Hebrews121's Xanga

Waking Up Late

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:59:16 GMT

Day 10,109
4:59 p.m.

I’ve been waking up late recently. I don’t know why. I used to always wake up early in the morning, like at 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. Sometimes I would even wake up at 3:30 a.m. or one o’clock in the morning and not be able to get back to sleep. Now I’m getting up at 10:30 a.m. or even eleven.
Every night I go to bed determined that I will get out of bed as soon as I gain consciousness, but every morning I open my eyes and think “I’m too tired” and then roll over and go back to sleep for hours on end. Yes, if I had a job I would have to wake up early, but I used to get up early even when I didn’t have a job.

I’ve tried telling myself different bible verses to make me get up, like “add to your faith … temperance (self-control),” and “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?” but none have worked. Tomorrow I’m going to try reminding myself of Genesis 3:8 “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day …” Early morning is a good time to go for a walk and talk to God.

How do you make yourself wake up early?

What If There Was No America?

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:12:41 GMT

Day 10,101
10:12 p.m.

God bless America? I’ve heard it said over and over that America was founded on Christian principles and the Constitution and our money make mention of God, however, according to the bible, Christians are not supposed to rebel against the government. Romans 13:1 says “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”

Don’t get me wrong. I love being an American. I love the freedom, the quality of life, and the rights; and if I were drafted, I would serve in the military. But this lead me to wonder what America would be like if it had never rebelled against Britain.

For better or for worse? Maybe it would be worse. Maybe we’d still be paying high taxes and be treated like second class citizens. Or maybe it would be better. The American Revolution and Ghandi in India influenced British policy to eventually let Canada and Australia have their independence without a struggle. So if the American Revolution never occurred, maybe Ghandi would be subdued by a more powerful Britain, and maybe the United Kingdom would be a super powerful nation, even more powerful than America is today! It would include the current United States, Canada, Australia, Britain, Ireland, and India! Our population would be greater than China’s! We would be unstoppable! We would dominate world trade and politics! Other nations would cower before us! The possibilities are endless! But then again, God only knows what would’ve happened.

I used to daydream a lot. I used to wish I could go back in time and correct mistakes I’ve made in my life. But I finally realized that wishing you could change the past is all a waste of time, because you can’t. And I’ve even come to think that my past is realistically the best past I could’ve had. Sure there’ve been mistakes, but those mistakes have taught me lessons, and God is best at making lemonade out of lemons. He always has silver linings in the dark clouds. Besides, my life isn’t over yet so maybe greater things are yet to come from those mistakes then I forsee.

Gimme My Keys!

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:04:03 GMT

Day 10,098
12:04 p.m.

New posts every Monday. I’ve decided to write new posts every Monday, because the quality of the posts will be lower if I write them everyday. So I’ll post something new sometime during Sunday so that it will be up by Monday.

Gimme my keys! Now, I will regale you with a tale that happened just last month. I was walking home from the 7-11 by my house one hot June day. I cut through the apartment complex on my way home.

As I’m walking down the sidewalk, I hear some yelling up ahead. A black woman in a car is yelling at a black man who’s sitting down on one of those metal boxes that says Las Vegas Valley Water District on it. I keep listening and watching as I walk closer. I can tell that they’re having a lovers’ quarrel.

Next, the woman takes a water bottle and throws it at him, but it hits the metal box, misses him, and comes to a rest by his foot. The man is not disturbed at all. He doesn’t even look her way. I think that is awesome, and I – being the silly person that I am – walk up to him for a high-five. He gives me a low five and I’m chuckling.

The woman looks at me and says “You think this is funny mother fucker!?” I just put up my hands and back away, but I continue to watch from a hallway about 15 feet away. The man had been living with the woman and her mom. But I guess they broke up so now she wants him out. However, I guess he’s still paying rent and her mom wants to keep him as a tenant. The woman keeps demanding that he give her back the keys to the apartment, but he won’t. Finally, after she keeps asking for her keys several times, he says “Take me to court. If you want me out, take me to court.”

Next the woman gets out of her car and opens the back door. She pulls out a wooden board with a nail at the end of it! She says “Mother fucker you better gimme my keys!” She drags the board over to where he’s sitting. But this guy doesn’t lose his cool! He just sits there and ignores her! I am so impressed!

So she gets back in her car and drives away, so I think she’s gone. But just a few moments later she comes back in her car. She keeps saying “GIMME MY KEYS!” But he doesn’t even look at her and just shakes his head no. Then she gets in her car and drives around the corner of the building so we don’t see her anymore. Then a few moments later, she’s standing at the corner of the building and she asks the man if he would come so she can talk to him. He says “How do I know you don’t have a stick behind your back?” Then she leaves for good.

Horniness

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:18:13 GMT

10:18 a.m.
Day 10,097

Oh! Me so horny. Lately I’ve been feeling horny. For example, I visited Sunrise Hospital two days ago, and there was this blonde nurse walking across the parking lot. I won’t go into further detail, but suffice it to say, she was hot.

Then, I drove a little further, and there was this even hotter young blonde woman driving a black Mercedes. I don’t know how Jesus did it, but I’m asking for His help because … damn! There’s a lot of hot women out there.

Patience

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:42:23 GMT

7:42 p.m.
Day 10,096

Tribulation. Romans 5:3 says “… we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;” This morning I prayed for patience and about an hour later I got tribulation. Part of the tread on the tire on my sister’s car came off on the freeway. Coincidence? Maybe. But I have enough patience for now.

Adventure. It was a mini-adventure. I got to jog on the freeway and then walk to a bus stop and take the bus home. Oh, the reason I left the car on the freeway is because I didn’t have a spare. I failed to buy a replacement after the last time I needed to change a tire.

Jobless

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:22:37 GMT

11:22 a.m.
Day 10,095

Jobless. Lately, I’ve been really wanting a job — any job. I thought for sure I would get the job as a cashier at Circle K, but I guess Oscar had some other friend or relative he wanted to hire. My Aunt Diane always had a job at Smith’s Food & Drug available in the past, but no longer. I answered an ad by Ace Taxi looking for drivers. As soon as I save about $150 cash, I can pay all the fees and pay for the tests to apply.

Then again … as discouraging as it is not having any money to spend, I have to admit, I like not having a job. I have the whole day to myself. I don’t have a schedule. As I’ve told my mom over and over again when she asks how my day was: “Any day you don’t work, beats a day you do.”

“Still Fly” by Big Tymers

Can’t pay my rent
Cause all my money’s spent
But that’s all right
Cause I’m still fly

Got everything
In my momma’s name
But I’m hood rich
Da daa da da

Eric Sleeping

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:37:09 GMT

10:37 a.m.
Day 10,085

Believe it or not, I'm actually asleep in this photo taken by my sister.

God is Good

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:05:11 GMT

11:05 p.m.
Day 10,075

Setting: Late afternoon in Las Vegas. The Chevron gas station on the corner of Eastern and Bonanaza. A latino man is searching through a trash can for aluminum cans. A white, homeless man named Mike approaches the gas station pushing a grocery cart with some bags of aluminum cans and plastic bottles.
I (Eric) am dressed in a white dress shirt with a black silk tie. I had just been sent home early from my job as a rent-a-cop at the Sands Expo / Venetian for the annual Jewelry Circular Keystone (JCK) show. I am filling up a dark blue, 1991 P.O.S.T. (Piece O’ Shit Toyota)

Eric: Looks like someone beat you to it.
Mike: Yeah …
Latino man: Walks over to the cart. He looks at the bag of aluminum cans. Dos.
NOTE: He is offering Mike $2 USD for the whole bag.
Mike: No, man. That’s $4. That’s all crushed cans.
NOTE: 1lb. of aluminum currently sells for 40¢.
Latino man walks away.
Mike: $2? That guy is crazy.
Eric: He must’ve thought you were born yesterday.
Mike: He must’ve thought I was hatched!

Eric: Laughs. Hey what’s your name, man?
Mike: Mike.
Eric: I’m Eric.
We shake hands.
Eric: So what’s your story?
Mike: What’s my story? My story is, “God is good.” That’s my story.

Pardon my French, but ...

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:05:38 GMT

12:04 p.m.
Day 10,071

Pardon my French, but ... I’ll be damned. That’s one of my new favorite sayings as of late. (It’s from a Walker: Texas Ranger clip.) I use it to express surprise. For example, today I am surprised because three people became “followers” of me after I reserved a blogged.com space for my Xanga blog. Maybe this is normal.

Thank you. I must thank the youth pastor of Paradise Church, Jay Sloan, for deciding to personally invest time in me by discipling me in the bible.

Progress. Thanks to Jay, and God, I have personally improved a lot. Of course, I’m still very annoying, creepy, weird, socially inept, and smart-alecky, but I have taken measures to change that.
For example, I used to have a Facebook account and I would comment on almost every status update, including a 14-year-old girl’s named Chandler Arnette. Now, I’m not a total stranger to Chandler. We attended the same church for several years and I saw her sing in the choir every Sunday. However, we were just acquaintances. You might not believe this, but I didn’t think it creepy to leave a comment saying “Don’t be hungry” when she would often post “I’m sooooooo hungry!”
Thankfully, Jay pointed out how creepy this was. Other people complained that I commented too often and too quickly to status updates as well. I like to either be hot or cold, so I quit Facebook cold turkey.

Lost cell phone. My LG Shine Black CU720 was also stolen a few days ago, so I no longer have mobile calling or texting capabilities. I’m not going to get a new phone until Monday, September 28, 2009 when my two-year contract with AT&T expires. Then I’m going to get an LG VU!; but back to my point:
I have learned that the less lines of communication I have, the better it is for everyone else. (I broke the news of the missing airbus over the Atlantic at three thirty in the morning via text message to over a dozen people. You probably won’t believe this either, but I thought people turn their cell phones off at night. As you can imagine, people were pissed.)

Love and Marriage

Tue, 19 May 2009 20:51:30 GMT

2:51 PM
Day 10,054

Love and marriage. I made a promise to my Chinese Uncle Ben that I would never marry. (He said “I don’t accept your promise” and I said “Well, I promise anyway.”) Much to my dismay, it looks like I’m going to have to break that promise because three fellow Christians and one unbelieving authority figure said I should marry. In other words, it seems it is God’s will for me to marry, and far be it from me to go against His will.

The silver lining. There is a silver lining though: I’m not going to marry for a long, long time. I have to clean up my act. I have to quit being lustful and having impure thoughts. I also have to get a job that can support a family and finally move out of my mom’s house. That should take a good long while. Furthermore, I should have a wife that respects me for my leadership ability. That would be a miracle in and of itself! In fact, now that I think about it, I probably never will get married. My only regret is that I can’t promise that I won’t.