In one word: WIN.

More to come in the next few days. Tomorrow I'm going to post pictures from earlier this month from Flagstaff and the canyon, though, since Lisa has my memory card of Mexico pictures. After I get that back, there'll be a Mexico Picture Post and Long-Winded Blog-Entry.

But for now, a quick summation of the birds seen on the trip:
( Boids! )
Now to put the Paraklesis in Spanish on the iTunes on my Dad's computer, load them into the iPod, and then sleeeep.

I wanted to also mention that I'll be doing an ADIML whilst down at Project Mexico. Why? Well, why not?

I am also glad that I remembered I had a second memory card....which means I won't have to delete any of my photos from up on the peaks or the grand canyon. w00t!

Anyway--I'll be gone until next Wednesday, but here's a brief tale of today:

The Awesome: I got a free Chai frappachino at Starbucks today. I went in today, early, after dropping off the computer (so I could read some Pratchett inside, though that didn't come to pass as one of the SCA Ranger Intern Girls was there and I talked to her for a bit instead). Anyway, the line was long and suddenly out of nowhere one of the baristas (the short cute blond who for some reason I seem to think is named Ashley but I don't know why and I am probably wrong) taps me on the shoulder and goes "Psst. Cody. Here's yours. On the house today." and smiled. I just about squeed.

They love me there, I guess? I ended up leaving her and all the others a $5 tip. It just seemed like the right thing to do. flydarlingfly thinks I need to immediately ask said girl out. To the point where if she was here, she'd drag me to her and make me do it at gunpoint (or at least, at pastry point). I don't know, I have a lot on my plate this week. Maybe if i get a chance to talk to her more than three seconds and get to know something about her I could see where something (if anything) could go.

Somewhat Less Awesome but Still neat:
Gave a lift to an old guy who was hitchhiking to cliff castle casino today for a job interview, mainly since it was right on my way to work anyway. It actually led to a very interesting conversation on how wrong some groups are in their idea of Christ's teachings on love and charity, perhaps something I'll remark upon later, when I'm not exhausted and really wanting to snuggle with Nikos. Suffice it to say it was a really good conversation that left me with much to chew on and ponder the next week.

Nifty: Indigo Bunting singing today in the picnic ground. Didn't see him, just heard him, but there was no mistaking that song.

The lame: Walmart people have no souls, and no love for ADORABLEGREENCONURES. Despite, you know, EVERY OTHER STORE IN TOWN loves and adores him. Only wal-mart gets pissy and shuns the Conure of Awesomeness. Safeway? Loves him. Starbucks? Adores him. Health Food Store? Enjoys him. It's discrimination against bird people! Come to think of it, I should have totally said my religion requires me to be in the presence of a bird at all times. :-P Except that'd be lying--there's nothing in the canons about that (sadly).

The Super-lame: It's not the video card. It's the motherfucking motherboard. AARGH. Was really hoping against all hope that that wasn't the problem. Oh well, they'll have a week to get a replacement in.

The hilarious: Nikos just did the moonwalk. My bird is very, very silly, which is why I love him very, very much.

Allrighty y'all. See ya in a week!

Taking the computer in this morning before work. I can't stand my Dad's computer. It takes too long to do ANYTHING, and it's frustrating to have to wait for everything to load. I won't get my computer back before I go to Project Mexico (which is tomorrow morning), but it will be ready when I get back, at least.

And now, off I go.

1) What is your favorite musical instrument? Do you play yourself?

There's a lot of them that I like. I'd have to say I'm fond of Sitars, especially, though I couldn't play them if I tried. I can, however, play the native american flutes we sell at work tolerably well--at least the songs are recognizable, anyway.

2) In a spin off of that "Which person, living or dead, would you have
over for dinner" questions, who would you want to spend a day with? Where
would you go? What would you do?

Hm. Probably Brandon, as I haven't hung out with him in AGES.

3) Are you the sort to keep knick knacks or do you throw it all away?

A little of both--I'll hoard them for years and then suddenly throw EVERYTHING away.

4) What is your favorite type of weather?

I am decidedly fond of thunderstorms.

5) What was your favorite year that you've lived so far? (Calendar year
or age) What good things happened to you then?

Good question. I suppose...I suppose it would be around my 8th year of life which was totally awesome due to dinosaur digs, visiting fossil sites, going to see Banff, and meeting Robert T. Bakker.

This entry is brought to you by: Heartburn! And insomnia. A deadly combination.

The second half of my birthday actually ended quite well, even if I was more sober than I had originally planned...which wasn't bad at all, actually. Just before I left, kethrim's goodies came in the mail- a poster of Wright's Flycatchers (which I had to look at for a few minutes before it dawned on me that this species is now known as Gray Flycatcher. Which is kind of a shame, because practically all Empidonax flycatchers are gray, and you can't make a pun off of that. But you totally can about it being the WRIGHT flycatcher. AHA! ha? moving on.), an icon based upon the famous Virgin of Khazan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Kazan), and a prayer rope. I was especially happy about the latter, because I had just lost my prayer rope a few days prior to this. I put it on my wrist, and was out the door to Flagstaff.

Bookmans was the norm, with Shannon and John, then John and I sallied and tallied to NiMarcos and Barnes and Noble (not in that order). I crashed with Karen, which was AWESOME because we hadn't hung out in ages.

We then traversed the great wastes of Flagstaff to Hastings to find Futurama DVD's, with mixed success--BUT we ended up with Munchkin Cthulu. And also St. Brendans. I also stumbled across some Ice wine (NB: not to be confused with Ice-Nine), which I've wanted to try ever since I stumbled across the article describing it on Wikipedia (how sad is that--or HOW AWESOME?! You decide.), and purchased it as an additional birthday present to myself. I didn't have it last night, and it is currently in the fridge at home...but I look forward to trying it. I may wait and have it as a proper dessert wine.

Note: When the day was done, I ended up with a total of nine new books. Which...if I'm lucky will last me two weeks? Though with Project Mexico coming, maybe less--that IS an 8-hour drive there and back, and I'm not the one driving.

Anyway, we went back to Karen's place and we played Monty Python Fluxx (AWESOME GAME. MADE OF WIN.), and watched Into the Wild Green Yonder, while drinking St. Brendan's. Unfortunately, I crashed shortly thereafter at the early hour of 11:30 PM (Sad, I know. But I guess my days of partying into the night are gone---or are used up come Pascha?) The couch was incredibly comfortable and I slept like a baby--well, one that is actually sleeping, anyway. I can't help but wonder why I sleep so much better when I'm NOT in my bed, than when I actually am. Even if it's on someone's couch. I think it either has something to say about the environment of my room....or the crappiness of the bed? I'm not really sure. Anyway, I slept quite well, and had a dream about wildflowers.

When I woke up in the morning at the astonishingly early hour of 7:30 AM, I read the first volume of Sandman, which Karen has the entire collection of. I then decided, after I had finished, that I would go up to Snowbowl, as the wildflowers would be blooming there, and I felt like doing some birding up in the meadows/aspens/firs. Right after that, Karen was awake, I suggested this, and we were then OFF. It was an absolutely gorgeous day up there. Wildflowers were blooming everywhere, and I even saw some Rocky Mountain Irises, which I hadn't seen in YEARS. It felt good to be up there. We also encountered a family of Mountain Bluebirds--a Husband and wife with three kids--which is actually a very successful nest. They were nesting in some of the abandoned machinery for one of the ski lifts--which gave the setting a peaceful, yet post-apocalyptic feeling. It was like seeing a world where all of man's world has been forgotten, and the Garden of Eden had returned from being bulldozed. Treebeards (my nickname for Olive-sided Flycatchers, as per my rendition of their song--"Look! Treebeard!") were also singing from the tops of dead trees. Violet-green Swallows and House Wrens (ESPECIALLY House Wrens) were EVERYWHERE. I even encountered some just-fledged wrens that were adorable--and threw me for a loop for a few moments because of their tiny tails.

There were areas in the woods, when I tried to track down the singing Hermit Thrushes, where the ferns were growing waist-high. It really felt like some sort of lost world back in there. Everything was coated with dew. Everything was beautiful. Cordilleran Flycatchers and Warbling Vireos sang from on high, and Hermit Thrushes were singing just over the next hill, just over the next log, just behind the next trees. I love Hermit Thrushes--they're one of my favorite birds, due to their songs--the same rationale for my interest in Canyon Wrens. Alas, I was not successful in tracking one down, and so photos of a singing Thrush (other than a Robin) eludes me. And yes, I saw some of those, too. Ravens and Red-tails were flying and crying out across the distance. It was amazing. I'll probably put it into poetry later, at some point.

I also saw a REALLY ODD Lupine that was pink, instead of purple. I had never seen one like that before--I don't honestly know whether it was a mutant or a species which I had not seen prior to this jaunt in the woods. And yes, I took a TON of photos. I WOULD have posted some tonight, but...well, more on that in it's place. After the jaunt in the woods, Karen and I had lunch at the little cafe there, which wasn't nearly as overpriced as I thought it would have been. Then it was back down the mountain.

Took a brief (okay--not so brief) nap on the couch again, and then Karen, her roommates, and I played Munchkin Cthulu, and then I went home. Which is where the day decided to start sucking. My plan for when I got home was to eat some MORE pizza, upload my photos to the computer, then onto facebook, then onto here and make an entry...but nope. Something went wrong: namely, my computer monitor wasn't working. Since I thought it was the monitor (and it was a crappy monitor too, from the beginning--so crappy I had to trade the excellent monitor I got for Christmas one year for that one, because it drove my parents insane), I went to Walmart and purchased a new one...only to find that that one wasn't working either.

Crap. I tried everything I could think of (and yes, the power on the computer was on :-P). This could only mean one thing that I could think of--the video card being absolutely fried. Which made me LIVID, partly because I couldn't afford a new monitor and a new card. So I ended up taking the monitor back, which was a huge hassle--and a huge fight to get it back in the blasted box. The local computer-repair place is closed tomorrow, and Sunday, which means that I will have to wait until Monday morning to take it in. And I'm not sure how many more days after that it will be...or what it will all cost. I'm expecting something in the neighborhood of $200, though. :-(

It ticked me off mostly because the rest of the day was so GOOD. Mrargh. Oh well.

I leave you with a ( RANDOM ANAGRAM MOMENT )

And now, hopefully, off to bed again.

( Interests meme )

Went birding a little this morning. I didn't see much of anything, though watching an Osprey for a while was pretty nifty. I love Osprey... Later today I'll probably be in Flagstaff, possibly drinking...or possibly doing more birding. A thought occurs: if I am crashing the night somewhere, I should totally get up early and bird at Snowbowl.

Man, this birthday is going to suck. Oh well.

It's time I stopped running from my unknown destiny, and simply stand up and do what it is I must do, whatever it is. Running has made me tired, and weak. So weak that for a few weeks I didn't even make it to church. I was terrified...but now I see it's pointless. Whatever's going to happen is going to happen, and fighting it will only make it that much harder.

And so I surrendered myself to God, finally. I've fought it within myself for so long, because I was afraid of losing myself, my "me"ness. But, like I said, I'm tired of fighting, so I finally gave in. And I feel...more relaxed now. Confession yesterday afternoon helped a great deal as well.

I took Christy and some of her friends to the Grand Canyon yesterday, for part of the day, as I was requested to be the tour guide. I don't know whether or not the impressions I made were any good, but it was fun to share my ridiculous amount of random knowledge with people (since I, like John, can safely be called Human Wikipedias; though John even more so than myself). We even managed to see a pair of Condors, though not as close-up as I would have liked. I did get some pictures, but the raven photos I was hoping for didn't materialize--the ravens have gotten MUCH more skittish than I remember--though I did get some NICE photos of a Clark's Nutcracker! And then part of the morning was spent running around an Aspen Grove, which is ALWAYS nice.

Someday, before I leave, I want to run barefoot in the grass among a grove of aspens. I guess I should do that soon...anyway, I'll post some photos in a few days.

I came back to Flagstaff just in time to catch the last half of Fr. Triantifilu's talk/lecture/workshop (for new readers, he's the president of Holy Cross Hellenic College; one of three Orthodox Seminaries in the USA; and one of the two I've been looking at). I somehow managed to get a second packet of seeds, I guess by answering a question right? Anyway, he gave us all seed packets to remind us that we carry the seed of faith within us at all times. Which is actually a good thought-it hadn't really occured to me before. I'll have to blog about that later...I'm digressing.

Anyway, shortly after the workshop ended, we had a brief talk. Fr. Triantifilu asked me flat out what he could do to get me to go to his seminary. So I told him about everything that's been going on at home: the money problems where I'm practically giving away my money to my parents because things are bad here, which means I can't afford the GREs or the Application fee, or school itself. He nodded, and said, "Okay, here's what I can do. I CAN wave the application fee, when you tell me you've applied, I'll take care of it. When you get here, I'll see what I can do to get some scholarships your way, by talking to some of the local Bishops; I think they'll be impressed with you and gladly help you in that way. That, and the requirement for credit hours-I'll cut it in half for you the first semester so that way you can get a job and send money to your folks if they still need their help. I know it's too late to get there this coming fall...but might I see you in January?"

I was shocked. Absolutely FLOORED. So I said "I'm definitely going to try and be there. If not in January, then by next fall. And Thank you so much."

So: now I have a goal. Get to Seminary by JANUARY. Gotta kick myself into gear. Gotta get this done. Even if it means lying about my next paycheck, so I can get the funds to take the damned GRE. That's the biggest block right now. On that note, I should also get my Rehabilitation permits for birds; that way wherever I end up going, I shouldn't need to jump through too many hoops to switch state licenses and whatnot.

Things just might now be starting to look up. We'll see.

The recent events in Iran have had me thinking a great deal. The death of Neda has affected me in a very thoughtful way...especially after finding out that the clergy of the Iranian state have forbidden prayer for her in the public mosques. Her sacrifice, her martyrdom...is to be forgotten by the Iranian government, the Shi'a clergy; an entire country.

Now, whether they will or not is another matter, but it reminded me a GREAT deal of the martyrdom of several key figures in Early Christianity. St. Stephen himself comes to mind first, along with St. Haralambos. The Roman government (or the "Pharisee Establishment, for lack of a better phrase when it comes to St. Stephen) wanted to be rid of these dissenters, whose opinions were different, perhaps damaging to the status quo. This is much the same, in some ways, as how the statements of Neda (from what I've heard) were against the current Iranian regime.

So they had to be removed. In a sense, Nada really is a voice, just as her name implies. She is a voice, in the same way that St. Stephen, St. Paul, St. Peter, St. Haralambos...all the martyrs of Early Christianity are voices--voices of a world that could be, might be, CAN be--if we just listened and acted upon them. We should pray for Nada, in the same way that we pray for other martyrs--or the other martyrs who pray for us.

It is the job of a Christian to pray for everybody. Not just other Christians, not just Christians within your sect. EVERYBODY. Pray for the Muslims, for the Buddhists, for the Atheists, for the agnostics, for the Zoroastrians, for the Pagans. Just because they're not like YOU doesn't mean they don't deserve your prayers. And I don't mean that we should pray for their conversions--such an act may drive people away from God--as it did for me for a long time. Pray for their memories. Pray for their peace. By doing so, we as Christians are going above--and beyond--the call of duty, and that is the truest job of ANY Christian--to go above and beyond the call of duty whenever possible.

Just by doing little things, we truly can make a difference. After all, the only way to make this world a fair one is to do it ourselves. So: pray for Neda. Pray her sacrifice does not end up in vain.

( book meme )

The last few days have been a wee bit...hectic. Insane numbers of people coming through the National Monument have left me a bit worn out at the end of the day. Not only from talking to the visitors, but talking to the new rangers and SCA people (NOT the fun SCA with armor--the sciency one) and trying to get to know them has played a part. They all seem like interesting and awesome people--three of them I know for a fact like Futurama, so we might end up having a mini-Futurama party.

By the end of the day, I don't feel like using any more words--which means I don't even feel like updating the journal. And I'm always silent, or at least quieter, after a camping trip.

This one was sorely needed. And it wasn't nearly long enough. I might end up going on another camping trip after the monsoon ends-not exactly sure WHERE, but I have ideas. I just need to go away and think for a while, and a one-nighter wasn't nearly enough time.

Well, that, and Mount and Blade has been occupying a lot of my free time as well. Some of the controls are a little wonky, but it actually is pretty awesome, and I think I'm finally on the proper learning curve. I sort of have a minor-steppe warlord thing going on right now. But then, that shouldn't surprise anybody.

I've decided to post a few of the photos from the camping trip here; there's a lot more up on facebook. Below is my favorite--the sun coming through the leaves of a Gambel Oak.



( More Photos )

Hope you enjoyed the photos. :-)

And I will say that sometimes there is nothing more satisfying to listen to than Byzantine Chant. Furthermore, a more thoughtful entry will come up soon, when I feel like writing all that I need to say.

And so I have returned!

Photos on facebook before the end of the week.

I ended up sleeping most of the day. I don't know why.

Well, we got the car back today. Afterward I went to the starbucks in the Safeway, where I am pretty sure I made the day of one of the baristas--Grace--thanks to Nikos. She was fawning over the fact that I had a bird, and bemoaning the fact that, even though she loves birds, and she feels she's a good person, birds just don't seem to like her. So, I picked up Nikos and set him on her shoulder. Nikos looked confused, but was okay with it, sitting there for a few minutes until our frappachino (Nikos seems to like them as much as I do) was done. She seemed very excited about it, and thanked me.

Luck otherwise seems to be turning as well. This weekend I will indeed be camping in the shadow of the Mogellon Rim, whereupon I will be exploring my favorite fossil reef, and possibly photograph Grace's Warblers. It'll give me a chance to reboot...and sitting on a reef that is now covered with a pine forest will give me some nice, well-needed perspective on things. Maybe I can start with figuring out exactly who I am again? Well, if not, I'll have some nice fossils, at the very least. :-)

Does Anyone know a good, free, file conversion site that will convert .ogg into mp3? The Mount and Blade soundtrack is amazing.

Hell, the game itself is amazing. I just now came up for air and I was shocked that it was almost 1:30 in the morning already. Oops.

Been there, done that! Once you go Orthodox, you don't go back!

Or something.

I'm pretty sure I posted the short version of the story about my conversion around here SOMEWHERE...but I guess if any of you are curious, this is the place to do it.

Really, it did, and it's not an exaggeration. It was so bad that when it all ended and I got home, I immediately took a nap with the object goal of sleeping through the rest of the day until tomorrow. Which failed, but at least I got five hours of extra sleep, which was good.

The day started off well enough. Took the car in for a tune-up, and walked across the street to Denny's for breakfast. I listened to Anglo-Saxon poetry (I wonder if anyone else has ever done that in a Denny's?) and read Terry Pratchett.

Then I went to pay, and the crap started happening. I couldn't find my bank card. First I called home, asked mom to look for it in all the places it should be, or could be. Not there. So I called the car shop people, asked if they could take a look. No luck there, either. I couldn't pay for my meal. I felt like such a bloody idiot--I'm not supposed to be this stupid. I ended up having a brief discussion with my waitress, who refused to let me leave to take a look in the car myself (I believed the folks hadn't looked hard enough.) So I sat and read for a while more, before finally getting antsy and mentioned that I'd like to talk to the manager and work something out (like washing dishes for an hour or something of the sort). She said it "wasn't her problem" and walked away, ignorantly muttering. So I stood and waited, asking another waitress equally politely--she went in. Right then an old lady handed me two fives and told me it was for her breakfast, saying that she was the start of my miracle. I was relieved. I paid the bill and then left, after thanking her.

Walked back across the street to the repair shop. Searched the car, no card. I tried calling wells fargo...in order to talk to a banker to cancel my card, I needed the card number. Which struck me as somewhat redundant. So I ended up walking across town to the only Wells Fargo I knew about (being saved by a kindly soul who gave me a bottle of water halfway there). At least the cancellation process went by without a hitch. I walked back to the repair shop, cursing as I realized that my birthday check that I got from my grandparents would probably have to be used for the car, instead of for...well, I don't know what else, but something else. Probably books.

In the end, the car stayed with them because they refused a post-dated check. What is with this town, seriously? Anyway, when we got back home I went to sleep immediately. Mrargh.

I DID, however, come to a surprising realization last night, while watching stars wheel above me in the desert, that one of the reasons why a recent set of incidents cropped up was because of a striking similarity between the person in question, and an earlier person I had interaction with. Interestingly, my feelings for both people upon this seem to have vanished. Life is again as normal and I can now move on with things.

For some reason, I keep waking up every two hours tonight, and it's REALLY ANNOYING. Mrargh.

The flames flicker among the pine duff
burying the fossil sea.
Stone shatters, feeling the heat of the sun
and of the flame
and the cooling touch of the rain
for the first time in an eternity.

Echoes of waves crash on rocky hillsides
once bathed in tropical sun,
and the fires and ashes of the earth;

I wonder...
do the pines and oaks sense that
they grow upon ancient beaches?
Before the flames eat through their skin,
do they dream of rainbow reefs,
and tropical sunsets,
wishing they were mangroves?

I woke up from an awesome dream this morning about walking along beaches, birding the Cretaceous Interior Seaway.

It was a dream entirely made of win. My subconsious now has Nyctosaurus, Hersperonis, and Icthyornis on it's life list, along with many others. I'd have to say this is the coolest dream I've had in a long time :-)

Now to take a nap, where I hope I can see more!

I feel another poem coming later, but for now I will leave you with an old song from Early Medieval Brittany:

( Bale Azur-The March of Arthur )

I find it rather fits with the beat my mood is in right now. I just need some time to sit and figure out what needs to be done to bring this to an end without destroying a hundred bridges and laying waste to the countryside, metaphorically speaking.

Τὴν ἀκαταμάχητον, ὦ Μονομάχε, ἐν ταῖς μάχαις ἔχων με σύμμαχον μάχου. And that is how I shall be.

I feel like running away, somewhere past the sunset. I don't know where, but that's how I feel. I want to run as far away as I can, to a place where I can just...be away from all of it. The past always haunts me, and I can't get away from it. It's the curse, the curse of being human, I suppose. I wish I could just...not care. But since I do, all I can do is run, scatter myself into the four winds and seven seas, and try to disappear.

I just want to go. I'm tired of one person working to drive me insane with guilt. I can't have feelings of my own which got hurt? I'm tired of this. I'm tired of it all. I just want to sleep and have it go away, to run into a hermit cave and stay there, forever, throwing rocks at people who get too close. It's what I should be doing, anyway, when people get too close. It'd prevent problems like this from ever happening again. I can't allow this sort of thing to happen again, and that's that. Time to slam shut the gates, lock them, throw away the key, then weld them shut even more, and throw away the blowtorch.

Nikos is chattering away behind me, on the chair though. He's laughing, just said "I'm a pretty boy", blew kisses and said "Thank you!" and "I love you" and is in general just being adorable. I know he's trying to cheer me up, but it's not working as well as I think he'd like it to be.

I think I'm going to go birding somewhere for a while, get out of here for a little bit.