Tired of waiting...
Mood:  blue
Topic: ramblings
Well, my girlfriend, Liza, and I have been seriously talking about "us" being physically together since last Thanksgiving (if not earlier). It's really starting to wear on both of us just how close and yet so far we are to being together - still two months left to go. We are both so tired of waiting...yet we have little to no choice. *sigh*

Habemus Papam (We have a Pope)
Mood:  happy
Topic: informative
German Cardinal Ratzinger Elected Pope - Cardinal

14 minutes ago Top Stories - Reuters

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany has been elected pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church, a cardinal announced on Tuesday.

He has chosen Pope Benedict XVI as his papal name, the cardinal said.

Photo courtesy of Reuters

"Viva il Papa!" ("Long live the pope!")

Oops...
Topic: funny stuff
When I finish conversations at work, I usually tell members something along the lines of "okay, Mr. Jones, have a great day" and then hang up. Today I figured I'd add "I appreciate you calling, have a great day" and instead it came out:

"Okay, Joseph, I appreciate ya, have a great day!"

Are they talking about chickens or...?
Mood:  happy
Topic: funny stuff
(after reading an article that referred to chickens as "chooks")

Me: "Wait, isn't 'chook' a racist term for some ethnic group?"

Liza: "Yeah, it's another name for a 'chong.'"

The *New* Bill of Rights
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: ramblings
I got this little ditty in my email...so...yeah I can't take credit for it, as much as I'd like to. Enjoy...

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"We The People Of The United States"

The following has been attributed to State Representative Mitchell Kaye from GA. This guy should run for President one day...

"We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and other liberal bed-wetters.

We hold these truths to be self evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of NON-Rights."

ARTICLE I: You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.

ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended.This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.

ARTICLE III: You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful, do not expect the tool manufacturer to make yo u and all your relatives independently wealthy.

ARTICLE IV: You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes.

ARTICLE V: You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.

ARTICLE VI: You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair.

ARTICLE VII: You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don' t be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.

ARTICLE VIII: You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful.

ARTICLE IX: You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.

ARTICLE X: This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from!

(lastly....)

ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country's history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all; with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!!!!

Back from New Orleans!
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: ramblings
Well I made it back from New Orleans! I was both sad and happy to go. Sad, of course, cause it means I have to say goodbye again to my family, and I never know when I'll see those family members again. Happy cause, well, they can drive me up the wall sometimes. Read on and I'll explain...

The "Big Easy" sure was a fun place to be. Keep in mind, of course, that it's fun the same way I think Hawaii is fun: I love being there for a few days, but anything more than a week and I'm dying to go home. That was definitely the case here. I can't complain about the heat or humidity because the weather there was no worse than a typical Portland summer day. Everyone who has ever been to New Orleans, though, tells me how unbearable the heat and humidity can be there. For that reason, I highly doubt I will ever visit during the summer time...

Anyway, I flew to New Orleans on Wednesday (April 6th) with my dad. We left at 5am to get to the airport. How fun is waking up at 4am? Not very. But I also wasn't as tired as I thought I would be that day.

I stayed with my brother, Ben, and his family while I was down there. My parents got a hotel room as well, but I never stayed with them. I suppose the fact I brought season 1 of the King of Queens didn't help either huh? We ended up watching episodes every night! That was a lot of fun...

As was the drinking. Yep...I bought Ben a pint of Southern Comfort in October of 2003 when he first moved to New Orleans. For those who don't know, Southern Comfort (a.k.a. "SoCo") is produced in New Orleans. And, as a side note, I found out from my brother, Brad, that Ben did a little binge drinking in college with SoCo that led to him getting sick and never wanting to touch the stuff. So my gift of the SoCo pint was a two sided gift: it said "here's some liquid that's produced in the region you're heading" as well as a gag-gift that said "I know you won't drink it." What can I say, I'm a sicko like that sometimes...

So we broke open the SoCo on Wednesday night and Ben re-accustomed his mouth to drinking it again. It took a little while, but eventually he was able to drink it again without much of a problem (as was shown in the crawfish boil last Saturday).

All in all it was a nice trip, but there were things that irked me. The biggest issue I had was that I had no car of my own, so I had to rely on others to get around. That in and of itself would not be so bad, except for the fact that I seemed to be hungry more often than anyone else, and apparently I am the last person in the family who likes to eat meals at a normal time. I felt like I was begging people just so they would swing by a restaurant at 8 or 9pm. By then my stomach had already digested itself and began working on my small intestine.

We spent a couple of days in the "French Quarter" in downtown New Orleans: first on Wednesday afternoon when dad and I arrived into town, and then again on Friday. The streets were mostly empty on Wednesday, but it was fun finally getting to walk down the infamous "Bourbon Street." Not to mention, buying a daquiri and walking down the street sippin' on it ;)

Friday was a little more crowded, but I think more enjoyable because there were various street performers out, restaurants had their AC on, doors open, and music playing, and there were even a couple of people on the second floor balconies tossing beads down to us. In my case, they threw me beads as a plea to keep my shirt on...

I remember when Ben first moved there he talked about how nice everyone was. "They're so nice, they make you look like a jerk," I believe is what he said to me. Well I went and checked the people out there...although I didn't run into anyone who was a real jerk down there, I also didn't notice people being any nicer than they are up here.

The streets down there are crazy, too. And by crazy I don't just mean a lot of traffic or the fact that people walk all over the streets in downtown N.O. What I mean is the design: they have a ton of one highways that have large medians in the middle, and tons of places for U-turns. Half of the time we'd be driving, pass up the place where we were headed, and instead take a U-turn at the next "neutral" (as they're called) and then drive back to where we wanted to be and take a right turn. I'd prefer medians that give way to left turns myself...

I'm not sure when or if I'll visit New Orleans again. I definitely won't claim I'll "never" go back, cause I don't think it was that bad at all - I just worry about the rumors of the horrible heat and humidity being true. The fact my brother is too cheap to turn on the AC in the house doesn't make the decision any easier either. This summer may not be the best time to go, but perhaps towards the tail end of the summer (and thus their "hot spell") I might go down there with my girlfriend, Liza. It's a good 500 mile drive, so that means it would probably take about 8 hrs of driving to make it there.

I suppose time will tell just when I go back to the "Big Easy." I can't tell you how nice it was to need to put on a jacket to go to work on Monday. Not that I enjoyed having to go back to work, just enjoyed the realization that my current home is nice a cool and, sometimes, a little rainy. But that's all good for me :)

New Orleans here I come!
Mood:  party time!
Topic: ramblings
At 6:40am tomorrow I head out for New Orleans, Louisiana! I'm not sure exactly what awaits me (other than spending time with my family and sweating) but I definitely hope to have a good time there. I'll let you know of my adventures when I get back (and perhaps while I am there).

For those who don't know, the reason for my visit is that my nephew, Joshua, is having his First Communion on Saturday. I hope to have pictures to post when I return; depends on how cooperative my digital camera is.

Stay tuned for more...

God Bless Pope John Paul II
Mood:  sad
Topic: a sad day
Today marks the end of a life of debatably one of the greatest human beings to ever step foot on this planet. For 26 years this great man was a moral and religious leader to more than a billion people. And although in the last few years he has been in great pain, his pain is no more, for he is with God now. This man, born Karol Jozef Wojtyla, became known as Pope John Paul II on October 16, 1978 and has strived to spread the good news of the Lord to the entire planet.

It was 9:37pm in Rome when Karol took his last earthly breath. A great sadness undoubtably swept across the world as this confirmation flew through the airwaves. The media has been talking about this man we all call John Paul II and spent the whole day sharing stories of his legacy.

Since John Paul's passing I have come to realize two personal regrets:

The first is that I never got a chance to meet John Paul himself. I will forever envy of those who can tell stories of "when I met the Pope..."

The second is that the news broadcasted around the world today will eventually dissipate and some people, my yet-to-be-born-children included, will never get to hear about this great man.

This first regret is impossible to correct; the second is not. I can't wait for the day to hear my child ask, "Dad, what was Pope John Paul II like?" I just hope I can do his legacy justice at that point.

We will all miss you, John Paul, but we know that the Lord is contempt with the work you have done. You have completed your task of herding his flock; the Lord is calling you home. Go home. And tell the Lord that his people - us sinners - want to share in the feast with you and Him some day. Tell Him of our deep remorse we have for our wrong-doings and put in a good word for us as we continue to pray for our own mercy.

I hope to meet you one day in Paradise...
Bryan

100th post!
Mood:  cheeky
Topic: ramblings
Can you believe it?! My 100th post! And it's only been about 3 months - not bad huh? Well I have to have something totally cool for my 100th post; something awe inspiring that will stay with you the rest of your life. So what on earth would I talk about?

...

...

...

Well I got nothin'...

Terri Shiavo passes away...
Mood:  sad
Topic: people who need help
Terri Shiavo passed away this morning at her hospice in Pinellas Park, FL. She was 41. She had survived 13 days without any nutrition (even water) after a Florida court ruled in her husband's favor. Multiple appeals from her parents were all shot down from Florida's courts, as well as federal courts.

Her husband not only got his wish in removing the feeding tube, he also would not allow her parents or siblings to be by her side while she took her last breaths. What else should we expect from a man who has been unfaithful to his wife for years? May God have mercy on his soul and all those who aided him in killing his wife.

At least now Terri can live peacefully forever with our Lord. My heart goes out to her family who have been robbed of a beautiful soul...