quote of the day...

trust in Allah...but tie up your camel.

-hand-lettered sign at the entrance to the Fifth Squadron airbase
Skardu, Pakistan

let's do lunch...

right now, a goon sitting next to me is wearing a blue baseball cap with a shark on it. under the shark, a caption reads, "let's do lunch." i thought it fitting for a title.

have you ever seen those people who ride their bikes to class? no, i'm not talking about those who kinda cruise into the bike parking lot. i'm talking about the people who ride the crap out of their bike like it's a wild bucking bronco, trying desperately to break free from their mount so it can do somersaults in a nearby field. i'm talking about the people with their bike seat slammed down to the lowest position so that their knees almost nail them in the chin. i'm talking about the people who refuse to switch gears because they would rather spin their legs at 5000 rpm (while nearly nailing their chin each time). i'm talking about the people who's tires are about 3 p.s.i. from going flat and everytime they hit a bump or make a turn you think it's going to dent the rim or, worse, roll the tire off the rim.

i love seeing those people.

or how about the people, mostly guys, who wear flip flops that are about 10 sizes too big for their already monstrous feet. or the ones who wear super long polo shirts with super short aftco shorts and it looks like they aren't wearing any pants? and of courses you've got the lego hair brigade, who have their dome immaculate sculpted into a perfectly, helmet like apparatus on top of their head.

auburn is awesome. some people think it's boring for people watching, but you have to look for the gold. you have to look beyond the normal goth/trendy/fratty types and look into the subtypes. i'm talking about the "i only wear sandals because my feet are too wide to fit comfortably into shoes," or the, "yeah i know it's 30 degrees outside but i'm going to wear these gym shorts all day because i don't think it's that cold, when actually i'm just absurdly stubborn and refuse to "give in (to common sense)" by adjusting my wardrobe.

this is what i do riding my bike to and fro. while i may appear glued to my headphones, my eyes and ears are always wandering, combing the landscape for people of interest. i wonder if you fit into one of these categories???

the shack (pt. 2)...

oh yeah. the shack was pretty good. there were some interesting issues brought up in it that i probably wouldn't have thought about otherwise and i enjoyed it. even though i had to fight a residual skepticism to the book, i think the fact that i finished it in a week speaks well enough of its readability. the only thing i have to say about it is that it seemed that every other page somebody was bawling about something or there heart was exploding into tears or they were on their knees crying and hugging and sobbing and stuff. maybe it is just the stoic male in me but that kinda got to me a little bit. overall it was a great book though.

started on "generation ageless" which is really interesting as well as "suburban nation" - a great book about how the effect urban planning has on our everyday lives.


what are you reading?

the past two weeks...

have been pretty crazy/fun. boston was super cool. went to fenway park for a red sox game, my favorite part of which did not even have to do with baseball. clay and i decided we were going to have the fenway experience and get a "10 dolla beeh and a 15 dolla suwasage," and that we were going to order them like true bostonians...so i got in line for the sausage and he was in line for the beers. after ordering the sausages, i asked the lady "yous got an mustahd?" in the thickest accent i could, and without looking up she told me it was behind me - a high point in my journey being that her nonchalant disconcern with my northern accent spoke volumes for the authenticity of my delivery...;) . anyway, clay lays on the same accent for the beers..."i'll take twoo heinekens pleaths." and the lady asks for his i.d., whereupon clay hands over his alabama driver's license. noticing the incongruence in accent and home state, the lady merely looks up at him with that "yeah right" look and moves along.

hilarious.

but you probably had to be there.

the north is an awesome place to people watch. so many interesting people. especially gweedos....

but now i'm in saratoga, ny, about to be on my way home tomorrow to start class. saratoga has been awesome. had a fun fly fishing trip, ate some awesome food, met some cool people, and for the first time, left the week with more money than i started. now i am by no means into gambling. i'm more into the horses themselves (bloodlines and trainers, etc.) and i'm much more the type who would rather take home his paycheck than try to improve it by gambling, but lady luck was with me and things were good. when you know more about what happens behind the scenes it makes the races more enjoyable.

so i'm officially not pre-med anymore. i'm still going to be a psychology major, but i'm going to add an economics or marketing minor. i've been looking on auburn's website about business minors and, being that there aren't too many, we'll see what i turn out with. i'm pretty excited about it though, i feel like i have finally found something really worth turning into an adult for...

i'll let you know how it goes.

the shack...

started reading it yesterday and i'm already on page 88. that's a pretty big chunk in one day for me. i kinda went into it with a bit of skepticism but the story is good, albeit a bit over-dramatized at points. i'll let you know when i'm done.

speaking of books, i finished "sex God" on the airplane two days ago. i thought it was really good. i enjoyed it better than velvet elvis. velvet elvis was good, but there were a few points that were a bit post-modern for me, but i still really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anybody. but sex God was really great. you should go read it.

Next on the list is a book called "generation ageless" and was actually by my second cousin or something (i'm not quite sure of the relation but not too far off. i think it's my mom's cousin). he is president of a company out of atlanta called Yankelovic, Inc. and does market research and analysis. supposedly he coined the term "baby boomers" and "gen x'ers", so he's pretty on top of things. generation ageless is his book about baby boomers and i guess just a description of that market and how it will change as they get older. my aunt suggested it to me and suggested i talk to him sometime because even at this point i really have no idea what i want to do when i grow up. we'll see.

leadership...

so lately there has been something weird going on in my life - i have been interested in the news/current events. it's crazy. for the past 3 weeks i have read Newsweek and Time every week, an issue of Forbes front to back, and listening to talk radio sometimes while i drive. i refuse to believe it's because i'm getting older and becoming an adult. no, it must be just a phase...

actually i really enjoy knowing what's going on around the world and it's a necessary transition as i get older and closer to integrating* myself into "the adult zone." so if you want to talk about news, let's get together at gnu's room or taylor's.

anyway, the meaning of all this is to tell you about and urge you to read an article in the latest issue of Time magazine about one of my heroes, Nelson Mandela, entitled, "The Secrets of Leadership." It's basically gathered information from a man who spent an extended amount of time with Mandela, helping him write his autobiography. It covers 8 amazing points of leadership, all exemplified in real life, by Mandela, which are:

1. Courage is not the absence of fear - it's inspiring others to move beyond it.
2. Lead from the front - but don't leave your base behind.
3. Lead from the back - and let others believe they are in the front.
4. Know your enemy - and learn about his favorite sport.
5. Keep your friends close - and your rivals closer.
6. Appearances matter - and remember to smile
7. Nothing is black or white.
8. Quitting is leading too.

Here's a link to the article online.

if you're interested at all in South Africa's fight for freedom from Apartheid, check out No Future Without Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu or Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog. They are both amazing books that detail a lot of Mandela's life and the struggle under and through Apartheid in general.

*it took me forever to think of that word. i had to look it up in dictionary and thesaurus and it's not even the one i was thinking of. oh well.

Hallelujah...

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley. own it. please.

john mayer is ridiculous awesome. i'm going to see him august 29 in hotlanta. my friend clay's dad has a buddy in atlanta who apparently owes him some big favors and got 4 front row, center tickets for the show. needless to say i'm probably going be pinching myself the whole time...can't wait.

however, before that i have some business lined up. but fun business.

this thursday the 17th i'm heading to vail, colorado to do some fly-fishing/mountain biking for 5 days. i'll get home monday.

the day after i get back (tuesday) i am driving my grandmother's car 16 hours up to Saratoga, New York so she can have it there for the month of august. she goes up there every end of july through august for the horse races. i'll fly home from there on thursday. - p.s. if you are bored and/or looking for an adventure/road trip, i have an opening(s) for co-pilot(s)...

friday i'll leave to go to Savannah, Ga to race at roebling road raceway. race saturday and sunday.

monday i head up to north alabama for fbc's youth retreat. i'm pretty stoked about this...i missed out on youth group when i was younger and have never been on any sort of 'retreat' before. plus i get to play music a lot!

then, a week and a half later, i go back to saratoga for an extended stay to go to the horse races with my grandmother and hopefully do some fishing on one of the days.

at some point during this craziness i have to find time to move into my new house and get ready for school. got some exciting days ahead. i'll keep you posted...