Saturday, social Saturday

Frisbee didn't happen, but I managed to drive around a little today. As I had little to do, I ended up writing another driver today; I've been working on saturday's to make up some for the vacation I'm going to take at the end of the month; more work now, less vacation days that need to be taken later, or at least that's the theory. Randy hosted game night tonight, to which I went, tied for second in "Puerto Rico", and fell just short in Sitting Ducks. Oh well, maybe next time I'll actually win.

For some reason, I have a clearer sense of purpose than I've had in a while, though I'd be hard pressed to know why. It's not so much of a "I know what to do with myself", but more of a "I feel the green light" kind of thing. No, Warren, it wasn't cause of what you said, ... happened a little earlier, but thanks anyways :-).

Ironically, I'm totally keyed up right now, partly from having just spent the most social hours that I've had all week, partly from said clarity, partly from having soul-fill-up day just a few hours away, partly from having just had cause to realize how many cool algorithmic tricks I know from grad school and thereby feeling useful in Christy's problem-solving, and partly for no good reason at all. It's like I just had a shot of caffeine, even though I haven't had it in months. Maybe that 7up _did_ have caffeine in it; strange.

After writing that, I realized that Cream soda has caffeine in it; I didn't think it did, which is why I had 2-3 glasses of it tonight. I'm going to get a splitting headache in two days from going back off caffeine, and I'm not going to get to sleep tonight for at least an hour or two. Caffeine didn't used to do that much to me, but when you're off it for months,... it makes you to haywire. I don't know what I'm going to do; I have no more work I can get done, it's midnight, and I need to be up in 8 hours. God helping me I will actually get to sleep before too long.

Great is Your faithfulness
to carry on with a sinner like me
--Newsboys

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.
-- Isaiah 58:13 a.k.a. where the 4th commandment rubber meets the road

I don't think people are meant to be by themselves

It's been another long day of bug-fixing; it's had it's ups and downs. After a phone conference in the morning, I was asked to back out a few changes I'd spend a decent amount of time on, in favor of someone else's seemingly shoddy code, keeping the status quo until next month's release. I shouldn't take it personally when I'm not listened to, but I guess it hits me every now and then. No volleyball after prayer meeting tonight; it's difficult to play in or after rain.

At Keith's insistence, I took a test yesterday designed to diagnose Asberger's syndrome. To both his and my amazement, I scored an "unaffected" with a score smack in the middle of their control group. It was funny, as I answered questions, to realize that I'd probably have answered those questions a lot differently just a few short years ago. I'm not _that_ bad at reading people, I just don't always act accordingly; I guess it boils down to self-control.

"I don't think people are meant to be by themselves."
Dr. John "J.D." Dorian, Scrubs

Irony points for the day: Ice-T plays a police detective on TV.

Bulls take it in the 8th

It's now 2 hours later, and I'm at the Joyce with keith after sucking out on trivia with a literally mean score of 15. The Bulls took control of the game in the 8th inning, scoring 3 on an off-the-wall double to take a 7-5 lead with which they held on to win. I'll probably head home now, unless Keith feels like playing pool. It's his birthday today, for what it's worth. All in all, it's been a fun-filled day.

Take me out to the ballgame

It's been a busy day, with lots or bugs to fix. I guess I bring it on myself, since I caused them, but it still takes a good chunk of time. I skipped out early to hit a Bulls baseball game with Stephy, Matthew and Esther, who are in town for a week or so from Scotland. Mary wanted to come but was unable to. It's been a pretty good game [it is ongoing, in the 8th inning], but we're still losing by a run or two. In an hour I'll be at the Joyce attempting to do decently at trivia; we haven't done that well of late.

It's amazing that I have a job for which I can do work while watching a ballgame. I am such a nerd, typing a blog while watching a ball game. W00t we just got a double play... back to the game.

Make religion the every-day business of your life,... or else

There are preachers that can preach, and then there are preachers who are deliver such a Spirit-drenched message so as to defy even predestination, if it were possible. If anything, it's a proof of the superhuman grip that sin has on the heart, that one could hear a sermon like I've heard today, not once but twice, and remain distant from Christ. Pastor William Hughes was in town for the weekend, standing in for Iain Murray, and he filled those shoes famously. I only hope I can properly digest what I've been privileged to hear today.

In the Sunday school, we were treated to a detailed survey of the life and ministry of David Livingstone. While hailed as an extraordinary explorer, his spiritual zeal to open the then-unknown continent of Africa to the gospel is often overlooked. One thing that stuck out in my mind was the death-bed counsel of a childhood mentor of his, as follows:

"Now, lad, make religion the every-day business of your
life, and not a thing of fits and starts; for if you do, temptation and
other things will get the better of you."

In the morning, he drew from 2 Corinthians 5, reading chapter 4 as a background to Paul's words of confidence at the onset of the 5th chapter -- "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." Pr. Hughes focussed his comments on Paul's analogy of heaven, making the point that, in the words of Richard Sibbs, "If a believer is gloomy all the time, he has forgotten what Christ has done for him. If he is happy all the time, he has forgotten what Christ is yet to do for him." He also noted Paul's complete absence of any mention of punishment to come, as taught by the supposed doctrine of Purgatory, which is not surprising since it is completely contradictory to Paul's understanding of redemption. Paul's confidence is rooted primarily in the believer's union with Christ through faith, which results in adopted sonship, the basis for a reconciled relationship with God.

An established relationship with God is predicated on the activity of all three members of the Godhead-- the election of God the Father, the blood sacrifice of the Son, and the presence of the Spirit, given at conversion as the guarantee of our future inheritance. To those who would claim that believing one to be permanently in grace is presumption, I would counter that Paul had no such hesitation. To quote, "we KNOW that we have a building from God", speaking of heaven. Such a belief is not presumption, but simply taking God at His word. To say that such knowledge is not possible is to deny not only Paul's words, but those of Peter ["but you, make your calling and election sure"], and more importantly, those of Christ ["he who comes to me, I will in no wise cast out"]; and these are just a sampling of what is assured to the believer all across the New and Old testaments.

In the evening, Pr. Hughes delivered a heart-string-pulling exposition of the words of Christ at the end of Matthew 11, "Come unto me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of hear, and you will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." I really can't capture it here, you'll have to listen to it off the website at www.grbc.net if you can handle it.

Tired at last

Finally,... I'm tired, and it's the time that normal people sleep! After a 4-5am knock out time, a 10am rehearsal for Brazil, lunch with Keith at the Joyce, a checkin of yet another driver for this month's driver pack, and an evening picnic that was Andy's 4th of July shindig (2 weeks early) and a lot of Wii-playing with the other guests, I'm pretty much beat. Now if I can just go an hour without doing anything that gets my blood up, ... I'll actually fall asleep at a semi-normal time.

It's an unusual thing when different people bring up something that's been on your mind,... without you saying a word. Especially when one's your pastor, one's a friend, and one's someone you don't even know.

Some days you're the hamster; some days you're the wheel.

Pastor Hughes is up tomorrow, so it should be a very good day. Hopefully I'll be able to put all the things and people that are on my brain _out_ of mind, so as to concentrate on what matters more.

I don't like being this busy

You know it's a busy day when you don't view your favorite website once, don't even glance at facebook, don't do your usual crossword or two, barely leave the house, and when you do it's just to drop something off and decompress. It's a good thing that I have a roommate, and one with a girlfriend, or I think I'd get no social interaction at all in times like this. I guess that's a side effect of getting a whole lot done,... they think you can just do that all the time.

I'll be at a ballgame tomorrow night, I don't know what on Friday, and a barbecue on Saturday, so maybe that'll offset all the concentration I've been doing this week.

Take my frozen heart; awaken me
Never once have you forsaken me

Figures, right when I make up my mind to to something
suddenly all my time disappears like a fart in the wind
God has His timing, if I only knew what it was
But then I wouldn't need the eyes of faith

All work and no play

It's been at least 48 hours since I've walked out of the door of my apartment... for better or for worse. I've gotten a lot done, but as they say, all work and no play makes John a dull boy. I'm glad I like my work, though as I told Mary the other day, I'd probably have been a nuclear physicist or a chemist if I hadn't been an engineer, and I know I'd never have the schedule I have if I'd stuck with either of those. In lieu of the relatively boring details of the last day or so, I'll post my sermon notes.

The SS lesson reviewed chapter 2 of Ryle, focusing on the nature of sanctification but not quite getting to the end of the chapter which compare/contrasts it with justification. Sad, since that has been something that I would like to have heard given my past apparent ineptitude in explaining the differences to someone who clearly didn't understand the subject at all. Stephen made the point to emphasize that someone who has no desire to pursue holiness of life clearly has no connection with Christ, because one who has had the blood applied to his account could never do enough to conform his life to the One who gave His in exchange. When He says jump, he says "how high?"

Pastor Gary's morning message dovetailed well with the SS, beginning with the question "If you productivity at your job were to equal your productivity in the kingdom of God,... would you still have a job?" That question really got my attention, as the subject has been on my mind of late. I've been conscious of a dearth of my own involvement in church functions in general, and evangelistic speech in particular. It's not that I've been distant, but more that my focuses have been elsewhere. His later observation that, "wouldn't it been an embarrassing thing to reach heaven and be forced to acknowledge that there wasn't a single person there whom you had been used to bring there", hit me so hard it felt like I had an arrow hanging from my chest. There are many people that I am at least somewhat close to that are headed for a next-world of hurt, and yet I do little to speak of spiritual matters so as not to rock the proverbial boat. Don't I realize where they're headed or what I've been given? If I'd won a million dollars, wouldn't I be telling them all about it?

The new testament puts a non-trivial amount of focus on the bearing of fruit which, while being much broader than simple evangelism, is perhaps most characterized by the speaking of the good news to souls who need it. Holy living may raise questions, but it's not going to save anyone. That said, the presence of the Spirit is a powerful force to effect a change in one's living to the point that it is both baffling to unbelievers and unexplainable apart from that Spirit. Luke 5:17 - "..and the power of the Lord was present to perform healing." This power wasn't the power of the second Person, because that was veiled in humiliation. The gospels often speak of Jesus being heavily anointed by the Spirit of God; while we don't have it to the same measure, we do have that same Spirit. God, may that same Spirit so manifest itself in my actions.

The evening message focussed on Luke 5 and the account of the 4 men who lowered their paralyzed friend through a roof to get him to Jesus. Pastor Gary asked if we thought that their action was too "extreme" or whether it was justified. He made the point that we are quick to find fault in the actions of others, from how one orders a worship service to how people witness to others. Getting people to Jesus is worth any and all means, so long as you're bring them to the real Jesus and not a Jesus with the rough edges of total depravity and free justification.

We were also challenged to either host or support a 4-week evangelistic bible study in the coming fall months... something I plan to take take on. It's a funny feeling when someone challenges you to do something and you don't even have to think twice about it.

36 days and I'm off to the equatorial jungle. Ah yeah.

I'm short one "right broom", if you know what I mean

I'm watching Hitch... yet again, but this time on television. Last night was pretty eventful; I saw Oceans 13 with a Evan, Christy, and a few Christophs and, as it turned out, sat a row or two in front of Brad, Jillian, Brad K, Aubrey, Liz and a few other mebane kids. I was pleasantly surprised,... fearing a movie as bad as Oceans 12. I imagine it'll do well enough to consider and Oceans 14, but I hope if they decide to make it that it's a _good_ plot. I taught them how to use the Wii afterwards, ... I think Abbie really picked up the sports games really well.

Frisbee was a big event today, we actually got 8 people for a pretty good workout. Aside from the fact that I didn't go to bed until 6am this morning [working on a driver], ... it's been a good day. It was actually deliberate, in order to ensure that I fall asleep relatively early tonight. The Lord's day deserves me going to bed early enough to have a normal night's sleep,... something I haven't done for a few weeks now.

My mind is rather scattered of late, although the person who's causing it is very likely oblivious to it. My very deliberate focusing on my work is probably more of a result of it, rather than a method of coping. Being social alleviates it somewhat, but in a strange way it makes it more acute.

Theology is easy to go along with,.... until you try to apply it. There's a reason that it "is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and sprit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Red Elvises

Eardrums were meant to be saturated. That said, it sucks to have your ears ringing and there's nothing you can do to get back peace and quiet other than simply waiting. I went to see the Red Elvises tonight after a long day of work... they were _awesome_! It was well worth the $10 cover, though now I can't manage to type a sentence without completely misspelling at least one word. Another girl told me that I look like Ed Norton, and I bought one of their greatest-hits cds. Maybe I'll actually get a _normal_ sleep tonight.....maybe.

Sometimes you pray for God's direction in making a yes/no choice, and sometimes you have to ask for the discernment to narrow down the options in your head because you can't make the yes/no choice while there are too many options on the table.

Some days, you wait and wait and wait

Today could have been much more busy, but since I'd crashed my device the night before and it's on the west coast and I'm not,.... I had to wait. Turns out the one guy who could reset it didn't come up until after lunch PST and even then didn't get right to it. It's probably why I'm still up working at crazy hours.... and you thought crazy hours were just a grad school thing.

Apparently "Hitch" is about to make it's television debut... it's probably the greatest movie ever, which is probably why I ended up seeing it in the theater 4 separate times within the course of a week or so. The cast was selected perfectly, it has almost as many quotable lines as Monty Python and the Princess Bride, and is both real and topical without being stereotypical, which is rather rare in a romantic comedy. And as experience bears out, it is also very true in its thesis.... all you need is the right broom.

Yes, it's 4am

Good day... even if I spent it working from my couch. Rehearsal went pretty well tonight, ... maybe all that Portuguese pronunciation won't be _that_ bad. Saw keith and mike again at the joyce,... it's been a while, and topped it off with talking for a while to a girl who is a spitting image of Reese Witherspoon.

You know you're answering a question honestly when you don't even skip a beat with the answer.

Yes, it's 4am.

I hate seeing the same advert several times within 30 minutes.

I do, in fact, know when to keep my mouth shut; I just end up ignoring it.

There's nothing quite so affirming as someone telling you something you were thinking without them knowing that that's what you were thinking just then. Now if I could just have an opportunity to put that into action.... but I don't control Providence and for good reason.

Party spirit is just plain wrong

Good day, and I finally have another driver to work on. Other than getting called by a random saleswoman who didn't even seem to know _who_ she was trying to contact, today was pretty average. Rehearsals for Brazil start up again tomorrow after a month hiatus... goodbye every-afternoon-free, hello learning to sing in Portuguese.

Sometimes it's far to easy to be critical when listening to someone describe things that their church does that are different from the way your church does it. I should really be glass-half-full without having to remind myself to be charitable. A party spirit is hardly a Christian virtue, and definitely not in line with the reaction of Christ to his disciples persecution of someone casting out demons in the name of Christ who wasn't one of their circle. Luke 9:50 "Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you." As John the Baptist put it,... He must increase, I must decrease. Recognizing that the work of God as supersedes one's own party is sometimes difficult, but to do otherwise is nothing but arrogance.

I will not love a world that crucified him

The wonderful thing about God is that He always seems to know just what you need to hear and brings it. This time it came in adult class, which started going through Ryle's Holiness this week. I've been told by some people that Ryle is hard to read, but frankly I don't see it. There is no one else who wields the same level of Biblical knowledge combined with the tact and balanced approach clearly born of soaking one's soul in that knowledge for protracted periods. If only the Anglican church today held a candle to the religion of Ryle, it sure would be something.

I will not love a world that crucified him,
neither cherish nor endure the sin
that put him to grief,
nor suffer him to be wounded by others.
-- Valley of Vision

Nothing motivates the putting of sin to death and moves the soul to quit affection for the wolrld quite like the realization of what it cost the Redeemer.

How can the works of believers please God, since they're still shot through and through with sin? Even the best works performed by those who are not united to Christ are like submitting a 5-year-old's art drawing to a professional art contest. Even at their best, they don't come within missile range of being worthy of anything more than being immediately thrown in the trash bin. But take those same drawings and give them to that child's father, and they are suddenly priceless. The value comes not from the skill of the drawing, but the preexisting relationship between the artist and the benefactor. God is pleased not because of the quality of the deeds, but by the efforts of His adopted children in Christ to please him, weak though those efforts be.

"Walking in a manner worthy of the Lord" can never mean to walk in a way that would make one deserving, even in the least, of the favor of God because that is simply not possible. Even though we were still in our originally created innocence, we could never come close to meriting the condescension of Christ or the grace imparted by the indwelling Spirit. That said, saints worthy of the name so mirrors Christ that anyone who gets to know them should be able to at least say "if Christ makes a person into that, then tell me more about Him". There are sadly far too many who name the name of Christ of whom it can be rightly said, as I saw on a bumper sticker, "Jesus save us ..... from your followers." As John the Baptist [no not me :-)] put it, "bring forth fruits worthy of your repentance."

Where He goes, there I follow

It's been a good day, ... fitting for a Saturday. Between Wii tennis with Christy and Evan, a party/barbecue with Adam, and some random shopping and such, it was a definite good weekend. Not quite as fun as last weekend, but you can't take a fun trip with a 3-girl "harem" [as my grandmother termed it] every day.

I used to be a wall flower; I'm not anymore. I can remember growing up being a "social retard" [coined by a few of us from NY at a youth retreat in Grand Rapids way, way long ago], though I've gotten better. It's a good feeling to come to the realization that you'd actually rather sit and talk with the people you've never met than talk to someone you already know. It's not all that spectacular, but yet it's a place that sadly not everyone comes to.

Several of us ran into Adam Schultz and his wife and son the other day at the Durham Athletic park and were invited to a barbecue at their home this evening, which as it turns out was in partly celebration of Heather's 30th b-day and partly a neighborhood gathering that Adam had set up. It was a great evening, largely spent out on his bricked in back porch and in his kitchen after it started raining a bit. Apparently there's a mailing list now and some things they're planning on organizing, from biking and basketball to poker and such. It should be an exciting social experience to say the least, and hopefully an opportunity for the gospel under the blessing of God. They don't seem irreligious, but are most likely the ambivalent type like so many people of this age.

There are many times I end up thinking, God why can't I have lived _there_ or known _that_ person better, but there are also times when I can clearly see why God has placed me where He has. Most people know the saying "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you," but few remember the words that Jesus says far more often "...and come, follow me." Seeking the kingdom isn't seeking for something; it's following the game-plan of the One who runs the kingdom. In the words of Ruth,... where He goes, there I'll go. Where He puts me, there I'll stay.

Just 9 hours and I'll be refreshing myself in a lesson drawn from Ryle's Holiness... it's been far too long since I've read that amazing book.

The arm of flesh will fail you

Today was a slow work day, at least for me. I'm blocked on the project I was working on and won't have any fresh projects until Monday, so ... I sat around a bit. There was a little-warning All Hands meeting in the office this morning, so I figured I should be there. As it turned out, one of the guys who I don't work with but whose desk I walk past regularly died in a car accident either that morning or on the evening before. It's a weird feeling, since I didn't know him all that well, but enough to get my attention.

Evan, Christy, Carrie and I went over to Tyler's to eat and listen to a local cover band; they were pretty good. We all played Wii Sports for a while afterwards; friendly competition beats the best solo game.

It's amazing how easy it is to get to a place where God isn't a factor in your daily decisions, let alone minute-by-minute decisions. God, help me to realize that trusting in the arm of flesh will lead only to sin and all of its awful consequences. "Having begun in the Spirit, will you be perfected by the deeds of the flesh?"

Stand up, stand up for Jesus!
Stand in His strength alone.
the arm of flesh will fail you
ye dare not trust your own!
put on the gospel armor
each piece put on with prayer
where duty lies or danger,
be never wanting there.

Apparently, I'm no longer "hip" :-)

It was a pretty uneventful day; after staying up late writing code the night before, I took the day easy. There were a few kids playing some volleyball after prayer meeting in Mebane; that was my excitement for the day. Joshua, Josiah, Jon, Tina, Amy, and Casey showed up; not quite the whole crew, but enough to have a good time. Posted pictures from the weekend trip, along with some interesting captions; there were a lot of good ones.

As Jon Ayscue told me "...if you were in high school, you'd understand." Apparently I'm old :-)

"it's never a good thing when two people stop talking, but sometimes it is the lesser of two evils."
--yours truly; apparently God has matured me a little bit in the last 10 years

The downside of intuition

I put in a good day of work today from my couch, now that I have a new driver to work on. As I learned today from watching Dharma and Greg this afternoon, you should be doing a job not because it makes your money or earns you status, but because it's what you love to do. I'm the last person to brag, but God has made me into a crackerjack programmer, in a company that's on the up-and-up, and I'm doing what I love. It may not be something I stay with long term, but it still manages to kick ass.

Sometimes God messes with your plans to teach you a lesson. Sometimes it's to dissuade you from something, and sometimes it's to open your eyes. The difficulty is in knowing which He has in mind. As soon as I figure it out, I'll be a lot more settled of a person. Being pulled in several directions by your own intuition sucks, big time. It's much easier when it's a moral choice, they're usually much more clear cut. Choosing a course of action when there's not a _wrong_ choice and when the consequences are rather permanent.... oy. Pray pray pray pray pray.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Wow I'm tired. It's been a very eventful and fun-filled weekend, to say the very least. Since I last wrote, I've been in half-dozen states, driven 2000 miles, flown an airplane, and taken at least a half-dozen trains and subways.

Things started when I took the Thursday train down to NYC to meet up with my brother and dad, then the NJ transit line to my dad's hotel, then eating dinner at Ruth's Criss steakhouse; the fillet was a good as I remembered and just as expensive. We walked around town since the return subway was down for repairs and managed to drop by Opsware's sales office that's off Broadway south of Times Square. Too bad it was already 10pm or there'd have been people I could have dropped by and talked to. Next I headed off to Steve's apartment in Newark by train, then subway, then by walking over some a cobblestone street or two.

Woke up in the morning at bright-and-early 4:30, took the subway/train to Newark Airport , then flew direct to RDU in a tiny jet plain; the best flight I can recall having in a while now. Arrived at 8:30 and was returned to my apartment by Warren only to pack up and leave again with Liz an hour later. After rounding up Lydia and Mary, we set out on a 12-hour drive to Illinois to see their cousin Andrew graduate from Knox College.

We made it without too much trouble, with me driving for most of the way and Liz practicing her stick-shift skills for the remainder. We all stayed at a local hotel in Peoria after arriving at about 1am, then drove out at 7am to get to the graduation early to meet the grandparents & aunt/uncle who'd reserved tickets for us without knowing for whom they were being reserved. They got quite the surprise I think.

The commencement speaker was none other then former President Bill Clinton. He arrived shortly before the ceremony began to a standing ovation and with a lot of secret service agents. His speech was seemingly largely unrehearsed [and as a result, enjoyable] and he certainly put out a lot of points that I could heartily agree with, reinforcing, I suppose, his main emphasis on the similarity of us all genetically and the tolerance and cooperation that such similarity should engender. All in all, a very good ceremony to be at.

Following the ceremony, we all hung out in the common room in Andrew's dorm, playing games, eating Chinese and other foods, and generally having a good time. We stayed as long as we dared, given our long ride home, and got back to the hotel around midnight. After a 7-hour siesta, we set out again for home, stopping a few times, most significantly at my grandmother's house in West Virginia to see her, Aunt Linda, and Uncle Bud. For those of you who don't know, my grandmother is going on her mid-90's and still sharp as a tack and pretty good on her feet. It's amazing to see, God has preserved her in a miraculous way. I'll be back again in August for her birthday, but it was still well worth the time spent getting to drop by.

We arrived back in Durham around midnight tonight, after dropping off Mary and Lydia at the Christoph mansion and taking Liz back to her car at my apartment, and now the tiredness is finally starting to kick in. After spending a Lord's day in the car, I'm still a bit empty from having no Word to feast on, but having had many hours of profitable music and good company should get me by until next week.

All in all, God kept us and seemed to bless the time to all concerned parties, at least to me as far as I know. It's really funny to have someone thank you for something that was fun to do and that you'd do again in a second. It's like saying thanks for having eaten someone else's candy.... um, you're welcome. No really, it's no trouble. Oh well.
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Some things you won't see until you look for them. Some things you won't see until you stop looking for them.
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Be yourself, because the people who mind don't matter and the people who matter don't mind.
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Some people just get it without you having to explain it, but some won't even when do.
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You think you know someone and then they surprise you, and not even in a bad way.