Martinism of the day

Tonight I took my Politics in the Middle East midterm and it consisted of 30 questions. We basically wrote down everything in answering the questions. No multiple choice and a couple of annoying detailed questions that were a bit harder to answer than I expected. Anyways, one of the questions (I think it was the 3rd one) went like this: "In political science terms what does North and South mean/ refer to." As I read this I could not recall if we had discussed it in class so I skipped it and kept chuggin' along with the rest of the exam.

As I'm finishing the test I go back to the 3rd question and after much thinking I narrow it down to two possibilities. Option number 1: even though we are talking about Middle East politics I figure that in the world of political science "North and South" could be referring to the conflict in the U.S. Civil War. For some unknown reason I don't jot that down. Instead I decide to go biblical and answer that the North referred to the European continent and the South to the Muslim nations that battled each other during the wars of conquest/crusade/caliphate.

Ridiculous! I should get bonus points for being that creative ;) I know you guys will appreciate it more than my prof will, hehe.

A time to reflect...

So February 20, 2006 came and went and it seemed quite unreal. For many of you it's just a regular day, no special meaning to it whatsoever. To me though it means 1 exact year since I was baptized. I had been thinking about that a lot recently since it has been a year and so many things have happened in that span of time.

I remember the day as if it was yesterday. I have always told people that I went through probably one of the worst weeks of my life as the big weekend came up. There was no other way of putting it...plain hell on earth for me in that week. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong and I was feeling nervous, awkward, and was close to backing out. I went into one of the room at the Blackmans' home (as we were all waiting for the Millich's to arrive) and started balling my eyes out in prayer. I was feeling so uneasy and scared but I knew if I backed out then that there would be no telling when I'd come close to making that decision again. I don't know how long I was in the room but it took me a while to compose myself. So many things that many people still don't know to this day were occurring in the background and I was feeling overwhelmed. Somehow though, God gave me the courage and the proverbial "kick in the butt" to make that decision and cement that commitment.

When I think of all the things that have happened ever since that day it amazes me how the past year has included incredible highs but also some very low lows. It's true when the minister tells you that the road doesn't get easier. In a way it does because now you have God's Spirit in you helping you but at the same time now the enemy decides to unleash everything in his arsenal to make you lose hope. I can say that I have grown in the past year, maybe not as much as I would have liked but there has been growth. The only reason there's been some stunt in that growth has been because of my own actions and my dealings.

I wanted to make this post longer and more reflective but it's really late and I need to rest my incredibly sore body. I'll save some for later I guess. This week is looking killer especially with the China and Cold War midterm staring at me (it's on Thursday).

Dish your thoughts

In following the cue from two of my good friends, here is the link so you guys can choose whichever words best describe me. I hope you guys do, I think it'd be interesting to see what you guys say. The more descriptive post is coming later tonight after my intramural basketball game. Today is a pretty big day for me :)

http://kevan.org/johari?name=Martinsboulevard

Favorite Quote

"Love me or hate me, it's one or the other. Always has been. Hate my game, my swagger. Hate my fadeaway, my hunger. Hate that I'm a veteran. A champion. Hate That. Hate it with all your heart. And hate that I'm loved, for the exact same reasons."

Kobe Bryant

Cool Day Indeed

Not a bad way to celebrate my 22nd year on this nice earth :) Thank you to everybody who sent a note wishing me a good day. It was very thoughtful of you guys (I think part of the credit should go to facebook as well for putting out the reminder, lol). It was a great day...by far the best b-day I've had in the states. It's always hard to be away from family but it was cool nonetheless.

Part of the reason is that I have realized that this is my last semester of college. Apparently that is huge news and I need to start thinking on what to do after college since I would be an "expert" in my field of study. My Mom, Dad, and Grandma all sent me a huge box with some of the coolest things ever. The heartwarming letters were the best though, I was on the verge of tears because of what they wrote (yep, it's that whole "wearing my emotions on my sleeve" thing). All I have ever wanted to accomplish was to make my family proud of my achievements and to a larger extent, live a good enough life that God can tell me at the end, "you've done well son." It doesn't really matter how I achieve those goals, the important thing was to make it happen. I hope I am able to because those two things mean more than any of the material things that this fragile life holds.

So my family sent me an incredibly AWESOME jacket with the letters "NY" embroided on the left side. It's gray with carolina blue and it is absolutely cool. I also got these nice brown pinstriped pants that I want to wear to Church badly, along with two pairs of jeans, one black, the other blue. The cool thing about the jeans is that their names are Wrangler "Chaos". I thought it was hilarious because "chaos" would kind of describe my personality and college studying habits pretty well :) I also got like a massive supply of things needed for a happy life and the wonderful cash donation to the "poor Hispanic student fund" :) I miss my family badly though, it's been hardest this past trip. I can only remember it being this hard after my first semester in college. I guess I've realized how good I've had it and how thankful I am to God for the set of parents and the family He gave me. They have had a profound influence in my view of the world and who I am. You would have to come to Puerto Rico in order to understand. It's an open invitation...take advantage while you can ;)

Apparently college doesn't really care about my boasting of my 22nd year on this fine earth so it has proceeded to load up next week with 2 midterms which I have yet to buckle down and study for. It is not looking very bright but I should pick up the slack sometime tomorrow and this weekend. If not then I'm in trouble. Nothing like putting a little added pressure on myself to make success seem sweeter :) Anyways, I'm out like domestic programs in the new Bush budget :)

Right Now

I was thinking today and most of the week about things happening in the world. I am a firm believer in the fundamental battle of good vs. evil and how it is very present in the world. The problem is a lot of things are murky right now because of our lack of information or knowledge on a subject. I've been a supporter of the Iraq war in the sense that after 9/11 the U.S. needed to take offensive action towards its shadowy enemy. My main problem has been the lack of information the administration has given to the people. I know we are not supposed to know everything but the fact that the U.S. is supposed to be "disengaging" from Iraq yet more money is being pumped into something that has become almost inexplicable. No, I am not flip flopping position but I think the following lines would help understand the situation. If only liberals could understand that it's ok to disagree as long as support is shown to those performing such a meaningful sacrifice. This is an excerpt from Fort Minor's "Right Now" that was the most telling because it speaks volumes about how a musical artist actually writes about the truth instead of agreeing with the propaganda spit out by the press (whether it'd be CNN or Fox News). I never thought a musician would actually blame the press for drumming up the beat of the war drum and misleading a nation, instead of blaming the President. It's a good change of pace I guess. Here's how it goes:

Yo somebody right now is dropping his vote inside a box
And trying not to get shot in his throat
For the act of freedom right now somebody is stuck in Iraq
Hoping that he gets shipped back breathing
In a war that he's not really sure of the reasons
So we show our support when the press mislead them
Though we more then remain proud and salute the troops
Get some I know you boys got some work to do

I don't know why I decided to write about this or if it made any sense at all. I guess I just had it on my mind and wanted to drop a few lines. It's been a funky night anyways and it deserves a funky post.

Makes ya think sometimes...

"But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for the righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust."

1 Timothy 1:8-11