Got some new glasses...

...and moved to Washington DC!

When Life is Exciting...

I just don't write blog posts. My apologies. :)

Simple and Wild and Free

The time is approaching. Soon I’ll be back in the cold world, and this one will be a memory. This world, where life rubs up against you on every side, where everything is simple and wild and free.

Bainbridge, Chagrin Falls, Cleveland, Ohio. None of those places are home. Similarly, the world of asphalt and busy people on cell phones, millions of cars and shopping malls, don’t strike a chord in my heart. I miss some people there, but not the places or things.

Here, I never forget that I’m alive. Majestic natural splendor rubs itself all over me, and I fit in as part of creation. But the rubbing doesn’t stop with a jellyfish or a soft sea breeze. Fallen humanity has a very obvious way of rubbing its grime all over you here. Evil is present, and it’s thick. But again, I know my role; and it is a priceless gift to be on the Victor’s side.

Soon I'll be going back. Back to where the air sure ain’t soft and society feels just as cold. I’d like to blame that on all the stupid asphalt, but I think the real problem is the mask. People there have perfected the skill of politely hiding sin and wounds and pain. Evil, too, is more hidden. And it all drives me crazy. I want to tear the polite masks off and find something real underneath.

So I’ve been asking myself: why? Why do I feel like a square peg in a round hole at “home”? And why – though I don’t really fit into Belizean culture – does it all make more sense here?

I think I know why. Good and evil feel more dramatically real here. And knowing my role in this battle, I never forget that I’m alive. I’ve never been more alive.

Part of my soul lives here, simple and wild and free.

Still Alive & Kickin

This here's an update. Yes, yes it is.


[Find out more about my life on Joe's blog.]

Well, I'm back...

Back from a short road trip, which turned out to be an adventurous learning experience. Traveling is so broadening. If done right, it presents you with wildly new experiences, forces you to think (a lot), and hopefully stretches your entire perspective on life. Our trip did just that. We drove for hours and hours over the worst roads I've ever seen and entered another world... A rainforest sprinkled with remote Mayan villages. I found it especially interesting since I'm reading the autobiographical account of Alan Rabinowitz, the chap who started the world's first jaguar preserve in Southern Belize, which was just down the road from our lodge. Jaguar is a story of Dr. Rabinowitz's interactions with the Mayan people - which hit hilariously close to home for anyone who's spent a decent amount of time in Belize - and his wild jungle adventures.

Soon, I'll be back again. Back to Cleveland, and then to somewhere else. That somewhere is still undetermined, so if you will, please pray for God to lead me to the right job. Thanks. :)

Raising the Dead in Me

Twenty-four oceans
Twenty-four skies
Twenty-four failures
And twenty-four tries
Twenty-four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
With twenty-four drop outs
At the end of the day

I had listened to these words countless times, but they didn't come to
life until I heard Jon Foreman explain the circumstances under which
they were written.

There's twenty-four reasons
To admit that I'm wrong
With all my excuses
Still twenty-four strong

Written the night before his 25th birthday, these reflective lyrics are 
sobering yet hopeful.

But I want to be one today
Centered and true
I'm singing "Spirit, take me up in arms with You"
You're raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
And you're raising the dead in me

Pity is Very Underrated

Last night one of my eyes kinda hurt after I took my contacts out, but I figured it'd go away. I was wrong. Instead of curling up in my comfy bed and dreaming the night away, I lied awake for most of the night. The sharp pain that stabbed my eye was almost unbearable. All I could do was lie there. I tried to look at my eye in the bathroom mirror, but that wasn't gonna happen. I couldn't pry my eyelids open when the light was on. It hurt too bad.

Morning finally came, and so did help. One of our neighbors, Dr. McClain, is a retired ophthalmologist from Wyoming. He came over with some of his instruments and - immediately after looking at my eye - made the diagnosis: "you've got an ulcer." He used our computer to look up a few brand names of the antibiotic eye drops that I needed. And then came the joy of finding a very specific medicine in a third world country. As I lied upstairs in bed, my parents called lots...and lots...and lots of pharmacies. None of them carried our first choice antibiotic, but one pharmacy had Gentamicina, our other option. My parents took the boat to town and picked up the eye drops, which I am now using every two hours.

Living at home isn't always a joy ride, but it sure is nice when something like this happens. Soon, when I move out, I'll miss that. Who wouldn't? As George on Seinfeld says, "pity is very underrated." :)

Oh yeah, and the eye is steadily feeling better and opening wider. The ulcer is visible, which is kinda cool, but hopefully it won't be tomorrow.

Multiple Choice: Why haven't I been writing?

(a) Now that Joe has a blog and is writing everyday, I've regressed back to blog slackerdom. Joe does a great job of describing life here in Belize, so I don't need to...right?

(b) Sometimes I come up with a great chain of thoughts and decide to share that insight, but by the time I sit down to write, it's gone. Oh well. Someday, people, someday...

(c) I've been living on an island* for almost two months. Enough said.

(d) All of the above.



If you answered (d), then give yourself a pat on the back.

Let's just hope March brings better writing. :)

Mean Joe Greene

My little brother Joe has a new blog. It's good stuff. You should check it out.

Maybe I'll Write in Here More Often

I'm going to miss Brian. He's leaving on Saturday. I can't believe it's been a month since he got here. Where did the time go?

It's also hard to believe that I'm almost 23 years old. I don't think I've come very far in the past year. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it I almost wish I could start over and try 2006 again. My 23rd year wasn't my best.

Well that was depressing, wasn't it?

Nature's Roller Coaster

I was bred to live, learn, and love marine life. As children, my brothers and I spent our days in the water and our nights watching the fish tank in our living room, which was full of creatures we'd caught in the wild. The first time I snorkeled I knew the reef was something special; and since that first shot of awe, my appreciation for beauty has continued to mature.

The roar of waves crashing on the reef...
The soft sea breeze pouring over me as our boat tears through the water...
Bright colors...
Puffy clouds...
An approaching rain shower presenting itself as a white wall...
The diversity of marine life...
Orangey-pink sunsets...
Starry nights...
They take my breath away.

And that pretty much sums up our trip to Turneffe with the Carlsons. It was memorable, to say the least. But more notably, this trip afforded me the opportunity to discover a new passion... Sailing. There's nothing like sailing in 10-12 foot swells. You feel minuscule. And you are, compared to the waves. Unlike hiking the grand canyon or climbing any mountain, the boater (or "sailor") interacts with each wave. You're tossed every which way. So all you need is sea legs (i.e. balance and lack of seasickness) to enjoy an incredible ride. Sailing is the ultimate boating experience.

It's been a while, so here's an update...

Read-a-licious:
I just finished reading Surprised By Joy. A fantastic book. In fact, I rationed my reading so that I could savor it longer. But alas, I arrived at the last page yesterday. It was tragic, really.

Same old thing:
I still like chick flicks. I still don't like cold weather. (Speaking of which, you northerners are getting it pretty easy this year!) Seinfeld...still funny. Exercise...still satisfying. Coke Light...still my choice beverage. Moonlit walks on the beach...still awe-inspiring. Clive Staples Lewis...still the man.

Good excuse:
Due to technical difficulties, it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to post underwater pictures online. My computer is...well, it's broken. And I (or, more likely, someone else in my family) seem to have misplaced my camera's USB cord. But thankfully I have over 2 GB in memory cards, so someday, somehow I'll have lots of underwater pictures to show you.

Plans:
Next week my family's going sailing on a 43' catamaran for five days. We're going to Turneffe, an atoll off the coast of Belize, with our friends from Yukon, Canada. It's going to be amazing. The reef there is pristine, the fishing's incredible, and heck...we're sailing.

Recently...

I've become a junkie. A chick flick junkie. Everything from Sleepless in Seattle, to Gone with the Wind, to Pride and Prejudice, to Runaway Bride... You name it, I've probably watched it in the past week. And if I haven't, I might tomorrow.

Three exciting things:

Today's my parents' 24th wedding anniversary.

Joe and I started running today.

And Brian's coming to Belize on Friday.


...bye.

Changes in Latitude

Although retirement was fantastic, I've decided to pursue a career in underwater photography (alias: Joe's homeschool teacher). Hopefully some of my pictures will be good enough to post on here. And if they're not...well, I'll just post them anyway.

Also, wordpress is becoming more and more appealing.

Glory

One day, eyes that are blind
will see You clearly
One day all who deny
will finally believe
One day hearts made of stone
will break in pieces
One day chains, once unbroken,
will fall down at Your feet

So we wait
For that one day
Come quickly, we want to see Your...

Glory
Every knee falls down before Thee
Every tongue offers You praise,
with every hand raised
Singing Glory
To You and unto You only
We'll sing Glory to Your name.

One day, voices that lie
will all be silenced
One day all that's divided
will be whole again
One day death will retreat,
and wave its white flag
One day love will defeat
the strongest enemy

So we wait
For that one day
Come quickly, we want to see Your...

Glory
Every knee falls down before Thee
Every tongue offers You praise,
with every hand raised
Singing Glory
To You and unto You only
We'll sing Glory to Your name.

We know not the day or the hour
or the moments in between
But we know the end of the story
...when we'll see Your...

Glory
Every knee falls down before Thee
Every tongue offers You praise,
with every hand raised

Singing Glory
To You and unto You only
We'll sing Glory to Your name.


Written by Nichole Nordeman. Performed by Selah and Nichole Nordeman.


Reading the lyrics doesn't do this song justice. Check out the real thing on Selah's "Bless the Broken Road: The Duets Album."

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

I'm retiring early and heading south. Check out our hot new website.

Ohio State is to Beast as Michigan is to Victim

It's that time of year again... Time for my annual Thanksgiving rant about the weather. These posts are pretty ironic, considering the occasion, but maybe this one will be a breath of fresh air.

As I looked back and read my Thanksgiving posts from last year and two years ago, I noted two improvements:

1. It's not snowing this time around. I like that. Instead of snow, we're experiencing Cleveland's version of "sunny" and about 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). And this makes me happy, as long as I don't acknowledge my plummeting standards.
End: weather.
And noooow some introspection...

2. Judging by those old posts, I feel more thankful this year... Thankful that I'm not spending this winter in freezing, grey Cleveland. Thankful for a loving, supportive, and fun family. Thankful for friends that are worth crossing state lines for on a weekly basis...friends whom I will miss dearly during our three month separation. And last but definitely not least, I'm thankful that this life is just a shadow of what's to come for those who know and truly believe in Jesus Christ. Nothing compares to that...that hope, that relationship, that Savior. Yet I often find myself distracted from what really matters......that.

Business Plan

Surely you've heard of canola oil, olive oil, and corn oil. How about soybean, sunflower, palm, and peanut oils?

Imagine how many olives, peanuts, and ears of corn we could save from the press by harvesting oil from a renewable source. Well. I propose that we replace these common cooking oils with human oil. Yes, human oil.

Everyday countless teenagers waste precious oil as they lather and rinse their greasy faces. Instead, young entrepreneurs could harvest this oil and make a bundle off their skin.

Save some veggies, some nuts, some soap. It's a win-win proposition, really.

Sore Muscles

My arms and back are sore, and I love it. There's nothing like stretching out and feeling yesterday's workout. But ironically enough, the same sensation of soreness can be awfully unpleasant when it results from sleeping on the ground or in a strange position.

I wish sleep deprivation worked the same way as muscle exhaustion. When you stay up late doing something fun and exciting or wake up early to do something constructive, the resulting tiredness would be gratifying. If that were the case, my droopy eyelids would feel so good right now.