St. Ignatius.

This is his prayer:

Dearest Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve Thee as Thou deservest: to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to tiol and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to seek reward, save that of knowing that I do Thy Will, O God.



I have a lot to learn.

Salt in the Wound.

Remember that job I told you I failed to get? I asked the guy who ran the ad for it why I was ruled out (for future reference). It turns out I was wasting my time in the first place.

Apparently the parish I applied to his huge.

Second, the guy who got the job holds two Master's Degrees, and has several years as a catechist(I don't care if I mispelled it), and several years as a teacher. I never stood a chance.

Yay for getting beaten out by old men. Whatever happened to people hiring the young, fresh people?

Bad news.

I didn't get the job.


Fuck. That.


Now we try something else.

Martial Arts.

Today I attended a martial arts class. It's Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. I think I'm really going to enjoy it.

The class is very relaxed--as is the martial art itself. The attitude of the martial art is that you respond to an attack, rather than initiate combat. The instructor taught us one basic technique tonight and then showed us how it applied in unarmed combat, sword fighting, and spear fighting. It was really fun. I also think the instructor has a good grasp on how dangerous his martial art can be. I think I'm in for some high quality instruction.

I applied for a job today.

At the beginning of the week I applied for a job at St. Ann's Catholic Church in Marietta for the position of Director of Religious Education. They ask for a Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, and I think I qualify for both. Most of you are familiar with my extra-curriculars at Mercer, so I hope you all agree. I'm very nervous and very excited about this job. It would grant me the ability to do something I love and use the degree I earned. Please, please, please pray for me. I really want this job, and I think I can do it well. It's quite literally in God's hands.

The Dungeon Crawl.

You step inside the dark corridor. The damp smell of mold meets your nostrils. The walls are rough stone. The corridor is 10 feet wide. What's the marching order?

My life recently has been an interesting assortment of events and happenstance. I have a broad spectrum of items on my agenda, and each item involves a different face. I use at least 5 times as many vocalized pauses in my speech because I'm trying to wrap my mind around several concepts while sifting from one face to the next. I can never nail down the appropriate response. I'm lagging.

Soon you come to a fork in the path. Roll a Spot check and a Listen check.

Taking in the world is difficult. I have a lot to remember and be aware of at my job: Bait stations must be cleaned, marked, and bait must be replaced. Rodent traps must be marked, wiped, lids snapped down tight, flush against the wall. I must also be wary of people who are on forklifts, machinery around me, razorwire (when I'm outside), and tractor trailers.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to plan my next path in life. I'm trying to be a published writer, get a teaching certification, pump up my resume, learn to invest my money.

A troop of patrolling Goblins meets you in a small room. Roll Initiative!

Conflict occurs as well. How to spend my time when I'm not working? I'm rarely in a position to see my girlfriend, I want to see friends in Macon, I need to write, I want to start looking at martial arts programs in my area, and who knows how many other things.

Conflict is hard. Mostly because I don't have time. I just plain don't have time.

The last goblin falls. If you like, you may loot the corpses.

As I overcome conflict, I'm gaining something from it. Strength of character. Patience. Discipline. Direction. Motivation. Drive. Experience. Of course, not all conflicts are so direct.

As you continue down the pathway, you come across a locked door.

Not all conflicts are as straightforward. Do I muscle my way through and just force my position onward? Do I try to defuse the situation? Do I simply go around and leave the puzzle unsolved?

At last you come upon the treasure chest. Inside it are jewels, coins, a sword, a shield, and a ring.

Eventually I'll get to the prize at the end of the road. The adventure will conclude, I'll have become better, and gained something worthwhile despite the risks. I'll gain new abilities, new insight, and maybe some material gain. I'll make friends, strengthen established friendships, and (hopefully) eliminate possibility to create enemies. It'll be fun.

Onward to adventure!

I need some excitement. I know my job. I know each trap, every bait station. I know them so well that I'm moving quickly from one to the next. I'm also not paying much attention to what I'm doing. My head's in the clouds. I want to go on an adventure. I want some excitement, something extraordinary. One thing is certain, pest control is not my vocation.

I began writing my book that I am submitting to Wizard's of the Coast yesterday. I introduced two characters inside of two pages. 4 characters to go means I will probably write 4 more pages. That means that I need maybe 200-300 pages of story. Ai-yee. I just hope the whole thing doesn't turn out poorly or looks like it was rushed. I really want to do a good job on it.

In the mean time I am cancelling my online game subscription. I need to re-work my resume from the ground up. I got a neighbor who has offered to help me on that.

Listening to Clark Howard on the radio has me very money conscious. I'm going to start poking my nose into investment options soon.

I will also begin applying to schools. Maybe I'll put in an application to the private school Cole worked for. Now if only I can remember what that school was called.

MAT programs are being found. I just need to find one that works. The only problem is that I work full time. It's hard to get information and arrange things when I get home an hour and a half after most offices are closed.

I'm going to sign up for a martial arts class in the next few weeks. I just need to see what my options are in my area. I really want to find a martial art that suits me. I want one that meshes well with my way of thinking and how I approach things. I also want one that works well with how I move naturally. If anyone has any suggestions based on what they know about me, feel free to contact me.

I'm also going to try to be in Macon the weekend after Mother's Day. To those of you who are in that area, expect a call.

I'm not tired, but I'm going to bed. I got to be up at 6am.