[{"content":"We will cover many disparate topics seemingly unconnected from each other. However, the through line connecting all is the wave.\nStardust, Photons, and Waves # Allow me to explain. We are for all intents literally just stardust bound together by energy. Similar to light which we also know is energy and particulate matter, we exist as matter that moves in wave like patterns.\nYou were right about the stars, each one is a setting sun. Our love is all God’s money. Everyone is a burning sun\nWilco - Jesus, etc.\nThose concepts were explored in Star Wars Rogue One in the relationship between the protagonist and her father.\nXenogears # Further we take strong inspiration from another sci-fi masterpiece from 1997: SquareSoft and Tetsuya Takahashi San\u0026rsquo;s Xenogears.\nSpoiler alert: this comes from the ending of the game and its narrative. Bear with me as I distill this grandiose space opera, its story of generations of people, alternative histories and futures, on a road to self discovery and actualization.\nXenogears\u0026rsquo; Wave Existence # The story’s main protagonist Fei starts with a dark mysterious past and quickly encounters a war that turns his world upside down catalyzing a hidden shadow self that he’s afraid of. Being told fairly early in his quest that his destiny is to kill “god” and forced by consequences to join forces with others who are fundamentally opposed to him, he’s sent on a journey of discovery that culminates in meeting an entity called the wave existence.\nWell that escalated quickly! I put “god” in quotes because in typical grandiose space opera fashion this refers to something that is more approximately an interplanetary autonomous system that functions at times more like a weapon with god-like power that can create biological and technological creatures to serve its planetary conquering and domination goals.\nSo continue bearing with me while I explain that the wave existence is more like what we typically refer to as God - a higher power especially of a spiritual nature. It is a being comprised of energy in the form of a wave and lacks a physical presence. It isn’t portrayed as strictly the Judeo-Christian God, but rather the same role as a transcendental entity that is a universal truth. Could you aptly describe it as love itself? Certainly. Could you call it the uniting resonant energy between all living beings? For sure.\nEndless Deep, or in the Moment? # I am learning to be more in the moment and not always diving into the deep end of a conversation. But that’s my default. So it makes sense we start from here.\nEven still, all is the wave. When Fei makes contact with the wave existence we get this feeling as though he’s entered a sacred space where all people and all things converge.\nMusic is a wave # So maybe it’s too over the top or too silly. But honestly I feel it - my heart beat is a rhythm, a wave. As is yours. Music is a series of waves. Have you noticed people mentioning “vibes” instead of thoughts and prayers? We won’t cover the whole discussion about that now, simply know that vibes are vibrations which are also waves.\nLight is a wave # Light is a wave. Another game series I enjoy, Final Fantasy, has recurring themes of orphans called to be warriors of light.\nIn the Bible the apostle John talks about being children of the light.\nTopics of Interest # What other kinds of disparate topics can you look forward to reading about here:\nMusic Psychology Spirituality Christian Theology Science Science Fiction Games Humor Politics Culture Communication Relationships and Society Business Economics Sports So from every standpoint we are all the wave.\nThe wave is in all and all is the wave.\n","date":"3 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2024-04-03-welcome-post/","section":"","summary":"","title":"Welcome to the Wave","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"21 October 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/","section":"","summary":"","title":"","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"21 October 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/","section":"All is the Wave 🌊","summary":"","title":"All is the Wave 🌊","type":"page"},{"content":"","date":"21 October 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/health/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Health","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 October 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/life/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Life","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 October 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/lifestyles/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Lifestyles","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 October 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/mental-health/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Mental Health","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 October 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/psychology/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Psychology","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 October 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/purpose/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Purpose","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 October 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tags","type":"tags"},{"content":" Yutori ゆとり # No, your fight is not with them Yours is with your time here Dream your dreams, but don\u0026rsquo;t pretend Make friends with what you are Give your heart and change your mind You\u0026rsquo;re allowed to do it Because God knows it\u0026rsquo;s been done to you and Somehow you got through it\nAlive in the age of worry Smile in the age of worry Go out in the age of worry And say, \u0026ldquo;Worry, why should I care?\u0026rdquo;\nThe Age of Worry - John Mayer\nConstant Worry and Anxiety # We live in an age of constant worry and anxiety. A lot of that is the by-product of late stage capitalism, inequity, and constant exhausting crises with a lack of attention to ever fixing root causes. Most of those are external factors though and largely outside of our control as individuals. So let go of those for a minute and let\u0026rsquo;s take a journey inward.\nYutori is a Japanese lifestyle concept. To best explain it I\u0026rsquo;ll put in my own words: intentionally making space in your mind (and heart) for life to play out and be content with what happens.\nYou see Yutori offers us release from the \u0026ldquo;rat-race\u0026rdquo; of modern living: Keeping up with the Joneses, jockeying for rank and promotions, and seeking validation from other flawed people. The Japanese people have long dealt with problems of overworking even to the point of death! They call it Karoshi in these extreme cases and it should be obvious why everyone wants to avoid that. Work related stress drove too many people to suicide or to have other life threating health conditions.\nAny day now, I shall be released\u0026hellip;\nI Shall Be Released - Jeff Buckley\nContentment is not settling, it is finding the life that pleases you # Here\u0026rsquo;s another great resource on the concept: Yutori - Space for Peace of Mind. Three Japanese researchers set out to measure Yutori at the beginning of this century. Yamashita-san, Yagi-san, and Furukawa-san discovered Yutori does not come from having material needs and desires but is more strongly correlated to psychological benefits like contentment. While it\u0026rsquo;s important to have a baseline of free time, a supportive environment and economic resources, they don\u0026rsquo;t grant you full Yutori. Much like money does not provide motivation to people but rather discourages those when inequitable and lacking, material resources don\u0026rsquo;t get you to high levels of Yutori, but can prevent you if you don\u0026rsquo;t have the basics covered.\nWhen realizing high contentment most people had improved other psychological factors like enjoyment, behavioral freedom, and challenge.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t care too much for money, money can\u0026rsquo;t buy me love\nCan\u0026rsquo;t Buy Me Love - The Beatles\nMaking Space and Time # Ready to give up the \u0026ldquo;rat-race,\u0026rdquo; jump off the hamster wheel, and find peace in your life? While it\u0026rsquo;s very subjective what actually makes your feel this relaxation and make time for important interruptions to your life, there\u0026rsquo;s a lot of simple little changes you can try today to bring back joy. So kiss goodbye the \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m always busy\u0026rdquo; mantra.\nYutori Tips # Take time off from having your mobile device or computer around. Turn off notifications on mobile and computing devices. Take a walk outside at a park or your neighborhood. Cut out, or cut back on social media usage. Plan extra time to travel places, especially with routine commutes. Plan \u0026ldquo;free time\u0026rdquo; in your calendar with no other agenda then use that time to contact important people, allow interruptions, or think about what\u0026rsquo;s important to you. Journal - this should be private and confidential but other than that no rules, write whatever is on your heart or mind. Meditate. If you are a person of faith or are open to it, pray. Let go of things you have no agency over. If you have an iPhone use the new homescreen customization feature to apply a tint to all apps so you have a calming color like blue instead of red, yellow, orange or other alarming colors. Set clear boundaries between work/school and your personal life and honor them. If someone else repeatedly does not respect your boundaries tell them and quit engaging with them until they demonstrate positive changes. If you are a morning person, wake up early and have some quiet time, alternatively find time in the afternoonor evening if that\u0026rsquo;s better. Read a book. Don\u0026rsquo;t overbook your schedule; plan in buffer time between meetings, tasks, events to not only be physically present but also mentally change gears and be mentally present. Be okay with saying no. If you\u0026rsquo;re not able to do something 100% you should consider whether you need to do it at all. Make time to process emotions when high impact events come up. Plan to arrive places early. That way you have time to be distracted for a few minutes to chat with people or read something. Know your \u0026ldquo;non-negotiables\u0026rdquo; and make sure your needs are met. I have several health conditions that I have to take care of daily. One of those being diabetes, means I know I need to have regular healthy meals. If an event takes place during a meal time and does not mention food that\u0026rsquo;s a hard pass. If I have to compromise my personal needs or desires and cannot give you my best self, what\u0026rsquo;s the point? If you\u0026rsquo;re an introvert get comfortable asking for introvert time by yourself. Make to-do tasks appropriately scoped and scheduled. This one is hard but I\u0026rsquo;ve learned that making everything top priority means that nothing is high priority. So instead be realistic with what you are promising and design your work to go in order of priority that\u0026rsquo;s accurately measured by needs or urgency and be okay leaving unfinished work. If it\u0026rsquo;s not still there for you when you get back, that\u0026rsquo;s a red flag that things need to change in that situation or you may look into better places to work. ","date":"21 October 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2024-10-21-yutori/","section":"","summary":"","title":"Yutori","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"1 May 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/bible/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Bible","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 May 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/christianity/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Christianity","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 May 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/jesus/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Jesus","type":"tags"},{"content":" Jolly and the Sanguine Serenity # Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - The Smashing Pumpkins\n44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?\nMatthew 5:44-46 ESV\nThe Rain Falls on the Just and the Unjust # It seems to be one of life\u0026rsquo;s greatest mysteries. Why do good things happen to bad people, and bad things keep happening to good people?\nI\u0026rsquo;m going to speak in general stories but these are all real things that have effected people in my spheres in life, and recently.\nIn what seemed a lifetime it took to find your perfect partner you lived and loved together until they got diagnosed with a debilitating condition that eventually took its toll and with it their life. You\u0026rsquo;re a young adult happily married and your partner found out her breast cancer came back in stage 4. The world has taken its toll on your family and what was once one of you children faced with harsh mental illness has stressed everyone out past the breaking point. Your child is in elementary school doing well, but it\u0026rsquo;s after having survived cancer twice! Your young adult friend had a bright future full of promise ahead but you found out he had a heart attack and passed away. You lost a family member you always thought would be right there with you. A loved one passed away far before their time. You got a new diagnosis for a chronic and debilitating illness. Life with chronic illnesses caught up again and caused lots of stress and made it impossible to keep up with school, with work, and with life. Chronic illness closed doors of opportunity and left you with frustrating decisions of how to ration out healthcare or medicines because our America runs its healthcare worse than many 3rd world nations do. You lost your job for no reason. You lost your job for a BS reason that wasn\u0026rsquo;t your fault. You poured out your heart for your partner only to have it broken and your relationship blow up in your face.\nMeanwhile the rich get richer. The powerful retain and grab more power. The lauded get more praise and take all the conversation and attention leaving no air for the rest of us. Authoritarians get power and riches for life. Fascism is on the rise.\nWhy then do we see so many awful people doing so well while the rest of us hardworking and good people suffer?\nRest for the Weary # If never you find what you’re looking for\nCome on back to the front porch\nSay my name through the screen door\nCome on back to the front porch\nWhatever you’ve done, it doesn’t matter\n\u0026lsquo;Cause darling we\u0026rsquo;re all a little splintered and battered\nBut the light is on, what you waiting for?\nCome on back, come on back to the front porch\nFront Porch - Joy Williams\nPerhaps we are looking at it from the wrong perspective though?\nFor starters, I\u0026rsquo;m a believer that there are no such things as \u0026ldquo;good\u0026rdquo; people, and by the same token no \u0026ldquo;bad\u0026rdquo; people either. The latter I often struggle to embrace with my heart if I\u0026rsquo;m honest. I want to see justice. And it doesn\u0026rsquo;t feel to me much like justice when rich people hoard wealth and other people starve. It irks me to hear people use the term \u0026ldquo;good christian\u0026rdquo; because theologically I only see a case for all people being children of God, beloved, and called into his grace. We are all sinners, not one of us can earn our righteousness nor salvation and thank Jesus for doing the work, because we don\u0026rsquo;t have to.\nOne thing I\u0026rsquo;ve learned about Jesus\u0026rsquo;s kingdom is that it\u0026rsquo;s very much inverted. Pastor Mike at my church once said Jesus may seem to turn everything on its head, but it only looks that way because we are so used to our upside down perspective that we miss him turning things right-side up.\nWhatever you Face, God can Handle it # Modern Christianity often shies away from the difficult and the deep, the sad and the inexplicable. A friend of mine at church mentioned that he analyzed the word content of \u0026ldquo;contemporary christian\u0026rdquo; music and contrasted that to the Psalms, that have a lot of language of suffering, and pain. Much of modern christianity cannot be bothered to address the painful, the difficult, the misunderstood.\nEmotional Intelligence # In visiting a new church closer to where we live I heard the pastor say something that I disagreed or thought may have been a misunderstanding. He was making a joke clearly - talking about our sinful nature. It was something about if sinning doesn\u0026rsquo;t bring you joy, you\u0026rsquo;re not trying hard enough. This is where nuance and modern science can actually help. You see it\u0026rsquo;s understandable to conflate pleasure, happiness, and joy all together. Why is that? Simply put, they are separate distinct emotions that all share the same universal facial expression 😄. Contrastingly most other basic universal human emotions have their own unique universal facial expression. Take for instance sadness 😭, contempt 😏, surprise 😮, fear 😨, and disgust 🤢. In short one thing that makes joy different is that it more akin to a mood though can present as an emotion at times. By definition emotions only last a moment. By definition of joy, it is a pleasurable state that depends less on the immediate stimuli, environment, or circumstances. So joy can\u0026rsquo;t come from the very real pleasure of sin, it\u0026rsquo;s always temporary, and fleeting.\nBeing a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God\u0026rsquo;s will.\nDietrich Bonhoeffer\nTrue Joy # What is then actual joy and how do we experience it?\nBut let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy.\nPsalm 5:11 NLT\nGod gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him.\nEcclesiastes 2:26 NLT\nIt is a gift from God, but it\u0026rsquo;s also a state of praise and pleasure in knowing God\u0026rsquo;s promises for us.\nSanguine (adjective) marked by eager hopefullness: confidently optimistic [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sanguine](Merriam-Webster Dictionary)\nBut the bible also provides us the counter points:\nMobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine. Joy has turned to gloom. Gladness has been banished from the land.\nIsaiah 24:11\nJesus, Long Suffering Man of Sorrows # You see God does not prevent us from suffering but instead suffers along side us. A while back I think it was pastor Elliot at my church that said when you suffer for God you aren\u0026rsquo;t a sucker: you look like your savior. And it\u0026rsquo;s true. God humbled himself to become a human just like us and was willing to lay down his own life to take on our sins and die the death we should have had. But Jesus, being the life could not be held by death and resurrected to offer forgiveness and life eternal to us too.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not that Jesus is not the happy blessings, it\u0026rsquo;s that he\u0026rsquo;s not only those things. So to forget his long suffering nature and to live in denial of our own struggles and hardships is diminishing our own lives.\nBrian: You can do whatever you want with your life, but one day you\u0026rsquo;ll know what love truly is. It\u0026rsquo;s the sour and the sweet. And I know sour, which allows me to appreciate the sweet.\nVanilla Sky - Cameron Crowe\nThe Fullness of Life is not the Absence of Pain # Likewise not acknowledging the full nature of Jesus is watering down his full power and majesty. It\u0026rsquo;s similar to what author Chimimanda Ngozi Adachie says about stereotypes reducing us to only be a fraction of who we are:\nThe problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.\nChimimanda Ngozi Adachie\nSo instead of succumbing to the inevitable pains, sorrows, and despair in life, count it all joy. It\u0026rsquo;s joyful because we get to share both the pleasures and the triumphs of life with our God and our loved ones. The same way we can share the hardships, the times of doubt, the times of apathy or ennui. Because the sweetness of life is just that much sweeter when we have been through the pains of death and depression. Acknowledge the heartache, but don\u0026rsquo;t dwell in it longer than needed. Don\u0026rsquo;t sulk or wallow. When you get through it, and you will get through it, remember what God has delivered you from and put that in actions and words that help others in need. This is the true joy of life. This is what gets us out of bed in the morning excited to start the day. Knowing it will bring struggles, setbacks, heartbreaks, and pains. But knowing that the victory on the other side is worth it. That each person is a beloved child of God, so hearing them or helping them or simply being with them is itself the prize.\nChristianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness and pride of power and with its plea for the weak. Christians are doing too little to make these points clear rather than too much. Christendom adjusts far too easily to the worship of power. Christians should give more offense, shock the world far more, than they are doing now. Christian should take a stronger stand in favor of the weak rather than considering first the possible right of the strong.\nDietrich Bonhoeffer\nPain is an Inevitable Truth; Beauty, Light, Life and Joy are also Inevitable Truths # Embrace who you are and where you are. Know that you won\u0026rsquo;t always be in the current circumstances. This too shall pass. Until then, know you are not alone. Even if I\u0026rsquo;m just some rando behind the keyboard of my computer, know there are people out there that care. If it\u0026rsquo;s not me, I guarantee there are people in your life.\nLearn to be jolly and find the sanguine serenity in knowing you are loved. Let it start with the truth that the creator of all is always reaching out in love to you, and is long suffering alongside each of us in all the pain we may encounter. That which you have done to the least of my children, you have done to me. This is the true meaning of joy. Embracing the pain and heartache and choosing to hold fast to the love that will not let us go.\nThere’s a darkness upon me that’s flooded in light\nIn the fine print they tell me what’s wrong and what’s right\nAnd it comes in black and it comes in white\nAnd I’m frightened by those that don’t see it\n[Verse 2]\nWhen nothing is owed or deserved or expected\nAnd your life doesn’t change by the man that’s elected\nIf you’re loved by someone, you’re never rejected\nDecide what to be and go be it\n[Chorus]\nThere was a dream and one day I could see it\nLike a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it\nAnd there was a kid with a head full of doubt\nSo I’ll scream til I die and the last of those bad thoughts are finally out\nHead Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise - Avett Brothers\nRejoice in Pain, Rejoice in Pleasure # And I\u0026rsquo;ll close this epic for the ages with a bible verse that one of my dear friends suffering from an illness she may never recover from in this life had shared, because it\u0026rsquo;s the most beautiful summary of anything I\u0026rsquo;ve said so far.\n“But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy.”\n‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬\n","date":"1 May 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2024-05-01-jolly-and-the-sanguine-serenity/","section":"","summary":"","title":"Jolly and the Sanguine Serenity","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"22 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/culture/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Culture","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/music/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Music","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/nightlife/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Nightlife","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/society/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Society","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/sports/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Sports","type":"tags"},{"content":" This Time Around # \u0026ldquo;Io\u0026rdquo; by Hellen Stellar\nAs I wrap up my thirties and still look about half my age I\u0026rsquo;m reflecting on my life. I\u0026rsquo;m reminded of things that make me feel younger this week.\nThe College Life # On Monday April 15th my partner, Amara, and I went to the NC State Wolfpack basketball celebration at the bell tower on campus. Unfortunately we didn\u0026rsquo;t win either the women\u0026rsquo;s nor the men\u0026rsquo;s tournaments but we did make it to the Final Four with some great players, teams, and just generally wonderful people. Since those tournaments were going on at the same time in different parts of the country the teams and the school wanted to get everyone together to celebrate with each other.\nAs a Wolfpack fan our teams sent a resounding message: \u0026ldquo;we\u0026rsquo;re back!\u0026rdquo; There\u0026rsquo;s a lot to be said about how the NCAA came down with sanctions on our men\u0026rsquo;s basketball team in the late 1980\u0026rsquo;s. We will just leave it at saying that if there were any improprieties or unethical actions in our program, I\u0026rsquo;m glad they were punished, but the punishment seemed to work too well and contributed to keeping Wolfpack basketball from the notoriety and talent we had earned. Well, no more. We\u0026rsquo;re back! This season showed in many ways with both our men\u0026rsquo;s and women\u0026rsquo;s teams that we can go against all odds, do it with style, with skill, and with joy overflowing from our hearts.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s focus on one of the best examples: DJ Burns Jr. This guy is wonderful. Not only is he a large presence on the court at 6'9\u0026quot; but he is larger than life in real life because he\u0026rsquo;s always just beaming with delight. In between plays on the court he\u0026rsquo;s often smiling, laughing, dancing on the sidelines. He has an infectious joy for life that you can\u0026rsquo;t help but catch even just watching him on TV. It\u0026rsquo;s a bit like the sanguine happiness of the fictious Ted Lasso.\n\u0026ldquo;Why not us?\u0026rdquo; became our slogan on flags, banners, shirts, and chanted everywhere throughout Wolfpack nation.\nI recognize that \u0026ldquo;Why not us?\u0026rdquo; was first used by NC Central in ESPN\u0026rsquo;s docuseries The Undefeated. This phrase itself isn\u0026rsquo;t something that copyright law can cover as far as I\u0026rsquo;m aware since it\u0026rsquo;s too generic by itself. It\u0026rsquo;s why you cannot copyright a slogan like \u0026ldquo;We sell the best today\u0026rdquo; but \u0026ldquo;BestBuy\u0026rdquo; has their logo trademarked. One is just using common words, the other is using particular words/styles that are registered to only be used by the company. Anyways, I think it\u0026rsquo;s always good to respect and recognize the original source to attribute.\nBack on campus for this event I was reminded of so many wonderful times in my late teens and early twenties at college.\nWhenever I\u0026rsquo;m alone with you, you make me feel like I am young again # \u0026ldquo;Lovesong\u0026rdquo; by The Cure\nI\u0026rsquo;m incredibly grateful for my partner, and the more time I spend with her we often both wish we had known each other when we were younger.\nAnd there\u0026rsquo;s just numerous reasons that we met at the perfect time and things wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been as great if her and I met in high school or college for instance.\nI wish I knew you when I was young We coulda got so high Now we\u0026rsquo;re here, it\u0026rsquo;s been so long Two strangers in the bright light\n\u0026ldquo;Wish I Knew You\u0026rdquo; by The Revivalists\nSo we\u0026rsquo;ll focus for now on sharing the joys of being together now. And one of those things really reminded me of the times when I was in college since I\u0026rsquo;ve moved across the county to be closer to her. While setting up my new living space I\u0026rsquo;ve got a great sit/stand desk that I\u0026rsquo;ve tried to cram into a small room with some other furniture already in there. That really takes me back to the shoebox dorm room I shared with my best friend Andrew in Sullivan hall or the apartments I stayed in. Having to Tetris(🧱) the furniture and things to make it work, years before people discovered tiny houses and the art of Marie Kondo.\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s My Age Again? # \u0026ldquo;What\u0026rsquo;s my age again?\u0026rdquo; by Blink-182\nAmara and I both have had some tough times and difficult challenges in our lives. That\u0026rsquo;s why we often intentionally spend time doing things that may seem childish to some but bring a lot of joy to us. Beyond not apologizing, I\u0026rsquo;m going further to suggest you should try this too. There\u0026rsquo;s many too many discouraging, bleak things these days to always focus on those. So I\u0026rsquo;d been thinking for a while about doing Go-Karts as a fun date and just a fun activity and ended up inviting two couples of friends to join us for a birthday party at Frankie\u0026rsquo;s fun park.\nWe had a great time playing laser tag and even though our group didn\u0026rsquo;t get to stay together we all made up the top of the leaderboard on both teams.\nSo whatever brings you joy, life, curiousity, and wonder be sure to prioritize seeking it in your life. There\u0026rsquo;s plenty of time to reflect and criticize the hardships of life, but for now we\u0026rsquo;re celebrating the abounding beauty in life!\nHow do you do it? You make me want to live again.\n\u0026ldquo;How Do You Do?\u0026rdquo; by Hot Chip\n","date":"22 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2024-04-22-young-again/","section":"","summary":"","title":"Young Again","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"9 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/durham/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Durham","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"9 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/jazz/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Jazz","type":"tags"},{"content":" Missy Lane\u0026rsquo;s Assembly Room # We\u0026rsquo;ve all lost people and things to the pandemic, and one unfortunate one to go was Raleigh\u0026rsquo;s C-Grace Jazz and Speakeasy club.\nNaturally, I was elated to find out that there\u0026rsquo;s a new Jazz club in Durham, NC. My partner told me about Missy Lane\u0026rsquo;s Assembly Room and we both love jazz a lot so it was incredibly fitting that our first concert date was to a jazz show there.\nジャズを聴きます\nJya Zu Oh I kki Ki Ma Su\n(I listen to jazz.)\nOne of my \u0026ldquo;Covid hobbies\u0026rdquo; while isolating during the pandemic was to begin learning Japanese (日本語). I\u0026rsquo;ve continued and while its time is eerily conincidental it just so happened I learned those phrases and words just before going to the concert.\nThe Bad Plus # First time I heard of The Bad Plus was back around 2003/2004 in my first year at NC State for college. I know, I\u0026rsquo;m getting old, but shout out to Ed, my friend who introduced me to this band and a bunch of other great ones!\nI was really getting into learning guitar and progressive rock bands at that time. Prog rock is never far from fusion jazz, thus The Bad Plus came up as a recommendation. I enjoy their originals and their brilliant pop and rock covers in their won style. See their debut album from 2003 These are the Vistas and Smells Like Teen Spirit, Flim, and Heart of Glass for starters. Or Their original they opened their set with Everywhere You Turn.\nAccording to some other fans chatting after the show The Bad Plus did another that day and had one or two more scheduled and did completely different set lists each time, which is always amazing to me.\nTheir lineup has notably changed in the last few years when they dropped Ethan Iverson, the pianist while keeping Reid Anderson on bass and David King on drums. They\u0026rsquo;ve added in Ben Monder on guitar and Chris Speed on Saxophone.\nTheir best song by far was called Tyrone\u0026rsquo;s Flamingo and is from their upcoming album set to release later this year.\nCocktails and Atmosphere # The whole place has a very speakeasy style vibe and with that you expect some good cocktail drinks. They did not disappoint on that either. I got the Oasis which was a refreshing and flavorful gin and honeydew, lemon, and mint drink. My partner got the She was a Fairy which was a tequila drink with lemon, tea, and lavender flavor. She really enjoyed the drinks and mentioned coming back just for that.\nDURM (Durham NC) # Here\u0026rsquo;s the main area and bar at the front of the club, which I think is open to other events or as a chill co-working space during the day. In downtown Durham, this is a convenient location if you live or work in the area. It\u0026rsquo;s been a while but I still have fond memories of working at the American Tobacco campus when I was working in the video game industry for Mighty Rabbit Studios.\n","date":"9 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2024-04-09-joyous-jazz/","section":"","summary":"","title":"Joyous Jazz","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"3 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/business/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Business","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"3 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/economics/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Economics","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"3 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/humor/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Humor","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"3 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/politics/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Politics","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"3 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/relationships/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Relationships","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"3 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/sci-fi/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Sci-Fi","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"3 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/science/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Science","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"3 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/spirituality/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Spirituality","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"3 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/videogames/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Videogames","type":"tags"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/authors/","section":"Authors","summary":"","title":"Authors","type":"authors"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Categories","type":"categories"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/series/","section":"Series","summary":"","title":"Series","type":"series"}]