Come though, kaleidoscope.

I find the shower to be the best thinking place that I can easily access. Outside of an ocean front cliff at sunset or a warm meadow at noon, the shower is a great place to just stand (or sit) and think about life. Because I'm a thinker, or at least I like to tell myself that, and at the same time, I like things simple. I like books, music, ideas that are straightforward and easy to understand, while at the same time making me think. I'm actually quite fond of this preference that I have.

And there I was, letting the warm water run over my shoulders, as I contemplate the things that really matter in life. And I find myself thinking about Jesus. Now, when someone says "Jesus" in public, you'll of course get some interesting response, including both sides of the prophetic spectrum. They say either he was a man of great influence who spoke to God or he was the Son of God. I think it's clear which side of the spectrum on which I stand.

But personally, I've found it hard to picture Jesus as a person. Thats essentially what he was, a person, like you and me. He was flesh. Flesh, in terms of the Bible, is the reason in which we sin, and in order to fully know God, we must overcome the flesh. So if Jesus was the flesh, that meant he had to have the same characteristics of a human being as myself. This brings a whole bunch of thoughts into my mind.

What would Jesus do? Would he have stood in the shower reflecting on how difficult of a week it's been? In John 6:66 (Yes, 666, it's not just a random number, it has a meaning) when a vast majority of his followers left him because of miscommunication, did he sit there on a rock, by the ocean, during sunset, and contemplate life as I do? Would he like Kaleidoscope as much as I do? Well, if he is God in the flesh, wouldn't that mean that he likes all music, considering that he invented music? Music that exalts Him of course. So then, actual tones and notes aside, what about lyrics? Could he see the emotion and thought put into Hardcore Rock with all of it's screaming and heavy guitars? Would Jesus prefer In-n-out or Carls Jr.? What about video games? He obviously said murder was wrong, but he also acknowledged the fact that war, and the death that comes with war, was something that was going to happen, and even used it to lift Himself up. So would he approve of a game of Capture the Flag between five friends who happen to enjoy pumping virtual lead into each other's virtual chests? There is no animosity at all in the mix, yet it is still a simulation of murder, which he despised, and war, which he used as a positive tool. So what would he say?

Or would all of these things we enjoy and struggle with every day be seen by Him as mere distractions from the ultimate goal in life, and as such, excluded from His daily routine?

Who knows? I'm not expecting an answer, but this is one of those places, apart from the shower and the Pacific Ocean, in which I think and write down such thoughts.

And I took you by the hand, and we stood tall.

Alyssa and I had been talking about going to see a show for a while, and after we started dating, kept talking about one show in particular. It had been a show, a musical even, of which I could probably recite to you at least one full song. I could do this only because both Stephanie and Alyssa were obsessed with the musical since spring of last year.

Well, tickets to this show seemed like a great idea for a Valentine's Day celebration, so that's what I did. Now, unless you know who I'm talking about, you're probably asking, "what show could you possibly be describing?"

I'll tell you what show. It's titled Next to Normal. Now, before this past friday, I might have jokingly rolled my eyes while knowing full well that I probably would have liked the show. In fact, almost every show I've seen so far that I fell in love with has been a show I might have wrinkled my nose at, given it was mentioned prior (aha) to me seeing the show. Pride and Prejudice, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, even Les Miserables are all examples of this.

Next to Normal was no different. The show was just so amazing, I can't even really describe the shock. I knew I was going to like it, but I did not expect to love it. The singing was great, and although Alice Ripley might have sang a bit low at some instances, she was incredible in her role. The one thing about this show that really got to me was the emotion. This show communicated so much pain and emotional hurt that it nearly brought me to tears.

Twice.

I had to resist the urge, and believe me, it was difficult. I'm a sucker for a good tragedy. In reality, I hate all the sad stories we hear in the news so often these days, but presented from the stage, I see it as brilliant and I can't get enough. This whole show was just one thing after another, but they did it in such a seamless way, I didn't even think about it like that. Some shows that go for the continual breakdown sort of storyline just heap it on you like a pile of bricks.

The show starts. Then BAM you have this whole crap load of death and despair and depression pounding on the doors yelling "HERE I AM!", and it's almost laughable at times. But Next to Normal had every one of the D's I just mentioned and even more letters of the alphabet, and yet it seemed so real. I sat there thinking that this all happened. I guess the only true word to describe it was powerful. It hit me hard, and I loved it.

Personally, the Dad, Dan, is my favorite character in the show. He tries so hard to keep everything in order and expresses his love to his wife so deeply; he just throws everything that he is on the floor for her and everyone else to see. And in the end, it accomplished exactly the opposite of what he intended. Was his fatal flaw that he cared too much? Can one care too much? Dan has a lyric that says something along the lines of, "Who's crazy? The one who visits the doctor or the one who sits in the car?" He deals with so much and once all the screaming and crying is over, he's sitting in a bloodstained chair, in complete darkness, with only the company of memories/ghost of his dead son to "comfort" him. Simply an amazing character. And of course I told Mr. Somers this once I saw him after the show. I mean, why not congratulate an actor on having the best part in the musical, right?

Needless to say, even if I hadn't gone to that show yesterday, it was a completely perfect day, and I loved it so much. I am so lucky!

Sigma...

So much for posting twice a week! It's been more than a week since I've posted! But oh well, what are you gonna do when you have much more homework than usual? That's right, try not to procrastinate!

Speaking of procrastination, Statistics! Man, is that one heck of a class already. I don't know how to use the calculator, the notes we go over don't help us whatsoever, the labs we do are on Excel, which I have no previous experience using, and while there isn't a lot of homework, it takes a long time to do it. Am I complaining? It may seem like it, but I'm really not. To be honest, I like the class because it is so different from a regular math class, and once I get down a good pace to do homework and a good system of taking notes from the fairly useless slides, I think I might be able to pull this class off.

I sure need to if I want to go anywhere good!

Well, there's not much else I wanted to post, so I guess that's it for this one! A post about math! I never thought I'd see that