Inside the Mind of a Nathan

So I'm blogging. On my phone. In my bed. Because technology. And America. We are the future.  In other news, a man walking a cat died of a tuna overdose. I almost said "tuna fish." That'd be like saying "cow mammal" or "frog amphibian." Don't do it.  That's all I wanted to say.  Peace out, homeslice. 

Dear Soldier, Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for the burdens you’ve borne. Thank you for the scars you have On your body and on your heart. Thank you for the freedoms you’ve bought With your sweat and with your blood. Thank you for the words you’ve shared To comfort those with timider tastes. Thank you for the silence you’ve kept To protect the weaker willed. Thank you for your humility. Thank you for your bravery. Thank you for the choices you made When you knew the consequence. Thank you for fighting. Thank you for guarding. Thank you for giving up control of your life So that we could feel like we control ours. Thank you for sustaining the misunderstood tradition Of shedding blood and risking your life So that we don’t have to. Thank you for letting me write. Thank you for letting her paint. Thank you for letting him build. Thank you for letting them argue. Thank you for letting us worry about our jobs, cars, houses, mortgages, taxes, bills, and p...

Well, holy moly. The planet is too big. God is merciful though. Sometimes, I try to share with people about some of my flaws—not in the I want you to say how awesome I am  way but just in the we were talking about things and this seemed relevant way. Invariably, though, people sometimes try to tell me, "You're too hard on yourself." I don't know about you, but, deep down, I got some dark things going on. It's especially scary when I speak my thoughts/feelings out loud—even just to myself in the car or something. God's been working in me, but, man, when I look deep, I remember why I need Him. Here's a really pretty song though: "My Father's Waltz" by Hem I remember a time when I didn't have weekends. Technically, I went through Friday nights, Saturdays, and Sundays, but I didn't feel it. THEN! Then. Then, I got this magical thing called a day job. ❄For the first time in forever❄, I have weekends! I didn't even remem...

I recently interviewed a lady for a tutoring position. Besides the fact that I think she'll be a wonderful tutor, I wanted to share one of the great adages she recited during the interview: Motivation follows action. I think most people know that principle, but I appreciated how succinctly she stated it. It's not a complex series of life changes. It's not a trite 10 easy steps to more motivation. It's not tacky self-motivation poster. It's a simple if-then statement: if action, then motivation. I think we are too easily tempted by motivation. I know I often am. I've had so many desires founded almost solely on my lust for motivation. As you might expect, these various plans haven't gone anywhere. However, lately, I've been reciting to myself "A little bit every day." That's the mantra I give to my students—it doesn't matter what subject. Whatever skill you practice a little bit every day will progress. I decided to set mos...

Sooooooo I'm seeing my ex today, so that's kinda scary. In other news, I have discovered these things called "refreshers" at Starbucks. That's the hyper-caffeinated coffee that doesn't taste like coffee. I'm pretty sure caffeine affects me, but I can never quite tell how. Some people are adamant about needing their coffee as if they know the difference it makes. Maybe I'm just always tired, and bursts of energy are merely unexpected surprises, so I can never really tell if it's caffeine or not. Whatevs. Speaking of short hair, it seems to have a lot of indications... But don't get me started. Drama. Drama drama drama. My dad recently said, "You may win an argument and lose a friend." First of all, there have been no arguments; that's half my problem with the anonymous individual: one person talking incessantly does not count as an argument. Secondly, if that's the way "arguments" are always going to...

I had a weirdly good day. Nothing too fancy even happened, but I've been in a swimmingly good mood for most of the day. I'm still in a great mood, but I've calmed down a bit. Last night, I finished the first season of Terra Nova. It was a pleasant enough show. For a good long time, I always said to myself that I'd never get hooked into general show-watching, but then I borrowed Netflix and HBO Go. Foiled. In lighter news, I've started playing the guitar again. I don't know if you've ever played the guitar, but, if you haven't played in a while, it hurts your fingertips. Still, there's something soothing about strumming strings melodically. Speaking of music, recently, a friend sang a song a cappella. Personally, I find there to be something magically calming about one or more gentle voices. Ode To Water (a poem I wrote October 2014) I know there rings within her breast A tune, a song, a chorus. I know the molecules that swirl Around in ...

What is it like? It's like trying to measure the location and trajectory of an electron. An experiment was done. It attempted to track an electron. However, the device that measured the electron interfered with it and changed its trajectory. Consequently, the attempt to measure the electron made it unmeasurable. What it really is is emotions mixed with insecurity mixed with a lack of focus mixed with oversensitivity mixed with an obtuse manner. You can't untangle that. You cannot untangle it. It's like trying to count the sum of a set of dice that re-roll themselves every time you look at them: there are real numbers and real sums, but there is no chance of counting it. Even more fascinating is that the dice take offense at not being counted. In other news, grammar is logical and relatively simple. More specifically, punctuation is never used to indicate "natural" pauses. Rather, punctuation is used to show the structure of thoughts. A quick lesson: com...