So to celebrate Easter, I decided to abstain from doing any work for a 24 hour period. Well, midnight just rolled around, but I thought maybe I could squeeze in another half hour before heading back home. So there I was, 15 minutes into it, trimming a part with the dremel tool whirring away, when suddenly something smacks into my safety glasses. I look at the dremel tool, and it's still spinning, minus the cutter wheel. It just flew clean off the axle and right into my goggles...freaked me out. Good thing I was exercising good safety procedures. Anyways, if that wasn't a sign to pack up and call it a night, I don't know what is.
As I began my Good Friday morning driving to school, I passed by the shopping plaza parking lot right by my place and saw a man standing at the rear of his pick-up truck leaning over the side, elbows resting on top, and hands folded below his forehead...kind of an unusual site to see, but it was encouraging to see another person praying so boldly first thing in the morning...made me rethink whether I began my day prayerfully and solemnly and not to treat it as just another day.
I stopped by Ralph's on the way to school to pick up some baking soda deodorizer...yep, my car still smells. One praise though is that my classmate who left school shortly after me said he didn't see any roadkill, so I guess the little stinker lived, but just managed to spray my car as I passed over him.
Had a good time of prayerful worship at Good Friday service. About halfway through, people were invited to walk up to the front of the sanctuary and write down a sin or confession and nail it to the cross. Just the act of hammering nails into the wooden cross and hearing the strike of each hammer was so powerful that I could not help but be overcome by emotions buried deep within.
Alright, I should get back to work so I can go home...need to leave this place before the sun rises.
Driving home last night at 3am, I ran over an animal for the very first time...and of all animals, it was a skunk!! I remember seeing something in the middle of the road coming around the bend, and when I approached I realized a little too late that it was a skunk. I hit the brakes and swerved, screeching my tires (if you've seen the running gear on my car, you'll know it's not that easy to do), but I still went directly over the lil stinker. I can't describe just how terrified, horrified and stupefied I was...I wanted to stop right away but thought better of it and kept driving for another quarter of a mile before getting out to inspect. I was going to steal a look under the car to see if I had actually hit it and it was stuck under the car and just dragging along (my car is kinda low), but the stench was powerful enough to promptly usher myself back in the car. I quickly flipped on the recirculator and drove to the gas station near my home to take another peak. Nervously I circled the perimeter of my car before stealing a glance at the underside, fearful for any signs of skunk remains, like blood or fur. I didn't see anything, so that was a relief, but it still smelled like a mother...what a humbling experience this will be I thought...God really knows how to put the finishing touches on this lenten experience. When I got home, I had Greg look up on the internet what to do against skunk stench...the recipe calls for 1 quart of hydrogen peroxide (3%) mixed with 1/4 cup of baking soda and some detergent. The next morning I mixed all of that in a spray bottle and headed down to the local tire shop garage. I sheepishly approached the counter and asked if I could use their lift and spray the underside of my car with this homemade concoction, and consquently had to explain the skunk too. The owner there, Tareq, really showed a brother some love and let me use the lift for free, even tighted a loose bushing that's been making this rattling noise for so long. Anyways, I was really anxious to get that car on the lift so I could really see for sure whether or not that skunk merely sprayed me or was stuck to the bottom of my car for eternity. I've heard some stories that if you ever run over a skunk, your car is trashed forever...that smell will never go away. Fortunately, I didn't see any remains...perhaps some stuff that could've been dried blood on the exhaust downpipe, but I sprayed the bottom pretty thoroughly and wiped it down. It still smells now, but hopefully it will go away...sooner than later God willing.
So I spent the night at school yesterday...that makes it the second time in 5 days...what gives?
Oh well, it was worth it...got some work done and had a good time of sharing with an out of town friend...it reminded me of one of the lenten series messages, "Don't Shoot the Messenger", which recounted the book of Esther in which God delivered a message through Malachi to instell boldness in Esther. Anyways, I really appreciated the bold truths she delivered, stuff that I really needed to hear or be reminded of, things that God has been trying to communicate through my thick skull, because they're priorities that cannot be compromised. It was also a good exercise in practicing what I'm learning, which is to surrender myself with a humble heart.
Why is it that everytime I spot a policeman in a patrol car I start to get nervous? There should be no reason for that...I consider myself an upstanding law abiding citizen. Perhaps it has something to do with the California government's financial issues, and that they're turning the state's peace keeping force into a greedy revenue generating machine.
On saturday, I drove to LAX to pick up some friends from out of town, and I noticed people being pulled over left and right by cops on motorcycles. Being made aware of that, I drove very carefully around the airport. Despite my efforts, I saw flashing lights in my rearview shortly after pulling away from the arrivals area. Turns out there was no real good reason to cite me, save for my muffler and windows. He pulled me over exclusively for those reasons...stating it was illegal to modify a muffler, and the windows were tinted. I can understand the windows, but I dunno if he's pulling my leg about the exhaust. Anyways, those violations are usually only cited when they've booked you on something more substantial, they're never the reason to actually pull someone over.
The exhaust is staying...not sure what to do with the windows...although he did note that it was a correctable violation. Hmm...anyone know someone with a blue A4?
No, it's not an April Fool's joke...it's an actual quote from a recent Harvard Business Review publication titled "Breakthrough Ideas for 2004". (BTW, in case you didn't know, an MFA is a Masters of Fine Arts) According to the article, an art degree is the hottest credential in the business world, whereas the value of an MBA is declining due to the expanding talent pool, citing that MBA graduates are becoming this century's blue-collar workers as their jobs are increasingly moving overseas. Meanwhile, businesses are realizing that the only way to differentiate their products and services in this saturated market is to "make their offerings trascendent- physically beautiful and emotionally compelling." Another argument is that "Designers learn by doing -- trying things, prototyping, and improving. They reach out and explore ideas, unlike employees in traditional firms who seek the perfect answer. Whereas traditional firms see constraints as the enemy, and are limited by budget, in design firms the attitude is that nothing can't be done, and constraints increase the excitement and challenge.
Business people don't need to understand designers better: They need to be designers. They need to think and work like designers, have attitudes like designers, and learn to evaluate each other as designers do." In short, businesses in future will have to resemble a design shop, working on a project basis with status for leaders coming from solving "wicked problems" rather than managing big budgets and large staff.
Anyways, very encouraging bit of news...it really made me reflect on my past experience, and how God has been leading me...it's really starting to make more sense now. Hopefully, this trend will still hold true when I graduate...but for now, I'm going to print out copies and send it to everyone in my family. =)
