Blogging 4 Books Contest - Magic

I found a contest on line called Blogging 4 Books. They give you a topic, you blog about it, and if you’re any good, you could win an autographed book. Seeing as this month’s guest author is, Shanna Swendson, one of my fav’s, I couldn’t help but give it a try. You should too, so get blogging!

Magic

Magic is one of those words that can be construed as many different things. Probably the most common is the hocus pocus kind we read about in fairy tales as kids. I had a really active imagination. I don’t know how many times I wished that I could turn veggies into carriages and hand me downs into ball gowns.

It didn’t stop with fairy tales though. For me, I discovered that a sense of ‘magic’ was in a whole lot more than Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Disney didn’t own the market on it. In fact, as I grew I began to realize that although fairy tale magic was fiction, there was in fact a real kind of magic. One that had nothing to do with hocus pocus.

Magic became more of a broad term for the mystery of the unknown, another way to describe how I felt about God’s amazing creation. Suddenly it was found in the massive depths of the Ocean. Sea creatures that were more alien than animal, plants that were more rock than vegetation. How could I describe the beauty and grandeur as anything but amazing, fantastic - magical? It entranced me. I devoured books of every kind about whales, sharks and marine biology. The more I learned, the more magical the place seemed.

The same holds true for the infinity of space. I guess that one seems more obvious, since Sci-Fi is so wildly popular. But it was the magical feeling of ‘what if’ that drew me to that final frontier. Not just the space travel, but the science that made those things possible. The idea that just maybe there is more out there than we’re willing to admit.

Maybe what makes magic real to us isn’t the fairy tales, or the movies, or the magicians that work so hard to cast their illusions. Maybe what makes magic real is the source of curiosity that is born in all of us, that rush we feel when we find something new that fascinates us. Maybe the real magic is in the awe and wonder we feel at a world that is so much more than just a chance of Fate.

A.

Fav Songs

I just signed up for Rhapsody. We'll see if it was worth it. In the meantime, I thought I'd share some of the songs I'm listening to right now. Enjoy!

A.

Rhapsody Playlist: "1. Father Figure - Ace Young
2. Because We Believe - Andrea Bocelli
3. The Prayer - (with Celine Dion) - Andrea Bocelli
4. I Dare You To Move - Switchfoot
5. Ever The Same - Rob Thomas
6. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers
7. Takin' It To The Streets - Taylor Hicks
8. Now Comes The Night - Rob Thomas
9. Stars - Switchfoot
10. Turandot - Andrea Bocelli
11. Forever 17 - Zoegirl
12. You Get Me - Zoegirl
13. Beer For My Horses - Toby Keith
14. Home - Marc Broussard
15. Goodbye For Now - P.O.D.
16. Photograph - Nickelback
17. Come To Jesus - Mindy Smith
18. Jolene - Mindy Smith (featuring Dolly Parton)
19. Because Of You - Kelly Clarkson
20. Breathe (2 AM) - Anna Nalick
21. Beautiful Disaster - Kelly Clarkson
22. She Believes In Me - Kenny Rogers
23. Lady - Kenny Rogers
24. L.O.V.E. - Ashlee Simpson
25. I Need You To Love Me (LP Version) - Barlowgirl
26. Never Alone - Barlowgirl
27. Alcohol - Brad Paisley
28. No Rush - Josh Turner
29. Only You (Single) - Josh Kelley
30. Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off - Joe Nichols
31. Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap
32. Moody'S Mood For Love - Elliott Yamin
33. When I Get Where I'm Going - Brad Paisley
34. Love Like Crazy - Chris Rice
35. Cartoons - (live) - Chris Rice
36. Superstition - Bucky Covington
37. Top Of The World - Dixie Chicks
38. Wanted Dead Or Alive - Chris Daughtry"

Marked Woman

Why is it that I attract creepy men like iron filings to a magnet?

Today started out as a typical Monday. Phones ringing like crazy, people screaming at each other… . Then Mr. Creepy came in. This particular customer is actually a relative of someone I know, so despite the fact that he makes my skin crawl, I’m nice and friendly.

Now, Mr. Creepy hasn’t been in to the office for probably two years, but you don’t forget someone like him. So when he came in, I recognized him and called him by name. That was mistake number one.

“Hi, Mr. Creepy. Haven’t seen you in a while.” I smile and wave him into my office to see how I can help him.

“Yeah, been a while. I need to get a couple of catalogs,” he says as he rounds my desk to stand as close to me as possible.

“Sure. I don’t have any in here though. Let me get them from the warehouse.” I stand to leave my office, but he won’t budge, so I squeeze past him. Unfortunately, he’s not content to wait for me. Instead, he follows me into the warehouse.

“Yeah, I gotta have two catalogs, because sometimes I buy stuff for my kids. They make more money then me, though. They should be buying mine.”

His eyes are burning holes in my back.

“Ha, ha. Well, I suppose that’s the way things go.” Just be friendly and it will all be over soon.

I grab two catalogs and hand them to him. “Here you are. These are the most current.”

“Thanks.” His eyes run slowly up and down me like a sleazy human scanner.

“Um, sure.” Once again I’m forced to pass him so that he can follow me all the way back into my office.

“So, how long have you worked here?”

“Ten years this summer.” I use the fake cheery voice that says ‘I’m being nice cuz I have to’.

“Do you live in this area?” He’s still eyeing me.

“Yeah, my sister and I grew up here.” I gesture toward Angel as we pass her office.

“Oh.” He ignores her office and keeps staring. “So where did you go to school?”

“CPRS, a local private school.” I’m trying to make my answers curt without losing the fake cheery.

“So what year did you graduate?”

“Uh, ’95.” We’re back in my office now and I hide behind my desk.

“Oh, so I’m about 20 years older than you.”

“Really? Well, you don’t look it.” I say to be nice. And that was mistake number two.

“Really?” His eyes light up. “Thanks! I just went to my 20 year class reunion and no one there recognized me until I showed them my old school ID. Here, wanna see?” He rounds my desk and pulls the picture from his wallet.

Crap.

“Oh, well, the mustache makes you look different in the picture, but other than that, you still look pretty much the same.”

Mustache makes you look sleazier.

“Thanks.” He puts the picture back in his wallet. “Areyourmarried?”

It takes a second for his quiet mumble to make sense. Are you married?

“Ha, ha, ha…” I’m laughing because I’m stumped for any other response. You can make anything a joke if just laugh it off, right?

“You’re sweet. Wannahavedinnerandtalkaboutitsometime?”

My brain translates his latest mumbled sentence. Wanna have dinner and talk about it sometime? Crap.

I chuckle again and he laughs with me, but I see him blushing.

Aw, dangit. I didn’t want to embarrass him.

“So, did you need to order anything while you were here?” I’m trying my hardest to keep up the friendly tone and change the subject.

“Nah. I just needed these.” He picks up his catalogs. “It was really nice seeing you again. I’ll see you around. Probably soon.”

“Sure, nice to see you again too.” And that will probably be mistake number three.

He left and I shuddered. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s not that he’s nasty looking. I suppose he’s average. I don’t really care, because it’s not his looks that creep me out. It’s HIM. There is just something oily and creepy about him. And despite that, I still have a hard time being mean. I suppose laughing could be considered mean, but I wasn’t laughing at him. I was laughing it off as if I thought he was joking. Which I know he wasn’t, but I honestly didn’t know how else to respond.

Actually, I’ve found laughter is my knee jerk response when I don’t know what else to do or say.

Anyway, I was complaining to Angel that I can count the number of times I’ve been seriously hit on, and they were all creepy. What’s the deal?

There was Mr. Blockbuster who wanted me to go see Romeo and Juliet with him. Which, in essence should have been a great thing for a Shakespeare buff, but I just chuckled and left. (Note: I’m not sure, but I suspect this type of laughter may sound slightly hysterical.)

Then there was Mr. Shoe Store. He zeroed in on me while I was shopping and kept asking for my number even after I told him I didn’t give it to strangers. He just kept coming back. I finally gave him my business card with my work number. He didn’t call – Thank goodness.

There was Mr. Destiny. He was the not quite divorced nephew of a friend. I walked into my parent’s house and he was there with his aunt. The minute I stepped through the door, it was like seeing Pepe LaPew with hearts zooming out of his eyes. I could actually FEEL those little hearts coming off of him. The next day his aunt told me he couldn’t stop talking about me. He said I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and did she think I’d date him? I was saved the embarrassment of having to turn him down in person because she told him I wasn’t interested. (Most beautiful woman he’s ever seen? Does he live in a cave?!)

There was Mr. AMC, a complete stranger that started talking to me in the theater and before I knew it was seated right next to me, laying his head on my shoulder and trying to buy me popcorn and a drink. He actually got up in the middle of the sold out movie climbed out over everyone to get popcorn after I told him I didn’t want any. Then climbed back in, tripped, landed in my lap, apologized, then offered me popcorn. I again said, no thanks and he responded. “You should have said you didn’t want any, I wouldn’t have bought this big bag.” Nuff said.

There have been others as well, each one creepy in their own way. The thing is, most of them look normal until they start talking, then it’s like, “Whoa, what planet are you from?” And my downfall is, I just can’t be mean to them.

Do I have “Desperately seeking Loser” stamped on my forehead? I’m not even LOOKING. I mean, if I met somebody that I was interested in, I’d be totally open to pursuing a relationship, but I don’t date just to date. Unfortunately, all the normal men are apparently hiding under a rock somewhere.

Fully Depressed,
A.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Did you all hear this story on the news? I can't even imagine how devastating this would be. On one hand, it would be like a miracle to discover your daughter wasn't dead. On the other, you have a family who invested five weeks in hope and prayers, only to have them dashed. I'm glad that both families have a relationship with Jesus. It would be near impossible to handle this ordeal otherwise.


Michigan
WHITNEY LIVED, NOT LAURA: ID mix-up after crash in Indiana stuns the families of 2 Michigan women
June 1, 2006 BY JIM SCHAEFER, CECIL ANGEL and BRIAN DICKERSON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

She emerged from her coma-like state and started to speak more than two weeks ago.
By Memorial Day, the young woman in the Grand Rapids hospital was playing a board game with a therapist, walking a bit and passing simple tests like reading signs out loud.
But, to the family gathered at her bedside, she was still saying things that didn't make sense.
Now they know why: She wasn't their sister and daughter, Laura VanRyn, 22, whom everyone believed had survived a van crash five weeks ago. In an incredible mix-up, she was really VanRyn's fellow student, Whitney Cerak, an 18-year-old woman also in the April 26 crash that killed five people along an Indiana highway.

Cerak's parents, meanwhile, believed they had already buried their daughter near their home in Gaylord.

On an Internet blog site, where the VanRyns posted what they believed were updates on Laura VanRyn's condition since April 28, sister Lisa VanRyn wrote Wednesday: "We have some hard news to share with you today. Our hearts are aching. ...

"Over the past couple of days, as Whitney had been becoming more aware of her surroundings, she'd been saying and doing things that made us question whether or not she was Laura."
Bruce Rossman, a spokesman for the hospital, said the VanRyns told him of their suspicions.
"When she was called 'Laura,' she would say 'Whitney,' " Rossman said.

In Indiana, the Grant County Coroner's Office notified the family and Taylor University, in Upland, Ind., where the two women were students, about the mix-up after a positive ID was made this week.

On Wednesday, Coroner Ron Mowery explained the confusion by saying that IDs were strewn about the accident scene and one of the first rescue workers apparently attached VanRyn's identification to Cerak as she was airlifted to a Ft. Wayne hospital.
Mowery said faculty from the school identified VanRyn's body as Cerak. Family members were not consulted, he said, adding that regulations don't require him to do so.

"This is one of the most tragic upon tragic experiences," Mowery said. "We did what was routine."

The women's families weren't available for comment, except through a joint statement released to the news media.

According to the statement, both women had similar builds, facial features and long blond hair. Cerak's injuries included a broken elbow, a broken leg, ribs and clavicle, cuts, bruises and facial swelling. She also was wearing a neck brace during her recuperation.

Progress with frustration
Cerak had been staying at a rehabilitation facility in Grand Rapids, near the VanRyns' home. Although she could respond to some simple commands just days after the crash, the VanRyns said she remained in a coma-like state until May 16.
The family's Web site updates indicated she had a tracheotomy that would have made speech difficult but, after it was capped on May 15, she responded to physical therapy and questions. But she seemed frustrated at times.

She tried to tear her neck brace off at one point. At another, she took a swing at one of the VanRyns.

Rossman said that recently Cerak "began to look more like her usual self."
Confirmation of the mix-up was made through dental records, and Cerak's family traveled to the woman's bedside Wednesday.

At the VanRyn home in Caledonia, near Grand Rapids, a reporter was asked to leave.
On the Web log, Lisa VanRyn wrote: "For us, we will mourn Laura's going home and will greatly miss her compassionate heart and sweetness."

Looking back and forward
VanRyn died in the crash April 26 on I-69 northeast of Indianapolis as she and a group of nine other Taylor students and employees were returning to the school.

A tractor trailer driven by Robert Spencer, 37, of Canton drifted across the median and smashed into the van, police say.

Several of the van's passengers were thrown from the vehicle. Authorities are still investigating. Spencer referred questions to his lawyer but did not identify his attorney before hanging up.

A month ago, an overflow crowd of more than 1,400 people turned out for what they thought was Cerak's funeral in Gaylord.

Joe Sereno, associate pastor at Gaylord Evangelical Free Church, told the Associated Press the casket was closed both for visitation and for the funeral. It was not immediately known if or when VanRyn's body would be exhumed, but a memorial service is planned for Sunday in Grand Rapids.

A speechless father
Outside the Cerak family home Wednesday evening, motorists honked their horns and passersby left flowers and notes.

Neighbor Sue Awrey dropped by the home to pick up Hunter, an aging golden retriever belonging to the Ceraks.

"I really can't describe my emotions," said Awrey, a teacher who has known Cerak's mother, Colleen Cerak, and her family for 16 years. She talked to Cerak's father, Newell Cerak, earlier Wednesday. "I said, 'I really don't know what to say.' He said: 'I know. I'm the same way.'
"You wonder what she's gone through for five weeks, lying in a hospital with all these strange people around," Awrey said of Whitney Cerak.

"A lot of people here are struggling to process it, too. My 9-year-old said to me, 'But mom, we went to her funeral, I cried for her.' "

Contact JIM SCHAEFER at 313-223-4542 or jschaefer@freepress.com. Naomi R. Patton, Dawson Bell, Ben Schmitt and the Indianapolis Star contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc.

Road to Reality

I've always been a naturally curious person. I like to know what makes things and people tick. Maybe that's why reading has always been such a passion. It's such an easy way to absorb new information. It's always amazed me how much you can learn from reading, even when it's just a Nancy Drew or Trixie Belden mystery.

When I was eight I decided I wanted to be a marine biologist. I read every book I could find on ocean life - sharks, dolphins, whales, etc. I even read all the books I could find on aquariums and pet tropical fish. I could name and identify hundreds of species, tell you what they ate and where they lived. My favorite book during my fish phase was a biography about ichthyologist Eugenie Clark. I swore some day I'd swim with sharks, too. Unfortunately for me, I'm a lousy swimmer and have never seen the ocean in person. I eventually figured out that it wasn't the career for me, but I've kept that love of marine life and I still dream of swimming in the ocean with God's creatures.

When I was thirteen I decide that astronomy was what I was made for. I got all the star charts, memorized the constellations, and wished on every star possible for a telescope. That ran for a couple of years before I realized my math skills just weren't where they needed to be and I moved on.

I don't think it's a coincidence that those two fields fascinated me so much. I was drawn to them for the same reason I'm drawn to good Sci-Fi. It's the call of the unknown. The mysterious 'what if' and 'how'?

Those same questions still tend to drive me today. Especially in my reading. I still get on stuck on a certain topic and read it until I'm ready to move on. Recently it's been the Physics of the Universe. Weighty, I know. And before you scoff at my ability to absorb such knowledge, I'll say up front. I'm no mathmetician. However I've discovered that there are a number of really good books that explain the laws of the universe mathmatically in laymens terms.

Which is excellent for me.

I posted a while back that I was reading "The Road to Reality: A complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe" by Roger Penrose. I still am - but in my defense, it's over a thousand pages. What fascinates me about this book though, is that it explains things in ways I never knew before. Did you know that there was more than one form of geometry? Or that they actually make sense?Maybe you did, but I didn't.

In his first chapter the author talks about the roots of the science and the philosophers that started the movement. Plato's idea of a perfect 'world' or 'dimension' that encompases three absolutes - Truth, Beauty and Goodness, fascinates me. In his explanation, this place exists outside of our own physical universe and is an eternal place. One where all laws, ideals and morals of the universe have been in existence for ever. That no matter when man might have discovered the truth of these laws, they were always there. The author goes on to elaborate, that everything in our universe is goverened by a mathematical law. Down to the smallest of the microscopic world, you can see elaborate patterns that are governed by math. An expample of this would be the Mandlebrot set. The deeper the microscope goes, the more intricate that patterns.

To further this explanation, he explains that there are three 'worlds' or 'dimension' so to speak that all come into play. The diagram below shows how they relate to one another. The Platonic world of pure truth governs our physical selves and world completely. In turn, our physical selves control the amount of mental capacity available to us. In theory, our mental selves are able to completley comprehend the pure world of truth, we're only limited by the physical limits our body's set upon us. It all flows perfectly in a never ending circle.

So why does this excite me so much? Because it's a perfect type and shadow of God and His creation - whether science wants to admit it or not.

God and His kingdom is that place of absolutes. Of Truth, Beauty and Goodness. His law is perfect and He wove it seamlessly into His creation. Those perfect laws are eternal and have been there since the dawn of time - regardless of when man 'discovered' them. They govern every part of our physical world. We, as humans are limited in our understanding. God says 'My ways are higher than your ways, My thoughts higher than your thoughts.' But does that mean we aren't capable in some way of completely comprehending the pure world that God resides in?

I don't think so. Let's look at the fact that at best we only use 10% of our brain capacity. Actually Einstein probably used 10%, the rest of us - not so much. SO, what would happen if that changed? Doesn't God tell us we will be 'changed in a twinkling of an eye'? Whether it's after we die, during the resurection or some other time, the reality is that if God were to unlock that dormant part of our brains, theoretically we could comprehend all of His world. How exciting is that? It's a mathmatical trinity, yet another example of the number three that is woven throughout the scriptures as a witness of God's perfection.

It's just all so exciting. I wish I had known in highschool, that this is how math was meant to be studied. I dare you to check this out, you'll be surprised just how much you comprehend - and how exciting it will be.

A.