life

Life has been pretty good the last 3-ish months since writing. Been working Valet again, which I am fine with for now as I figure out what's coming next / apply for jobs.

Bands I have been listening to: Gorilla Biscuits, Ruiner, TOUCHE AMORE (album of the year?), AFI, Title Fight, Orchid, Crime in Stereo. Good stuff. I love music. I went to the Bridge 9 tour and Crime in Stereo was great. I may drive to California in December to see Title Fight and Touche Amore.

Blah. I have nothing to write about right now.

My life recently (May - August)

In May my wife and I graduated from college. I have been doing construction over the summer, she worked some and studied for her N-CLEX test to become a registered nurse - and passed! Then we went to Morocco from July 15th - August 5th. We have been back 11 days, which honestly seems like 3-4 weeks for some reason. I was really sick, I mean REALLY sick from Morocco and have not gone back to work, but am planning on it tomorrow. Now our life is less focused on planning for our trip but more on finding "career" jobs and being adults, which for me has led to huge amounts of anxiety and worry in my life.

This really has created a mess because I just flat out have not been trusting God with our future or with our daily lives. Today after the service at church, I saw my pastor Shaun. After asking me how I was and my answer being "okay," he said he appreciated my honesty. I felt like I needed to talk to him, so I asked him about how he is trying to sell his house and what's going on with his new ministry. Without me even saying anything about my worry he began to tell me how he has had a lot of worry and anxiety in his life for the first time in around 10 years (he is moving to Beaverton and expanding his ministry over there). He said that when guys get worried we drink too much, spend money, and do other things... I think he has been talking to a lot of guys recently who had been worried.

What he said was so encouraging because everything totally applied to me, and it was very encouraging to know that even the mentors and leaders in my life struggle with sin (worry is a huge sin). What was even more encouraging was the escape he had found from worry. He said that we need to stop looking at our bank accounts all the time, trying to figure things out for ourselves. We need to let God do the things we keep trying to do. That's hard for me because I know it's true but it's hard to apply it. Meaning, it's really hard to let go and believe that Jesus will really take care of things, that I don't need to be perfect right this second, that God will really provide for us financially, and that we really can be happy along the way. All I can do is trust...which means I do way less than I have been trying to do.

Andrew

5 songs with an 80's and 90's emo sound that are awesome.

Check them out. Before emo was whiny songs about girls, it was an awesome sound. Now, not all whiny songs about girls are bad, but here are a few songs to check out if you want to hear the more classic emo sound.

1. Cap'n Jazz - Oh Messy Life
2. Sunny Day Real Estate - In Circles
3. Cursive - The Martyr
3. Rites of Spring - For Want Of
4. Mineral - Gloria

Check out the songs, if you hate post-2000 whiny emo you may like this stuff it sounds way different.

Top 20 albums

(alphabetical)

1. AFI - Black Sails in the Sunset (1999)

2.AFI - The Art of Drowning (2000)

3. Against Me! – Reinventing Axl Rose (2001)

4. Alkaline Trio - Alkaline Trio (2000)

5. Alkaline Trio – Goddamnit (1998)

6. Alkaline Trio - Maybe I'll Catch Fire (2000)

7. Brand New – Deja Entendu (2003)

8. Brand New – The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me (2006)

9. Cursive – The Ugly Organ (2003)

10. Elliott Smith - Either/OR (1997)

11. mewithoutYou – Brother, Sister (2006)

12. Modern Life is War – Witness (2005)

13. Modest Mouse – The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)

14. Pedro the Lion - Control (2002)

15. Refused – The Shape of Punk to Come (1998)

16. Saves the Day - Can't Slow Down (1998)

17. Saves the Day – Stay What You Are (1999)

18. Saves the Day - Through Being Cool (2001)

19 + 20 = well, I actually couldn't think of 2 more that fit in the same category, just like 10-15 more that were secondary.

College graduation

Holy crap I have 2 weeks of school left then finals then I am done. So many big decisions coming up - jobs, future school, summer trip, living locations, even just how to spend my time and save or spend my money... I really learned today a lot about Jesus. He is so good and so faithful and he will carry my wife and I through this hard time.

2008 Album of the Year

Forget lists, numbers, whatever. My favorite album of the year hands down is:

Album of the Year
The '59 Sound - The Gaslight Anthem

On Obama's victory

It's 8:20 western time, Oregon's polls have only been closed for 2o minutes. But according to many websites, Obama has basically won. I voted for Bob Barr, the Libertarian. I secretely cheered for McCain. I don't really agree with anything Obama stands for. But I truly think that in one way tonight, in one major way, America is victorious.

Tonight I was talking to my mom on the phone and I told her that I thought people liked Obama just because he was black. I also downplayed the fact that he would probably be the first black president. My mom, as she often has, humbled my ignorance. She explained to me how she grew up in the 60s as a teenager, and how she watched Martin Luther's speeches. She watched segregation end. She watched how many people were ignorant, horrible racists in that time. Then she said sonething along the lines of: "Andrew, I don't agree with anything Obama stands for either. But I am not going to lie, when he gives his victory speech tonight, it will be a tear-jerker for your father and I. I fought against racism back then, and I never imagined in my lifetime that this country would progress enough in that way to have a black president."

So tonight I give a congratulations to Obama, that he was courageous enough growing up to go against the grain for his race and head into politics. I praise America that we are (mostly) past the blind racist bigotry of yesterday. Today is not the day to complain about the bad I think Obama will bring. Today I am looking at the good. I saw Jesse Jackson crying on TV, as someone who has watched racism in the past and fought against it, and I say "Thank you God that blacks are no longer hated in America, may we progress in other ways too!"