congee, fried dough

and vacation is half over already.

woke up groggy, but psyched to go to church at home. ate breakfast in the cafeteria. saw a game called submarine by the children's ministry. will have to learn how to augment later.

service and ss were alrigh. was able to catch up with some people. not everybody or all the people i wantd to catch up with, but you take what you can get. went to mcdonalds after to get lunch, but wasn't feelin fast food. wanted to get some local food instead. so went to catch dimsum with ma.

dim sum wasn't where i expected it though, or with the people i thought. ended up goin to jin in saugus. saw a friend's parents there, and learned that fish are very similar to humans, in that they always flock back to the herd when separated.

went to the saugus mall after to find a new backpack. will talk more about it in the main reflection part.

back to base. screwed up again and forgot to empty my food. gettin used to my new phone, but gotta look more into getting a cheaper one in the future.

====================================================================

so i usually hate going to the mall, mainly because i hate consumerism. the mall doesn't facilitate that. usually i'm a straight-forward guy, only lookin for what i need and nothin else. but in order to find it, i have to look around. went around and the only backpacks that were available were overpriced, and small, like purses. also, hot pink isn't my style. so decided to sit down, lax, and watch the people passin by. what i saw were the victims of the mall.

no one was spared. people of all ages and backgrounds were hit. saw women covered too much in makeup and eyeliner. monotonous outfits and styles. guys who looked like wannabe gangsters. even the children, purses, boots, hoodies, polos and all. seems to be no escape from it.

the first time i sat down, there was this grandma who also sat next to me. she had some sort of breathing problem, and sounded like a kazoo on beat. moved over to the bench across the way. some kids were knockin it, and then stopped. then this kid, couldn't have been 5 years old, sat next to me on the bench and called me a mothafacker....continued to write the note on the phone.

eventually i was able to get a backpack, but going to the mall brewed up all this negativity, which i thought wasn't worth it. the only redeeming quality i found is that i gotta work on my "tolerance" and acceptance levels, and how to extend grace to others, even if the world around seems so bland, and artificial.

but i guess it's my beef and my beef alone. only wishin that some people in my life would not be struck too..

====================================================================

today, learned of how there are good days and bad days and that Christians only have "days". their days should not be so bad, that they feel unable to reach God's grace, nor should they feel so good as not to need God's grace either.

that's my life-a big neutral feeling. not a day goes by when a good day isn't balanced out by crappiness, but when the feces hits the fan, there's always someone to lift me up out of it too.