Window Installation

On Saturday morning I returned to the same Habitat for Humanity build site that I worked on a couple of weeks ago to complete my sweat equity. It was nice to work under the same supervisor, as he already knew our skills and abilities. Plus, I got to know him a little more. We worked hard to four hours installing windows into the house. I was super excited because I'd never installed windows and it was fun to learn. There are many detailed steps, but it's actually simple and quite an enjoyable task. Habitat's standards for windows are far above normal starter homes; they install trays at the bottom of each window to catch and divert leaks and tape every side of the window twice.

Here I am getting ready to tape the edge of this window with the father, Jay, of the family whose house we're building.

My team for the day!

I really enjoy building alongside the family members who are receiving this home. I got to know Jay and found out that he is from Senegal and attended a French school because of French colonization. We were also building with another couple who was doing sweat equity for there Habitat home that was going to start construction in early July. They were both from Somalia and spoke hardly any english, although they've been here for eight years. Columbus has such great ethnic diversity...in that one day of building the U.S., Senegal, Somalia, and Eritrea were represented. 

Think about this

The Weather is Changing

It's that time of year again.  School begins in a week and the smells of fall are beginning to inhabit the morning...along with brisk temperatures. This is the best time of year; September is right around the corner! This time of the year offers so many new beginnings and fresh starts, more than January does.

Here are some of the wonderful things about fall:
- School starts...or a new work year
- The leaves change colors and fall from the trees...offering ample piles to jump in
- Cool mornings and nights
- Sweatshirt weather
- Crisp air
- Bon fires
- Thanksgiving
- Coziness

And so much more...

As I did last year at this time, I will post my favorite song, September by Earth, Wind, and Fire, because I believe it best encompasses these feelings in music.

Always checking the clock

It's been awhile...life has been crazy.

So, I get stuck sometimes watching the clock and waiting for it to move a little faster.  This often happens when I'm sitting in a class that isn't interesting or working on a dull day.  I wish I could get out of this habit and learn to let time move as quickly or slowly as it wants.  I do realize that if I don't focus on it, time will move faster.  I simply need to engage myself in the subject at hand or in interesting thoughts and ideas when I'm feeling these waves of "boredom."

I don't consider myself a person that get's "bored;" I can always find something else to do.  But, this is not the case when you're stuck somewhere you don't want to be, so there's nothing to be done about it.

Any suggestions? I may just have live through these moments of "waiting" and learn something from them; it's just very frustrating sometimes.

One Memory for Eternity

For my english class this summer our assignment is to pick one memory/moment of our lives to live with for the rest of eternity.  The memory should not be long, it should capture a feeling in a instant. This is a response to a the Japanese film "After Life" directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, in which people are guided through the process of picking their one memory. 


I've been racking my brain about what my memory would be.  Should it be from childhood? Should it be an ordinary moment? Should I be alone or with other people? It's a really difficult question but it makes one think hard about life and what stands out as significant memories and important ones. 


Just for fun, try it yourself. Pick one memory to be your only memory after death, one memory to feel forever.  What would it be?

An Unbounded Universe

Some thoughts on sciences big question: Is the universe finite or infinite?

If the universe does have a stopping point, how can there be nothing beyond that?  There has to be something more out there.  I know that we’re supposed to leave our common sense behind when addressing these topics, but my instinct can’t let there be nothing past the end point.  However, some people think there may be no stopping point.  This only complicates things further because how can something go on forever? Where is it going? The initial question behind all of this is: what is infinity? What does that even mean?
 I don’t even know how to go about beginning to solve a mystery such as infinity of space.  It seems that math can’t answer this particular mystery; there is not one answer.  In order to unravel the universe I think that we have to just look.  It sounds simple and naïve and I know we can’t see infinity but how can we calculate something that doesn’t “exist” or “exists” more than anything else on this earth?

Its mind-boggling and the more I think about it the more confused I get.  This is when I have to resort back to my belief that everything and nothing are really the same.  That makes it possible for nothing to be at the end, because it’s everything and there is no end.  Both speculations can be true. The universe is bounded and unbounded.

My Idea of God

When I was three years old I asked my parents, “What is God?” They didn’t have an answer for me, at least not a short and simple answer. But I answered the question instead with my own belief. I said, “I think God is everything…and nothing, because they’re really the same.” To this day I still stand to this statement, because it so beautifully and simply describes my faith.

The Cowboy Theory

I was waiting for a train to pass last winter and the snow on the train tracks was flying up under the wheels.  I usually wouldn't think anything of it, but it looked like a shot from the beginning of a film. 

 

Everyone dreams about their lives being like those in the movies. And although it's cliche, I think that we often don't realize how "cool" our lives truly are...we take what we have for granted.  Several years ago I began living by the theory that my dad created...The Cowboy Theory.

The Story: When my dad was little he used to want to be a cowboy. He dressed like one, played wild games, read all the stories of the west...But then he realized that an actual cowboy may not feel the same way about his own life. He wouldn't necessarily see the "romanticism" of it.  To a cowboy...his life was ordinary.

Our lives may seem plain and simple, but with a keener eye we can see the glory of them. If we begin to look at our lives as something that someone else may dream of, they become much more interesting.  Our lives become like the movies.  Pioneers or people of the future would find our lives fascinating. It's weird, but true. 

When I started practicing this theory I was surprised at how awesome things were that I used to find so boring and normal.  Tiny things excite me now and make me think, "Life is so cool." I find myself these days, "high on life," thrilled by the smallest things imaginable. It keeps me in perspective that what I have is just as good as what those cowboy had.  I just have to remind myself often..."cowboy theory, cowboy theory." 

September

Just a quick blurb...today felt like the first real day of fall (though it is only September 3)! I love September, not just because it's the month I was born, but because it marks the beginning of what I believe to be the best season. Today it actually smelled like fall.  The leaves have started to turn, the air is getting crisper, and, to everyone's relief, the temperature has dropped to 80 and the humidity is subsiding.  There's nothing better than a great day like this to put you in a good mood!

(This feeling is so perfectly captured by Earth, Wind, and Fire...check out the link below)
Video of September by Earth, Wind, and Fire