Whom Do You Serve

After many years of planning, changing designs, locations and text, I have finally settled on what I want.  On my recent trip home for two family weddings, I got a tattoo.  It is a phrase written in biblical hebrew on my wrist.

I didn't tell anyone what it translated to at first because it was my tattoo and I wanted to keep it a secret between me and God.  With everything going on in my life over the last few years, I wanted a reminder that wasn't just applicable to my current situations, but something that would remind me of truth in all situations.

I have gone back and forth in what I wanted, from old testament verses to modern sayings and designs.  One of my favorite Proverb is 11:22 because of its humorous, yet wise and timeless warning

Like a gold ring in a pigs snout, is a beautiful women without good sense.

I've also considered more heartfelt verses like Psalms 61:1-2

Hear my cry, O God;
       listen to my prayer.

From the ends of the earth I call to you,
       I call as my heart grows faint;
       lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 

I was very close to getting this ichthys on 

my back before I came to Kuwait.

In the end I decided that I wanted something small that could be a daily reminder to me.  The phrase does occur in the book of Joshua, but I didn't find that out until after I got the tattoo.  I got it in biblical hebrew so people couldn't just read and understand it.  Having less people understand it makes it feel more personal to me. 

Oh yea, and if you didn't read the title of this post and figure it out, the tattoo asks "Whom do you serve", ask me if you ever want a more in depth explanation of why i choose that phrase.

Back to the Grind

It was a great vacation, but now it's time to get back to work.

I was able to visit most of my family, attended two weddings, shared many meals with great friends and was able to cook a few times.  Overall a great vacation, thank you to everyone that was a part of it.

Now back to work, hopefully I'll be able to study for and knock out the CCNA within 2 or so months.

On the Road Again

Pretty excited about my vacation that's about to start.  Flying over 18000 miles and spending at least 42 hours in a plane over two weeks.  Two family weddings, old roommates birthday, a few drinks with friends and a lot of quality time with family and friends. I'll try to post pics and updates throughout the trip, but it might be two weeks before i post again.

Why you should sit on a towel in a sauna

One of the little things i've come to really enjoy while I'm in Kuwait is the sauna in the gym.  I love the feeling of a good sweat, to be honest, at least a 1/4 of the times i workout and 3/4 of the times i go running is to break a good sweat.  There is just something peaceful and relaxing about it, like all the stress and worry leaving.

Anyways, today's post is about a not so clean experience i had last night.  There is a sign on the sauna door about bringing a towel to sit on and while i have almost always done this, i never really thought much about it.  So last night after a little jog and workout, i head to the sauna and whats the first thing i notice, its a rather large nude man sitting on the bench with a towel thankfully draped across his lap.  He was easily 280, maybe 300 lbs.  He had a bunch of water bottles next to him and every once in a while, he would pour a little on him, gross.  He left a little before me and there was a large wet butt print where he was sitting.  Thats a lot of hairy fat man butt sweat.

Folks, please bring a towel into the sauna to sit on, and wearing a bathing suit wouldn't be a bad idea.

Admitting Failure

So when i first got to kuwait, i was pleasantly surprised at how good the food was.  Considering where im at, and how much food these guys make 4 times a day, its pretty good.  Needless to say, my complete lack of self control with how much food i got and ate, plus the sitting at work for 12 hours a day, and going to my apt and sitting there, all added up and expanded the waistline.  All my pants still fit, well, two are a little too tight for comfort, but I have tried loosing the weight.  I have been working out, and tried a 600 calories a day diet for a couple of weeks, but i dont think i lost more than 5 lbs, if that.  

I was pretty optimistic about the weight loss, but in the end, I've stopped caring. I'll eventually lose it when i move back to the states, and dont have a lethargic 12 hr/day job.  Maybe i could go back to Camp Ozark for a summer, that would burn it all off pretty quickly.  In the end I've accepted my gut, i hope yall do as well.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (same guy who wrote The Kite Runner) and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't really on the same level as the Kite Runner. 

This one was also set in Afghanistan, amid all the turmoil of the soviets invading, then the warring factions then the "liberation" by the taliban, then the U.S.  This one also involved drama and love and redemption.  It also contained a character who was spit on and looked at with disgust their entire lives, beaten and betrayed and ultimately dieing for others.

The biggest difference was how the story jumped back and forth between the two main characters.  I never felt like i knew either of them nearly as well as the main character from The Kite Runner.

Books and breakfast

I highly recommend reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers.

Water for Elephants is a book about Jacob, who lost his parents in a car crash just before he was to take his final exams and graduate from Vet school.  Since Jacobs dad took out a mortgage to pay for his schooling and accepted chicken eggs as payment for his veterinarian services (his dad was a vet as well), after the crash the bank got everything.  So he just took off and ended up joining the circus

The story jumps between Jacob as a 93 year old man at a nursing home, and his memories of working for the circus.  This book was funny, entertaining, sometimes sad, always honest, and overall a very good read.

Her Mother's Hope is the newest book by Francine Rivers and if you know me at all, you know I love Francine Rivers books.  Having read all of her books (except the Lineage of Grace and Sons of Encouragement series, i read one of each, but wasn't a fan) I was looking forward to this one.  Her books are engaging, thought provoking and challenging.  Overall one of my favorite authors.

Her Mother's Hope is about Marta, a girl who struggles with a crappy dad throughout childhood and then through many different service jobs as a teenager learning all she can so that one day she can open her own hotel.  She later raises a family while fighting the ghosts of her past.  The story later focuses on her second child and oldest daughter who is close to the exact opposite of Marta.  This is the first of a two book series, lets hope the second is written quickly so we can see how it all ends.

I was also shown an awesome little breakfast restaurant this last weekend.  Tucked between two 10 story buildings, this 15 ft wide by 40 ft long building was easy to miss and had room for maybe 16 people at a time, but it was good.  I had the Monte Cristo sandwich, and it was great.  I'm likely to start eating there once a week given the great quality of the food, and pretty cheap prices.