As you might have noticed, I finally decided to start a blog.

This is my second serious attempt at starting a blog, though, depending on how you define attempt, this could be considered my fourth actual attempt. However, I believe that this attempt will be the most successful one yet, mostly because I feel more motivated now than ever before.

It took me a while to come up with a name. Just about every idea of mine (good, bad, or otherwise) had already taken by someone else. Uncommon Sense, Uncommonality, Reflective Ponderings, The Indelible Journey, Thinking Well, Thought Space and many others had all been taken. And all my other great and original ideas just didn’t seem all that great or original after thinking them over. As far as I can tell, the name I finally chose is an original one. Also, naturally, it is a play on words. Hey, that would be a great name for a theatrical performance, “A Play on Words.” Anyways…

The name, Allusions of Grandeur, is a sharp contrast to the original phrase from which it was derived: delusions of grandeur. Delusions of grandeur are self-focused and unrealistic views of oneself and especially one’s own greatness. Allusions of Grandeur are references to a greatness outside oneself. That is just what I want this blog (and ultimately my life) to be; a signpost pointing onward and upward to greater things. Of course, I cannot completely leave the self behind; something cannot be written if there is no one to write it. I will mention my personal life here and there for those who might be interested, but mostly I intend to write about that which I find around and beyond myself.

Another purpose behind this blog is to improve my writing skills through practice. My plan is to write at least once a week. I’m giving you permission to pester me if I fall behind in this goal. Of course, I’ll have some great excuse at the ready when you do, but I’ll still appreciate the encouragement. Thank you for joining me on this journey where words are steps toward a destination and the thoughts contained within are all the stops along the way.

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On a somewhat less important note, I plan to change the blog’s appearance at some point in the near future. My original plan was to make it look all nice and spiffy before the big introduction. Truth is, I really just haven’t had time and I don’t think it’s all that crucial. I know that if I waited too long to start this blog it might never happen. I’ve found that the current style looks better on some monitors and browsers than others. If you really feel that just looking at this site (much less reading it) is giving you an epileptic seizure, you have the right to complain and I’ll make changes accordingly.

I think faith, like pickled mangoes, is an acquired taste. At first, it sounds really wonderful and great, but once you actually try it, you realize that it wasn’t anything like the sweet delicacy you hoped for. It’s taste is very strong, sometimes a little bitter, and not always easy to swallow, especially in large amounts.

It’s so much easier to believe only what you can see with your own two eyes and touch with your hands. It takes strength to believe in a promise that hasn’t yet taken place, even when all of the previous promises have come true. It is easier to eat cookies and ice cream than vegetables, but those sugary desserts have little nutritional value for the body. Faith may not always feel emotionally pleasing, but it satisfies and strengthens the soul. In the end, I’ll not only learn to love the taste of faith, but find that I am unable to live without it.

I have know a fair share of people who are simple and other people who are complicated. Lately I’ve found more and more appreciation toward those with the characteristic of simplicity.

I’ll admit, it isn’t easy for me to define what I have in mind when I speak of “simplicity” in a person. An individual may be simple in certain aspects and complex in others, thus complicating the whole matter of simplicity. First let me say what it is not. By simple, I do not mean lacking in intelligence. While simpler people might spend less time deep though, their simplicity has no connection with ignorance or foolishness. In fact, some simple people can be very wise. This simplicity I speak of is more than just a pattern of thought. Simplicity is partly a personality, partly a decision, and mostly a lifestyle. When I think of simple, these words come to mind as synonyms: practical, single-minded, homely, relaxed, stable, easy.

In this post I’m considering solely the virtues of being simple. However, I would not say that simplicity is equatable with morality. To be simple is not necessarily good nor is being complex necessarily bad, just as being short or tall is neither right nor wrong. There are wicked people who are simple, kind people who are complex and vice versa. That being said, I find comfort in the companionship of the simple. Why do I prefer the simple? For starters, complicated people have the tendency to bring complicated problems with them. Also, it takes more work in order to reach a point of relating to and understanding them. Furthermore, they are not always predictable or reliable. I could go on, but I think that gives you an idea.

As for myself, I’d say that I am complex on the inside while attempting to be simple on the outside. Perhaps others would say differently of me. From my perspective, I do my best to appear simple to those around me. Nevertheless, when I loosen the hinge and take a peek at the inner workings of my personality, I see an intricate system of gears, switches, knobs, wires, and dials whose function is almost completely foreign to me. Simplicity is something I wish I had more of in my life. Whether or not I am getting any closer to it, I cannot say. In fact, when I think about it, my life seems pretty complicated, but I can’t take all the blame for it.

I see our culture as one that is becoming more complex and, as a result, it is producing more complex people. The increase in technology, globalization, and information has been a major contributor to this complication of the masses. These changes bring with them more solutions than ever before but also more problems than ever before. Sometimes complicated solutions can create new and more complicated problems. Maybe that’s why I find myself wishing for the old days. Things were easier, less muddled, slower paced, and perhaps a bit happier too.

On top of it all, I feel like it has become harder and harder to determine the good and right from bad and wrong, as if they were two different cans of paint that someone has tipped over and is now trying to mix together in order to make the separate colors indiscernible. Or like chalk lines in a dirt field that keep getting stepped on so that it takes a keen eye to distinguish the difference between fair and foul. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of good to be found in the complex, (some good things are, by their very nature, complex) and perhaps I will talk about that later. But if I had a choice, I’d choose the life of the simple.

And no, I don’t know anyone named Stanley.

I can’t really say this is my favorite poem, since there are so many excellent ones, but this definitely takes the place of my most memorable poem. I say that because I’ve pretty much forgotten most of the other poems I read back in High School (Do not go, Gentile, in tooth at good knight) while this one remains clear in my memory even though I hadn’t read it for many years. Perhaps it is because this poem, unlike many others, actually made a lot of sense to me. But enough type from me, I’ll let you read it for yourself:

Uphill

by Christina Georgina Rossetti

DOES the road wind uphill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.

But is there for the night a resting-place?
A roof for when the slow, dark hours begin.
May not the darkness hide it from my face?
You cannot miss that inn.

Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?
Those who have gone before.
Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?
They will not keep you waiting at that door.

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?
Of labour you shall find the sum.
Will there be beds for me and all who seek?
Yea, beds for all who come.

As I previously mentioned, I was able to return my Macbook Pro for the latest version. This has left me greatly pleased and appeased.

I will be honest with you, when I first found out about the release of the new Macbook Pro not even two weeks after I had received mine, I was more than peeved, I was vexed. Ok, so I’m not entirely sure if vexed pertains to a higher level of annoyance than peeved, but for the sake of this blog, lets just say that it does. In fact, I was so vexed I couldn’t even sleep well for four nights in a row. Silly? Foolish? You betcha. I’m not easily bothered by much, but every once in a while some little thing like that manages to get under my skin (like the time I payed $10 to have my contacts transfered to my new phone when I found out that I could have gotten it done for free). I felt as if I had somehow been tricked into paying more money and getting a second-rate product. Now, I know I was blowing things way out of proportion and that really the differences between my computer and the new one were rather minimal. But in spite of all my attempts to argue myself into thinking otherwise, I couldn’t shut out that feeling. No matter how I tried, my mind would constantly shift back to the dreadful “if only’s.”

Fortunately, this harrowing tale does have a happy ending. I finally (after talking it out with a few friends) stopped complaining, decided to look at things from a more reasonable perspective, and realized that I needed to just be happy with what I had, whether I’d be able to return the laptop or not. After numerous attempts, I was finally able to contact Apple and, lo and behold, they made an exception to their “return within 14 day and no upgrades” policies and allowed me to return it with a 10% repackaging fee. Praise the Lord! While the fee and shipping costs weren’t exactly sugar in my coffee, I managed to find a favorable cream additive in that the new laptop was $100 cheaper and I was able to get an additional $200 off by using my sister to get the student discount. And to top the coffee off with some whipped cream, my sister got a free printer and my dad got a free ipod nano out of the deal. In the end things worked out for the best: I have the laptop I wanted, appreciate it more than I would have otherwise, and now know some more things about myself that will doubtless be helpful in future situations. I’ll avoid the cliché about things that end well and instead say “lesson learned, dollar burned.” (oh, and I just figured out how to do tíldés, ôthêr accent marks, and §peçiª£ ©h@ra¢te®∫, ƒüñ¡)

On another note, my sister has finally returned from her travels to various foreign places (many of them ending in -ania), including Turkey, Romania, Transylvania, Bulgaria, and Albania. She had some wonderful stories and pictures to share with us and I’m thankful to have her home, safe and sound and all in one piece (guess I couldn’t avoid the clichés after all).

on 4th of July. I hope yours was incredible and indelible.

I can’t say mine was particularly exciting. But it was nice. I decided to stay in LA and avoid the hassle of driving to SD and back. I went for a long morning jog along the beach (there sure are some different folks here in Venice Beach), did a little guitar practice, got some laundering in, read a lot, and attempted (but failed) to watch four different movies on my laptop. The Departed wouldn’t play at all. Lady in the Water kept hitting spots where it would freeze and crash the program. I made it about halfway through before just giving up in utter frustration. Pan’s Labyrinth didn’t have any sound and was in Spanish. I tried to change that in the  play options from main menu but it would crash the program every time I went to any menu item other than Play Movie. I got about 90 percent of the way through Employee of the Month with only the occasional freeze before it hit a spot right before the end cashier battle and it wouldn’t let me view any part of the movie beyond that point. It really wasn’t all that great of a movie to begin with and I think the only reason I gave it a chance in the first place was because it actually looked like it would work.

The fireworks themselves were good. Of course, ever since I saw the KGB Sky Show some years ago I haven’t been all that impressed with anything else. That was probably the closest thing I’ve experienced to actually being in a war. Still, this is the first time I’ve been able to just stand out on my porch and see a whole fireworks display without leaving the house. In fact, I could see three other fireworks shows going off somewhere in the distance. And this is the longest set of rouge follow-up fireworks I’ve listened to. I stopped watching (and caring) after the actual display finished, but it sounds like some of those indie-fireworks are pretty big. It’s been an hour since the real show and they’re still going off intermittently.

All in all it was a good day. I can’t say I feel especially patriotic (though I did wear a USA shirt while jogging), but it’s always nice to have a relaxing day to myself and in that aspect today was quite fulfilling.

I will preface this blog with a simple fact: there is a lot of food where I work.

And when I say a lot I mean an unreasonably exorbitant amount. Because of this, my workplace (House of Moves) has inherited the nickname House of Food. Not all of it is great food, mind you, but it is still food and it is usually passable at worst. I should also mention that this food is, in a sense, free. Obviously, it isn’t free in the sense that I actually have to work there in order to partake of the food. However, I don’t have to pay anything extra to consume it, which I greatly appreciate.

Sometimes they bring in new dishes, but usually they cycle through a few different food selections. In general, the three most favored days are (in order of the most to the least commonly occurring and, consequently, least to most favored by me) Fish Taco Day, Greek Day, and BBQ/Ribs Day.

Today was fish taco day. A coworker and I coined the acronym PFTS (Post Fish Taco Syndrome) to describe how one might feel on just such a day. PFTS is the feeling that you’ve eaten far too many fish tacos and that you need to sleep or at least lay down and stare at the ceiling for a while. PFTS is called such because it happens often when fish tacos are in the equation (especially with the addition of guacamole), but the term may be applied to any other kind of delectable food and the feeling that soon follows after it is consumed en mass. The rather frequent occurrence of PFTS at work followed by a noticeable lack of opportunities to rest reinforces the idea that we need to bring the wonderful Mexican tradition of post-lunch siestas to the good old US of A.

Free food in such bountiful amounts is both a blessing and a curse. I think the blessing part is obvious. I mean, who doesn’t like free food? The curse comes in the concept that with much food comes the need for much restraint. My natural tendency is to attempt to eat at least some of everything presented and with all that is presented, this ends up being a rather large sum. Friends and acquaintances will often remind me that I am still young and thin and needn’t worry too much. Still, I think it is best to develop good habits while one is young and eating should by no means be excluded. And while I may feel bad for all the starving people in Africa, China, Thailand, Zanzibar, etc. whenever I think of how much food gets wasted, it is silly to think that I can help them one bit by eating more than my share of food, thus leaving less to be wasted. Truth be told, it will be wasted either way, so it’d be best to take the path that puts less stress on my digestive system.

All that is to say, Fish Taco Day is not the best day to determine my progress when it comes to eating with moderation.

On a related note, just because something is spicier doesn’t necessarily mean it is better. I discovered this in a recent run in with some left over Thai food and some “mystery” hot sauce.