced to watch all 12 Seasons of the early 21st century version of ABC’s “Wife Swap”.

Stuff I’m Bad At

Building Things.  I’m a terrible builder.  If you asked me to build a birdhouse, I wouldn’t know where to begin.  My understanding of what goes into building  a house…foundation, framing, drywall, etc…is basically nill.

Fixing Things.  Similar, but different.  Fortunately, I’m not of the Heathcliff Huxtable ilk … he wanted to fix things even though he couldn’t … I just recognize I can’t … so I don’t.  The extent of my handman skills are in the realm of adding windshield wiper fluid to my car, hanging pictures in the living room, and changing out the air filters each month.

Tolerance.  I hate this about myself.  Sometimes I realize my intolerance and stop it…most of the time I’m blinded by it.  I seem to hold others to unreal expectations of how they should act, feel, speak, live…even to expectation I don’t measure up to myself.  I’m intolerant of people who are dependent on others to do things I think they should do for themselves.  I’m not even really sure where this comes from, but it’s definitely a sour side of my personality that I’m working on.

Cursing.  I don’t consider myself foul mouthed by any means, but I tend to use more curse words in daily life than I’d like to.  It was definitely worse back in my car-selling days….working around drunks, druggies, and curse-every-other-word-because-they-can’t-think-of-better-things-to-say people definitely rubbed off on me a little.  And I’m definitely not a cursing-is-of-the-devil kind of guys…I just don’t like when it’s used as a crutch, as a remedy for the absense of better vocabulary.

Gift Giving.  I’ve shared this before.  Something inside of me just has this sort of disdain for gift giving holidays….Valentine’s, Easter, Birthdays, Anniversary’s, Christmas….it’s not the spirit of the holiday I’m opposed to, but the cultural expectation of gift giving – gift giving as an expression of how much you love or care about a spouse, friend, family member, coworker, etc.  It’s the way you’re looked down upon if you don’t pitch in at the $10.00 office gift swap.  It’s the idea that a holiday somehow isn’t complete unless you buy someone something.  I don’t necessarily apologize for my stance on this….what I’m bad at is letting it affect me to a point where I’m unable to fully enjoy the spirit of the holiday because of my poor frame of mind over gift giving.

Exercising.  Plain and simple…I almost never, ever exercise.

Praying Before Meals.  Plain and simple…I almost never, ever pray before meals.

Team Sports.  This is a combination of my inclination to be reclusive….as well as my intolerance (see above) for the miscomings of others.  I’ve had a pretty terrible competitive drive for most my sporting life.  In college, I would get so mad at my intramural teammates (who, by the way, were my closest friends, but simply were not quite as athletic as I was), that I finally gave up intramurals after my sophomore year, because I could see how damaging this was to my psyche and potentially to my friendships.  Because of this, individual sports/games – tennis, golf, ping pong, billiards, darts, stuff like that – have been more enjoyable for me over the years.  At least in those sports, if I lose, it’s because I was not good enough, and I have no one else to blame.

Small Talk.  I’m definitely not one to talk about the weather.  The weather is the weather.  It happens everyday, all year.  It changes.  It’s hot, cold, rainy, snowy.  The weather is the weather.  I tend to go straight from small talk to meaningful talk as quickly as possible if I can.  The bad part is that, just as often, I tend to go from small talk to I-don’t-want-to-talk-to-you-at-all if meaningful talk doesn’t seem possible or interesting.

Speaking of Tattoos

Speaking of tattoos. 

I’ve considered getting one since I was 17 years old.  I’m now 32 (and a half), and still, no tattoo.  I think there’s a variety of reasons and excuses that have culminated in my being tattoo-less.  Fear of needles, fear of an “epic failure” (see previous post), cost too much, where to have it applied, what would it be, what if I don’t like it, should it be visible to the public, would Kirk Cameron get one if he were in my shoes, and so on. 

Ultimately, I think it’s boiled down to this – I’ve never been able to definitively decide on a tattoo that I am 100% sure I would be willing to display on my body for the rest of my life.  I’ve had a few ideas that I’ve liked okay.  “Rom. 5:8″, which is one of my all-time favorite verses, probably in the standard upper-arm area … a small, almost drawn with an inkpen type cross on the back of my shoulder, to signify “taking up your cross” daily … a butterfly on my lower back, right where my jeans meet my upper buttocks area … a crown of thorns around my arm (until I saw it on about 100 dudes over the last few years) … “IXOYE”, the greek ichthus spelling, either on the wrist, arm, or shoulder … and probably the most elaborate idea I’ve had was to have a picture of the open tomb with the stone rolled to the side to reveal the opening. 

Needless to say, in one way or another, I’ve always sort of chickened out.  And about once a year – and right now for some reason seems to be the time this year – I always revisit the idea.  I think about what, where, will I handle it okay (yep, I REALLY don’t like needles – almost pass out if getting a basic flu shot), will I like it afterward, will I be happy with the decision 5 years from now, blah, blah, blah.  Maybe this year, maybe one day, maybe never.  As has been the case for 16 years, I just can’t decide.

In the Market For a Bike (??)

We’re (sort of) in the market (beginning stages) for bikes.  Sort of as in it looks like we’ll have to spend AT LEAST $400.00 to get 2 decent bikes, helmets, locks, and a bike rack.  And that sounds like (and is) a LOT of dough to me.  To get something more name brand and consumer rated, that cost goes up to about $800.00.

But I know little to nothing about today’s bikes.  What makes the $150.00 one so different from the $400.00 one.  Mountain, urban, hybrid, road, which is better?  There are no less than 12 good, namebrand bike makes.  Which are better and why?  Why do bikes have SO many stinking speeds?  I keep reading all over the web about customers who like their bikes but have problems with gear slippage all the time.  How long do brakes last?  I’m not a fan of handle brakes, I always liked the standard pedal back brake so much better.  How often do they need tuning up, and how much does that cost?  What type of other “maintenance” costs can you expect?  What bike racks are good, and which suck?  Will Knoxville ever start creating actual bike paths on the roadways, rather than just building greenways? 

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.  Do you have a bike?  What kind?  Where did you get it?  Has it been good quality?  What brand should we lean toward?  What accessories will we need to keep on hand?  Anything else you can think of? 

Layoffs, The Economy, and The State of My Stress Level

In the last week, the company I work for has either laid off or “let go” of nearly 20% of our work force. And we only had about 50 people total to begin with, so that’s pretty significant. In my department (6 of us), one person was let go and another is being move laterally to a different position in the company.

What does this mean for me? A lot more work. I’m basically, for the forseeable future, going to absorb another person’s full time duties on top of my own. This will likely mean coming in 30-60 minutes earlier everyday, leaving 45-60 minutes later everyday, and working during lunch most days, just to keep up. I do not know how long it will last, but it could be for a few weeks or a few months, just depends on how our sales are and if we pick up any new clients or accounts.

It may also mean less blogging, since I do almost all of my blogging during work. Since I’m not a smoker and I normally bring my lunch and eat at my desk, blogging has been a good time filler for me during those daily “break” times. We’ll see. I’ll try to keep up, it’s just hard to tell right now.

Why the lay offs? Because a pretty significant chunk of our companies sales and revenue come from companies in the marine & boating industry….and the marine and boating industry is in a really really bad financial state right now, which has directly affected us in a big way. Basically, when it now costs someone up to $200.00 in gas just to go out on their boat for the day, plus the cost of towing it with a gas guzzling truck or SUV, people just aren’t buying nearly as many boats. Pretty simple.

So my stress level is fairly high right now. It’s good that my job is safe, but I’m not looking forward to the huge loads of work ahead of me each day. It’s pretty amazing how one thing – gas prices – can have such a major affect on an entire economy. But it does. Our family gas budget is now almost $150.00 a month more than it was a year ago at this time. And it’s nearly impossible for me to ride a bike or even the bus to work, since I live 23 miles away, pretty much across the county. In fact, I’ve researched the Knox County Bus system online, and there is literally no way for me to ride the bus to work. The farthest west any bus drops off is Cedar Bluff, which is still nearly 4 miles from work. And I would have to buy a bike, get on the bus in Halls at about 6:00am, make two transfers to get to the Cedar Bluff line, get off the bus around 7:50am, then ride my bike the last 4 miles to work. Which then leaves Erin with all the responsibility of dropping off and picking up Eli everyday. It just ain’t happening.

Pros & Cons of Summer

Things I Like About Summer…

1. Driving with the windows down and listening to slighly more rap/hiphop music than I do during the rest of the year.  For some reason, when the windows are down, I just enjoy a little hip hop….the last couple of weeks it’s been Kanye West, but I’ll pop in some Will Smith, LL Cool J, Eminem, Dr Dre, Fu Schnikens, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, and a couple of others as the summer goes on.
2. Never going home at night.  We’re bad at this, but it’s fun.  Erin & I never want to just go home from work during summer.  It’s always which park we can take Eli to, where to get something cheap to eat, where to go for a walk, etc.  Anything but home.  This makes laundry a bit of an issue.
3. Frisbee.  Let me just say this loud and clear….I absolutely love throwing Frisbee.  I always have.  Problem is, I’ve never really known too many people who love it equally.  I can go out into an open area with someone and throw Frisbee for an hour and never get tired of it.  I also love Ultimate Frisbee, but haven’t played it in about 5 years.  Again, just don’t know who/when/where anyone is playing it.
4. Water play.  This summer we have season passes to Splash Country (a gift from Erin’s family).  We’ve already been there 3 times.  There are at least 7 or 8 areas/parks around town that have the water spouts and fountains that shoot up out of the ground.  Eli really enjoys these, it’s really a blast. 
5. Less traffic going to work.  I live 23 miles from work.  It normally takes me about 45-50 minutes to leave home, take Eli to daycare, and then drive all the way to work.  In the summer, because of the lack of school/teacher traffic, that morning commute get cut by about 10 minutes.
6. The U.S. Open, The British Open, and the PGA Championship.  Those are golf tournaments, for those who don’t know.  3 of the 4 major championships in golf take place over a 3 month period of time. 
7. Church camp….granted, I haven’t attended a week of camp, either as a camper or faculty, in over 8 years.  But church camp is very nostalgic for me.  During the summer, I think back often on my camper days growing up, with very fond memories.  I miss my home camp, Camp Calvary.  I had so many incredible times there.  (Want something fun to do?  Visit the Camp Calvary link, click on “camp photos”, and see if you can find me in any archived photos from the 1985 – 1997 era.  I’ll even give you one to start with…1994, Junior High II.  From 1994 to 1996, I think I’m in 11 different photos.)
8. Waking up to sunlight.  I’m not an early bird by any means.  But it’s much much easier to wake up at 6:30am in the summer when the light is already coming through the windows.  As opposed to winter, when it’s 7:15am and still almost pitch dark. 

Things I Do NOT Like About Summer…

1. It’s insufferably hot in the Knoxville area.  The average high temperature from June – August is roughly 88 degrees…and even that seems low, considering how many upper 90’s days there seems to be.  And it’s stinking HUMID.  Frankly, it’s pretty hard to appreciate being outside sometimes when all you can think about is how hot you are, how much you’re sweating, and how much you cannot wait to take a cold shower. 
2. Too much to do, too little money to spend.  We have all these ideas of things we’d love to do during the summer….weekend trips, zoo, day trips, camping, etc….but all the ideas cost money, and we’re on a very tight budget!
3. Crappy Air Conditioning.  The townhouse where we live has a hard time staying cool.  We’ve had it worked on 3-4 different times.  Often we’ll set the temperature at 69 degrees while we’re at work, and when we come home it’s 76 degrees inside the place.  And we never seem to be cool enough at night.  We try to be conserative with out temperature setting to save money, so that’s a factor as well.
4. The lack of a variety of sports to watch.  I like baseball in general, but I do not enjoy watching it.  That leaves golf.  And my wife does NOT like to watch golf, so I catch bits and pieces when I can.  But that’s it.  No football.  No basketball.  The Olympics will be okay, but there are 1000 events going on and they only air about 4 of them, so you have to get lucky to see what you want.  Also, you have to know that we only pay about $12.00 a month for 15 channel cable, so my sports options are limited in that respect too.
5. Yard work.  Luckily, we don’t really have a yard.  And we don’t have to mow the tiny bit we do have.  But I’ll occasionally be called upon to help with some yard work, mainly for my father in law, and it’s just brutal during the summer.  I’m always glad to help and do something productive, but man, you just sweat and sweat and sweat, the grass sticks to your sweat, you smell terrible….
6. Getting into my car.  If it’s 95 degrees outside, it’s roughly 114 inside my car.  For the first 2 minutes, it’s hard to breath.  And my little Mazda doesn’t have the most potent AC, so that takes a while as well. 
7. The lack of rain.  I enjoy rain.  Obviously, like anyone, I don’t enjoy rain if it ruins my plans in some way, but overall I find rain wonderful, refreshing, and just another awesome reminder of God’s wonder.  But I often wish it would rain a bit more during the summer, when you might actually be able to be outside IN the rain, enjoying it, needing it to cool you off, you know? 
8. BUGS.  I really really do not like bugs.  Of any kind.  Ants, flies, grasshoppers, roaches, spiders, gnats, mosquitos, you name it.  And in the summer, they’re everywhere.  It’s impossible to hide from them. 

Either way, summer is here.  I hope you enjoy yours.  Just watch out for bugs.

A Dietary Soft Drink Prayer

Dear God,

This is a difficult thing for me to ask.  I’ve grown up – my WHOLE life – eating sweets, drinking sugary drinks, occasionally binging on honey buns, and pretty much loving all of it.  In fact, during 3 years of college, EVERY Friday when I would leave school to head off to a weekend ministry, I would stop at the local Super America gas station, fill up the car, and buy a Mountain Dew and a Honey Bun for the road.  Every week.  It was one of the things I most looked forward to. 

But now, with great pain and humility, I ask that you might help me develop a taste, and maybe even an enjoyment, of … diet soft drinks, unsweet tea, and room temperature drinking water.  Frankly, it just doesn’t make much sense to “drink” that many calories each day.  In my case, probably an average of 300-500 calories each day come from drinking.  That’s about 3000 calories a week.  Whew.

God, I realize, for me, that this is a lot like asking for an enjoyment of cold showers, looking forward to having blood drawn, seeking a greater appreciation of heavy metal music, or asking for a weekend off to watch an Oprah Winfrey marathon.  But I am serious.  And you are the true and only God.  So anything is possible.  I mean, the Atlanta Hawks just tied up the series with the Boston Celtics at 2-2.  ANYTHING is possible. 

So please help me.  Help me fight through the gag reflex.  Help me overcome the initial complete lack of taste.  Help me see the big picture.  To understand how much healthier I could be simply by drinking differently, and to know that after a few weeks it will likely begin to taste good.  And thanks for being available at all times for anything.  Even something as insignificant as trying to switch to non-sugar drinks.  That’s truly one of the things that make You so amazing. 

Jason

Foreign vs Domestic

I’m pretty frustrated and ashamed of US Automakers.  For the last few years now, and especially after selling cars for 3 years, I just can’t help it.  I drive each day, seeing the vehicles around me on the road.  When I see American cars, I immediately think, “old looking, boxy, gas guzzler, poor design, low quality”.  And when I see (most) foreign made cars, I think, “smooth lines, better fuel economy, longer lasting, higher quality, more innovative looks, better fit and finish”.  These thoughts are ingrained into my mind.

The top selling car manufacturer’s in the US in 2002:  (1) General Motors, (2) Ford, (3) Toyota, (4) Chrysler/Dodge, (5) Honda, (5) Nissan.  The top selling in the US in 2007:  (1) GM, (2) Toyota, (3) Ford, (4) Chrysler/Dodge, (5) Honda, (6) Nissan.  The top selling brands WORLDWIDE in 2007:  (1 tie) GM & Toyota, (2) Ford, (3) Volkswagon, (4) Honda, (5) Peugot/Citroen, (6) Nissan.  Now, there’s a good US presence there, I see that.  But it’s not the whole story.  Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and VW are pretty consistently earning significant marketable profits each year from their sales.  GM, Ford, and Chrysler are consistently losing money, cutting costs, increasing rebates and incentives, shutting down plants, and buying out employees. 

Personally, we own a 2007 Honda and a 2002 Mazda, both foreign makes.  In fact, in the last 13 years, I’ve owned three different Mazda Protege’s, putting a total of roughly 220,000 miles on the three cars combined, and made one repair in 1996 that cost me $300.00.  That’s it.  At this point, I’m pretty much 100% committed to buying Honda, Toyota, or Mazda cars.  I like Nissan okay, but they go a little overboard with some of their designs and interior looks.  If at some point I ever buy a truck, I may consider a Ford or Chevrolet, I’m not sure yet. 

Ultimately, here’s my struggle with this.  What has happened to ingenuity, creativity, and forward thinking in the US?  Why are we so far behind the curve on vehicles and technology?  Why do the newest makes of US cars look 5-10 years older, design-wise, than their foreign designed counterparts?  And honestly, I think it has little to do with the US workforce building the cars.  The majority of “foreign made” cars sold in the US are actually 100% assembled in the US.  A lot of the parts may be made overseas, but those suckers are built here.  By the same workforce available to US carmakers. 

I’m a fan of cars.  Always have been.  If I could, I’d probably trade for a different vehicle every year, just because I like so many styles and makes.  I just would like to see the US step back up to the plate.  Design some forward thinking vehicles.  Make them more fuel efficient.  Make them with better quality.  Please make them actually look better.  Until then, it’s nothin’ but Japanese ridin’ for me.

Fell Off the Wagon

After 6 1/2 weeks, I gave in to my cravings for meat.  I’ve fallen off the vegetarian wagon.  It’s been both yummy and scary.  Let me explain.

About 9 days ago, I ate a Wendy’s single.  That night, my stomach cramped up pretty bad for several hours.

About 6 days ago, I ate a McDonald’s double cheeseburger.  That night, my stomach cramped up pretty bad for several hours.

About 4 days ago, I ate an order of 5 Wendy’s nuggets.  That night, my stomach cramped up pretty bad for several hours.

Now, mixed in with these experiences, I’ve had a pork chop, a steak biscuit, and some sausage.  None of those bothered me.  Just the fast food meat.  All three times.  After only 6 weeks of non-meat eating.  I’m not sure what to think about that.  It surprises me that my body adjusted that much after just 6 weeks.  It scares me to think about what’s in the fast food meat that would affect me that way.  It makes me scared to eat fast food meat again, because I’m kinda tired of my stomach cramping.  I wonder if I would instantly puke from eating a Big Mac right now.  Would I keel over from a Double Whopper?  Is it safe to eat Chinese and fill my plate with 14 varieties of flavored chicken?  Does Krystal’s even occupy a place in my future? 

If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to curl up in the corner and cry now. 

Sports Jesus

I struggle sometimes with making the Gospel relevant to the day in which we live. I realize I am to strive to live like Christ. But Christ lived in a desert. 2000 years ago. And wore robes. And walked everywhere He went. I would love to have a clear idea of how Jesus would live today, in Knoxville, in the year 2008. For instance, would Jesus…

Watch TV at all?

Be interested in sports? And if He was, would He have a
favorite?

Driver an old beater car, or invest in one that would be more dependable?

Not own a car, just ride a bike?

Have long hair, short hair, or a shaved head?

Be a member of a local church?

Rent or own his place of living?

Live homeless?

Have a beard?

Wear only second hand, used clothing?

Read stuff while at Borders without ever buying or paying for it? (like me)

Own a computer of any kind? Use email?

Have anything to say about animal rights?

Faithfully recycle?

Speak out against denominationalism?

Cast a vote in governmental elections?

I have many more questions, but you probably get my point. It’s just so hard for me to wrap my mind around sometimes. Much like understanding why Adam Sandler is still a big box office draw, or why anyone would ever spend $12.00 for a tiny bottle of “salon quality” shampoo. It would be so much easier if God’s Word laid things out a little more specifically…..what type of shoes to buy, whether or not Speedo’s are ever acceptable to wear, and how many cable or satellite channels it takes to constitute gluttony.

And, last but not least, I wonder if Jesus would have loved school lunch pizza as much as I used to? And would He have washed it down by chugging a small carton of chocolate milk as fast as humanly possible? I’ll definitely ask Him that one day.

6 week veggie update

It’s been roughly 6 weeks since I last ate meat. But in the last week, for the first time, I’ve had to fight off some cravings. This past Sunday after church, we drove to Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains. Eli was eating some chicken nuggets from Wendy’s while we drove in the car, and I wanted one really badly. Definitely my worst craving so far. That’s kind of sad, though. My worst craving for meat in 6 weeks is for 99 cent overcooked nuggets from Wendy’s. Pitiful.

What I have eaten is lots of potatos, broccoli, zuccini, squash, peppers, mushrooms, celery, onion, salsa, bean burritos, salads, chips, pizza with cheese and pepper toppings, rice, vegetable soup, ramen noodles, french fries, granola bars, sweets, and cereal. Not a lot of fruit though, which I need to improve upon. And, as expected, the most difficult task is finding something satisfying to eat when we go out and need to grab something quick.

French fries and apple pies just don’t cut it after about the 5th time.

making it official

I guess I need to officially declare myself a vegetarian. I haven’t actually done that yet. It started out as an interesting thing to know about, then evolved into going a few days without meat and realizing I wasn’t morphing into an alien, and now, after 2 weeks, I’m ready to say I’m going to commit to not eating meat.

I need to also say I hope to NOT be constantly be talking and blogging about vegetarianism. But, for the short future, because of the changes in lifestyle and the adjusting, it will certainly be on my mind. I’m not really trying to champion the vegetarian cause, and I don’t think someone who eats meat is gross and disguisting and should be forced to butcher a baby calf with their own hands so they can experience the horror of killing an animal.

Also, I will consider myself an “Octo-Lavo” vegetarian….meaning I will still eat dairy products. Cheese, eggs, milk, etc. I also will not be overly concerned with whether or not something I’m eating was made with animal by-products in some way. These are steps taken to become a true vegan. But I find them daunting and frankly too difficult. It’s like saying, “yes, I’m concerned about the atmosphere and fuel consumption, so I’m going to buy a 40mpg car” vs saying “yes, I’m concerned about the atmosphere, so I’m going to ride my bike to work from now on.” Much bigger commitment, much harder work, and just not for me at this point. My main focus is simply no longer eating meat.

Why am I doing this? (and i should say, at least at this point, my wonderful wife is along for the ride herself, way to go Erin!) Why be a voracious meat eater and hamburger lover for 32 years, and now this? Wouldn’t the Atkins diet be more fun? Won’t I starve to death?

Well, there are several reasons.

1. I’m not much of a diet person. I don’t want to cut out sweets, and I have a hard time with small portions. Vegetarians can eat to their hearts delight. They actually can eat MORE food than meat-eaters, because the food they’re consuming has fewer calories per volume than meat does.
2. Meat provides only two nutritional products….protein and iron. That’s it. But it also provides lots of fat, calories, and cholesterol. And you can get PLENTY of protein and iron by eating grains, nuts, vegetables, tofu, tempeh, and fruit.
3. An estimated 15 – 20 MILLION farm animals are killed every day in the United States in order to meet the demand for meat in our country. The processes used to raise, feed, fatten, kill, and process these animals are no longer natural (not like your grandfather used to do it on the farm). Frankly, these processes are unhealthy. They’re unhealthy to the animals, to the land, to the farming industry in general, and to the food and products derived that we eat. We simply eat and waste way too much meat as a society. As a result, we’ve turned raising livestock into a type of industrialized factory in order to meet the demand.
4. It’s been estimated that the amount of crops/grain/corn/oats used to feed and fatten livestock in the US alone could effective end world hunger as we know it.
5. It costs less. Eating out at restaurants costs less. Cooking at home more often costs less than eating out. Making almost all of our meals to take to work for lunch costs less. A pound of tofu costs $2.00, much cheaper than most meats.
6. I already feel heathier. I don’t feel nearly as hungry throughout the day. When I am hungry, it’s not so much a “craving” as it is just noticing that I’m hungry. In the last 2 weeks, I’ve not had one meal where I felt bloated afterwards (you know, like you feel after eating the Wendy’s double cheeseburger and fries?). And I’ve already lost about 4 pounds.
7. I don’t really like to exercise. Never have.
8. I appreciate what I’m eating more. I think more about where the food I’m eating came from, how it was produced, the work that went into growing and harvesting it, the fact that God provided it directly from his own hand in creation. It has somehow added a spiritual aspect to eating that I never experienced before.

What am I worried about? I’m worried about getting bored of eating the same kinds of vegetables and fruits. About not having time to cook and feeling tempted to grab a pizza from down the street more often than not. About resorting to eating cereal way too often. About friends and family feeling weird about it, not knowing what to cook or where to go out to eat (which really isn’t an issue). About giving meat a try again down the road and it making me sick because my body isn’t used to it. About how it will affect our son, Eli, since it’s almost impossible for a child to be a vegetarian and go to public schools and eat from the cafeteria. We’re not really pushing this on him, but we’ll simply be more careful about the things we feed him when we’re at home. About the “stigma” that people have about vegetarians…that they’re all hippies, animal rights activitists, and want to make you feel guilty about eating an innocent animal. None of which describe me.

I’m certainly open to questions or comments of any kind. This has been a pretty big deal for Erin and I, and is not so much a diet as it is a lifestyle change. I’m pretty excited about it, actually, and hope to stay committed. Before you know it, I’ll be driving an old VW Bug, wearing tie-dyed shirts, working for Greenpeace, and saying “dude” like a true Lebowski fan. But I’ll be lovin’ me some zucchini!

some brief updates on life, music, and vegetarianism

My son turns 4 in about 3 weeks. Amazing. That means it’s been nearly 5 years since I lived a single day without thinking about our child. Some thoughts are wonderful. Some are maddening. Some are frightening. But for roughly 1700 days now, I’ve lived life as a father, rather than just as some guy.

I changed the strings on my guitar last night for the first time in roughly 5 years. Actually, back before we were even married, Erin had bought me a package of Elixir guitar strings for my birthday. Right around the time I had stopped playing. I’ve kept the strings ever since, and finally had occasion to use them last night. It was tough….I never ever have liked changing out guitar strings….but it still felt good.

Because of the example, testimony, and recommendation of our friends Emily & Chase, we bought a rice cooker this weekend. Black and Decker. 14 cups (cooked) capacity with a steamer basket so you can steam veggies while the rice cooks. Non stick removable cooking bowl. Already used it, and I’m very excited. Finally, a kitchen gadget I really feel like I’m going to get real value out of. Unlike the waffle maker, toaster oven, sandwich press, and hard-to-use electric can opener that have graced our kitchen at some point.

12 days with no meat. But plenty of rice, broccoli, zucchini, squash, ramen noodles, pasta, baked potatoes (dan quayle spelling), veggie pizza, a veggie burrito from Salsarita’s, the veggie plate at Shono’s in the City, homemade whatever-I-can-think-to-put-on-it salads, tofu (marinated in heinz 57 sauce this weekend), peppers, and Mello Yellow….a staple vegetarian drink.

experimenting with tofu

Just recently, I wrote this post about my interest in the vegetarian lifestyle. Although I have a hard time seeing myself becoming a “full fledged” vegetarian, there are many aspects about the lifestyle, the diet, and the motivation behind it that I find hard to ignore.

One thing that has peaked my interest is tofu. Never before had I eaten it. And…even though I had not eaten it…I possessed a mindset that said, “tofu is diguisting.” Why would I think that without having tried it? Well, for the same reason you might believe that Jesus was a white man, that Ford builds better trucks that Chevy, or that Nike basketball shoes are actually worth spending $100.00 on … ignorance, someone told you so you just believed it, preconceived notions, advertising, etc.

Sunday was a new day for me. After church, Erin, Eli and I went to lunch at Taste of Thai with friends from church. I ordered the “Rainbow Chicken” meal – but substituted with tofu, and ordered it at the number 3 spicy level (on a scale of 1-5). On Sunday evening, I marinated some tofu at home in soy sauce & honey, chopped up fresh peppers, zucchini, and carrots, and made a tofu stir-fry along with some white rice.

Here, now, after much reading, research, and actually EATING it, is what I can informatively say about tofu.

It’s inexpensive. I bought a 16oz package for $2.00. It’s full of protein and very low in calories, carbs, and fat. It is practically a “flavor sponge”. It has almost no flavor on its own, but totally soaks up whatever flavors you marinate or cook it in. It has a little bit of a spongy texture, but that can be firmed up by freezing the tofu for a day or two, then thawing it before cooking. This is what I’m going to do next week. It’s supposed to firm up the texture even more, to where it feels more like a meat substitute. It’s incredibly easy to stir-fry it. It’s already fully cooked when you buy it, so you only have to cook it for 3-5 minutes, just to heat it through and allow the flavor to really cook in well. You can marinate it in practically anything. It doesn’t really taste good or bad. It’s sort of like eating mushrooms on a pizza. You notice them in your mouth when you’re chewing them, but they don’t really add or take away any flavor from the pizza itself.

Say what you will. Call me a hippy. I can handle it. But the truth is, we all have notions about things that have no foundation in anything real whatsoever. I’ve finally overcome that notion with tofu. Now it’s on to asparagus. I’ve never eaten asparagus, but I still think it’s gross. Although it does make an awfully cute Veggie Tales character.

a meat eating vegetarian?

Trevor – a friend from church, we’re in a small group together – is a vegetarian. Has been for about a year or so. Which is pretty difficult when you’re a Bible college student and the cafeteria serves mainly crap. I think he eats a lot of cereal.

A couple of weeks ago during small group, he explained to me his decision (along with his girlfriend) to become a vegetarian, why they did it, how it’s changed him, what rules he follows, etc. Overall, he’s definitely very “green” conscious, recycles, and has true concern for the health of the environment. I have to admit I was about as knowledgable as the next over-indulging meat-eater when it comes to the vegetarian lifestyle. Which is to say I knew almost nothing.

But I’m glad to admit that Trevor really opened my eyes in some positive ways. Although I don’t yet have a desire to become a “true” vegetarian, I have decided to make a concerted effort to drastically reduce my meat consumption. Since I’m not much on seafood anyway, this would mainly apply to chicken and beef. This weekend, I bought tofu at the grocery store for the first time in my life. I’ve researched cooking and preservation methods for tofu and am anxious to start giving it a real effort.

To be honest, Super Size Me and Fast Food Nation had both served to peaked my interest over the last couple of years, I just never followed up on it. I’ve always eaten WAY too much fast food, have considered meat to be the main course of any good hearty meal, and quite frequently eaten myself into a slow and painful stomach ache. All of which is stupid and contrary to a healthy lifestyle.

Anyway. I’m gonna give this an honest effort. More vegetables and grains. Way less meat. Absolutely minimal fast food. It’s healthier for me. It’s healthier for the environment. And, as much as anything, I think it will simply make me feel better about myself.

2007 in Review

I’ve been wresting over some “top 10″ kind of lists, but I doubt I can put any together. Erin and I simply don’t see enough movies to compose a movie list…and most of the ones we see are ones we take Eli to. I’m very limited in my musical tastes, and I rarely buy new music. I don’t read nearly enough, and when I do, it’s mostly popular fiction.

So, I’m just going to list some stuff from 2007. Some movies. Some music. Some events. Some experiences. Some changes. Some of it may not actually “originate” from 2007, but they were meaningful to me somehow in this year. Without further adieu:

• Sicko, Stardust, Once, Bridge to Terabithia, Superbad, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Ratatouille are very worth seeing. Sicko made me mad. Once and Bridge to Terabitha made me cry. Stardust and Ratatouille made me smile. Superbad made me laugh…and feel guilty for watching it. And The Bourne Ultimatum just got me pumped up!
• Here’s who I enjoyed listening to in ‘07, regardless of the album, song, or dates of release: Caedmon’s Call, Kanye West, Rich Mullins, dc talk, Dixie Chicks, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Passion Worship, Bob Dylan, Alanis Morrisette, and lots and lots of sports talk radio.
• We began attending Crossings in June. Since July I’ve had the privilege of being involved with the setup/productions team every week, including producing, setting up lights, running video and sound, and tearing down after the service.
• “Relative” freedom came in July, after 6 years of punishment.
• Erin & I took our first vacation ever as a couple – and the first real vacation for either us in about 6 years – when we went to Charleston for 4 1/2 days in early September.
• This blog began the first week of July. I’m not sure if I would consider it successful or not, because I don’t know how to define the success of this blog. It’s been fun to write, and I can tell there are at least 12-15 of you out there reading each week, so let’s keep truckin.
• I became an uncle in September. My sister and brother-in-law had their first child, Grayson, and we’ve been fortunate enough to visit them 3 times since his birth.
• The month of April is host to my birthday, Eli’s birthday, and our wedding anniversary. So April’s always a good month, just in general.
• In September a good friend died. I didn’t hear about it for over 3 months. I hope he’s having fun in heaven.
• Around May-June, a friendship was rekindled with a truly great friend that I’d, for the most part, lost contact with for the last few years. I really needed it, and am very thankful.
• In February, Eli and I went sledding on about 1/4 inches of snow. You take what you can get around here.

I’m sure there’s more, but this is the stuff that comes to mind. As life goes forward, I’m really just trying to live better, learn more, serve more faithfully, be more grateful, and realize that no matter what kind of crap may come, my life is far far better than I could ever deserve.

more random thoughts

How do fashion trends actually start? I think one disadvantage to living in Tennessee is that we’re always a little behind the curve on trends in general…especially fashion. For instance, let’s say that a current fashion trend is wearing jeans that are torn. My question is…who was the first person to do that on purpose? Did that kid get laughed at? Where did it happen? How long did it take before 100 people were doing it? Then 1000? Then 10000? Another example might be the big New Era style backwards caps that cost $50.00. I see them all over the place. Again, who wore that for the first time? Where? When? How long did it take until kids in TN were wearing them too? This fascinates me.

Subdivisions are getting out of hand. They are literally everywhere. And everywhere there’s not one, there’s one being built. And they all have such great names like, “Walker’s Point”, “Pleasant Valley”, “Mountain Ridge”, and “Lakeside Manor”. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the country, but I’ve always thought it would be much nicer to own (for example) a $120,000 home that sits on 2 acres of land than to have a $200,000 home that sits 8 feet from the homes on either side of it. Problem is, with the massive amount of subdivisions out there, you almost can’t find a home to purchase anymore that’s NOT in a subdivision. You have no choice. It’s as if Microsoft took over the real estate market. You either buy a home in a subdivision, or you have to wait (sadly) for an elderly family member to pass away and leave their long-held property to you in their will. Or you somehow acquire $100,000 extra dollars to actually buy a piece of property. Then of course you have to build a home to live there. It’s very sad.

Finally, for golf fans. The President’s Cup is taking place right now. And does anybody really care? The entire golf world gets totally siked up about The Ryder Cup, which takes place on even numbered years and pits the US against Europe in head-to-head golf matches. It’s crazy, fans are wild, they yell, both sides just want to kick the crap out of the other. It’s almost like a soccer match in golf. But The President’s Cup is more of a friendly engagement. A nice competition between the best golfers in the US and “the rest of the world” (aka, not Europe). Their jovial, coureous, and everybody wants the matches to be of good spirit and one accord. Very weird. Regardless, Tiger kicked some tail yesterday, which is all I really care about. He’s only 4 months older than me, about $500,000,000 richer, and I’ve been following his career since he was about 13 years old. Amazing. Hope to get to see him play someday. If I’m lucky, maybe in the cosmic scheme of things, my son and his daughter could end up together. Sam Alexis Woods-Edelen…has a good ring to it.

bad night of sleep in a campus house

It’s 7:20am in Johnson City, TN. I’m sitting at an open computer on the 3rd floor of an old student fellowship campus house on the campus of ETSU. 7 of us arrived here last night after playing 18 holes of disc golf in Knoxville. In about 30 minutes, we’re headed out to try and play 4 different 18 hole courses by the end of the day today.

We went to “bed” around midnight. Bed meaning really really old couches spread throughout the 3 floors of the house. I finally fell asleep around 2:30am. Woke up around 6:45am. I’m really exhausted, but ready to hit the courses!

These old campus houses are amazing. There’s probably 3000 square feet of space in here. Room to sleep 30-40 if they wanted. Old, crooked, creaky hardwood floors. Huge back deck. Old tired walls filled with event flyers and student’s favorite scripture verses written in Sharpie marker. Two kitchens, a wide open gathering room on the main floor. A dingy smelling basement with a warped floor and an old Nintendo 64 with some cool games like hockey and Mortal Combat 4. And it works. But there’s only one full bathroom. And the toilet in it barely flushes. Definitely not a real livable house. But I don’t think anyone actually lives in here, so I guess it doesn’t really matter. Even so, as I sit here and type, it’s almost like I can feel the ghost of a frustrated college student breathing on my neck, as if he thinks I’m writing an important term paper than he can copy verbatim and turn in to the professor before I do. Kind of gives me the old Blair Witch Project goose bumps. I think I’ll go ahead and stop before an exorcism become necessary.

disc golf addiction

I’m addicted to disc golf … again. Took up the “sport” in 1999 as a complete novice, loved it, and played it ALL the time. Was pretty good, I guess. Got burned out, life changed, yada yada.

Went out again this past Sunday for the first time in years, and was embarrassed by some friends from church. They were good. I stunk it up. But it rekindled the flame. Bought 3 new discs on Monday, played Tuesday during lunch, played today during lunch. Already my old skills are coming back to me. It’s awesome! Maybe Erin (my lovely wife) will let me play after work…and then maybe again this weekend. If I’m lucky, maybe she’ll start using it as a way to shoo me away if she’s mad at me for some reason…”I’m mad at you right now. Why don’t you just go play disc golf or something!” On second thought, that may not be good logic.

Interested in playing? Check out this database of courses. I’m sure it’s not 100% complete, but it lists over 2400 courses, so maybe there’s one near you! In a way, it’s kind of like tennis….all you’ll need to do is invest about $30.00 in 3-4 discs, and go play as much as you want. It’s great. (yeah, right) Seriously, go find some discs. You’ll thank me. (you do realize all it is..) Yes, I know it consists of throwing weird, hard plastic discs at chain linked baskets. If you haven’t tried it, you just don’t understand. (yeah, just like I don’t understand soccer or hockey or Big Brother 8 on CBS) Fine. I get your point.