Blustery-Wustery Monday (No. 1)

Hello all, hope everyone is surviving this abysmal weather known in other places as winter.

Although, if the newscasters had their way, tonight, and tomorrow night might as well be considered "DEATH STORM 2011!!!!" (music provided by THE OMINOUS WEATHER ORCHESTRA) I mean, okay, it's snowing. And, okay, I guess it's pretty windy. But you know, it's nothing we haven't seen before. At least, I guess, most of us?

Okay, maybe I'm not super excited about the weather tomorrow. Well, I guess I can deal. Sorta...

So, today had a lot of ups and downs. I'll make a short list, and then highlight some of my better moments.

UPs
- My Religions class got canceled, which gave me an extra hour between Viola Studio and Orchestra!
- The extra credit assignment (which I hadn't done) got pushed back to Wednesday (which means I got to finish it). 
- Madeline and I performed a spectacular version of the classic Disney hit, "A Whole New World" in front of the Piano lab. 
- I got Mass Effect in the mail today!

DOWNs
- Piano class was Hell today. 
- It was really freaking cold outside
- I didn't get to see my favorite short person (Megan) at dinner.
- I had to be responsible and practice and stuff like that...

Okay, first: I want to clarify something. Piano was Hell both metaphorically and literally. Literally, because I decided today that Dr. Guy should hang a sign outside of the door that says: "Welcome to Hell!" Metaphorically because she was definitely in a bad mood, and she definitely ragged on the entire class, and I felt like shit after I left. Ugh....

Bright side? Madeline and I singing a duet. It was pretty epic. And entitling the Piano lab. And, well, us laughing hysterically just being in each others presence. I also got the first in the game series I started playing (I started with the 2nd one, the 3rd one isn't out yet). It's different, but a good different? To be announced...

   
Anyways, for those who thought I might post a riveting life lesson that might be present in today's blog post, well...I have one. I guess. haha

I'm not good at asking people for help. I would be the first person to admit this. In fact, I happily admit it, right after I fall on my ass because I did something stupid that could have been avoided had I asked for help. Like me passing Geometry the first time I took it, or not tripping down the stairs with a pile of my stuff in my arms. You know, little things like that...

Okay, point is: I gave in and asked for help. My friend Tori coached me on some of my piano stuff that had been hurting me for a while. PLUS she gave me some really awesome tips on how to practice stuff. It was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. It also is helping me divide my hands into two separate instruments, unlike when I'm playing viola. Or singing, but I don't use my hands when I sing (or do I?).

So, lesson of the day? Never be afraid to ask for help. It's not a weakness, it's simply the fact that we as humans cannot rely solely on ourselves. It's just something we have to get over. But, you know, I think I can deal with that. It felt good to ask for help.

 On that note, I'll let you all get back to your lives now and try and get some sleep. Yay! Sleep!

First Post, Important Lesson

So...tonight I had a very interesting conversation with a friend. My friend, who shall not be named, told me that her boyfriend (who is a devout Christian), had sent her a certain quote from the 2nd book of Corinthians in the Bible. Now, why might one be offended by this? Well, the thing is, my friend is Agnostic, she accepts different things from every religion, she isn't a devout follower of any religion. The quote from Corinthians was (according to BibleGateway.com) phrased like this.

 ¹⁴ Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? ¹⁵ What harmony is there between Christ and Belial^[a]? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
   “I will live with them
   and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
   and they will be my people.”^[b]
 17 Therefore,
   “Come out from them
   and be separate,
            says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
   and I will receive you.”<sup>[c]

Again, thank you Bible Gateway. Now, one might ask, how is this offensive? Well, for one thing, the quote at the beginning of the page indicated this: "Warning against Idolatry". First off, what is Idolatry? According to a few sources, it is considered, "the worship of a physical object as a god". 

Now, if all of you recall the Ten Commandments, one of them clearly states that "Thou shalt not worship idols". Which, again, going off on a slight tangent, I had no awareness that Agnostics worshiped idols. Since, most of the time, Agnostics don't worship anything. So, why might he send her this quote?

Well, to consider one thing, it might be because of the first part of the passage: "Do not be yolked together with unbelievers".

So, is he basically saying he doesn't want to be yolked with her? Well...I'm not exactly sure. There are mountains of debating theologians who argue the meaning of phrases in the Bible every single day. This one has probably been argued about before and will probably be discussed in future debates. 

Regardless, there is a message behind what I'm talking about. 

No matter your faith, no matter your view on life, no matter your gender/race/sexual orientation/body-type/personality/style, please remember that everyone on this planet is trying their hardest to make it by every day. Just trying to get through another day. So, if you have a comment about what someone believes, or how they dress, or what they view, please remember: we're all stuck here together. Let's not make this world any worse off than it actually is by arguing and criticizing others for who they are.</sup>