Yesterday, I was going to write that my mouth was wracked with canker sores. It would have been true then. But they're not so bad at the present.

Lesson for today: encourage others. You never know what it might mean to people. I was encouraged twice yesterday. They weren’t elaborate things, but they lifted my spirits. They blessed me, maybe without the blesser even knowing it.

Here’s a funny thing at school. You hear how political correctness is taking over. Not so fast, conspiritorialists. There are these two guys I have a class with. One is from the U.S., the other is from the Middle East (a Saudi, I think). Do you know what they call each other? White Boy and Camel Jockey, respectively. And they love it, they think it’s funny, and they like hanging out with each other.

This is amazing. I was reading in my SPC (Statistical Process Control) textbook and the first chapter has an overview of the history of SPC methods. One of the names mentioned in passing was Frank Gilbreth, of Cheaper By the Dozen fame. Frank Gilbreth! I couldn’t believe it. So here he was, truly one of the innovators in time-studies and manufacturing efficiency. And I thought it was just a funnty book.

Prayer Meeting was so good last night. Russell Gerig is a great teacher. He’s going through Philippians and in the fourth chapter it says, in essence, that we aren’t supposed to worry at all, just give whatever it is to God, and He’ll give you more peace than you can imagine. That speaks to me, to my situation.

AHQ rehearsed again last night after prayer meeting. We weren’t worth much as far as recording goes. Actually, I wasn’t worth much. But then, I didn’t think a couple of others were worth much either. But they’d probably say different. It’s funny, we’ve rehearsed at Tom’s house for years and we would invariably congregate in the sewing room that doubles as our rehearsal space. But now we just chug upstairs to Tom’s room. I feel really comfortable there. On Tuesday I came and since he wasn’t home yet I just started up his computer, got online, and checked my e-mail. He acted mad, but I’m sure deep down he really liked it.

I currently have two music-related obsessions. The first I recently acquired because of one of our “Hit the Mark” takes. We’ve got to cut-off phrases together. I know, I know, it’s pretty basic, but in defense of us it gets sort of complicated when you have a principal lead-person who cuts out and starts a line almost independent of the others. That makes it imperative for the others to stop at the same time.

The second is one that has developed over a period of maybe a year. I have a passion for reverb. I want to drown in it, completely submerge our sound in the wonders of this incredible special effect. No, I’m really not that over-the-top about it, but I’m a huge proponent, at any rate.

I like people that laugh at their own jokes. I guess maybe that’s why I like me. I have this professor for Engineering Economy who does that. He’s an older guy, really good lecturer, knows his stuff. And he says stuff periodically that he chuckles at. And another thing he does that’s funny is when someone asks a question he’ll quickly say, yeah, yeah, I know what you mean. Then he’ll answer what he thinks they mean and then he’ll say, I’m not sure if that’s what you meant, and look to them to see if that’s what they meant. Usually it’s not.