Carbonation is good for the Soul

I've found myself saying that a lot this week; I've been sick with a horrendous cough and a sore throat the last few days, and there's nothing like a well-timed Mountain Dew or root beer to provide some relief. It's amazing how much better I feel with some sort of coke (no, not that sort of coke... you know what I mean=b) by my side, but as soon as it's gone, that darn cough comes back with a vengeance. At first I joked about the significance of those much-needed doses of carbonation, but then I began to ponder that analogy and pulled my own symbolic interpretation out of it. By no means am I going to pretend that this is the most theologically correct analogy, but it made me think of the effects of repentance. The state of sickness I have found myself in most recently is partially comparable to the state of sin and depravity that has existed since the fall of Adam and Eve (only partially because my present physical condition is hardly as alarming as the judgement that awaits sin). Our sin and guilt steadily consumes and plagues us, much like the dreaded cough. We are given relief from our sin and guilt through repentance because Christ's sacrifice covers our sin and washes our guilt away, and the Holy Spirit begins the healing process of sanctification when we are reconciled to the Father through the blood of Christ. But we are not free from sin because we are still unrighteous on our own so we will continue to struggle with sin and it will creep back into our lives again as we forget the cross; the only remedy is to continually come before the cross in repentance in order to find the relief of God's forgiveness. And while we will never be free from sin in this life, Christ imputes His righteousness to us if we believe and we will become more like Him through sanctification until we are gathered together with Him at the second coming of Christ at which time we will be free from the sickness of sin, which I must remind myself as I slowly recover from whatever this bug is that I've happened to get.

I'm beginning to realize that Evan has much more time on his hands than I do, seeing as how he’s been able to post so much more than me and pad his word count (it's funny, I think we agreed we weren't competing for highest word count, but we’ve still been keeping close track of it) on top of all the time he's been able to play Halo 2 that I haven't the last couple of days=b Yes, Halo 2 came out Tuesday morning and so there have been a multiple number of people playing on the LAN at just about any time the last couple of days. I, whom many of you may be surprised and/or proud to know, have only been able to play around a total of 45 minutes up to this point because I have been so incredibly busy the last couple days. Last night was about pure torture for me because I had to study for this morning's Psychology test from about 8-12 while people were playing Halo 2 in my room. Needless to say, I had to leave and go study somewhere else just to keep from being distracted to the point where I wouldn't have gotten anything done=) It actually worked out well that they were playing on the LAN because I couldn't get on the internet either, so it was a lot easier to justify leaving=)

The last couple of days have been busy, but not totally devoid of entertainment. Part of the reason I had to cram for my test was because I made the decision to go see the Alabama basketball team play their first game of the season (it was an exhibition game against Stillman College) at Coleman Coliseum, and I knew the consequences I was lining up for myself, but it had been too long since I had seen Tide basketball and I wasn't going to let a full night of studying keep me from going and sitting on the third row of Mark's Madness. I did tell myself that I would leave at halftime if we were up by more than 25, and seeing as how it was 59-19, I felt pretty safe leaving the rest of the game in the hands of the players, and they apparently did not disappoint because I heard this morning that the final was 104-50. I'm really excited now cuz the team looks a whole lot better than they did last preseason, and our newest additions to the team seem more than capable of making up for losing Pettway, even though he was the heart and leader of the team. Blah blah blah, I know that's not interesting to anyone besides myself and maybe a couple of other diehard Bama fans, so I’ll move on...

Ok, so I have one more thing to discuss before I cease from boring all to tears with another ridiculously long post, and that is the event that begins next Monday, which I daresay most anyone would find amusing and entertaining; if this doesn’t make you wish you went to school at the University of Alabama (if you already do then I'm sure it'll make you wish you lived in Mallet, and if you already live in Mallet [Evan for example] then you will probably just wish you were as awesome as me=)) then I don't know what would (other than maybe the greatest college football program ever;-)). Lol, enough foreshadowing... well, maybe not quite enough... I bet you hate me now, don't you?=) Alright, I can feel the suspense rising and the exasperation level you're at with me rising even higher=) I have two words for you.... WAR GAMES!... It's that time of year (actually I guess one of the two times a year now since we don't usually have Fall War Games) where everyone on campus will be treated to the sight of 40+ random nerds, geeks, and weirdos running around campus and hiding behind bushes and the safety of academic building doors bristling with yellow, orange, purple, green, and other brightly colored Nerf weapons, waiting for the next Malleteer to make a strategic mistake (which in my past would have been to try and kick down a locked door... ask me about it sometime if you'd like to hear about one of my many most embarrassing moments..). This will go on until all but one player has been eliminated, and if it takes too long then the War Lord will declare anarchy and safe zones will cease to exist which allows you to be "killed" even on your own hall or your own room! Prepare yourself for War Games Fall 2004, coming soon to your nearest Mallet Assembly (Note: dart guns not included, get your own!).

"Is that not the perfect visual image of life and death: A fish flapping on the carpet and a fish not flapping on the carpet?"
--David Carradine as "Bill" in Kill Bill Vol. 2