Addendum...

Ok, so this is really just an addition to last night's post - I mentioned three artists I've been listening to, and I wanted to pop in and note that both the Jon Foreman EPs and the Ivoryline CD are available to download for free on SpiralFrog (which is a pretty sweet site anyways) - wish I had known that before I bought them... hm... since the Sixpence None The Richer stuff was already free... there's really no excuse not to check out this music now, is there?

Enjoying Music

The title of this post might seem silly... especially on this blog, but here me out. Because of my job and degree and, well, life, I'm listening to music almost constantly. I think there's a real difference, though, between hearing music and listening to it, and an even bigger difference between just listening and really enjoying it. Tonight I got to really truly enjoy some music for a while... and of course, there's a bit of a story:

Last night I decided to rearrange my room. Good idea - it looks really good. Here's the problem: in the process of moving things around, I managed to pretty much destroy my subwoofer. I'm not really sure what happened, all I know is that once I got it where I wanted it and plugged it in, it just kind of popped. That's not the worst thing, because the speakers I had paired with it need to get back to the system they belong to at my parents house anyways.

So I went shopping today.

I wasn't planning on this expense, so I definitely didn't have much to spend, but I certainly couldn't settle for something that didn't sound really good. I ended up with the Bose Companion IIs. That's Bose's least expensive set-up, and I'll admit that I was really jonesing for the more expensive ones, but these still sounded better than everything else in the store (regardless of price).

I've spent quite a bit of time tonight listening, and they sound really great. There's just a clarity to the sound that I haven't heard out of my computer before. An incredible bass response, too - especially since this is the first computer speaker system I've had without a subwoofer - these beat out the Altec sub that blew up any day. They come highly recommended, as does the music I've been listening to:

1. Jon Foreman's 4 "season" EPs have been playing in my house/car continuously since they came out. Seriously some of the best music I've ever heard. I've gotten a little disenchanted with Switchfoot in recent years, but this stuff is just insanely good. Really acoustic, simple arrangements, but they showcase some truly profound music. You need to check this stuff out.

2. Ivoryline is a new rock/metal band from Texas. I got their CD a little while back, but haven't really gotten into listening to it until last week or so, and I must say that it's VERY good. Melodic and heavy, but still a pop element that I really like. Great vocals.

3. After "retiring" a couple years back, Sixpence None The Richer just released a new 4 track EP this week. I was never much of a Sixpence fan "back in the day," but the EP was available for free on Derek Webb's Noisetrade site (which is definitely worth checking out, by the way), so I decided to give it a shot. Wow. I'm really impressed with these tunes. Sixpence may have a new fan!

Now I've got the Pandora radio going, but I really need to get to bed... tomorrow's not a busy day, but it doesn't start earlier than today!

Resting in the Stillness

I ought to be in bed. Really. I got about two hours of sleep last night and I've been up since 6 AM. I'm very tired. And yet, here I am, still sitting at the computer at 1:29, typing away. The truth is that I don't really want to go to bed yet, because I really love this time of night. Everything is quiet and cool and dark... very peaceful. I love that stillness. I think about the passage that we've all heard so many times - "be still and know that I am God." How often do we do that in our modern, mixed up, multimedia world? I would guess that most people (at least if they're anything like me), don't take time to pause like that very often anymore.

Sometimes when we slow down and rest in that stillness, God comes to us through other people. Today has been full of good food and conversation, opportunities to connect and reconnect. I needed that. The last month or so has been a total whirlwind. Since graduation day (June 15) I've spent just 11 nights here at home. I've been all over Ohio, plus into Michigan, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It's been a great time, but also very tiring. Mentally, Physically, and Spiritually tiring. Today, I took some time to refresh. Some me time. Some friend time. Some God time. What a wonderful feeling! Why is it that we can't remember how good we feel in these moments days or weeks later when life is busy and consuming again?

I need to work on slowing down a bit, at least from time to time. I need to rest in the stillness and reconnect with my Creator. I need a "fill-up." I need a day like today.

Insomniatic Update

I had planned to be asleep in bed far earlier than this, but since I am still wide awake, I figured I should pop in here for a bit. Things have been quite busy, but should finally start to slow down a little bit now. The update:

Covenant Gathering was fantastic. Very tiring for me - lots of very good discussion on a ton of different topics, but I was often the only one with specific knowledge on something. Being one of only two or three people between 15-30, and also one of two or three people coming from a "contemporary" church (I HATE that word), much less working in one, people had a lot of questions for me. I was happy to answer them, but it left me feeling pretty worn out when I got home, therefore...

VACATION!!! I've been lucky enough to spend the last couple of days taking a break from it all with my family in the mountains of Pennsylvania (also got to see the Pirates play again on Tuesday night... good times!) I'm still at my parents house until sometime tomorrow afternoon, when I'll head back up to Columbus for the Centerpoint middle school camp out this weekend. Definitely looking forward to that - should be a very good time.

I've decided to try Twitter again... I'll admit, I still don't completely get it, but I've heard a lot of ringing endorsements lately, so I decided to reactivate my account and give it "the old college try" (which is a funnier way of saying things now that I've graduated). I figure that I update my Facebook status all the time, and Twitter can use my updates on Facebook, as well as a number of other places (including this page - check out the left hand column), so I really had nothing to lose. We'll see what happens. If you use Twitter - get me hooked on your feed!

I've got tons of little half-baked entries bouncing around in my head right now - so stay tuned for a whole bunch of stuff over the next few days (that's what happens when I finally have some time!) For tonight - goodnight!

Breaks

I still have a lot of prep work to do on my Covenant Gathering materials before I leave tomorrow. More than I'd like to have. It means very little sleep tonight and a VERY busy day up until I leave tomorrow afternoon. Nonetheless, I need a bit of a break, so I'm here to write. This is actually my second break of the evening, and I'm pausing to write about the other.

I took a walk tonight. It's been quite a while since my last one. I did that for a couple of reasons. First, because I needed a major break from the computer screen, it was 64 degrees outside, and I needed some physical activity bad. I guess that's actually three reasons. In any case, the other is that I've decided I need to stay more connected to the outdoors and nature when I'm away from camp (see two posts down for why). So I went out and walked for an hour. It was nice. I'm going to do it more often this summer.

...And now, alas, back to work.