I went into the city today to meet up with Koo Chung, a friend of a couple of my friends. He's already gone through a lot that I've personally gone through, so I asked him a lot of questions. I got many answers that helped me immensely, and to God and Koo I'm grateful for a time well spent.

Albums I Need(Donations are much welcomed! :-D)

Andrew Osenga - "Photographs" - Upon recommendation by Koo. I listened to samples off the net, and thought it was an interesting concept.

Interpol - "Turn On The Bright Lights" - These guys are like the American version of Joy Division and Radiohead to me. Gloriously depressing, cacophonic yet melodic rock that makes you feel like you got attitude just by listening to it.

Radiohead - "Hail To The Thief" - I recorded it off of the preview release off of www.mtv.com a couple of weeks ago, to see how the new songs turned out. I had heard bootlegs of concerts they had done in Portugal and Spain last summer, and loved some of the new work debuted there. These guys also make you feel smart just by listening to their stuff. This is such an intense album.

Blogger updated their interface, I like it much. Furthermore, it now actually works with my server; finally!

Not many people know this, until now of course, but I have a fear of any sort of confrontation. Sometimes it strikes in such strange ways, such as having to ask a question at a store counter, applying for a job, talking to a much elder adult, or, recently, talking to a member of the opposite sex. If you have seen "The Shawshank Redemption," it's similar to the fear that Morgan Freeman's character had in facing the outside world. He was so shaken by the release from rules and restrictions, he didn't know what to do with his freedom.

Over the past couple of years, I've been trying to face these fears. I've been trying to see what I can do with my freedom, but many times, like Freeman's character, I let my fear of the unknown replace the possibilities of the unknown. God, give me a desire so great to know You, that it may guide my actions to flourish in this freedom in Christ.

A passion for God's glory to be known, tasted, and relished by others
A passion for God to be praised instead of suspiciously rejected
A passion to know, taste, and relish in God's glory
A passion to praise and trust God, instead of suspiciously rejecting Him

These passions are those that I should have but have lost. These passions say that they are the only ones worth pursuing. These passions promise eternal security and fulfillment, but call for the loss of their present forms. Three years ago, my heart burned for these passions to consume it. Three months ago, my heart angrily questioned their worth to it. Three days ago, my heart cried over their absence from it. Without passion, this life has become listless, adrift and amiss. What will it take to wake up from this slumber? What will it take to rehydrate this life from this drought of action?

Funny that things went downhill, after I made a firm conviction to live out preaching the Gospel daily. I guess in order to really know it, God had to show me what little I know.

What an irony, that when we fight for all of the attention, all of the love, all of the goods in this world, we don't get any. What a mystery, that when we give all of our attention, love, and goods to the world, we gain them. What an oft-repeated adage, what a hackneyed idea to hear! Yet, why do we still fight for all of the attention, all of the love, and all of the goods in this world, when we don't get them? If we know in our minds, why don't others see in our lives?