I Have Eating Pears and Apples

While I am not from "Nawlens" as I say, I am from fairly close - Baton Rouge. I have since left the great state of Louisiana. Although, I would not be adverse to returning. The culture is great, everyone is Catholic, and no one mispronounces my cajun last name. Maybe God will take me back down there some day. Perhaps that is where my future wife is hiding?

The real reason for this post is to tell you about this great man. Mr. Okra. A symbol of the awesomeness that is the city of New Orleans. I don't have to words to express the smile this man brings to my face, so just sit back and enjoy this one.

The snow ruined EVERYTHING!

First off, global warming my butt.

Second, I had a date and I lost it due to the snow. I woke up in the morning to find my car securely planted in it's parking spot. Just to give you a hint of what I drive, it weighs 2100 pounds. This tiny little nothing of a car wasn't going anywhere.

She texts me three hours before our planned date asking for a rain check because of the snow. I agree - what else could I do? I was trapped, she was trapped.

I am just irked for several reasons. One, because I really wanted to get to know her better. She called me back to make a date, which surprised the heck out of me in the first place. So I can't help but assume I am in a better position than I originally thought. Second, I am going out of town in two days, so as to not appear like a desperate puppy, I have to wait an entire week before planning a make up date. Third, I have been stuck inside alone for the last two days and I am irritated! So blah.

On a lighter note, the snow is melting today. I am looking out the window watching it drip off my car as we speak. That means I get to go see my buddy perform at open mic night tonight. And that means said girl will be there too. And that means I need to work on covering up my puppy dog tail wagging grin that I get on my face.

Sometimes I lament...

Lord, I was born 100 years too late. Save me from these times.

I long for the traditions of thy Church to be widespread and known.

I long for never having to worry if a Mass is valid on any given Sunday.

I long for the peace and serenity that hearing chant and polyphony brings me...without having to drive two hours to hear it.

I pray for the day I can receive thy Son on my knees without being "corrected" by the priest.

I pray for my wretched soul. That I may put more trust in Thee. Give me faith. Give me hope. Give me love. Teach me charity, humility and patience. Make me vigilant and disciplined. Let me never fall into sin.

Talk to the Hand

Well, it was a lovely double rejection weekend.

I tried out for the a capella group last night. The audition went pretty well. I entered the room to the sound of a standing ovation. It eased my nerves a bit. We then warmed up and discovered my vocal range is a low E to F sharp. Maybe some of you music kids can tell me what that means, but I don't think it is bad.

I then sang my wonderful solo selected from Aladdin. It brought some laughs and some smiles. It was not my best performance. Not my worst, but my nerves caught hold of me and I choked on the high note.

Next was pitch matching. The head honcho played a few notes on the piano and I had to sing them back. I did well there.

For the final part, he played a chord and I had to sing the middle note. I know for a fact I got them all wrong. I probably even gave him a look of fear when he told me what to do.

With all that said, I checked my email every 10 minutes until three long hours later I got the email. It thanked me for trying out, but stated that I wasn't getting a call back.

Rejection one complete.

Second, I called the previously mentioned girl today and asked her out. She said "sure" to going on a date with me, but then gave me a bunch of excuses and said that she would have to get back to me. Take that for what you will, but unless she ever calls me back, I am counting it as a loss.

Rejection two complete.

I hope tomorrow is awesome.

Doo wop Doo wop

I have always had a passion for music. I am not sure why, but I have the uncanny ability to remember just about every song on the radio. That really surprises me because my memory is terrible - but when you put it to catchy music I can't seem to forget it.

I tried to learn guitar a few times in my life. The last two years I have stuck with it and I still suck. I just don't have the talent or creativity to make music. Since I have no formal music or music theory training, I can only imitate what I hear. That doesn't turn out to well when trying to become a talented musician.

For the most part my guitar has fallen to the wayside in the last couple of months. I have been distracted with girl problems and school. But last weekend in DC I discovered a talent I wasn't aware that I had - I can sing. Apparently I can sing pretty well.

I wowed everyone with my metro ride serenades of "My Girl," "You've Lost that Loving Feeling," and "A Whole New World." After one of the girls on the trip learned of my a capella magic, she encouraged me to audition for an all male a capella group on campus. She knew a few guys it in, and told me that I rocked. So why not eh?

On my campus there are several a capella groups. Some of them are good, some of them...well, some of them don't require auditions. We have a very famous group on campus and I consider them the varsity group. I am trying out for the JV group. They are good, but not famous over the USA like the other guys.

I doubted my ability to get in all this week as I practiced. But tonight, I asked a guy from the parish who is a voice music major to help me. After practicing with me for an hour he assured me that I was better than some of the guys in the group. Funny thing eh? It turns out I have a talent.

The audition is tomorrow night. I am going to suit up and amaze them with my glowing personality to make up for any defects in my voice. Saint Cecilia, pray for me.

America's Headquarters

This weekend I went to DC on a service trip. It was amazing.

There are several reasons for the amazing-ness. First, we worked in food banks. Second, we made lunches and brought them to homeless people. Third, I met a bunch of new super Catholic people. Fourth, I met one in particular who uh, well, yeah.

So the working in food banks was nice. We sorted and packed food which will then go out to a bunch of needy families. Nothing much to report there.

The second day we made a bunch of bag lunches. I survived the experience despite the fact that I had to smell mustard and place said mustard upon sandwiches. I hate mustard. But, I digress. We then walked around DC on a slightly rainy day looking for homeless people to give them to. We split off into pairs. My partner and I found so many we ran out of food. In fact, everyone ran out of food. There are so many homeless people there it made my heart ache.

Having been a horrible social justice type person all my life, I really sat down and talked with some of these guys and gals for the first time. They are some of the best people I have ever met in this world. Rest assured, this guy is never walking past someone on the street again without saying hello.

The other Catholics that came with me were great. So, I could talk about them all, but I know the one you are dying to hear about is the one who made my heart go pitter patter. Well, not quite that cheesy, but I was taken aback in a good way.

I had seen her around the parish before, but we never spoke for an extended period of time. This weekend however, I was sitting in my room reciting Vespers. She walked by my open door and saw me. She then asked me the most beautiful question a woman has ever asked me - "Hey...are you praying the Office?" Fireworks went off. No lie. I melted. Putty in her hands.

"Uh..yeah." I responded. "Want to pray with me?"

"Well, you already started...."

"Nonsense! I will start over! Get over here!"

So we prayed. We said the Office several more times together throughout the trip. We even said a Rosary together as our Friday penance (YES. SHE KNOWS ABOUT FRIDAY PENANCE). Needless to say, I am going to ask her out for dinner. Probably this weekend. I am praying that if this is right for us, the Lord will place me upon her heart this week. If we turn out to just be friends, that is fine too. So, if anyone is out there reading this, say a prayer for me.

I am not responsible for Muslim Terrorists

The other day I went to another college about an hour away to debate some kids. I say kids because at the ripe old age of 25, a college freshman now feels like a kid. Ug. I'm old. Anyway...

The topic was organized religion. They were arguing against it. I, of course, was on the pro-organized religion side.

I was only asked two days prior to do this. And, being in the middle of finals, I did not have much time to prepare. However, I spent several hours collecting my stats and figures, fulling intending to go in there and show them how the Catholic Church has made all of their non-God believing lives better. Their talking points were:

1. Religion makes people violent and kill each other. Ex. Crusades, Inquisition, Islamic fundamentalist violence today.
2. Religion causes intolerance of others (discrimination, inequality, repression, hatred, violence and even murder).
3. Religion impedes scientific advancement and the overall improvement of knowledge.

Now, I must say number three made me laugh. Literally. It took one lousy Google search to come up with 10 incredible examples of how the Catholic Church advanced science. Modern genetics, chemistry...etc.

The other two however, fine. Lets debate.

I showed up the morning of dressed well, with tie and vest. I figured even if I couldn't out argue them, I could out class them.

They focused a lot on Islam. In fact, besides talking about how horrible Christianity is to oppose abortion and gay marriage, all they talked about was Islam. They spoke of terrorism and the Kuran telling you to kill infidels and beat your wife. I can't debate any of that. I think Islam can be dangerous. But I can't remember the last time I saw the Pope bomb a building. But that doesn't matter...Islam is bad, so all religion is bad,

I don't know where I am going with this, but it definitely gave me pause to stop and think. I spent most of my Catholic life arguing against Protestants...maybe I should spend more time talking with those who really need converting.