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Life! Now with excitement! |
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Greetings friends!
It has been quite a while since I've kicked around Gaia. Unfortunately, time grows short with each passing day, and my absence I fear shall grow with time rather than lessen.
The first bit of news: I have been accepted into grad school with full funding. I'm going for a PhD in health economics, which means that the next five years will be quite exciting for your favorite cardboard hero! This also means that in good time I will be referred to as DR. BOXY.
But more to the point about my absence: unfortunately, my accelerating career means less time available for lovely pursuits like Gaia, and therefore I have effectively retired from forums for the duration of the schoolyear. It seems like a yearly ritual to creep back online during the summers, so there is of course always that possibility!
 Boxy · Sun Feb 28, 2010 @ 06:02am · 1 Comments |
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And now for a word from our sponsors... |
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Well, it's been a li'l bit since I've posted a journal entry. However, I have a bit of news which might pique interest in the lot of you.
A number of you have expressed the opinion that I should start a blog, which I've recently started and named Vellum Memories. It seems like a great creative outlet for my essaying tendencies, and I daresay that the lot of you will find it nourishing.
I've also committed myself to taking some of my previous material and reworking it to be a little more polished. The final versions will be posted in yonder blog. I hope that putting all my infodumps in one convenient place will allow them to be read on a more regular basis.
A secondary reason for starting a blog is actually to raise some funds. Unfortunately, the economy is pretty awful right now and I am lacking employage. If you love me (which I'm sure you do, since you're reading my wonderful postage right now), you will proceed to the blog, check it out with all deliberate speed, and catch sight of the occasional ad which may interest you. Now, I can't ask you specifically to click on the ads (and if you're not legitimately interested, it would actually decrease the efficacy of the system), so if you spot anything you like, be sure to click. The sponsorship by ads will certainly help out 'round the Boxy household.
Boxy · Fri Apr 03, 2009 @ 03:12am · 0 Comments |
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People have just the kindest things to say about me.
As many of you may fully know, I'm a regular around the Morality & Religion subforum of ED. Unfortunately, one poster was particularly irked at me, and decided that there was no more point in talking to me. You can see his post here.
The main complaint aired out is here:
Tornado_Creator I've been here since before the site changed it's name from Go-Gaia to Gaia Online, so a pretty long damn time. I tend to disappear for 2-3 months at a time then come back for a while depending on other commitments I have. Now, I will agree Boxy is not exactly the most rude member but he is extremely antagonistic. ... If anything I am the only person here to see Boxy's true character. An intelligent person, albeit someone who I disagree with to the point where I've very nearly put him on ignore about 4 times now but I always stop myself because putting intelligent people on ignore really gets to me. He is extremely sure of himself, very composed and quite a talented forum troll. He is able to use his words well, to be both antagonising and polite at the same time, and he is quite good at psychoanalysing the people he speaks to even over the internet in order to get the response he wishes. Almost expertly done. I agree that when you're on his side he is a nice person and he is a good person to have in a debate, however he knows just enough about every topic to be dangerous in the debate and he knows enough about debate, language and forum etiquette to scare off anyone who would challenge him. Perhaps I'm building him up a little too much here. I'm not entirely sure. However I think you're naive if you consider Boxy a kind natured a fair person in debates, he is ruthless and cunning, and for that he gets at least some respect from me. I would however prefer that he was honest.
How shocked and surprised I was that many of the regulars in M&R jumped to my defense, and how kind their words were! Consider these compliments:
Celeblin Galadeneryn Oh, for the love of chocolate covered carrots. You're ******** claiming Boxy is antagonising you. BOXY. I don't know how long you've been here, but Boxy is probably one of the least antagonistic people on the entire forum. ... The reason why you're being mocked here is because you're demeaning one of the nicest posters we've ever seen. Someone who, in the past, has routinely put the jaded bastards here to shame with his calm head. The only curse he regularily uses is Gross Goethe, for ********. You're being mocked because something is horrendously weird here that you misjudge someone's character so badly. I mean, what's next? I'm the nice one and Nuri's the b***h? ******** Mercury retrograde.
John Calvin In other words, "Boohoo. I don't liek Boxy 'cause he's always pickin' on me like a scab."
Celeblin Galadeneryn Things you may not be catching on to could be the fact that you are very sure of your self when you say he's sure of himself, and are, in fact, doing some of the things that you're complaining he's doing. Basically, for Pete's sake stop it. Believe it or not, I've been on the opposite side of the table from time to time where Boxy's involved, and he's been nothing but amazingly cordial. ... That all being the same, the biggest problem I have here is A. demeaning Boxy (although, once again, he's being the best one to take it, but if I don't get some ******** righteous anger on by at least noon, it's a bad ******** day.), and B. promoting rule breaking, as what you are asking people to do here, while perhaps interesting, is against the rules of this forum.
Anarchist Miracle I think it just bothers you that Boxy, who is Mature and Intelligent and a Genuinely Nice Guy, can be all of those things without also being on your side. to console you, consider this: you get the privilege of debating with Boxy. those of us who happen to agree with him can only debate with you. lucky, lucky, you.
Celeblin Galadeneryn Sometimes I'm more than happy to disagree with Boxy.
I am just so happy that I have so many friends who say so many good things about me. Granted, they came in the form of flaming another person, but it still makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside that so many people are willing to jump to my defense. My strategy of being as polite as humanly possible seems to be paying off quite handsomely ninja
Boxy · Tue Oct 07, 2008 @ 09:59pm · 1 Comments |
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I'm not dead - I'm just faking it |
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Okay, folks, so here's an update on what's shakin'.
222 days until I get married! It's like Christmas, only with better presents and comes only once a lifetime (hopefully). There's some definite reasons to be anxious 3nodding
My stake split today. I'm now a member of the newly created Indianapolis Indiana West Stake. There were some three or four stakes in attendance, so in all it was somewhere around the vicinity of 6,000 Church members in one big room. None of the Church buildings in the city were nearly big enough for us, so we took the ballroom at the local Mariott Hotel. Presiding over the creation of the new stake was Elder Hafen of the Seventy, assisted by (ironically enough) Elder Marriott also of the Seventy. Elder Marriott is the Marriott of Marriott Hotels fame, and many speculated that he pulled some strings in the company so we could have the room on such short notice.
In personal matters, though, I haven't seen my fiancée in a week and a half. Both of her parents are out of town - her mom's in Germany, and her dad's in Michigan working at his job. They made it clear in no uncertain terms that I wasn't to even step foot in the county while they were away. So, it's been a bit rough. I'll see her again this Tuesday when I take her to go pick up her mom from the airport, so that's excellent.
I've finally registered for classes this next semester. Unfortunately I had to pass on taking Spanish this semester because the new class would have conflicted with Cub Scouts. However, I am still taking German, which makes me quite happy. I'm also loading up on math and econ classes, which makes me doubly happy.
I finally got around to cleaning up my room. In one of my suitcases I found my MTC shirt I bought while I was still in Brazil. It depicts the description of Captain Moroni, the one where "If all men would be like unto Captain Moroni, the powers of Hell would be shaken forever." There's the caption, "Shake Hell!" and below it a picture of a missionary beating the living daylights out of a devil. It made us all very happy. A close runner-up was the "Mama's Boys" T-shirt depicting the Army of Helaman stripling warriors, buff and ready to bash some skulls in.
Well, there's an update on the war effort. Remember to buy war bonds mrgreen
Boxy · Sun Nov 11, 2007 @ 08:11pm · 0 Comments |
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Hail and well met, brothers and sisters. It's been a while, hasn't it? I thought I should give you guys an update on what I've been up to.
In terms of Church callings, I've been called to be a Webelos Activity Badge Coordinator, which basically means that I'm the Webelos leader, even though I'm not quite 21 yet. One of my best friends has been called as the official leader, so we're going to rock some Webelos, we are.
Last week I also taught Gospel Doctrine class, because the regular teacher was on vacation. The lesson was on Romans, but because I was lacking a lesson plan (seeing as how I forgot where I put it), I had to make a new one up the night before. We covered faith vs. works vs. grace, dabbled in the nature of charity, and connected the two notions together (In Greek, the Charites were a group of goddesses, translated to English as "the Graces" wink . A slew of people came up to me to congratulate me on an excellent lesson, and one of them also approached my mom and told her how proud of me he was. He also said that he told the bishop how good of a job I did - which only lead my mom to groan, and warn me that I might get called as Gospel Doctrine teacher 4laugh
As for my studies, I'm still enrolled in my core classes of calculus, German, and speech. However, I'm also wrapped up in an inordinate amount of books, including philosophy, mathematics, economics, physics, Greek, Latin, classical studies, and so on. One of my favorites right now is a Roman historian by the name of Suetonius, who details the lives of the first twelve Roman emperors. Boy, at times they were the best people - and at others the worst. I was surprised most at the reference that at the funeral of Julius Caesar, many different peoples wept, "including the Jews." But I digress.
And I bet that a bunch of you are wondering how I proposed to my fiancée. Well, just last night I got the ring, so I did it officially (before it was merely by mutual consent - we both decided long ago that we wanted to get married). I took her walking along the train tracks beside a cornfield as the sun was on the verge of setting.
I related to her the story of the Ship of Jason, and its logical implications: the Argo, Jason's ship, was preserved by the Greeks for hundreds of years after the initial journey. However, this was only done by replacing the individual pieces as they rotted away. After hundreds of years, not a single original timber remained - and yet it was the same ship. I likened this to our relationship - although through the eternities, nothing is likely to stay the same, as long as things change for the better, who really cares if all the pieces are replaced? We'll still stay the same, and how we feel about each other - that's what really matters.
I then proceeded to kneel down to propose to her. At that exact moment, my knee banged up against a railroad tie, and rather ungracefully I yelped out an "Ouch." Of course, she was worried, but I just continued onward. I wanted humility in this whole operation, and that's exactly what I got.
I then proceeded to propose to her first in German, then in Portuguese, then Spanish, and finally in English. She absolutely loved it. As I slipped the ring on her finger, we turned around and gazed into the sunset as it blazed across the horizon.
Well, the details are yours now. We're getting married on the 20th of June, with a reception on the 12th of July. We're honeymooning by taking a road trip all through the Midwest to see friends and family. We're both very excited; last night, we even calculated together how many days we have left. Just 273! Yay!
In any case, I believe I shall be returning to Gaia sometime in the near future. I have some ideas that need fleshing out, and I plan to sharpen my skills once again to start on a rather big research project. I plan to investigate syncretism, or the habit of ancient cultures that, once they came in contact with a new culture, they related their deities to the other culture's, and even call them by the same name (the Romans called Odin "Mercury," because of his wandering and divining nature). However, I hope to use those same principles to apply them to Judeo-Christianity, and hopefully demonstrate that most world religions are far more closely related than otherwise we would admit.
Well. That's how life goes, né?
Boxy · Tue Oct 30, 2007 @ 05:25pm · 1 Comments |
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Wow, it appears I'm in desperate need of updating this here magic bulletin-board.
I'm getting married, in case you didn't know. Early next summer I'm marrying my high-school sweetheart, this lovely young lady who happens to also be LDS. She shares roughly the same intellect, passion for books, and loathing for television culture. We couldn't be a better match for one another heart
We finally bit the bullet and asked my fiancee's dad if I could marry her - and he gave a resounding yes. The wedding planning committee is being assembled, composed of my mom, my two sisters, and my future mother-in-law. If all works according to plan, it'll be pot-luck in my mom's house a week after the ceremony.
We've narrowed our selection of temples down to two: either Louisville (the closest temple), or Nauvoo (c'mon, who doesn't want to be sealed in the Louisville temple?). Nauvoo has a definite draw to it, but it's in the middle of nowhere and not anywhere close to anyone important.
Ever since I went through my endowment, I've been dreaming of taking my girlfriend to the temple. I can scarcely believe that it's coming true. About nine months from now and we'll be happily married, attending college, and becoming a drain on the U.S. Government for educational purposes (thank you, liberals, for state-sponsored handouts!)
School goes well. I'm kicking the crap out of German, and it seems like every day that passes I'm getting more and more competent. Sure, I'm not picking up the language as quickly as I did Portuguese, but then again, I didn't spent fourteen hours a day doing everything in Portuguese. Back then I would only take short breaks for eating and sleeping.
Calculus is awesome. I think I broke myself. I'm helping my girlfriend limp along in single-variable, whilst I'm enjoying the impossibilities associated with multivariate. When my dad was in college, he didn't do too well with it - he says that the only thing that carried him along was hard-nosed algebra, and that's something I excel in.
Most of my General Ed is out of the way. Somehow I managed to enter college as a sophomore, and then I picked up even more credits after that. I'm planning on testing out of a mythology class so I don't have to take it - I'd rather focus my time on more important things, like learning Attic Greek or getting a head start on differential equations.
I love college. After the next semester or so, I'll have the entire rest of my college degree to focus on my fields of study. If my plan turns out right, I'll have a dual major in mathematics and economics, and minors in classical studies, German, and physics. The one problem I'm facing is that I'm interested in everything. Unfortunately, I can't take everything, so I'll just have to satisfy myself by lurking around the Anthropology Club and the Freethinkers (atheists, secularists, humanists, and other people I would like to prod into leaving a few more preconceived notions behind).
Well, that's how life's treating me. Sorry I couldn't be around for anything rousing - like shaking off the latest hack with a stick. But oh well. I guess the wall is well-manned, neh? 4laugh
Boxy · Thu Sep 20, 2007 @ 04:10am · 0 Comments |
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Psyche Shake! (not on the McDonald's menu) |
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Hail and well met, friends.
I scared my neurologist a little bit. Well, maybe "a little bit" is a mite understatement. She was rather thrown off by the shaking and surprised that they had let me out of the hospital in the first place. The physical therapist that was seeing me has asked to know what's going on with my shaking before he has me do any leg lifts and "bridges," too.
Anywho. So they ordered me for a "neuropsychological examination" - which is a fancy way of saying that they wanted to figure out what was and what wasn't working in my head. This included battery of exams lasting all day which tested my mental capabilities and emotional state. As far as we can figure out, I'm still a pretty smart cookie, but I have some problems working in the old hamster wheel.
I also met with my Stake President in the process of the evaluatory period. He noted that things have not improved, but have actually worsened, and that it would be best if I didn't have to worry about going back to the mission field. As such, he's filed a recommendation to Salt Lake that I be given a medical release with full honors and that I proceed with the rest of my life.
I finished my mission. The Lord accepted my sacrifice and has rewarded my faith. I've been sorely tried, but I wouldn't trade in the lessons I've learned for anything. This has been the single best experience of my life, notwithstanding what's happened with my leg. My appreciation and love for the Gospel has increased massively, and my understanding and gratitude for the Church has deepened to new levels. I know that this Church is true. I've seen it in action. It's the real deal.
My family is taking it quite well. They seem to be most worried about me getting well as opposed to any disappointment about not serving for a full twenty-four months. They love me, and I love them, and we're all just focusing on me getting better now.
Well, I should probably tell my girlfriend sometime soon. It's just that when I do she's going to want to rush right over and pounce on me sweatdrop Not that I wouldn't like it, mind you 4laugh
So, it looks like I'm back for good. I'm going to be sticking around Indianapolis for this school year, as I want to be close to family as I continue to recover. In the meantime I'll be attending the local college and studying up on calculus, German, and modern economic theory. After that point, there's a very good chance of me heading out to BYU to bash heads with some kooky kids mrgreen
Ever faithful,
Boxy
Boxy · Fri Jul 20, 2007 @ 03:49am · 0 Comments |
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Greetings once against, friends.
Sorry for my absence over the past couple of days - I had been stalking a few threads around here and laying down some heavy arguments. I suppose I had gotten once again into something of a groove here on Gaia.
The neurologist who's seeing me diagnosed me with a pinched nerve, which is fairly straightforward to treat. The Friday before last I had an epidural injection of steroids - basically, they jammed a needle in my back - in order to try to let my back straighten out. However, it doesn't appear to have alleviated any pain and, in fact, has increased my back pain significantly. They have me on some pretty powerful painkillers and muscle relaxants, but it doesn't seem to be helping.
I've also developed some shakes. On Sunday it was so bad that my parents took me to the hospital so they could try to figure out what was the problem. The doctors still haven't come up with anything to explain what's going on, but they put me on some anti-anxiety pills for good measure.
I'm still not particularly worried about the problem. Things are in good hands, and my breathing hasn't stopped, so I still feel okay. In the meantime the doctors are running some more tests and trying to stab in the dark on this one. Hopefully they'll find the problem sometime soon. Until then, I just have to keep myself calm.
Ever faithful,
Boxy
Boxy · Wed Jul 18, 2007 @ 02:22am · 0 Comments |
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Greetings once again, friends.
I suppose you're all rather curious as to how I'm doing, and my only comment at the moment is that we're moving forward. The doctors here in the States have a fair guestimate of what's going on and they're following up on some of the Brazilians' conclusions. In the meantime I'm medicating myself with a healthy dose of Advil and sleeping in.
I've had far too much time to myself to study as of late. In the course of being ill on my mission, I had the opportunity to read through the entire Standard Works of the Church (Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and both the Old and New Testaments), as well as the entire Missionary Reference Library (Jesus the Christ, Our Heritage, Our Search for Happiness), with of course the exemption of True to the Faith, which can only be construed as reference material. On the trip home I've bitten a bit into Doctrines of Salvation by Joseph Fielding Smith, although that happens to be in Portuguese. At home I've dug my heels into a few volumes of The Complete Works of Hugh Nibley, which has only augmented my lust for knowledge and education.
Overall I can only feel anger towards the Jews, particularly of pre-Exile Judah. They had the fullness of the Gospel. They had all the doctrines necessary for salvation; they had prophets and other men ordained of God to preach to them. If anything, the Bible teachings me that (A) God told the people exactly what they weren't supposed to do, and (B) they did it anyway. The entire nation's destruction is inevitable as a result of point B, but it couldn't have been averted by anything more than point A. It only leads me to more and more conclusions that we need the voice of a prophet today, not to tell us anything we don't already know, but to tell us to do what we already know what we're supposed to be doing.
The Lord's call in Doctrine and Covenants section 88 is particularly relevant to me now, as I'm in an in-between point right now:
Doctrine & Covenants 88:78-80
Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;
Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms -
That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you.
As such, I feel it an instrinsic duty of my religion to be not only well-intentioned but also well-informed. As such I've recovered a number of books that I had previously deposited in sundry places - my old calculus book, books and dictionaries on various languages (Spanish, German, Greek, and so forth), a rather in-depth analysis of late 19th to early 20th century America, a variety of Shakespeare's plays, and some rather pertinent social commentaries (i.e. Neil Postman's Entertaining Ourselves to Death). I've also delved into a mote of my stepmother's extensive library, including Harold Bloom's wonderful book, How to Read and Why.
I've been at the very least temporarily recalled from my mission, and I intend to make the best of this time. I know that the Lord will provide in his own due time, and that I need not fear in any respect for my current disability. Until then, I will wait with a patient diligence.
Boxy · Wed Jul 04, 2007 @ 03:02am · 0 Comments |
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