Timothy - Dog Year

Shirleen

In 1992, I interned with IBM in Charlotte for six months, from March to September.  I recall almost nothing of what I learned from the big banking system project going on there - the system tests, the JCL (Job Control Language, an old mainframe scripting language), even the people.  What I do remember clearly, with both fondness and sadness, is a little German Shepherd puppy named Shirleen.

Shirleen came into my life as the result of an ad-hoc decision by my apartment roommate, Clint (not his real name), to see what it'd be like to own a dog, as he never had that experience.  One day after work, he stopped by the local animal shelter and picked up a simply adorable puppy.  Clint gave her the name Shirleen, which even now I think is weird.  At first, Clint was enthralled with her - buying all kinds of chew toys and premium puppy food and taking her on daily walks around the block.  As weeks passed, however, he began losing interest, and gradually I took on these roles for Shirleen.  Clint resumed his old addictions of buying dance/techno CDs and listening to them at full blast every night on his beloved thousand dollar stereo system.  Not that I minded taking care of Shirleen - she was so very cute and playful, and as is normal for her breed, she grew quickly.  She became like my baby, and I relished even those moments when she was asleep - that was when I could make sketches of her.

Then came that night that changed everything.  I got back to the apartment after a dinner with a co-worker, into a very quiet room.  Clint was in the corner reading some work manuals (he too was interning with IBM).  Shirleen was in the corner of her box, unusually quiet and still.  Her eyes were open, but  when I petted her, she could barely stand up.  When she did, she walked with a bad limp.  That's when I realized something very wrong had happened.  I asked Clint, and he nonchalantly gave some lame explanations on how Shirleen had chewed on his expensive stereo wires, and that he had "taught her a lesson."  My attempts to admonish Clint in the following days proved useless.  From that point on, a wall of ice grew between Clint and me.  He no longer allowed me to feed or walk Shirleen, but I did anyway when he was out.

At some point in July or August, Clint suddenly had enough of Shirleen, and with me in another room, simply grabbed Shirleen and stuffed her into the same travel cage he had originally used to transport Shirleen to the apartment.  I could hear her give a sudden yelp, but I didn't want to look.  It was simply too painful to even imagine what was going on in that room.  I knew he was taking Shirleen back to the animal shelter.  I could only pray that God quickly get me through the few remaining weeks with IBM, so I could leave behind this nightmare and psychotic roommate.

What happened to Shirleen?  I don't want to speculate on the worst, nor be delusional toward reality.  But if she's no longer in this world, I do believe God has a special place for her, one of His creations.  People ask me why I love animals, especially dogs, and yet sometimes get so cynical about human nature.  Surely it's because I'm still a kid at heart?  Or, from firsthand experience, I've seen just how cruel humans can get, and the completely unjustifiable abuses they inflict on innocents like Shirleen.  I've accepted this lesson, but I will not forget.

PSA (Personal Secrets Anagrams)

Here are some secret trivia about me.  What are shown are mere anagrams of the real answers, but in their own funny ways they are legitimate answers in themselves.  Enjoy!

• Before I became "Tim":
  I hail English


• Meaning of my old name:
  Reforms would include hurt


• Favorite self-description:
  Often went by survey


• I'm strongly attracted to girls who (beside Christian) are:
  striking Canadian primates


• My house will be paid off in
  the last castle deadline


• Where I usually buy my clothes:
  Men vandal joyride


• Why I often get depressed:
  Away in slow vehicle


• Ideal wedding place:
  A door with love's ocean

Proximity

Far better to have someone 1000 miles away who calls every week to ask how you are, than to have someone in the same room who hesitates to even sit next to you.

Best Hours of Life

The English congregation at my church, the Columbus Chinese Christian Church, conducted a prayer workshop earlier today.  Some great information were shared by the workshop facilitator and through small group sharings, but for me, what made this session truly wonderful were the three hours spent alone in prayer and reading God's Word.  It's amazing that I've not even attempted such a duration for privately communing with God in all the decades I've been a Christian.  I've been missing out, that's for sure.  I strongly recommend any Christian to schedule a regular time to do this for yourself and for your most important relationship in life - the one with our Lord.

Here are the thoughts and notes taken during my prayer session.  Despite the amount of stuff shown, I've learned that the key to these sessions is to quietly listen to God's voice.  It was clear that God had much to say to me.

History

All of human history can be summed up thus:  those who drink from God's living water, and those who do not.

Slackers

Some state employees
Like living without
Any accountability though
Clearly companies take
King Kong as
Every employee's only
Rewardable role model
Seems silly, huh?

Invincible

Score: 7.5 (out of 10)
Director: Ericson Core
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG

A feel-good sports film.  Seems like an idea that's been done before, many times.  Does Invincible rise above the crowd of formulaic scripts?  Not quite, but what it does, it does quite well.

Mark Wahlberg, whom I still can't disassociate from the old boys band New Kids on the Block, does a commendable job in the role of Vince Papale, the 30 year-old, out-of-luck bartender who ends up making the team during an unprecedented open tryout by the Philadelphia Eagles' new coach Dick Vermeil.  The real Vince played three years for the eagles, and statistically, wasn't all that spectacular.  However, his heart and determination did ignite the career of a new coach (Vermeil) and the whole Eagles team.

A simple story, told simply with grit and blue collar atmosphere.  Philadelphia inner-city life in the 70s is finely recreated in the sets, drab film colors, and well-placed 70s music, including Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold."  While the story is no more powerful than some made for TV, watching all the ground-level football action on the big screen is rather rewarding.  The best part of the movie is perhaps the portrayal of strong brotherly camaraderie between Papale and his coworkers and friends, all of whom shared in the economic hardships of the time.  Wholesome depictions of male bonding are rare in films these days - someone, if not everyone, usually turns out gay sooner or later.

At its core, Invincible is another film about a true-life Everyman.  Yet that's who most of us are, so it's unlikely we'll ever get tired of that character.

Plutonic Relationship

Why I don't care Pluto's no longer a "planet":

1. Nobody lives there, nor will anyone in my lifetime.
2. Pluto and the rest of the universe will go on as they are regardless of the latest human labels.
3. Even astronomers themselves can't agree on the ultimate definition of a planet.
4. Pluto's planetary status poses no threat to anyone.
5. Planet Earth on its own seems to have more than enough challenges and issues for everyone.
6. Science teachers can just say to kids, "There are eight planets, not nine."
7. I know how to skip over outdated materials when I read.
8. Other planets like Saturn are more aesthetically appealing anyway.
9. Disney's orange dog is not real.
10. There are more important concerns in life, like blogging.

Mutualism

In unreciprocated love, the lover cannot force the loved to start receiving, while the loved cannot force the lover to stop giving.

Blessings

In the scheme of an eternity in heaven, any blessings we may receive in this life become merely optional appetizers.