jonathanhickman.com

Cheating

The power is off at our office. So I went down and plugged the router into the UPS. heh.

I’m so going to do this

I’m so going to do this with our massive, ugly, ’50’s, cast iron, kids’ bathroom tub.

Big, gaudy cross

I just don’t “get” big honkin crosses. It seems that the people who pay tens of thousands of dollars to install these monstrosities where we all can see them (there are several in this area) think they’re going to help people somehow, but I can’t figure how. And there’s apparently an attempt going on to put one up near my parents’ house, so they’d see it every day on the way to work or the mall or anything. Depending on where they put it, they might be able to see it from their house:

“It’s an area that needs a cross. It’d be a shame for Knox County and the city of Knoxville not to have cross, wouldn’t it? Ain’t that what the Lord would say?” Potter asks.

I just can’t imagine what good will come of it. And no, I don’t think that God needs a big, honkin’ cross in every neighborhood. I tend to think that’s not what God would want at all; it makes me think of the wonderful David LaMotte song, “Butler Street:”

There’s a neon cross on a mountain
Saying ’sinners best beware’
That means that somebody went to the trouble
To run power way up there
These mountains speak to my spirit
I guess it kind of blows my mind
To think someone could look at that vista
And think God needs a neon sign

The old man asked me if I was saved
I turned to check his eyes
I didn’t see any concern there
And it’s sad that I wasn’t surprised
No, he was just trying the secret handshake
Where you push until push comes to shove
His hands were deep in his pockets
And his eyes said nothing of love

Sing me a song about Jesus
But please don’t sing about the poor
It’s already been a long day
I really don’t want to hear anymore
Sing me a song about Jesus
That will make me feel happy inside
Sing me a song about forgiveness
That will make this lifestyle feel justified
Sing a song about Jesus

Ran into Jesus this morning
He was down on Butler Street
He was carrying his bedroll
He was standing in line for something to eat
He got splashed by the muddy water
When the shiny hubcaps rolled by
He brushed himself off and chuckled and looked over at me
And said “hey, there but for the grace of God go I”

Sing me a song about Jesus
But please don’t sing about the poor
It’s already been a long day
I really don’t want to hear anymore
Sing me a song about Jesus
That will make me feel happy inside
Sing me a song about forgiveness
That will make this lifestyle feel justified
Sing a song about Jesus

(Incidentally, the big neon cross he sings about is in this area, too, by the interstate near the TN/NC border.)

Have I mentioned this before?

I am psyched about all the changes going on in our house. Within weeks of refinancing our house, we had a fence put it. We’d been talking about doing that since we first looked at the house just over a year and a half ago, and now it’s in and getting stained (grumble). Then we bought our Elvis bed this weekend - also something we’d wanted to do since buying the house, and now it’s done. And the hvac people should be there any minute to replace the decrepit system upstairs - again, something we’ve wanted to do from the start.

Next will be getting the bathroom gutted and replaced upstairs and redoing a few bedrooms. I’m also hoping to get the floodlights out back rewired, replace a broken window, and put in a few more ceiling fans.

w00t.

Everything breaks sometimes

Well, I think I’ve got a few leads on how to get the stove repaired without having to buy a new one. Yay, right?

The first thing I discovered on getting home from work today is that the refrigerator appears to be rather quickly dying. Luckily, we do have a spare (this one came with the house, although it’s fairly new). But I probably don’t have to tell you how frustrating it is when everything needs attention, especially if everything needs attention during the one time of the year when I have zero time to spare.

My car still smells like pizza

We had some guests over for supper last night, and we dined on pizza from our favorite neighborhood pizza joint (Harby’s). I was the lucky guy to get to go out and pick up the pies, and I just noticed that my car still smells like pizza. Weird, but although it’s making me crave pizza for supper, I’m going to resist and make wings. It is Friday, after all, even if I do have to work tomorrow.

One thing I don’t love about winter

Anybody else tired of getting shocked? If I so much as look at metal the wrong way, I get shocked. I’ve gotten to the point that I fear touching anything that even looks metallic.

I even get shocked by water. The second I put my hands under the faucet, I get shocked. You don’t necessarily notice this effect of static electricity because the continued friction of the water drowns out (so to speak) the sensation. But I feel it.

Argh.

Today, our oven shattered

I’ve never seen anything like this before, and now I’ve got to clean it up and figure out where to go from here. One of the kids accidentally bonked the front of the oven with a bowl, and the oven shattered all over the floor:

Slammed

I am super busy and kind of stressed, in case you hadn’t figured that out.

I hate it when

I hate it when I get something off my desk on one day just to find it returning the next.

And I can’t decide if it’s worse when it’s my fault or someone else’s.

On buying music

There are some months when I can’t find new music to save my life, and there are other months when I don’t make enough money to buy all the cool albums I’m finding.

This month is the latter, and I’m struggling with this whole “delaying gratification” thing.