happy_kid's Xanga

Bye, Xanga.

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:30:19 GMT

Well, folks. It's time. I've really enjoyed Xanga hosting my blog the last 4 or 5 years or so. Even when there was a huge exodus out of Xanga, i gladly and willingly stuck around. But now with the implementation of Google Ads on the sidebar, it's pushed me over the edge. I didn't even mind Xanga's previous regular advertisements on the top of the page but these Google Ads are especially intrusive and annoying. I don't want to subject my readers nor myself to that stuff and i don't plan to go premium.

I'm still going to login and read other peoples' Xangas to stay updated. And i'm definitely leaving this blog up, just won't add to it anymore. My Xanga tenure has been good times, i'm glad for the posts that are here and for all you readers who make it worth it. There are definitely some things i'll miss about Xanga.

But I still remain a blogger on the big fat www. Feel free to say Hi on my Wordpress and we'll go from there. The journey continues.

www.canaanbound.wordpress.com

Santa Writes Back

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 05:56:15 GMT

As i expected, Santa wrote me back a generic letter. I wanted to post a picture of it but my camera just died. It's okay though, you're definitely not missing much. However, there was at least a handwritten one-liner that responded specifically to my letter. It says,

"I had so many cookies that I couldn't possibly eat any more."

Oh come on, Santa! =p Regardless, it's been amusing.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 09:23:06 GMT

I can't even remember the last time a book made me cry. But by page 34, BAM. And the tears were 'a rollin.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is such a tragic novel. What i appreciate most about it though, along with The Kite Runner, is that these books have propelled me to research Afghanistan for myself. They're both fictitious novels but Hosseini interweaves his characters' generational story with an overarching picture of the country from the 70's to early 2000's. Honestly, i didn't know much about the history of Afghanistan before its concentrated media attention after 9/11. And even so, it's been from a relatively narrow perspective. So it was good to get a little taste from a different lens.

In any case, definitely recommend this book to people. Raw and gripping. Hosseini's website has a thorough interview with him about the novel, an interesting read for sure.

Crabbyface

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 22:00:29 GMT

This is Benny.

I like him.

Benny towards his DESTINY!

=D

This cracks me up!

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 18:11:11 GMT

20 seconds of hilarity!

Khaled Hosseini to Clay Aiken

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:52:23 GMT

I'm trying to get some good leisurely reading in during my down time this month. I went to peruse Chapters today and made a mental note of several books i want to eventually get around to reading. Though, books can get expensive. On a side note, the checkout line at Chapters was quite long, which was encouraging to see. People still read, good. Anyway, books. Expensive. Right. Okay, so i recently purchased and finished Khaled Hosseini's deservingly popular, The Kite Runner. EXCELLENT book. Fully recommend it. Funny enough, the movie is being released this Friday which i really want to watch but not sure if i can handle what i anticipate to be an emotionally charged and intense film. The trailer looks great and incidentally, many parts look remarkably similar to what i visually imagined while reading through the novel.

Anyway, Hosseini sold me on anything else he'd write so while at Chapters i looked for his second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns. It's still relatively new and thus, only available in hardcover. 34 buckeroos. I think i'm gonna wait out the release of the paperback edition (which the Chapters lady said won't happen for another 18 months!)

So, off to the library! I knew my chances of finding an available copy would be dismal. As expected, nada. All on loan. But i saw one just returned at a different library branch. I called them and they said that the book was "in library" but there were already people who put in requests for it long ago. Darn. But the librarian said if i came to get it right then, i could have it! I kinda feel bad that i bypassed all those people who "got in line." But nevertheless, i snagged it!

On the way out of checkout, there's always that table of used books for sale. On top of the pile, i saw this book:

Who even knew Clay Aiken wrote a book?! And here's my confession: I bought it. I forked out the whopping $0.50. And this is why... inside the flap, there's this quote from Clay:

My mother prophesied years ago that my voice would take me places. She was certain that there was a reason i was able to sing. I am still discovering what that reason is, what it is that God wants to happen.

It's no secret that Clay Aiken has been overt about his spirituality. In the back of my mind, i always wonder if "celebrities" are genuine about their Christianity or if it's something that's just nominally present. I figured skimming through his book would give me a better idea.

Or so i thought i would simply skim it. As it turns out, i ended up reading the whole thing tonight.. all 228 pages in one sitting. Of course, stylistically it wasn't the best book ever written. But that was expected, he's not a writer. (As the cover says, it's a "memoir.") But it was honest. Actually, it kind of felt like i was reading a really long blog entry. He talked about his childhood, growing up in a broken family (which i didn't know of but appreciated learning about), his Southern and conservative roots, his passion and history of getting involved with teaching special needs kids, his faith, and how his American Idol journey fit into all of that. To be honest, i enjoyed the read and gained a new sense of respect for Claiken. In regards to faith, what i gather from his book is that he's conservative in his personal beliefs but pretty liberal in his theology. (You can ask me more about that if you'd like. Or, try to find your own $0.50 copy, =p). All in all, i'm glad i bought it, read it and am actually inspired to dig out the copy of "Measure of a Man" that my siblings bought for my mom a few years back.

Anyway, up next will be A Thousand Splendid Suns. Then, i think The Alchemist has been on my list for quite a while and is finally sitting on my desk.

Blech!

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 06:53:20 GMT

So basically, when i see my current Xanga layout colors on a PC, it looks horrendous! When i originally put the colors together i was quite pleased with it.. it looks great on my Mac. But when i checked my Xanga on a PC the other day, i thought "blech!" It looks so different! The colors, the font, boooo. So, if you're looking at my blog from a PC, i apologize for what you see. I'll get around to changing it...

Staff Training

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 06:43:44 GMT

Came back from a week of Staff Training with all the campus ministry staff in Western Canada. I bring back with me a lot of think about and process. I definitely learned a lot, meaning, A LOT. And what i appreciate about it is that it's not just head knowledge or one-dimensional canned tucked-away ministry resources that will collect dust on a shelf. Instead, I foresee a lot of visionary application for myself. Mmm, i won't unpack that phrase right now, but yes, visionary application. In a sense, I feel like it's all still a big blob (but a good one) so December will be a good time to process it all and make more sense of it. I know it sounds ambiguous but i have yet to flesh it out myself. Just thinking aloud.

I head back to Vancouver today for a few weeks during the Christmas break. Then, to Edmonton for our western Winter Conference at the end of the month, followed by returning to Calgary for the next semester.

I'll try to do a picture summary of the Fall or something of the like soon.

To the mailbox!

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:27:55 GMT

So here's the actual letter i'm sending to Santa! Definitely worth the stamp money and the 15 minutes to write it. I cut some words from what i posted before but it's generally the same. And may i remind you, this is a true story, folks. Ha! Grammatical errors are intentional... actually, i feel like i shuld have tryed waay hardder to misspel more werds.

Dear Santa, My name is Steph. One time I gave you milk and cookies on Christmas Eve but you didn't eat them. My mommy got mad at me for not cleaning up wasting food. How come you didn't eat them? I really hope you eat them this year becase I don't want to get in trouble again. Thanks Santa! Merry Christmas!

Your friend, Stephanie

Dear Santa.

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 04:24:26 GMT

I've decided to write Santa a letter this year. Canada Post promises that Santa will write me back (via Canada Post retirees and current employees). I'm assuming a generic letter will be sent to me but we'll see. This is what i'm writing, it's a true story:

Dear Santa,

My name is Stephanie. One time, I left you milk and cookies on Christmas Eve but the next morning it was still there. My mommy got mad at me for not cleaning up and for wasting the food. How come you didn't eat them? Were you full? I hope this that this year will be different, I don't want to get in trouble again.

-Stephanie