Broke again

4 months, 62 resumes, and 18 interviews later and I still don't have a job.  I know that job searching is hard, but what annoys me is the reason why no one wants to hire me.  I keep getting the same response over and over again, "I'm sorry but we don't like to hire students...".  It usually ends with some sort of reason as to why they don't hire students, they range from "students don't have flexible enough schedules" to straight out "we don't trust students to show up regularly". 

I'm living in a university city.  Most of the people here who are desperate for jobs are students.  Although I agree that there are lots of students that aren't trustworthy, there are some of use who are.  Students are in desperate need of jobs, and some of us are willing to do the crappy part-time jobs to get money.  I have even decided to apply to Tim Hortons regardless of my bad experience with fast food before.  I just need a job that gives me decent hours and pays me minimum wage.  How hard could that possibly be?

Then there's the problem of transportation.  All the places that are desperate to hire are in places that are nearly impossible to get to by bus.  Every time I go to drop off resumes I am reminded of exactly how much the bus system sucks.  Of course it's easy to get to the malls, but it's down right painful to try and get to any other shopping centres.  This poses a problem when you want to actually show up on time for your shift.  It's all just so frustrating that I get stressed out and have a hard time sleeping, and when I don't sleep right my eating schedule is off.

All I can do now is pray that I get a job call this week and thank God for those in my life who have given me food and money to live on until I get a job.  Now I need to go buy milk with the nickels I found in my old wallet.   

Grrr

I got my paper proposal back and apparently half of my idea is absolute garbage, and of course it's the half that I've already written.  So now I have to write a ten page paper from scratch before Friday morning.  To say that I'm grumpy is an understatement.

It would be one thing if we had handed our proposals on the second week of classes so we could get some feedback before doing a bunch of useless work.  Instead the prof decided to have them due after the midterm which only left a couple of weeks to write the paper.  Then she took forever to mark them!  Nothing bothers me more than when a prof expects students to do excellent work when they themselves take forever to get things done.  I don't think that I'll take a class with this prof ever again, although the topics that we discuss are interesting.

It was also today of all days that a "friend" decided to hack my facebook and sign me up for a bunch of apps.  Thankfully they only sent out a few invites to my friends so there wasn't too much to clean up, but it was still a pain in the butt.  On the bright side I should get a call tomorrow telling me if I got a job or not.  I really hope that I did because it would make my week so much better.

So now off to bed so I can wake up tomorrow in time for class and be conscious enough to take decent notes!!  

Ciphers by NAT (and yes that's a hint!)

Lyv aggc gw tguvk zk n aggc lpnl Z jvnddr pnfl lg xvl!  Z ynov ndpnrk dgovu hmssdvk, nfu Z bmkl nugjv tzhyvjk.  Zl'k jg tggd lg lyzfc lynl fg gfv tnf mfuvjklnu pynl rgm'jv pjzllzfx.  Gf lyv ugpfkzuw, zl tncvk wgjvovj lg lrhv!

So that was fun!!  I think that this is the most time that I have spent writing such a short blog, but for anyone who figures out what I wrote you get an imaginary cookie! Or brownie, whichever you like more. 

Just to be a bit nice, the cipher I used is sort of like a more complicated version of a caesar shift.  There, I gave you two hints, so no complaining!!

Reaction

I was talking with a few people and somehow we got talking about Jesus (which usually ends up happening!).  Then someone asked how we would react if Jesus showed up in front of us.  The most common answer was that they would be shocked and not know what to do.  I said that it would depend on which role he showed up as.

If Jesus showed up and was plainly in the role of Lord at the moment I would most likely fall on my face (either on purpose or because I tripped in surprise) and start to worship him.  I think that in the role of Lord, Jesus would deserve the best I could manage in a shocked state. However, if he showed up in the role of Father I would immediately feel guilt at everything I had done and ask for forgiveness.  I don't really have any good reason for this other than that if Jesus showed up in all his glory I feel that every wrongdoing I had done would come back into my mind.  Of course, being God he would be able to forgive me and I would probably give him a hug (yes, he is the creator of everything, but as he is also my father I feel fine wanting to give him a hug).  Lastly if he showed up in the role of a friend I would definitely run up to him and give him a hug!  I had some shocked reactions at this answer but I don't care; I will respect and obey God in all his roles but as my friend and father I feel comfortable giving him a hug.  Of course I wont be able to do any of this until I die, but I feel that this is the sort of act that I will take in heaven (lots of hugs, or whatever equivalent there is).

Just as a note when I say which role Jesus would take I mean what actions he would be performing at the time.  When reading the bible I noticed that Jesus took on all three roles (and since Jesus and God are one God takes on all three as well) and you can tell which role he was in depending on what action he was taking at the time.  Oh and if he was in the role of teacher I would listen, for hours or days or weeks!!!!

Of course God can do so much more but I'm not sure how I would react in those situations (other than be shocked and somewhat terrified).
   

Clueless

I have been recently surrounded by people who are going through trials in their relationships.  Out of all the things that people talk to me about relationships are the one topic that I don't understand at all.

Besides the fact that I have never dated anyone (and have no plans to within the next few years), I just don't understand how people can be so almost overly attached to another person.  Although this could be because I haven't had a deep relationship before, I also think that it just might be my personality.  Since it's summer and I talk mostly to university students I have been hearing about how couples have to spend months apart.  For me that doesn't sound like an earth shattering event, especially since most of the couples knew that it was going to happen when they started dating.  However, now I have to deal with sulking girls whose boyfriends have already left, and extremely clingy couples how have become attached at the hip.  I understand how it would suck to be separated and how you might want to spend some extra time together, but ti seems like there's a whole lot more PDA than normal.

And yes, I do not like seeing PDA aside from hugs and the occasional kiss.  Why?  Because walls and doors were invented for a reason, use them!  Of course this doesn't make any of the couples in my life very happy so I have been trying to avoid them as much as possible by studying.  Personally as much as I don't like being separated from people I love I know that I'm going to be at some point in life and I know that we wont be apart forever so I learn to deal with it.  I guess I just can't stand to be around people who are almost purposely making themselves depressed.  There are other things that you can choose to think about other than the fact that you can't see your loved one for a while.  I don't mind the first few cry sessions, but some of the girls I know have been depressed for over a month now and all they choose to think about is how depressed they are.  I'm not saying that it isn't sad, but I think that there are far better ways to handle things.

To make things worse some of the girls I know have come crying to me and asked for advice.  I'll say it again: I have NEVER dated anyone.  So why exactly do some people think that I have any good advice for them?  I've watched other people in relationships and I've heard stories about the good and bad,but I have no clue what to say.  Saying nothing doesn't work either because then they think that I don' care, which I do.  I wouldn't complain about them if I didn't care enough to hate how they're hurting (even if I think they're going too far).  So I have to come up with something that always ends up sounding cheesy.  That is how my last few weeks outside of classes has been....

Moral of the story: don't ask me for relationship advice.  I really am clueless!

Realization

I have finally realized why some sermons impact me and satisfy my spiritual hunger more than others.  those sermons that are written around a topic and have scripture fit into them never leave me with a contented feeling.  I find that those sermons feel artificial somehow and they don't delve deep enough into the Bible.  It's like going for a long run in the hot sun and coming inside for a glass of water only to find that it's warm: you might not get dehydrated, but it's not as satisfying as a cold glass of ice water.  However, those sermons that are crafted to explain a specific passage of scripture help me to gain some understanding of God's words and the way that He wants me to live.  After those sermons end I feel like I want more, even if it means sitting in an uncomfortable chair for hours.

Today I decided to listen to a sermon online.  I haven't listened to this particular series before, but I have enjoyed other sermon series from the same church.  I can't believe that I haven't listened to these sermons before.  They are exactly the kind that I like.  Currently they are going through the book of Acts, one chapter at a time.  having a focus point is nice because I can orient myself in the bible and not have to constantly flip pages to keep up.  It also brings to my attention more verses that just me reading would have.  Not that I'm saying that topical sermons are bad, but they are often done in a way that forces me to lose focus.  I don't understand why some think that you have to skip all over the bible to get enough material for one topic.  If one were to think about it, most chapters of the bible have a main topic going throughout them.

In any case, one of the topics this morning was the stuff that the church needs, which could also be though of as the stuff that we need to know to live a life as a Christ follower (aside from loving Jesus).  There was one verse that stuck out to me, Acts 20:24 "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I many finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."  I deeply respect all who are abel to accomplish this and continue to do God's will no matter what.  I know that lately I have been having some anxieties about this summer, if I'll have a job, how I'll pay for my classes, if I'll be able to buy some clothes, etc.  I have also been thinking that I might have been mistaken coming all the way to Newfoundland, but this verse does give me some hope.  Paul knew that he was going to face more opposition, even more jail time and beatings, but he went where God wanted him to go and as long as he was doing God's will he would do anything.  I guess that being broke isn't as bad as that and stuff is just stuff, so if this is where God wants me to be to accomplish His will for me, then I'll make it somehow.  I just pray that one day I'll be able to say with confidence that I have run the race and look forward to finishing it with joy.         

Oh Colds

I hate having a cold.  I'd much rather have a stomach flu.  When you have a cold people think that it's not that bad and expect you to keep going on with life as normal.  At least when you vomit no one wants you to go to school and they make you take time off.  On the bright side I only have to go to class for one more day this week and then I get the weekend to rest, relax, and get ahead on my class readings and research papers.

On and even brighter note, I made a bunch of soup from sale veggies (they were going bad and were half price) and some meat I had in the freezer.  I'd say that there's about one piece of meat in each bowl.  It's not perfect, but it's probably one of the best meals I could be eating right now.  In any case it's better than the pancakes' I've been eating.  I was going to make bread but I didn't think I could stay awake long enough to take the paddle out of the machine before the loaf baked.  So I ended up making pancakes, it's kind of like bread...... it has flour......

But I managed to clean my room, catch up on readings, make some food, and do laundry before I got sick so I'll be able to survive about a week of barely getting by.  I've done it before and I'll do it again.  Oh the joys of living away from home.  

The Age of the Earth

I have been reading textbooks all day in an attempt to catch up in my classes (and yes I know that there's only been two weeks of classes and it's sad that I'm already behind).  During these reading (mostly about archaeology and the ancient world) I have noticed that all my books like to mock the bible.  Not only do they like to mock creationism in general they seem to think that it's hilarious that people believe that the earth is only about 6,500 years old according to the bible.  Now after reading through the bible and looking at the archaeological evidence I have come up with my own opinion on the matter.

Firstly, no matter how stupid you think an idea is you should never mock it.  I don't agree with most things that go on in the world but I still respect people for having their own beliefs and so I think that my textbooks are written in bad taste and are highly offensive.  However, that's not my main point.  My main point is that although I don't think that the earth is as old as scientists say, I believe it to be more than 6,500 years old.  The only reason I say this is because of the fact that there had to be time for all the different civilizations that we dig up to be formed.  The worlds languages were quickly formed after the tower of Bable incident, but that doesn't mean that they would develop completely different living styles at the same time.  I know that there are some Christians who would read this and want to bite my head off, but I do have a reason for thinking that a longer time frame does fit in the bible.  There's a simple explanation as to how we could not know how old the earth is: we have no idea how long a year in the old testament was.

There are all kinds of ways to count how long a year is.  There's the lunar year, the solar year and all sorts of years that are based on the movements of stars.  Even the system we use now isn't a perfect mix of solar and lunar which is why we have leap years to equal them out.  It's possible that Adam and his sons had 300 days in a year or 800 days.  The fact is we have no idea, and so saying that the Bible tells us exactly how old the earth is is just arrogant.  Besides, the Bible isn't a full account of everything that ever happened in the world.  It's just a collection of the things that God wanted us to know, and apparently He's not too concerned about us knowing the exact age of the earth.  Or at least He's not concerned about us knowing it while we're on earth, I'm sure He'll be able to show us everything once we get to heaven, and I'm planning on adding the age of the earth to my list of questions to ask (it'll be right up there with the truth about Atlantis, dragons, and sea monsters).