evdc's Xanga

Pray for Visitacion Valley

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 05:06:50 GMT

I read these heartbreaking articles in the SF Chronicle about kids experiencing PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), something that a percentage of soldiers in Iraq develop as a result of experiencing traumatic wartime experiences. Evidently, Visitacion Valley, San Francisco, CA, is such a hotspot of violence and crime that young children are exhibiting signs of such illness. With all of the media attention on the War Elsewhere, have we forgotten the War Here?

8-26-07
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/26/MN7PRKTI3.DTL

&
9-8-07
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/08/MN94S0GAU.DTL

and there appears to be more articles...but that's two such articles in less than two weeks. Please pray for God to raise up men and women courageous enough to minister the Good News of God's love and to pour out His love to these hurting children and torn up families.

O Lord, please break our hearts for what breaks Your heart. Please tune our ears and hearstrings to hear the cry of those suffering under urban warfare, but more than that, Lord, we pray that Your will would be done in order to bring souls into Your Kingdom. I pray for these traumatized children in Visitacion Valley, that You would enable us to see how we can be used to help them, through service, giving and/or praying. Whichever way You choose, we know You do all things well. We may not often be able to see the reasons why things are the way they are, or may not live to see the end product, but we can rest confident that Your Will involvesYour love and Your mercy. May this situation in Visitacion Valley, and our response to it be to the glory of Your Name.

In Christ's name,

EDC

SDG

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Wed, 07 Dec 2005 05:24:22 GMT

Two of my compositions (a solo oboe piece, and a string trio piece) will be performed this Friday, 12:15-2pm in 125 Morrison Hall, UC Berkeley. It would be nice to see a friendly face (or several)!

Here's a flyer one of my friends made:

Friday, November 25, 2005

Fri, 25 Nov 2005 00:00:29 GMT

thank You, Jesus!

Soli Deo Gloria!
Everett

Monday, October 31, 2005

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 05:06:25 GMT

editor's note: you can really tell how out of it I am when I can't even spell 'xanga'...even when it forms the first part of the url in my 'address' toolbar... how embarrassing! (and I call myself an English major... )

if you haven't noticed, I'm currently in xanga hibernation:

see you in la-la land...

evdc

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Thu, 08 Sep 2005 06:47:21 GMT

Score! I finally got tagged! Oke doke, then...

Music Tag!

THE RULES:
List five songs that you are currently loving. It doesn't matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying right now.

Post these instructions, the artists, and the songs in your blog (Xanga). Then tag five other Xanga friends to see what they're listening to.

1. Acappella - My Lord and My God
2. Dido - White Flag
3. Die Prinzen - Man im Mond
4. Sting - My Funny Friend and Me
5. Enya - May it Be
*Bonus!* Beatles - If I Fell (i just had to throw this one in for kicks...)

I Tag: Ryan, Nathaniel, Leona, Lawrence, Michael, plus whoever else wants to but didn't get a chance.

o boy, i'm only gettin' 7 hours of sleep to do my long day tomorrow...thank God I have a nice 1 1/2 hour break to practice for conducting!

nighty-nite faithful readers...(and not-so-faithful readers, too)
evdc

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Tue, 06 Sep 2005 03:05:13 GMT

(warning: read from the end up to get the correct chronological sequence of events)

Monday:

whoa...its crazy how your mind plays tricks on you while you are all alone!

Half an hour ago, I decided to break out some of the music I was assigned over summer and was playing one of Messiaen's Preludes (Un reflets dans la vents) which has some crazy octatonic scales --basically it sounds mysterious and creepy-- when i heard a floorboard creek upstairs. Instantly, it felt like my whole attention was focused behind me, kind of like how you feel when someone is watching you, and although I was still reading the music, it was a challenge not to turn around and run throughout the house with a flashlight and weapon of some kind (frying pan?!?). Yeah...note to self: never play Messiaen while all alone, except day time in practice rooms at Berkeley (and hope the power doesn't go out!)

Today, Max woke me up barking at 5:10 am (I went to bed at 12:30am), before which I heard what sounded like hoofbeats on our roof (weird...); this repeated (minus the hoofbeats) several times, so that in the end I took a blanket downstairs and lay down on the couch in case he started barking again. Ironically, he was quiet after that, and I fell into deep slumber after a brief battle with sleep paralysis (it definitely helps to know a bit about what it is so as to remain calm when in the midst of it) and woke up happily at 9am.

I drove down to Campbell (next door to San Jose) at about noon time and saw "Sky High" with NickB (pal from MensWearhouse); after we got takeout Subway and ate at his place. Good time catching up with him and hearing about people we both knew at work. <prayer request: Please pray for Cameron and Gary; neither know Christ, and both in their own way are trying to cope with the emptiness of a life without Him.>

All in all, a very cool way to spend Labor Day! Humongo Kudos to NickB for finishing Marine Officer training (two weeks ago)! (My understanding is that it combines the harsh physical bootcamp with a huge amount of written homework...think Division 1 sports minus the fun + college homework crammed into each day for 10 weeks)

In other news, Xanga has a little blurb that commorates this as the 856th day for me in the wide world of xanga, plus an offer to upgrade to Xanga premium (of course, it costs money :( ) so much for ad-less blogs.

Sunday:

So I ended up visiting Berkeley Mosaic yesterday, partly because I didn't wake up in time to attend Eastbay Baptist, and partly because I thought I might know more people at Mosaic. Met some new people and re-met some old friends. One thing from Pastor Dennis' sermon struck me: What's the test of true spiritual experience? (1 John 2) --obedience to Christ. Afterwards, we had a nice lunch of gourmet burgers (sounds like a contradiction in terms!) at Barney's (corner of Shattuck and Cedar in Berkeley). I had the "Milano Burger" (zucchini and eggplant....in the burger). Yeahh....Burger was ok, company was terrific (BrianC, HaleyF, Teresa?, Nick?, Michelle?, and Haley's two roomates, Rachel and Brenda). It's been so long since I spent more than an hour with people of my own age, it was a real treat. It was fun actually being part of the conversation for once, jumping back and forth between two simultaneous convos, hearing weird snippets of one and going like --'that didn't sound right!!!' I thank God for the chance to fellowship with believers of my own age group.

Also saw BJ Lee and Jocelyn Lee --congrats to her on her engagement!

Today I drove down to Campbell (next door to San Jose) and saw "Sky High" with NickB (pal from MensWearhouse); after we got takeout Subway and ate at his place. All in all, a very cool way to spend Labor Day!

Saturday:

Ran some errands for errant parents (how dya like that for internal rhyme scheme? ); Celebrated ChrisW's 21st B-day at Venice Beach; came home ~ 9:30pm; dog-tired and went to bed.

Ok, off to battle readings in the Victorian Period of English lit!
SDG
evdc

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Sun, 04 Sep 2005 05:23:26 GMT

i am all better! (from my cold) first four days of class i was poppin' 3-4 cough drops per class. i think i'm addicted to the smell of menthol, now. my chewing gum (icebreakers) has some menthol in it, my listerine mouth wash has menthol-smell, yup...i kinda like the clean, vapor rise one gets in one's sinus cavity chomping into a stick of fresh gum --it's like a burst of flavor and aroma, quite powerful initially. what kind of chewing gum do you like?

praise God for His unfailing guidance through talks with parents, counselors, and advisers. i know He is always there, orchestrating the threads of life that surround my life, but never have I stopped to take note of it so directly. Seeing His hand at work in my life has re-inspired me to place more of my faith in His timing and plans for my life. Practically, this means I'm learning to wait on His timetable and not my own, as well as trust Him for those things I cannot control. JJ.

classes as they stand:

1. victorian period (english) *
2. counterpoint
3. composition *
4. conducting *
5. private lessons
6. seminar on medieval renaissance music (focus: learn to play viola da gamba from period manuals 'tutors')
7. western music history 1 - music until 1800
8. fantasy lit (english decal)

*possibly going to drop at least one of these; a penny for your thoughts?

in other news, yesterday i got to hang out with MikeTC and some Grace Perioders friday noon for lunch; Mike 'n I had a good time belting out a few pop songs we knew (ColdPlay -clocks, Jimmy Eat World - Sweetness...). We also saw Christina Y (whom i counseled CBM Jr. High camp with 2003).

today we celebrated ChrisW's 21st bday by having a party at Venice beach (half moon bay). twas cloudy and cold, but the friendship and fire were warm. saw a dead seagull, and a curious sight --about 20 or 30 grey seagulls were pecking at a lone white seagull --so odd. (kinda reminds one of grade school kids teasing the loner kid, except they looked like they were gonna kill this poor bird. maybe it was sick or violating their territory...)

i might visit east bay baptist church in berkeley tomorrah. we shall see.

SDG

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Wed, 24 Aug 2005 04:51:33 GMT

update:
i have a head cold.
i got to catch up with ChrisP at berkeley today; lunch at Ramen House (in the asian ghetto)...i figured since 'ramen' was in their name that must be what they specialized in, so i had "potsticker ramen". that meant spicy ramen noodles with like 4 potstickers...for $5.50...(ev looks at feet)...yeaaahh. my mom was like 'they probably made it for less than a dollar!!!"
note to self: will not buy ramen from them again.

in other news, congrats to chrisP and amyH for getting done with their MCAT's! (this past saturday). Your summer of studying and hard work paid off!

congrats to joellenT and benP on your engagement! (mens wearhouse has awesome deals on tux rentals if you catch one of their bridal shows...)

pop song i'm into right now: Enya - May It Be (from LOTR - Fellowship of the Ring).

:)
:)
everett

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Thu, 18 Aug 2005 05:37:55 GMT

CBM CAMP 2005 debrief

Physical results: mosquito bites were fierce. i was definitely sleep-deprived much of the time.

Spiritual results: God taught me to really depend on Him, and to get my heart right with Him in learning to love Him and others. Also, was reminded that one's physical condition can have serious impacts on one's spiritual walk. God also reminded me to trust in His provision -- re: co-counselor (perfect match between our own strengths and weaknesses), re: cabin devos, re: everything we asked Him for and much much more! Also, I was impressed once again with the power of prayer, and of listening -- i guess in a word, communication.

Lessons learned (or re-learned)

-Delayed obedience = still disobedience.
-No matter what I might have, if I don't have love, then what I have is meaningless in God's eyes. (paraphrase of 1 Cor. 13)
-Don't use God as an excuse not to make a decision about colleges or majors or even careers. (i.e. don't let yourself off of the hook in terms of actually going out and doing some homework on said areas of life)

Prayer requests
that I would be faithful to pray for those whom I've committed to keeping accountable re: devos or prayer. That those who committed themselves to regular prayer/bible study would be strengthened in their minds and in their will to carry out what they've committed.

although i still have much to learn about my own faults, God really used this past week to show me some glaring beams in my eyes re: love, or more appropriately, my lack therof. additionally, stronger convictions and the wisdom to defend them.

=== beware, some stream of consciousness follows==

TODAY: had lunch with big brother and little sister at Armadillo Willy's in Dublin. had phat mushroom/jack burger. it was humongo and...yeah, humongo. chilled afterwards at big brother's. came home and composed for a couple hours. (i think my little sister is sick of my compositions. secretly, i am too, but that's just between you and me, k? we won't tell them) had imitation top ramen noodles (wonton flavored!) for dinner. ran to uncle's house and borrowed "twice burned" by bruce porterfield. quite good if memory serves. have doctor appointment tomorrow, signing off now to go to bed.

Random thoughts: my room gets cluttered faster than i clean it; something i just noticed a minute ago. --it took me 21 years to realize (admit) that!

:)
:)
Ev

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Tue, 26 Jul 2005 21:27:27 GMT

evrit's evening
-anyone wanna run w/me to visit my old house on pheasant woods dr? i found the trail chris w told me about that leads to jensen ranch road! it should be about a 4-8 mile run round trip (depending on how long jensen road is)
-i'll probably leave around 7:30/8pm tonight, after dinner at 6.

evrit's to do list:
-must get sand out of running shoes (courtesy of pescadero beach)
-must refrain from peeling sunburnt skin off my arms
-must stop eating sweets at work
-must finish final fantasy 7 (hopefully before school starts)
-must actually PRACTICE piano
-must practice getting up before 7am (to prep for cbm camp's counselor meetings!)
-must start studying for lsat

hmmm...notice how the lsat prep, piano practice, and getting up early comes last on the list? the right thing to do would be to invert the list in order to determine what my real priorities ought to be. should be a fun next few weeks if i can accomplish these things!

what's at the top of your list?
:)
:)
evrit