c'mon men... man up!

Even if she says she can do it - don't let her... it's just wrong.

come on... be a man! Do the right thing.

POETRY

"Harold and Eileen Messner of New Jersey won the Mega Millions lottery."
Somehow, that just seems right. The Messners of New Jersey play the lottery, who'd a thunk it. :D

I was wanting to see if I could find a picture of them... you know, to see if it fit the mental image I had conjured up. And ended up discovering that an inordinate amount of Harolds win the lottery. Really, you don't have much of a chance if your name isn't Harold.


I didn't find their picture- but here's what I imagine they'd look like.

I'm a racial profiler I know...

Banana Song

A love song by Konyaku Yuna For Dave and John... I warn you if you watch it, no matter how silly you think it is, you will be singing it for days.... and perhaps asking yourself.
Why are banana's yellow??

Survival

So I couldn't sleep last night... (a common issue with me. Usually I can sleep before 4am at least, last night it was well after 5am -ridiculous.) and since I couldn't sleep I thought I would peruse my "Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook - Travel edition". I like to pull it out and study it... you know, just in case.
It's full of usefull things like: How to cross a Piranha Infested River, How to jump from a moving train (one of my favorites) How to pass a bribe - it's a wonderful and useful manuel for living.


There are only few scenarios from the book that I have experienced so far in my travels, but I am happy to report that according to the book my friends and I handled it like pro's. :D
Just in case you get in a spot of trouble one day (like we did) -

Here's "how to jump from Rooftop to Rooftop."

1. Look for any obstructions if you have time (You may have to clear short walls, gutters or other obstacles as well as the space between buildings)
2. Check your target building. (Make certain you have enough space to land and roll. If the target building is lower than your building assess how much lower it is. You risk broken ankles or legs if there is more than a one-story differential in the buildings. If there are two or more stories, you risk a broken back.)
3.Check the distance between the buildings. (Most people cannot jump farther than 10 ft. even at a full run. If the buildings are farther apart than that you risk catastrophic injury or death. You MUST clear that distance and land on the other side, or be able to grab the ledge on the other side. You could successfully leap across the span of an alley, but not a two lane street.)
4. Pick a spot for take off and a spot for landing.
5. Run at full speed toward the edge. (You must be running as fast as possible to attempt a leap of a distance of more than a few feet. You will need 40 to 60 ft of running room to develop enough speed to clear about 10 feet.)
6.Leap. (Make sure your center of gravity is over the edge of your target buildingin case your whole body doesn't clear the span and you have to grab hold. Jump with your arms and hands extended and ready to grab the ledge.)
7. Try to land on your feet, then immediately tuck your head and tumble sideways onto your shoulders, not forward onto your head. (Because you will not be moving fast, it is safe to roll head over heels, unlike jumping from a moving vehicle.)

Got that??

So hard to live in a place that's not "home"

"and we´re living life with people who see a different side of you, and that other side is dying to get out." - a quote from a California girl now living in Iceland.
I remember this type of culture shock, it can make you so lonely. I've experienced it in every place I've lived, including Canada... The feeling that you can never really be known anymore, because these people are are still too foreign to you and your way of life. It's easier if there is someone with you from your family or close friends, but when it's just you, you feel like you will never be really known again. It's hard to live a life alone. I thought that if your realtionship with God was on track in fact better than on track - I thought if you loved God you shouldn't feel like this, but no matter what your brain tells you, your heart can't always think that way.

There was this time in Israel I got so incredible lonely I thought I couldn't take it. (Maybe I already told you the story?) I wanted so much just to run back to Canada.... Even though I loved the work and the people, and I loved God so much... but I just couldn't stand the aloneness. I prayed often that God would heal my hurting heart, and I heard all sorts of beautiful verses, that should be encouraging - but I felt almost inconsolable. I needed a miracle. I needed a tangible person, someone you can see and touch and joke with. Oh how I missed joking around with people that spoke english as their first language.

One day when I was particularly down, I went for a walk so I could really pray (I concentrate better when I am outside and walking). I hadn't gotten very far, when the verse "Fear not for I have redeemed you I have called you by name, you are mine" came to mind. It had just been Shabbat, and in our congregation the pastor always quoted it during communion. I loved it. God calls to us by name... it's not just "calling all men unto Him". He called me. I thought about it, but I told God that today it wasn't enough. I needed a tangible Him.
Then this crazy thought came to mind.
Maybe... maybe God would let me call Him by name... I remembered a verse that says He gives us new names. So I asked God if I could have a new name for him. Not Elohim or Jehovah or Jesus - these names although belonging to God and therefore good- still seemed to be God in heaven, God in the Roman era, God that is somehow intangible.

So as I walked down Ha Gafen street I asked for a new name for Him, and believe it or not the name Avner immediately came to mind. I asked Him, "Abner? Really?" But the name came so quickly into my mind after I had prayed, and seemed so far from a name I would have chosen for God myself, that it seemed it must be Him.
Abner, huh??
Abner, Avner (Same name, different accent) - for me conjured up images of some hillbilly in worn overalls sitting on a porch with a toothpick in his mouth wittling some unidentifiable object.
It made me laugh so hard. That God, Lord over the entire universe... King and creator, would let me call Him Avner. It made me feel loved, it made me feel known. He knew what I needed was a bit of a laugh. He knew what I needed was our own private joke.
I was just learning Hebrew at the time, and knew that Av meant Father so the name made some sort of sense. Later (when I was living in England actually) I finally looked up the meaning. It made me love Him even more.
Avner = Father of Light.
"Nerah" a derivitive of Ner - means visible or seen.

My heavenly Father making himself visible to me, and shining light into a place that was dark for me.

Beautiful huh?
No I don't really call God "Avner", although I did for a day or two then. It was enough that He gave me that name and showed me how personally He loves me, knows me, calls Me by my name.

It wasn't the last time either. God has consistently been light in my life when all around me seemed black. He consistantly gives me reason to laugh. He has these little times of joking and teasing (yes teasing) that make me love Him so much more and pushes away the loneliness.

God loves you, you are known by Him, and He can be the Father of Light a visible and tangible Father in the dark places, the sad places, the lonlely places of your life.

Oh Happy Day!

After almost a month of unpredictable and unreliable internet
we are back online.
Funny, but I hated doing anything on the computer when we didn't have internet. I had no idea how much I used it until we
couldn't rely on it.
I seem to always visit IMdb after I watch a movie.
I look up whatever I've found slightly interesting on the news.
I google friends I haven't seen for a while. (And usually find them or a connection to them - AMAZING!) And of course, keep up with the lives of friends and family through their blogs and email. God willing we won't be booted offline anymore - particularly frustrating after typing a good email or post or comment. You can never rewrite it the same and it's never as good.
Even now I am powering through this post, because I don't quite trust it yet.
Anyway, it's good to be back!

I kees you!

Well, I have been holed up in my basement room for so long, I wonder if anyone would really notice if I ran away. Something I have been sorely tempted to do these days.

Have you ever had that feeling of being claustrophobic in your own skin, and you just need to run!

I need to run. Running inside (in my basement room) doesn't cut it, and running outside in these icy conditions isn't quite safe, so I may need to flee to some sunny hotspot and just freedom run.

I wish my old roommate Marieke was reading this (she almost never stops by). We talked many times (when we were both in Israel) about doing a video called "freedom running". The running style is based on the Pheobe run from friends, Arms and legs flailing. We found that it made it almost effortless to run uphill and living on mount Carmel - well, there are almost no flat surfaces it's uphill in almost every direction. Freedom running is murder on your knees, but uber fun, especially in semi crowded areas of the city. Meex, if your reading this, vouch for me...(no need to comment and tell me I am a nerd - I know it full well.)

I know, I know a strange and awkward post. So, ummm.... any of my southern friends fancy a penniless roommate for a while? Call me :D