And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

SYDNEY: have you seen vaughn?
WEISS: that’s all i am to you, a conduit to michael vaughn. have you ever seen vaughn and asked, “hey, where’s weiss?”?

today at a funeral, the gospellaires provided most of the music. i love men’s quartets, and these men are some of the best. today i am thankful for four-part harmonies. (and men’s quartets.)

COSMO: the world isn’t run by weapons anymore, or energy, or money. it’s run by little ones and zeroes, little bits of data. it’s all just electrons.

i think i need to take out my trash or something. because today, my apartment smells as if a man lives here. no offense, guys, but women are the cleaner sex.

today, you all get a bonus “thankful for of the day”. if i had a significant other, he could proudly wear a shirt today that says “i’m with stupid.”

last night on my way home from work, i really had to pee. my ford really needed gas. but i won out, because hey, i control all the pedals. so i went straightaway to some friends’ house to see them (and took care of said pee problem while i was at it).

so this morning when i left for work, i remembered that i needed gas. i remembered because going up the hill on my street, the car started hesitating and sputtering and flat-out rebelling against its driver.
i turned onto another street, the street on which the gas station lives, and i have to shamefully admit that i kind-of did the rolling stop through the red light thing (i was turning right, so no biggie, eh?). my poor ford. she started heaving and coughing and begging me to stop. i was begging her to keep on going. “come on baby, only 2 blocks to go, we’re almost there, no don’t stop now.” then she started disobeying with a vengeance and just flat-out shut herself off. but that wasn’t going to stop me, i could SEE the 7-11 from where i was!! so i would shift her into neutral and start her up again then shift back into drive & floor the gas. she was not a happy girl.

then came DOOM, in the form of a red light. THE ONE LIGHT standing between destination and car and driver just HAD to turn red. this was not happening. i was sure this was just a bad dream. but no, alas, even though i have a great big SUV, i didn’t want my insurance premiums to go up, so i had to do the inevitable. instead of running over all the cars in front of me, i had to stop. she never regained consciousness, and i knew that this was it.

now, i had been proudly blazing my hazard lights for a couple of blocks, so everyone was kindly going by, and no one honked at me and as far as i knew, they kept their snickering to themselves.

so this is the good part and the reason i’ve been in a remarkably good mood today (without even taking my happy pill, woohoo! oh, that reminds me, i need to take my happy pill.). as soon as i pulled my car to a stop, or rather, she pulled ME to a stop, a nice gentleman in a big red truck pulled up behind me. when i told him rather embarrassedly (is that a word?) that i had only run out of gas & was going to walk the 1.5 blocks to the gas station to get some gas, he didn’t even laugh at me. well, he did smile, but it was more of a “you poor thing” smile and not a “ha!! you idiot!! glad it was you and not me!!” smile. he asked if i had a gas can, and no, of course not, that would require preparation. [note: i do have an emergency car kit that includes jumper cables and everything.] so i said, “no, but i’m sure they’ll have one at the gas station,” and he said, “actually, they probably won’t. but my house is just around the corner, and i have one, so i’ll go home and get it for you.” what a nice guy!!! so i said i would meet him at the gas station. i was thinking, hey — i posted on my blog this morning that i intended to exercise, i actually am going to exercise!! so halfway through my long haul (1.5 blocks) to the gas station, 2 different women pulled over at the same time & asked if i needed a cell phone or a ride, and “is that your car back there?” yes, i’m the big fat idiot. anyway, this very nice lady insisted on giving me a ride to the gas station, so i got there more quickly, and boy was i thankful. it was STINKING COLD!! well, here in the good ol’ metroplex of texas, 30 degrees is stinking cold.

then the nice man with the gas can arrived & filled it up & drove me back to my ford, who was completely put-out. then he ended up getting gasoline all over his hands, because when he poured the gas into my car, the lid wasn’t on all the way, so the gas was going everywhere. and HE was worried about the fact that he was getting gas all over my car! anyway, by the time we were done, a police officer had pulled up behind us and just stayed there waiting and giving us a buffer from the other cars until we were leaving. so today in a texas suburb, there was a great community effort to get the idiot girl’s car running again.

i’m thankful for all those who helped.

in case you’re wondering, i went straight to the gas station & filled ‘er up.

i have no tools, save a hammer and a screwdriver. my pop gave me a really nice drill monday night. i’m thankful for that. gracias, sissy boy!

v. 35
On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”
vs. 37-41
And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.
But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?
And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

SARK: the new boss has a dreadful personality, don’t you think?
SYD: i’ve seen worse.
SARK: am i supposed to take that personally?

AZEEM: no man controls my destiny. especially one who attacks downwind and stinks of garlic.

today i think i’ll exercise. tomorrow i’ll wonder why i didn’t exercise yesterday.

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it –
Lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”

–NKJV

SYDNEY: you look great. . . you lost weight?
WEISS: oh, thanks, yeah. i sort of gave up all the foods that i enjoy. i’m miserable, but i look really good.

i’m really thankful for good hugs. so bring ‘em on, folks!

DONKEY: whoa! look at that! who’d wanna live in a place like that?
SHREK: that would be my home.
DONKEY: oh, and it is LOVELY! you know, you’re really quite a decorator. it’s amazing what you’ve done with such a modest budget. i like that boulder. that is a NICE boulder.

i feel smart today. smart enough to work a new york times crossword puzzle. well, one from monday or tuesday. they get harder at the end of the week. i don’t feel that smart.

“A lawsuit alleging that Madonna and her husband, director Guy Ritchie, stole the idea for the 2002 film remake of “Swept Away” will go to court May 4.”

okay, i’m confused. is someone taking madonna and guy ritchie to court for stealing the idea? or are madonna & guy ritchie suing the person they stole the idea from because it was such a lame movie? [now, i’m going on the assumption that this was a lame movie, because i stopped watching madonna movies years ago. i don’t think she’s made a good one since evita, but like i said, i stopped watching, so i could be wrong.]

Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
Blessed are all those who wait for Him.

FRANCIE: hey, there he is. start the car, start the car.
SYD: no, you wait till he’s a block away.
FRANCIE: look at you, gettin’ all into it.
SYD: everyone knows you wait.
FRANCIE: i didn’t know you wait.
SYD: you wait.

i’m getting a massage today. i’m most thankful for those.

TORRANCE: so, is that your band or something?
CLIFF: the Clash? uh. . . no. it’s a british punk band, circa 1977 to 1983-ish, original lineup anyway.
TORRANCE: how vintage!

has anyone seen my kitten, minerva? i’ve lost her somewhere in my apartment. she might be under a mound of paperwork, but if that’s the case, she’s gone forever. do they make shred-mowers? that would be easier than trying to file everything. have a lovely humpday, y’all! it’s going to be a good one!!

last night my bright shiny suicidal newish phone was staring at me from the bathroom counter when i got home from the stars game. so i figured, why not? i’ll give it one more try & then i’ll chuck it in the trash. whaddaya know, it came on & started playing espn’s nhl theme. so i called sprint for the 2nd time in 2 days and asked them to reactivate it.

so now i have a new phone on the way from t-mobile and a resuscitated sprint phone. but i’m happy about the switch anyway. maybe i can sell the sprint phone on ebay. proceeds will go to charity of course, the “they pay HOW MUCH for a graduate assistant?” charity.

i woke up this morning at 4 when the alarm went off, but i kept hitting snooze until 4:59 when my immortal by evanescence played. i don’t know what rock i’ve been hiding under (it might be called busy season), but even though i’ve heard the name evanescence a lot, i’ve never paid attention & couldn’t have told you what songs were theirs. so at 4:59 when my immortal came on, i was immediately wide awake. amy lee’s voice was haunting me. i could not stop listening. the radio went off at 5 exactly, b/c it goes off an hour after it comes on. i actually GOT UP and turned it back ON. for those of you who know me and know i love to sleep, this will say something significant about this song. anyway, it’s absolutely beautiful. i kept trying to place the voice, figure out who it was. but, due to previously mentioned rock, i had no clue. anyway, google helped me out, and now i’m in love with evanescence. better than late than never, right? i don’t know anything about them except that neither napster nor itunes has them.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
Does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
Does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

LAMBERT: i just wanted to introduce myself. grab a little face time with my girl. i just wanted to make sure you don’t have any queries i might be able to –
SYD: i’ve got a query.
LAMBERT: yeah? shoot.
SYD: are you insane? calling me in here for a social event? sd-6 has a division whose sole responsibility it is to track their agents and report back suspect activity. your girl is risking her life, and you yours, every time we lay eyes on each other. so do me a favor. don’t be so friendly.
LAMBERT: i just love your spirit.
SYD: that’s heartening.

speaking about bertie bott’s every flavor beans
DUMBLEDORE: i was most unfortunate in my youth to have come across a vomit-flavored one, and haven’t liked them since. but, i think i would be safe with a nice toffee . . . alas, earwax!

i went to the stars game tonight/last night (depending on what time you read this). so today i’m thankful for mike modano. it’s like watching art on ice. he’s so beautiful. and fluid. oh, and he can play hockey.

today is one week after my half-birthday. you should all by me gifts. here’s a link:

my wishlist

amazon.com gift certificates are also good. ;-)

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

–NKJV

SLOANE: marshall, would you please go back to work.
MARSHALL: just to clarify, i’m not being fired?
SLOANE: back to work means not fired.