Desk Doodle

There have been a few times in the last few days where I’ve had to wait for something to load/install/download on the computer and had a sheet of paper and a pen within arm’s reach.  This is one of the results.

Canadian Thanksgiving 2K9

A lion celebrating Thanksgiving.  Yes, that’s a turkey.

Well, it’s that time of year again.  Most people celebrate one Thanksgiving a year.  I have the good fortune of straddling two different cultures with two different Thanksgivings, so I get to celebrate twice.  This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving!  God has blessed me beyond what I deserve, and has guided my life in directions I never would have expected.  Thanks, God!

It’s time for the list:

1. The freedom to take on new challenges and improve myself in leadership, service and education. A lot of people around the world spend all of their time and effort just surviving.  I have the time and money to pursue the goals that I want to pursue.
2. A career that combines my loves of art and technology with my desire to make a difference.
3. A family that is continually, unwaveringly encouraging and supportive of whatever I am doing.  No matter how long away, I know I’m always welcome, and that means SO much to me.
4. My good health.  That sounds like something old people say (“At least I have my health…”), but I have met too many people who have had that active part of their lives taken away.
5. Running.  I never saw this one coming (it sure wasn’t on last year’s list).  I actually like running.  Part of it is that I enjoy the act of running.  The other part is what I just mentioned about having good health.  There is something very “stop and smell the roses” about feeling the wind in your hair and being out in nature.  This is a blessing in my life that I know I won’t have forever.
6. The church.  My mom used to say “One of the neat things about the church is that you can go almost anywhere in the world and instantly have people there who will look out for you and support you.”  I never realized how important this was until I moved far away from home.  The church, especially the Memorial Road Church of Christ singles class, has become family to me.  If you’re reading this, thank you. I love you guys.
7. Stability. I almost have to laugh at myself as I write this. I’m a single person, renting a room in a house, living on a temporary work visa in another country.  There is nothing stable about that life.  On the other hand, I have a steady job with a steady paycheck in a time when the financial system imploded on itself.  I have people that look out for me.  That’s enough for me right now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lariat Creek Christian Camp

Weekend retreat with Memorial Road Church of Christ singles class.

Mama Roja

I went down to Lake Hefner tonight with the idea of going for a run, then realized that there was a triathlon going on and the entire path was supposed to be closed to other runners.  Boooo…  Since I was all the way down there and had my sketch book with me, I decided to do a bit of drawing.  This is Mama Roja Mexican Kitchen.  There were a lot of beautiful boats on the water in the foreground, but it was getting dark and I didn’t have time to include them.

Meeting Doodles - August 2009

It’s been a while since I’ve posted any drawings.  These are some meeting doodles from a training session last month.  I concentrate better when I’m able to doodle.  No, really. 

Westfall

I’ve been listening to a band named Okkervil River for a while.  I’m a little embarrassed to say that I’ve been listening to them for a few months without ever having sat down to figure out what they were singing.

A few days ago, I was listening to “Westfall,” one of their songs that I like the sound of (really cool mandolins, by the way).  The lyrics really took me by surprise.  They’re disturbing.  More than that, I found them to be really thought provoking.  There is a grain of wisdom here.

Westfall

I’m surrounded, each doorway covered
By at least twenty men
And they’re going to take me, throw me in prison
I ain’t coming back again
I ain’t coming back again

When I was younger, handsomer and stronger
I felt like I could do anything
But all of these people making all these faces
Didn’t seem like my kith and kin
Didn’t seem like my kith and kin

Colin Kincaid from the twelfth grade
I guess you could say he was my best friend
Lived in a big tall house out on Westfall
Where we would hide when the rain rolled in
Where we would hide when the rain rolled in

We went out one night and took a flashlight
Out with these two girls Colin knew from Kenwood Christian
One was named Laurie, that’s what the story
Said next week in the Guardian
Said next week in the Guardian

And when I killed her it was so easy
That I wanted to kill her again
I got down on both of my knees and
She ain’t coming back again
She ain’t coming back again

Now, with all these cameras focused on my face
You’d think they could see it through my skin
They’re looking for evil, thinking they can trace it, but
Evil don’t look like anything
Evil don’t look like anything

Have you ever caught yourself looking at the mug shots of people on the news, trying to figure out what is different about them?  Have you ever wondered what might have made those people veer onto a different track?  Or if the people around them knew that they were any different?

I think sometimes we think we’ve got everything figured out.  We stereotype people as being “risky” based on their race, class, neighborhood, or the way they dress or talk.  We think of our neighborhoods as “safe” and others as “dangerous.”

Here’s the secret.  There is love in the “bad” neighborhoods, and there are decent people doing the best they can. There is evil in the “good” neighborhoods, and in the hearts of people that you know.  God works in people of all classes, colors and locations.  So does the devil.

“Evil don’t look like anything.”

What a horrible, true statement that is.  Jesus spent his time with the “sinners and tax collectors” while lambasting the “good” people, calling them “broods of vipers.”  The people living at the time didn’t have a clue which group was “good” and which was “bad.”  As regular people, we aren’t able to tell the difference at a glance.  Be more open to interacting with people who aren’t like you, and be on your guard, even around people that you see as “safe.”

Pile O’ Shoes

Some people sort their shoes into neat rows, by color, brand, or by how formal or casual they are.  I don’t.

Remains of the Day

We went to an OKC Ad Club meeting for lunch today.  We talked about social media, but it was mostly things I had heard already.  I amused myself by drawing the remains of my plate:

That’s a wadded up napkin, not an uneaten burrito.