Dude....College

The food here is great. At most places. I could literally get Chick-fil-a every day if I wanted to, because my meal plan supports it. Swag. There is even a la carte items I can buy. Plus all the coffee stuff which I will discuss later. 

The people here are also great. I'll start with my dorm, which is insane. Walton dorm is housed to the crazy all-boys dorm of the Northside Texas A&M campus. It is amazing to see how open and kind these guys are, even with their apparent craziness. Walton also has a patio out front, with tables and grills. Everyone hangs out there all the time, playing Bones. (Which is a domino game similar to spades. very fun) Or heckling people. Whenever someone skates or rides by on a skateboard or bike, they all yell, "DO A TRICK!!" ... If the person makes any effort to do a trick, the guys go nuts. If not, they all yell, "YOUR TRICK SUCKS!!!"

rofl

Other people (i.e. everyone else) is also very friendly and open. I am constantly walking up to people and greeting them, and then starting convos. Some of them even become semi or real friends. One prime example of this is when I signed up for Fish Camp, and me and a few guys were talking about EDM. boom. I now hang with these guys all the time.

College is like this, a place for people to experience life together. Even though right now this week has been no classes and all events, I still feel overwhelmed with all there is to do. so many things. So many people. If there is one thing I've learned this past week, College isn't about why you're here, it's about what happens when you're here.

Worship

Tonight was a special night. "That isn't normal," they said. "Like who does that?"
But I did. And to be honest I don't know how I did it either, expect that it was all the Father's doing that night.

8-23-15
It was 7:33pm on Campus and the sun was setting slowly. I was riding my bike across Military walk trying to go to the student center to chill. Near the halfway point, I noticed a large group of people standing around the Academic Plaza. As I slowed down and got closer, I heard they were singing worship songs. I immediately joined.
To tell you the truth it was an odd bit of a decision, as I didn't know anyone here, but the guy singing was just too good to care. This went on for another 15 minutes or so and then someone came up to me and asked my name and how I got here. She was ecstatic that I randomly rode by and stopped.

The rest of that night was incredible. I will never forget it. It really showed me that the Father is with us wherever we go.

This is the verse we read that night: Ephesians 2:2-10

"in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them"

Why the Cupid Shuffle is ruining the world.

I said it. That one "universal-get-to-the-dancefloor" song is ruining the world.

Now, I love dancing. I really do. Even some forms of line dancing are extremely fun. However, the Cupid Shuffle encompasses no such aspect of fun. Only hate.

Let me explain:

The Cupid Shuffle was recorded by Cupid in 2006, originally produced for a dance orientated video game, and peaked at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100.  What was at first a fun song to dane to, my opinion of this insanely popular track drastically changed over the past few years. (Primarily due to the entrance of better music in my ears.)

At every social gathering put on, no matter what the occasion, if there is a dance floor and music playing you can almost 100% guarantee that this song will be played. I've even been in situations where it was played twice in the same evening. Horrifying.
What's worse is that these "dance events" happen very often.
It is very easy to think, "Okay. We have this group of people and we don't know how to entertain them. I know, let's hold a dance party."

*Before I jump the gun, let me state that I have no hate against amateur dance parties. It is just a simple fact that these events consist of a few lights rented from Guitar Center and an iPod plugged into the master system. Boom. Instant dance party.*

The sheer amount of amateur dance parties I have (sometimes unwillingly) attended, allowed me experience the Cupid Shuffle in many different scenarios and situations.
Thus, I was able to fully understand that this song is not fun. The context and reasoning behind this song being played at a party is the reason the song is acquired this terrible taste. What was once a fun line-dancing song has now evolved into this engrossing monster that destroys amateur dance parties with its redundancy and unoriginality.

The reason I find it so despising is because the playing the Cupid Shuffle is the equivalent to a lazy back-handed remark to the audience that says, "Hey you. Dance to this. Because I have no desire to actually try to be musically creative and experiment with other songs that the crowd may enjoy, so I am just going to resort to the easy way out."
Makes me sick.

The following shows some instances in which the Cupid Shuffle will be played at an event. If one or more of the following occur, you can bet the song will drop. Leave immediately.

Alternatively, if none of these are occurring, it is very unlikely that the song will be played.

• A terrible Host/Hostess/DJ that does not fulfill their duty to keep the crowd entertained at all times because they are either; 
• A: Playing music from an iPod with no sense of musicality or crowd energy differences. 
• B: Not mixing the songs so there are awkward silent gaps in-between tracks. 
• or C: Playing for children, teens, or adults who are at a non-genre-specific event. (i.e. Prom, Homecoming, wedding, etc.)
• The event is Prom, Homecoming, a Wedding, an amateur dance party, etc.
• The DJ has been requested to play the song and is somehow willing enough to play it either as a joke or for fun. (Which is impossible because that song can't be enjoyed anymore)
• Cupid is headlining. 

You have been warned. 

It is time to rise up against this atrocity to music. 

STOP PLAYING CUPID SHUFFLE.

-Phillip

The Bringer Part II

Part II

 

     I jolted out of my seat. Everyone’s head turned towards me. Every soul, except The Bringer’s. Does she even have a soul? Is she even human? She just sat there, staring into the unreachable galaxy. I couldn’t take it anymore, I turned towards The Bringer.

     “Are you kidding me? Who the heck are you? What is this place?"

     The Bringer didn’t move an inch, however when I raised my voice I saw her ears perk ever so slightly like a dog, so I know she heard me. I yelled even louder.

     “What are we all doing here? Are you actually going to kill us all? You psycho!"

     As soon as I started to enunciate that last word, her head reared ninety degrees towards me.

     She spoke in a strict voice, “Are you being disloyal to this cooperation? The Almighty frowns upon that.”

     “Who is this ‘Almighty’ your blabbering about?” I said.

     She responded,  “Speaking about The Almighty in that manner is punishable by termination.”  The Bringer finished and turned back stiffly to the window. My rage was encapsulated. There was so much confusion and hate for this person… this thing. 

     I swung as hard at I could right at her sinister grinning face. Nothing else mattered. Faster than a millisecond, The Bringer’s arm blocked my hit. I was dumbfounded. Such incredible speed and reflexes was impossible by any human I’ve seen. I let another fist fly. This time she grabbed it fully, and looked me dead in the eye. I couldn’t escape her grip. 

     She started raising her head closer to mine, and went to whisper in my ear.

     “Enjoy your stay.” 

     I went flying backwards. The Bringer had thrown me with such force that the wall welcomed me fully. Every part on my body hurt, and my vision hindered. At that moment she pushed back her chair and stood up, her glowing red eyes were even brighter than before. Almost blinding. 

     

     At that moment the dark table turned light. A siren screamed. The Bringer froze in her place and looked around in fear. Her hazel eyes were back in their place. I smiled.  

     No one was ready for what came next. Something fired through the glass window, coming from the galaxy. A blue beam of light jarred into the room, aiming right at The Bringer. Then, out of no where, a robotic voice said the following:

     “The Almighty's report is in. Subject Name: Macki, Code Area: The Bringer, Verdict: Not worthy. Submitting to termination in 3 … 2 …"

     

     Time was slowed. Nothing moved. That blue beam of light turned darker, and darker, then it started flashing. Just like a strobe light. 

     “…1.” 

     The Bringer closed her eyes. Wait. Just, wait. She was still standing. Her chest was still heaving in and out. Breaths. Fear. I could hear the pulsing of blood from over here in this wall. The blue beam was gone. The voice was no longer speaking, and The Bringer was still standing. 

     Then she fell to the floor.

     “Pardon me,” The robotic voice of The Almighty said, “this is rather shocking I know. Regardless, welcome to the cooperation."

 End of Part II

The Bringer

Prologue

     I just wanted to proclaim that the following was based off of a dream I had. As all dreams show, it was hard to remember once I woke up. However I remembered just enough of that excellent dream to make me want to share it with you all. I took as much as my brain would remember and turned that into a somewhat followable two-part story that I hope you all enjoy. 

-Phillip

 Part I   

 

     I awoke in small room with a dark table in front of me. There was no recollection of me getting here at all. Around the table were twelve people, six on each side, just starting to wake up. Behind me and the row of people adjacent to me, was a black wall with a door. On the other side of the table was ... space. Not space like “oh, look at this stretching room” kind of space, but Andromeda space. The Andromeda Galaxy. I couldn’t believe it. This room seemed to exist among the vast nothingness of the universe. Seeing that unmistakable galaxy was the only familiarity I got, for I did not know why any of us were in this room. Or for that matter, how such a room could exist.  

     Of this rectangular table I was seated more to the left. The air was crisp but warm. Seated in the middle of the row I was in, facing the space window was a woman, who gave off an eerie vibe. Her golden hair was trickled with brown waves. The stars in the distance danced all over her stern gaze and hazel eyes. In front of where she was sitting a dim sign read, “The Bringer."

     I got the feeling that something terrible was just born. The Bringer didn’t speak to anyone, nor did anyone else dare talk. It was as if anyone made the slightest movement or acknowledgement of our setting that the bad things would begin. Then right then and there, she softly spoke.

 

     “Hello and Congrats. You have all now officially been indoctrinated into our cooperation,”

 

     There was when I noticed it. She wasn’t looking around or at anyone in particular, but rather dead forward, into the abyss of space. The reddish faint glow of gas clouds and the billions of white-hot stars shined down into the room. It was captivating, and apparently too much so for The Bringer.

     “… and with that comes a few guidelines. Number One: All workers will follow the handbook rules or risk being terminated."

     Suddenly a thin booklet materialized right in front of each of us. The cover saying;

 

Handbook

Caution! Breaking of any rules will result in termination.

     Murmuring began across the table. Probably about the origin and meaning of the mysterious “termination” looming over the room. The Bringer didn’t seem to notice, as she kept on.

     “Number Two: Any person who is not deemed worthy of gaining workers status, as determined by The Almighty, will be immediately terminated.” The Bringer broke her glance on the window for the very first time by quickly looking on a device on her wrist. She looked back up, and her eyes were completely different. What were once regular hazel colored eyes, now held a sickening red glow. A glow so evil it was worthy of hate.

 

     "The section process has now begun. In five minutes The Almighty will have deemed each and every one of you either worthy or not worthy. Good luck."

     The murmuring halted. The Bringer now placed her hands interlaced on the table, grinned, and was once again staring into the infinity that was the Andromeda Galaxy. 

 End of Part I   

Conversations With Myself

Um, so ... yea. 
It is currently raining briskly outside and the radio just replayed the same song twice in a row. However I am okay with that, because it was a good song, and having just a little extra of something is never a bad thing. 
Do you ever just stare at something and think? I mean like think deep about things? So deep that it comes to the point where you start talking about that thing to yourself. I know I have, like a few times. If that. 
But I think the real beauty in thought is that we are free to do it whenever. There is no age, time, or locational restriction on when, where, or what we can think about. It is essentially the biggest freedom we have. A true blessing.
What may be more blissful is that we can not only develop thoughts in our own minds, but we can also express those thoughts and feelings through speech and many other mediums. Thats pretty cool. Even if expressing our opinions may lead to some slight condemnation from certain people, the risk is still worth it.

So that's cool.
That was a little random, but I guess these things happen when it's 12:26 at night and the weather combined with the soft feeling of my Colorado Pajama pants put me in a blogging mood. 

Whatever.

Anyway, I leave you with an out-of-context D&D quote that me and my friends had last night. Why? Because I can. (If you don't know what D&D is, you will be really out of context. Just go ask your local comic book shop what D&D means or Google it)

"Yea, both his parents died."
"Oh and he lives under the stairs."
"Guys! Stop it! He isn't Harry Potter, and he doesn't live under the stairs!"

Music "Rocks"

• Rock- A genre of music typically involving 4-to-the-floor bass drums, hard hitting cymbals, a slammin' guitar riff, and an equivocal vocalist. 
• Rock - A hard mineral found in the earth. (ex. Red Rocks)

Music rocks. Rocks are red. Red. Rocks. Red Rocks. Amphitheater?

I'm sorry if the above was too corny for your tastes but I just got off of a two-day "rock sesh" at Red Rocks. My first time ever and my second time ever was in the span of a few days. You can imagine the intensity. 

Red Rock's isn't only a place to see cool bands preform, nor is it the largest outdoor amphitheater in the world. (That goes to San Manuel Amphitheater in California)

What Red Rocks does that other venues I have been to do not do, is inspire. Each time I visited I felt as though there was this intensity mixed with wonder. A ubiquitous feeling of joy.

What's more, is that this was a very renewing experience for two reasons.

1. It was flipping Red Rocks. That place is just pure awesome.

2. It was something I finally got to experience after all these years of hearing about it. And I got to experience it literally days before I left for college. (At the time of this writing it is now only a measly 7 days before I am on the road to A&M)

So....yea.

That was cool.