Fix You (formerly titled Getting to Know People Better)

I was looking at a friends' blog and saw something she wrote about getting to know people. (Read it here.) There are definitely some things in there that I can relate to about Christian community.

What about you? Do you find that when you talk about personal stuff, maybe not-so-happy stuff, not really looking for advice, they just try to "fix you" and give you advice? Do you find that you do the same thing when people open up to you? Usually I'd prefer to just discuss whatever is on my mind and know that I'm not the only one thinking or feeling that way. Maybe some advice would help at some point, but a lot of it doesn't do much for me. But since I sometimes try to fix people, maybe the others don't really mean to try to fix me either. So patience probably is necessary. And Christian community has been good to me in many ways too. I've had some great discussions, been very encouraged, and I've been supported and empowered in other ways too. I've encountered people who were on the journey like me and didn't try to fix me.

And now, some random song lyrics that this post reminded me of, even though I'm not sure if they have anything to do with what I wrote:

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
when you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

--Fix You by Coldplay

Anticipation (Part 2)

More than five hundred years after Part 1:

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

--Luke 2:1-7 (NLT)

And eight days later a man named Simeon gave Mary more to anticipate, both good and bad:

This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.

--Luke 2:34-35 (NLT)

Skiing

On Thursday my brother and I drove out to Sunshine Village (in Banff) for some skiing. Actually, he joined the dark side (snowboarding) several years ago, so he snowboarded. The weather was a little windy and snowy, but it was great to get back on skis after almost a year of not skiing. Pretty well every run was open and the snow was good just about everywhere except at the top of Goat's Eye Mountain. Up there, the snow was hard-packed with rocks sticking through. (A word of advice if you're going there soon: when you get off the Goat's Eye chair, go left (facing up the mountain), not right. The snow to the left isn't good, but it's better than the stuff to the right.) But once we got down to the tree line, Goat's Eye had some of the best skiing of the day. The snow was good, there was moderately-difficult glade skiing, and there were nice, wide, steep runs too. It was great.

I didn't bring a camera, so I'm going to show you this shot from one of Sunshine's webcams instead. This is what the place looks like right now. Click on the picture to see all three webcams.

Job soon?

I had my second interview with Sherritt today. This is my first "second interview" of this job search, so I'm getting more optimistic. It is competitive though, so I don't know if I'll get it. I think it would be a good job though.

It's so much fun-akkah to celebrate Hanukkah

I've never actually celebrated Hanukkah, but apparently, that festival is going on right now. So here's a little something from the Talmud about the origin of Hanukkah:

When the Hellenists entered the sanctuary, they defiled all the oil that was found there. When the government of the House of Asmoneans prevailed and conquered them, oil was sought (to feed the holy lamp in the sanctuary) and only one vial was found with the seal of the high priest intact. The vial contained sufficient oil for one day only, but a miracle occurred, and it fed the holy lamp eight days in succession. These eight days were the following year established as days of good cheer, on which psalms of praise and acknowledgment (of God's wonders) were to be recited.

(And thanks to Adam Sandler for writing the title for this post.)

Happy Hanukkah, everyone!

Daring to Dream

Today a few friends and I began making plans to build a mansion. One of the main ideas is that we want everything to be big. For example, someone suggested the toilets should be so big that you can count the seconds before the sploosh. But then someone decided the toilets should be bottomless instead.

Every room would have a giant lava lamp. There was a bit of debate on whether we should be able to swim in the lava lamps, or if we should use real lava. We might be able to do both if we can get special suits.

I'm probably going to have to find a job before I can move out of my parents' house and contribute to building this mansion.

Ed Stelmach's New Job

Ed Stelmach gets sworn in as premier tomorrow. I think he comes across as an intelligent guy with a lot of integrity. I just sometimes wonder if he's too nice. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. For one thing, there's free food at the swearing in ceremony. That alone makes him look good.

I don't know if anyone's been trying to leave comments on this blog, but I'd just like to remind you, you do not need a Google or Blogger membership to do that. Just pick "Other" or "Anonymous" in the "Choose your identity" area. And that "Word verification" thing is just there to make sure spammers' computers don't leave comments.

Now when will I get a new job?

Anticipation

Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,
a light will shine.
You will enlarge the nation of Israel,
and its people will rejoice.
They will rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest
and like warriors dividing the plunder.
For you will break the yoke of their slavery
and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.
You will break the oppressor’s rod,
just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.
The boots of the warrior
and the uniforms bloodstained by war
will all be burned.
They will be fuel for the fire.

For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!

--Isaiah 9:1-7 (NLT)

The Final Vote

Tomorrow we pick our new premier. I know I've been down on Ted Morton and I haven't really mentioned Jim Dinning or Ed Stelmach. So today I'll talk about them. I've looked at some of their policies, and it's hard to decide which are better. Morton doesn't say as much about policy on his website as the other candidates. Stelmach and Dinning say a lot, but Stelmach seems more vague. This could mean he wants to put more time and thought into the specific details and wants to avoid making foolish promises, or it could mean he's not good with details.

I saw part of the debate on TV last night, and I think Morton and Dinning are both better public speakers than Stelmach, not that Stelmach is that bad. Personally I didn't think Ralph Klein was a wonderful public speaker either (I remember him saying "um" a lot), and people kept voting for him. But he was funnier than Stelmach.

Of course, policy isn't everything, and public speaking skills are less important to me than policy. Integrity and leadership skill are also very important. I'm not sure how any of the candidates are with leadership skill, but it seems like Stelmach has the best reputation for integrity. People even call him "Honest Ed."

And then there's Ted Morton. I've been hard on him, so now I'll be sort of nice to him. While I am not taking back the negative things I've said about him and I'm pretty sure I won't vote for him, a lot of his policies seem about as good as the other candidates' (with a few exceptions). Overall he seems like a smart guy (except for his comment about Edmonton being the capital of northern Alberta), and he probably has a few good ideas. I think he is somewhat extreme, but maybe not as bad as Jim Dinning thinks. I think it is good to have a few people in the legislature who are kind of extreme (left or right wing), because they tend to have a few good ideas that the more moderate people don't think of. So I hope Ted Morton remains as an MLA, but I hope he doesn't become premier.