I'm Back, For the Moment

Hi folks!

I got back from Worldview Academy yesterday, and I thought I'd write a brief update...

First off, I'd like to give a shout out to any WVA Alumni who happen to visit my blog; you guys are always welcome here.

I had a great time at Worldview. When I first arrived, I was met with the smiling faces of the staff, and was told that I was in for the best week of my life. Turns out they were right. I really have had the best week of my life. I spent five days there, listening to entertaining and enlightening lectures, getting to know new people, and participating in awesome small group discussions. I wish I could describe the whole week, but I haven't the time (as I must pack yet again for another trip, where I'll be gone until Wednesday) or the ability to put such an amazing experience into words.

I would like to recommend Worldview Academy to everyone ages 13-19 who visits my blog. As I said, it is a Christian worldview, leadership and apologetics camp, and it is well worth the time and money. If you would like information on WVA, by all means, send me an e-mail, and I'll tell you everything I can.

And now, I must go pack. I encourage all teenagers to look into WVA, and remember that if you let me refer you as an alumnus, you will get a $25 discount off of the tuition price. And of course, for more information, visit the WVA website and send me an e-mail; I'd be glad to answer any questions you may have.

Be blessed!
Neo

My Appendix Story, Part 1

No, it has nothing to do with politics, but I figured I'd post it anyway. Allow me to say that since the appendectomy, I have been horribly busy, which accounts for my lack of posts. Never fear though, even as we speak, things are calming down (though only slightly), so I hope to post more.

Now, for the main attraction... This post covers a few "bathroom" issues, so I ask that you forgive any crudeness, as it is generally a necessary part of the story.

On Saturday, June 4 I had an appendectomy. I suppose my problems started around 12:30 AM while I was up late playing Xbox. Out of the blue, I felt a pain in my stomach, just below my navel. The first thing that came to mind was that I had to use the restroom, so I paused the game and off to the bathroom I went. I came back several minutes later, feeling a little better, and continued to play my game.

The pain returned shortly, leaving me wondering if I just hadn't properly finished the job on my first visit, so I headed back to the restroom. This time, I did nothing and I did not feel any better. I thought that perhaps the problem might have been caused by sitting hunched over with a controller in my hand for so long, so I decided to call it a night. After shutting off the video game and walking downstairs, my stomach started hurting a little less; by the time I made it to bed, however, the pain had returned.

Several more visits to the bathroom did nothing to ease my pain, and before I knew it, it was 2:15 AM. I headed back for the bathroom one last time, and this time while I was in there, I felt my hands tingling, and I started to get dizzy. At this point, let me assure you that it is not a pleasant feeling to know that you have fallen off a toilet, but that is exactly what I did. At that point, I decided that it was time to get my parents.

I woke them up, and as soon as they turned on a light and saw me, my mom commanded me to lie down. Needless to say, I complied; really, I would have complied whether she told me to lie down or not. As I was lowering myself (rather quickly) to the ground, I began to feel cold and started shivering.

The first thing my mom did was shove a thermometer in my mouth (which, by the way, was brand-spankin' new). When we took it out, we couldn't believe what we saw: 90.7 degrees! Being certain that that couldn't be right, we took my temperature again, with the same results. Surely it wouldn't malfunction again...

But we got the same temperature even on the third try. This thoroughly worried my mom, who briefly consulted with my dad before calling 911. We ended up taking me to the emergency room, where I answered a barrage of questions about the pain, where I felt it, how long I had felt it, what I am allergic to, what medicines I take, etc... All in all, I think I answered the same set of questions about nine times. Maybe they were just testing to make sure I wasn't delirious...

They finally finished asking me questions and helped me shuffle back to a room where I climbed into a bed. Once there, the first thing the nurse said to me was "Here's a cup, we're going to need a urine sample." Oh joy. I won't go into details, but even in private, that is a rather humiliating task. I had not had a drink of water for about four hours, so it was rather hard to come by. Then, of course, I got to stumble back to my room carrying a clear cup of hard-earned urine.

I climbed back into my bed, only to be summoned again, this time to the X-ray room. That went relatively smoothly (besides the fact that for a few minutes I went almost completely deaf), and they finally let me go back to my bed. All the walking had made my stomach start hurting again, so sleep was not an option.

Enter the morphine. After this point, things get a little fuzzy. The nurse inserted an IV into my arm, gave me a dose of morphine that I (at the time) thought didn't affect me. However, witnesses have informed me that even on morphine, I STILL have to have the last word. Now, they couldn't actually *understand* the last word, but that didn't stop me! A mumble is harder to respond to than a well-planned wisecrack, after all. While on morphine, I also remember spending upwards of ten minutes staring at my hands... Or was that later, when they gave me Percocet?

Anyway, just as I was getting comfortable (the morphine was starting to help the pain), the nurse came back in with what I thought were two pints of milk. "Finally, something to drink!" I thought. I was so thirsty, I thought I would drink anything.

I was wrong. The nurse informed me that they needed me to drink those two bottles of Barium Sulfate so they could run a CAT scan on me. My next question was obvious: "What does it taste like?" "Oh, some people say it tastes kinda like coconut," He told me.

He lied. It tasted like a soapy coconut, dipped in sour milk. I imagine it took me an hour to chug all of that junk, though my concept of time was distorted; I was no longer on standard minutes, instead chillin' out in morphine minutes. I guess it doesn't really matter... I drank the stuff, and they ran the CAT scan on me.

Now, there is something unnerving about being placed in a tube that makes Star Trek noises, while a computerized voice tells you when to breathe. I could have sworn I went to Warp 6 and back at least three times, and nearly passed out when they told me to hold my breath. Not that it really mattered, since I was sleep-deprived and on morphine (and thus barely functional) anyway. All I know is that they ran the test on me and wheeled me back to my room.

After waiting for several hours (either Standard or Morphine hours), we got the results back, which confirmed that I had appendicitis. They scheduled me for surgery around 9:00 AM (I think), so I had approximately four hours to burn before my surgery. Of course, it occurred to me that I should try to sleep. Somehow though, that just didn't work out...

Maybe it was the pain in my side. Maybe it was the IV in my arm. Maybe it was the unbelievably small bed I was laying on. Maybe it was the fact that I hadn't had anything to drink since before midnight. Regardless, I don't think I got much sleep. I do know, however, that my memory of the period between my CAT scan and the actual surgery is very fuzzy. The last thing I remember was a foul-smelling mask being placed over my face, while the surgeons were asking me questions about my SAT score...

Hey Everybody...

I wanted to let you all know that starting tomorrow (Sunday), I will most likely not be able to post for about a week and a half. I will be going to Worldview Academy, a Christian apologetics and leadership camp, and as soon as I return, I'll be going out of town again for a few days with my friend Duke.

I just thought I'd let you know where I'll be. I have a lot that I'd like to post about right now, but no time to post it; hopefully I'll at least get around to posting my appendix story before I leave. I can't make any promises, but I can certainly try, right?

Ah well. I wish I could write more, but I just don't have time (you know how packing goes). I'll see you all soon!

Neo

So Now I'm "It"...

I have officially been tagged, by none other than Jennifer of Jennifer's Musings! Sorry I took so long to type this...

Number of books I own: You know, I'm really not sure... And I don't feel like searching and counting... Let's say that I own about 20 books personally, and there are probably 150 books in the whole house. I receive several magazines though (including WORLD Magazine, which I highly recommend), and I read them constantly. I'm presently working on getting more books, though in the past I've mainly borrowed books from the library.

Last book I bought: Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Wonderful book, as it was both entertaining and thought provoking. I nearly bought The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis, but I figured I'd wait on that...

Books I like: Well, I must say I greatly enjoyed The Chronicles of Narnia, and I plan on reading them again. I like Lord of the Flies, as I've already stated. Um... Anything by Frank Peretti... He's just about the only current author that I can say I like. I am very much a fan of George Orwell's Animal Farm, for its creative depiction of Communism. I must admit that I also enjoyed reading Silas Marner, as it was a well-written and entertaining story. I am beginning to take an interest in some of Shakespeare's plays, such as Twelfth Night, as well.

Last book I read: The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. Quite a bizarre little book, but I enjoyed it. Seemed to be something of a critique of society, involving a man who mysteriously changed into a giant roach. Hey, I told you it was bizarre...

Books I plan to read (added this one myself): I plan to read some Asimov books, some Ayn Rand, some C. S. Lewis and some Schaeffer, The Federalist Papers, as many classics as I can get my hands on, and I PROMISE that one day I will finish Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. Democracy in America was the first book to ever defeat me; the page-long sentences got to me before page 75. I will finish it though. Any suggestions as to where to start with my reading of Asimov, Rand, Lewis and Schaeffer? Any other books or authors you'd suggest?

Well, there you have it! I believe S. Lewis asked me what books I like quite a while back... Hey, at least I finally answered!

Now I get to tag people, right? I'm not sure how many to tag, so I'm just gonna tag as many as I want. Sometimes ignorance really IS bliss...

Okay, I tag Seth at Standing Up for Nothing, Stephen Lewis at The Mouth of Iron, DagneyT at Dagney's Rant, and David S. MacMillan III at D3's Blog.

In addition, I'd like to tag Grizzly Mama (does a homeschooling mom have TIME to read?), Serendipitous (you know I'm not letting you escape un-tagged), and TheLoneAmigo (what is my friendly arch-nemesis from Australia reading, anyway?).

So there you have it. If I didn't tag you and you're wondering why, it's because I had to leave someone for my victims to tag! :-)

Have fun!
Neo

Live 8: Why Celebrities Don't Run the World

According to Technorati, this phenomenon they call Live 8 is all over the blogosphere. I guess I'll add my two cents on the "long walk to justice."

Essentially, Live 8 is a campaign of concerts and such that seeks to influence international leaders at the G8 Summit. Their cause? Organizer Bob Geldorf puts it this way:

Every single day, 30,000 children die, needlessly, of extreme poverty.
On July 6th, we finally have the opportunity to stop that shameful statistic.
8 world leaders, gathered in Scotland for the G8 summit, will be presented with a workable plan to double aid, drop the debt and make the trade laws fair. If these 8 men agree, then we will become the generation that made poverty history.

That's nice. This is one of those "smile and nod" moments. Let's all just give Bobby a benevolent pat on the head, and quietly walk in the other direction.

Honestly, I find it hard to see where he's coming from. He tries to make it clear to us that "LIVE 8 is about justice not charity," but I'm just not feelin' it. Dictators and Jihadist Muslims have ruined many countries, so our money is supposed to fix that?

Let me show you something, Mr. Geldorf: Pretend there is an African country called X. X is a fairly prosperous country, with plenty of promise. Unfortunately, a totalitarian leader named Jimmy comes to power in X. Jimmy ruins the nation's thriving economy and plunges the nation into poverty. Now the citizens of X are needlessly dying of extreme poverty.

Now, it's very honorable to try to find a solution for X's woes, but we need to be careful of what solution we propose. For example, cancelling X's national debt and throwing more money at X will do very little to combat poverty. Yes, money is good, but if you don't address the cause of X's poverty, then you have done nothing to help the nation, because the money will have little effect.

No Mr. Geldorf, lack of money is not the ultimate cause of X's poverty. X's dictator Jimmy has decimated the country's economy and squandered the nation's money, and THAT is the cause of their poverty. If you give them more money, Jimmy will squander it. If you eliminate X's debt, Jimmy will run up an even higher debt. Until Jimmy the money pit is dealt with, money from even the world's richest countries cannot improve the living conditions of X's citizens.

Now, multiply X's story by oh, say, fifteen. Mr. Geldorf, meet Africa. You say many times that Live 8 is about bringing justice to Africa, but how is it just to eliminate the debts of tyrants? Do you really believe that enabling dictators to continue driving African nations into the ground qualifies as justice?

I hope Bob Geldorf is just short-sighted; I'd rather think he's a total moron than think he supports the genocidal autocrats of the world. Regardless, I think it's quite obvious why he's a performer rather than a government official.

The Gathering Storm

It has happened. Sandra Day O'Connor has retired from the Supreme Court, leaving a vacancy to be filled, and a battle to be fought.

Normally, I would be thrilled that the swing vote in a divided court had stepped down. I would probably be excited about the possibility of the majority confirming a nominee who would uphold the Constitution.

Not right now. From where I'm standing, I see only two viable options for replacing Ms. O'Connor, and neither are as desirable as the intended operation of our democratic republic.

In Scenario One, Bush makes me proud by appointing a nominee who would interpret the Constitution as it was written, rather than one who would interpret the Constitution as a "growing, changing document." This, however, would require appointing a social conservative. Unfortunately, the democratic nomination of a judge whose views represent the majority has been met in recent years with undemocratic filibusters by the obstructionist minority. Why would this nomination be any different?

Oh, but wait! The Senate Democrats and Republicans came to an agreement about filibusters! Now Democrats will only use the filibuster in "extraordinary circumstances!"

Yeah, sure. And about seven days after they came to that agreement, the Dems filibustered again. If they can't win the vote, then they just stop the vote, and this will happen over and over and over again until the Senate Republicans work up the backbone to change the Senate rules regarding the filibuster.

Representative democracy requires that there be an actual VOTE on laws and nominations. With the Dems telling us that they will only allow a vote if they can win it, our nation's starting to look more like an oligarchy that you'd find in, say, Iran. You know, one of those dictatorships that wants everyone to think it's a democracy, so the leader holds token elections in which there is little or no viable opposition? Sounds like a Democrat's dream.

Obviously, the prospect of a seat on the Supreme Court being vacant during a drawn-out Senate battle is far from appealing. This is, however, the more desirable option. Here's why:

In Scenario Two, Bush falters and chooses a nominee who would not be considered an "extraordinary circumstance" by Senate Democrats. Sounds like that would be much smoother doesn't it? Sure it does, but to paraphrase Mark Levin, "anything short of nominating Ted Kennedy to the SCOTUS would be considered an 'extraordinary circumstance.'" It's a sad fact, but the Democrats' views are so out of proportion that any nomination other than that of an ultra-liberal Democrat is seen as a crisis that must be averted by any means necessary (whether democratic or not).

And so, I hope for scenario one. I hope for a strong, conservative nominee, and yes, I even hope for a filibuster. Why? Because it would bring out the Democrats' true colors. It would prove to the entire nation that the Left is willing to hinder the processes of democracy at every level until they get their way. It would show once again that the will of the people is irrelevant in the minds of the Democrats, and that they would rather have an incomplete judiciary than a judge who disagrees with them on the Supreme Court.

I hope for a Battle Royal that resolves this issue once and for all. I mean a knock-down, drag-out. Yes, it would be nice if the Senate Democrats would just allow an up or down vote on whomever Bush appoints, but I just don't see that happening. I guess the democratic process is just too old-fashioned for the Progressives.