This will be quick.

LOST. What can I say? It was all I ever wanted…(wait for it,
yes…it’s a Prince of Egypt song…). No really—it reminded me some of last
season’s first episode, especially the first five minutes. It revealed so much
and yet in the entire episode we actually end up getting so little. I was
absolutely thrilled to find out many of the things we found out, and I am not
even going to mention them here just in case you haven’t seen it—I do NOT want
to offer any spoilers…it was awesome. Thank you Mike for coming over to watch,
and thanks to Heidi for scaring us to death about 20 minutes into the episode
by knocking quietly on the door (she was coming over to watch THE NINE with us,
but we didn’t know it yet…). It was super fun. My review of THE NINE—good, captivating,
but a little crazy; I liked the idea, it was fresh.

Here’s the thing—five years ago TV was struggling. Reality
TV was booming and writers and other non-reality-TV-dependent industry people
were struggling to find work. But why did reality sweep the nation so quickly?
Lack of good writing for the other stuff, America was fed up with all of the
horribly written Friends and Seinfeld rip-offs. And so the TV industry was
forced to rethink and reinvent itself. TV is completely different now than it
was five or ten years ago—and let’s be honest—it’s better. Sure, there is not
another Friends on the air anywhere, but we now have shows like LOST, CSI, The
Office, Grey’s Anatomy (I don’t watch, btw), 24, and the list goes on and on…

In my opinion, this fall perhaps has one of the strongest
lineups of new and returning shows that I’ve ever seen. Herein lies the
problem…who the heck has 3 hours every night to watch so much TV? And even if
we did, should we? NO. People keep asking me, “Why don’t you watch this?” or saying stuff like “I can’t
believe you’ve never seen that” or
“You didn’t like that show?” Sure, I
like the first one and a half episodes or HEROES, and the premiere of THE NINE
was cool. I probably would like a lot of other shows, too…but I can barely
muster enough time for my homework, two jobs, side jobs, family and eating in.
How in the world am I supposed to keep up with 50 zillion TV shows?

Well, I really don’t need to, but the ways things are, I can
always get it on DVD or iTunes and watch it over the summer…if its really THAT
good.

Well, that was not as quick as I imagined…but in summary,
pick a show or two you couldn’t live without and stick with it. There’s not
enough time in life to devote twenty hours a week to twenty or twenty-five
television shows—even if they are really good.

Or, you can watch it on iTunes the next day on your lunch
break like Joe…

No really, let’s not waste too many brain cells…

So this morning I pop open my Bible and go to Psalms. I’ve
been reading Psalms lately (I’m still towards the beginning), and I turned to
Psalm 9…

¹I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;

…and I stopped. That’s as far as I needed to go, because
I’ve already failed, and so have we all. It is a very difficult thing to praise
God with all of your heart—and
that’s all I needed to read, because I had learned something—or at least
learned what I needed to work on and focus on today. I peeked a little at what’s
next, but focused only on the first half of that first verse—because there was
enough there to last me quite a while.

Living in the world, but not of the world=very difficult.
It’s hard to know where to draw the line, and exactly what that means anyways. I was watching Studio 60 and
was struck with how much Christianity is a frontline topic on that show. They
are constantly talking about it, referring to the Conservative Christian Right,
etc…almost to the point of being annoying. Not annoying because I’m a
Christian, but annoying because it seems like they are trying to make a
specific point by it, and I can’t really figure out what it is—except to mock.
I’m not sure, but it was a little much last night (I Tivoed it and watched it
last night instead of Monday). I wasn’t bothered by it the first or second
time, but it got bothersome this time. It became excessive and indulgent.
Indulgent on the part of Aaron Sorkin…What are you trying to say, Aaron Sorkin?

I’m not going to stop watching it yet, I’m just puzzled by
it.

Lost is tonight…I just got chills…

Starbucks just started serving some new drinks today–and they are tasty! More fall flavors: Maple Macchiato, and Maple Frappuccino. I had the Maple Macchiato for lunch, and sampled the creme-based Maple Frappuccino. I liked them very much. I think I will also like the Maple coffee-based frap. Now, I know what you’re all thinking…Daniel likes everything he writes about on here. Superman, Starbucks, Star Wars, Seinfeld, Starburst, Star Trek, the Stratosphere (ok, I’m just making things up that start with s), but this is not the case.  I ‘ve talked about this already before…but take it for what it’s worth, I liked the Maple drinks.  Sometimes Starbucks  makes drinks that are good, but I wouldn’t order again if I had to pay for it. This is not the case for these, I’m definitely getting it again sometime.

In TV news, Heroes got too gross for Christy, so we’re not watching that anymore. It only took twenty minutes into the second episode. I don’t care, I don’t think it’s that good of a show anyways. It just looks like XMEN: Babies…or XMEN: the Beginning…or something else dumb like that. I’m kinda glad it’s off of the list. How I Met Your Mother was OK, but not great last night…

LOST starts Wednesday night and Battlestar Gallactica starts Friday night. I can’t wait.

I got a haircut. The salon is really cool and modern that I’m going to. I like it a lot, and it’s really close to our house.

I love my laptop. It enables me to not be cramped up in the bedroom and away from everyone in the house even if I have to do some work. So last night I did the weekly powerpoint while Christy watched a little TV and we were able to at least be in the same room and share a couple of laughs together. It is nice. Thank God!

Everyone in my office is talking about what we are all going to dress up as on Halloween. They are trying to come up with a theme, of which we would all have to abide by and dress according to.
Some of the themes/ideas discussed:
-Crayola Crayon Colors (everyone is a different color)
-Pirates (ew, yuck. No thanks…plus they did it last year)
-Graduates (since our office handles graduation…)
-Dressing up as the APU presidents cabinet
-Doctors/Nurses
-Spiders (I would SO call in sick)
-Favorite TV Characters
-M&Ms (I’m not sure how that would work, just practically speaking)
-There are more, but I forget…frankly the whole idea sounds repulsive. I’m coming as 3-Hole Puched Daniel…

This is the air I
breathe
This is the air I
breathe
Your holy presence
living in me

 
This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken
to me

And I’m desperate for
You
And I’m lost without
You

Why is it that although this song was written eleven years
ago, and was widely popular about four or five years ago–and taking into
account that I’ve sang it in worship services off and on during that time—that
it is really only meaning something to me now?
I’ve sang it countless times and thought to myself, “How many of these people
(including myself) are really desperate for God?” And there is a fine line
there between second guessing your congregation and trying to keep it real—and
that’s why I kept singing it, not because I felt like it was true necessarily
for me at that time or for everybody, but because I felt like it was probably
true for some.

So, there are about a hundred more layers we could peel off
of that whole last thing, but that’s not why I’m writing this—I just think NOW
is the time when I’m really resounding with those lyrics. I found myself
listening to that song on Thursday or Friday and sitting at my desk thinking
(or trying to think…) “I really am desperate right now for God to reveal
Himself to me”. I think the load I’m carrying right now is a lot, and I really
need to rely on Christ to carry me through, and help me make right decisions
about future and stuff…I’ve been getting less sleep and physically I feel OK,
but I think I have more trouble focusing and remembering stuff when my brain
hasn’t had good rest…yikes.

Anyway-don’t go of worrying about me (Mom & Dad), I’m
just trying to stay afloat and not neglect my family. Last night I just laid
down for a few minutes to relax because I couldn’t keep working, I just wasn’t
motivated at all…but after a little break and a Caramel Frappuccino (yes, I’m
back on sweets) I was back in action.

Anyways, lots to do. Moving soon…