Mo women mo problems

The Greeks apparently hadn't read the story of Adam and Eve. They didn't know how dangerous the female could be. A wife was taken and a war was waged between the Trojans and the Greeks. The battle was pretty intense and the gods were rooting on their favorite teams with the occasional intervention. After mounting losses Odysseus thought up a new plan. He plans to build a giant horse that the Trojans will wheel right into their otherwise impregnable city (it's well protected). Once inside the Trojans begin the post victory celebration and the Greeks use this alcohol induced stupor to slaughter the Trojans. Thus ending the Greek Trojan was and the battle for Helen. 

I dream of a journey much like that of Odysseus. I want to leave what I know and see that I've never known. I love travel, but I hate being a tourist. I want to travel the world but as a part of it not just an observer. Unlike Odysseus I don't necessarily want a final destination in mind. I simply want to go and experience the freedom of just being where I am before I one day return to my home prepare to slaughter any suitors unfortunate enough to try take my place.

http://roadsidewonders.net/huge-wooden-trojan-horse/

The toy that brought a city to its knees.

Before, during, and after the beginning

In the beginning there was God( in all three parts just for clarification). He was lonely and the angels provided little enjoyment with their pathetic squabbles. In response to this situation he began to create. He began with light, but then moved on to create the heavens and the earth. He created water, land, night, day, and sky. He also created animals: birds of the sky, fish of the sea, and everything in between. All of these things were good, but something was missing; dog was no ones best friend. In response God breathed life into the dust and named it Adam, but Adam's chest was too boney so God put him down for a nap and took out his rib and used it to make a woman named Eve. She is given a bad rap for her affinity for fruit, but Adam stood by and watched her eat the fruit more than likely to see if curiosity would really kill the cat much like God had warned. Unfortunately he didn't wait long enough because death began much later.

My creation is far less impressive than that of Genesis. I was born as most babies are to a family that was fairly average. Women already existed so I got to keep all my ribs. I spent years growing until in a seeming insignificant moment I took my bite of forbidden fruit. I don't remember it, but things have been downhill ever since. 

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2013/01/13/confirmed-apple-has-2-employees-in-the-cic-but-wont-tell-anyone-what-theyre-up-to-yet/apple-logo-2/

The forbidden fruit.

Odysseus

This story is set during the Trojan wars between the Greeks and the Trojans. The Trojans are protected inside the walled city of Troy. For this, the Greeks find it hard to attack them. They need a plan to invade. So Odysseus develops a plan. He pitches the idea that they should build a large horse built of wood that is hollow inside, and then all of the Greek soldier would hide inside. One man would stay out and present it to the Trojans as a peace offering. The Trojans naively accept and celebrate immensely. They get very drunk, and while they are drunk the Greeks jump out of the trojan horse and attack them. The fact that they were drunk made it very easy for the Greeks to attack.

Analyzing this story, there are a couple of themes to look at. The fact that the Trojans accepted this so quickly tells how we should never accept everything for face value. This can be applied to many things, but one application of this could be to media. Media is often a trojan horse in the fact that they present things to make us believe what THEY want us to believe, but it is often not true. Another theme in this story is how the Trojans get very drunk when they get this peace offering. Their drunkedness makes it easy for the Greeks to attack them, thus telling us to never abuse or overindulge in things.

My dream journey would be traveling the world. If everything in my life were perfect, I would go to a good college, get out and work for the Food network and travel the world trying different foods on my TV show and seeing all the amazing cities and cultures throughout the world.

Genesis 4

Chapter 4 of Genesis is that of genealogy and how man began to call upon the name of the Lord. First, Eve gives birth to two sons. Cain and Abel. One day, Abel brings God a grand offer, and Cain does not bring as good of an offer. God commends Abel, and Cain is mad that God did not thank him as he did Abel. Furious, Cain kills Abel. For this, God curses Cain. Down the genealogy line Cain's children have children who have children who have Lamech. he is very boastful and says "If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold". Then Eve has seth, and Seth has Enos, and man begins to call upon the name of the lord. 

An analysis of this is when Cain kills Abel. This is obviously out of jealousy. This story is teaching us a lesson that jealousy is an evil trait to have. Instead, one should be happy for the other person.

To connect this to myself, I don't have really have conflicts with my siblings. They are all either half siblings or step siblings, and I never had any of them before I was a teenager, and once I was a teenager I was old enough to not get in conflicts with these step/half siblings. But my two step brothers do often get in conflicts, and it is interesting to watch. They are very competitive and fight about EVERYTHING. One is always trying to one up the other. I don't understand why they can't just get along. I think part of the reason is that they are each other's punching bags. All the anger they have pent up they release onto each other. They never get anywhere when they fight, and often get in trouble for doing so. Just like Cain killing Abel in Genesis.

"(give me your hand, 
blood is spilt and man will follow 
infernal man, punishment too great to bear) 
Conceived and born was one of light 
Rain and dark, the other born black night.

Raise your head and taste the courage 
(the one of light) 
Fall from grace, unholy night 
I’ve come here to kill you, 
won’t leave until you’ve died 
Murder born of vengeance, 
I closed my brother’s eyes tonight… 

(give me your hand, 
blood is spilt and man will follow 
infernal man, punishment too great to bear) 
Conceived and born was one of light 
Rain and dark, the other born black night.

Raise your head and taste the courage 
(the one of light) 
Fall from grace, unholy night 
I’ve come here to kill you, 
won’t leave until you’ve died 
Murder born of vengeance, 
I closed my brother’s eyes tonight… 

It’s cold tonight as the clouds turn grey 
and from my hands to my brother’s grave 
You took his side, you took his gift, 
feel the power of a fallen man, crestfallen man… 

Far away in this land I must go, 
out of the sight of The One. 
A punishment sent from his hands 
a hardship that no one should know 
Now go out of the sight of The One, 
away in this land you must go. 

“Where has he gone? What have you done?”
A voice commands from high above this earth. 
“From the soil his blood cries out to me, 
Murder, liar, vengeance, deceit.” 

Far away in this land I must go, 
out of the sight of The One. 
A punishment sent from his hands 
a hardship that no one should know 
Now go out of the sight of The One, 
away in this land you must go."

This is a song called Chapter Four by Avenged Sevenfold, which is obviously about Genesis 4... as is the name of the band.

the trojan horse

During the Trojan War the Greeks fought the city of Troy. Troy was built on a hill with walls surrounding it which made it almost impossible for any unwanted person to enter the city. After ten years the war had come to a stand still -- the Greeks could not get over the wall and the Trojans could not make the Greeks leave. A Greek general named Odysseus had an idea though. He proposed that the Greeks build a giant hollow wooden horse and offer it to the Trojans as a gift to declare to admit their defeat. Thirty of the strongest Greek soldiers would hide inside and the rest would pretend to sail away. Then when the Trojans brought the horse into the city all the Greek soldiers would wait until the whole city was asleep jump out of the horse, open the gates and let all the other Greek soldiers in and attack. That's exactly what happened and that was the end of the city of Troy.

My dream journey is to travel with my grandparents all over Europe. We will go to Greece, France, Italy, England, Poland, Hungry, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, everywhere! We will stay in the most luxurious hotels and eat at the finest restaurants and shop at the most expensive boutiques. While having tea one day we will be approached by an old man claiming to be my Jogie's uncle only to find out that we are Royalty and I really am a princess. It is then that I will take my rightful place as Princess of {I dont really care what country, I am not picky} and meet my Prince and live happily ever after.

I actually am taking a similar trip this summer. My grandparents and I are going to Greece, France, Italy, England, Poland and Hungry. We probably will stay in very nice hotels, eat at very fine restaurants, and, knowing my gramma, shop at many many boutiques. When I am with my Gramma and Jogie I feel and am treated like a princess anyways so I guess I will have to live without finding out I am the heir to the throne of some random country in Europe.

Trojan Horse

The Greeks were fighting the Trojans in this big ol' Trojan War. Since the Greeks weren't fightin' on their own turf, they needed a plan. So they decided to pretend to pack up and go home. But really, they all suited up with their armor and got into this huge wooden horse that they left in the beach. As the Greek boats sailed away, all of Troy started to party hard. Once they were all good and drunk, the Greeks jumped out and slaughtered 'em all. Then they raped and enslaved the women and children.

I am all about adventures. I wanna go everywhere, see everything, be apart of it all. There's some kind of appeal in that idea that has literally possessed me since I was a very small child. My adventures abroad will begin this summer when I do part of a pilgramage trek called the Camino de Santiago de Compostella through France and Spain. If you're in need of an awesome movie, which happens to be my personal favorite, The Way is the way to go. It's a film that's based on The Camino and will most likely rock your world (unless you're Jessie Kono and you hate it...)

credits: http://www.arlnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/the-way-movie-poster.jpg

What happens when you tick off the Greeks.

"Now you, Lancelot, and I will jump out of the bunny." "Wait what?" "You Lancelot and I will jump out. Oh oh um. So we'll build a giant wooden badger." Monty Python reenvisioned the story of the Trojan horse in their movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In the true story, they basically do the same thing but instead of failing to get inside they do so and jump out taking them "utterly by surprise" and killing all the Trojans. So basically we glorify the worst most vicious trick ever which resulted in the desruction of a culture. Ironically the Trojans got the Greeks back as according to the Aenead that the Romans came from the Trojans and they eventually conquered the Greeks sooooo that's awkward.
As far as me I want an adventure. I really don't care where I go as long as I get to do something truly special. Something that no one else has ever expirienced before.

Trojan Horse

Odysseus,  the Great Tactician, consummated a great plan  for the Greeks to finally defeat the  Trojans. In the Ancient Greek times, the offering of a horse was considered surrendering. So Odysseus and the Greek soldiers tore down a good amount of the ships to make a humongous wooden horse. Some of the Greek soldiers hid in the Horse.While others of the soldiers "sailed" away from Troy; the horse was left at the gates of Troy. The Trojans being completely oblivious to the real deception of the Greek openly accepted the Horse without too much skepticism. The Trojans celebrated their victory, with the whole city becoming very drunk. That night after everyone had passed out. The hidden soldiers came out of the horse and slaughtered almost all of the Trojans and raided the city.

My dream journey would be a complete travel of the United States. Visiting all 50 states. It would just be nice to see all the states and what they have to offer. I have already been or traveled through about half of the states. But didn't really have the time I wanted to enjoy these states. So for my dream journey I love to be anle to spend a week in each state.

Journey to Hogwarts

In the midst of the Trojan War, Odysseus developed a plan to defeat the Trojans. They ended up building a massive wooden horse that they could all fit into except one, which they left outside of the fortified city of Troy. The one person left standing outside of the horse would tell the Trojans that the Greeks left it there for them as a gift. Stupidly, the Trojans bring the horse right into the city and celebrate their "victory."
What with all the celebrating, the Trojans ended up getting drunk, making it simple for the Greeks to emerge from the horse and slaughter them all.


My dream journey would probably be far less gory than Odysseus', maybe. It would most likely entail voyaging to Scotland where my Grammy (great-grandmother) is from to get to see where she lived and meet some of my relatives that still live there. A nice perk to this journey
would be getting to hear my favorite accent in the world on a daily basis. The real journey part of this excursion would be when I would inevitably go on a hunt for Hogwarts in the Highlands of Scotland. I have a bone to pick with them, see, because of the whole lack of acceptance letter six years ago.

The Trojan Horse

It’s the Trojan War and the Greek strategist Odysseus must devise a plan to defeat the Trojans once and for all. The walls of Troy are high and mighty – this war cannot be won by a mere all-out attack. Instead, Odysseus opted for a plan of deception. He planned to stuff the Greek soldiers into a large wooden horse, now dubbed the “Trojan Horse,” which a Greek soldier would bring to the Trojans under the guise of an appeasement gift, as they seemingly had surrendered and needed to make amends with the goddess Athena. What the Trojans had in military strength they lacked in critical thinking skills, as to me it would seem suspicious that all the Greek soldiers had miraculously disappeared and now a giant wooden horse was being presented to me. Oh well. The Trojans accepted the gift and the horse was brought into Troy. That night, a celebration was held, and the Trojans served no shortage of spirits to celebrate. Oh, if only they had known. Inebriated and unprepared to defend themselves, the Trojans were helpless when the Greek soldiers sprang from the horse and began to slaughter the Trojan populace. With that lapse in critical judgment, the Trojans lost the war over Helen of Troy’s pretty face.

My dream journey? It’s hard to describe, as I am a typical white person and describe my life goal as seeing the world. And it’s true – I have many places I want to see and only so many resources to get there. From a young age I planned to learn Chinese and eventually Japanese so I could have a job relating to international relations with East Asia, so naturally I am interested in traveling there. I want to see Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, Laos, the gamut of it. I also want to tour Europe to see if it’s true that Europeans have no spine not just the monuments but how the peoples of these nations live. My confusing status in my quest to learn Spanish takes me to South America, where perhaps I might learn the language more quickly than I could in limbo where I’m not in Spanish classes anymore but still want to learn the language.

Africa and the Middle-East are something else. It’s not a race thing – it’s just the thought of venturing to some of the countries in those regions frightens me a little. I’d elaborate, but this post is almost due and I don’t have much of worth to add anyway. Huzzah!

Odysseus and the Trojan Horse

Towards the end of the ten-year war with Troy, Odysseus, a master thinker, created a plan to get inside of the walls of Troy. His plan was to build a giant horse out of wood and present it to the Trojans as a peace offering. Ha! (I still don’t understand how they fell for that.) This giant wooden horse was not a peace offering. Actually a bunch of the best Greek soldiers were sneakily hiding out in the hollow inside of the horse. Their plan was to crawl out at night, open the gates of Troy to let in their fellow soldiers and then kill all of the drunk and sleepy Trojans. Well, they were supposed to kill everybody but Odysseus let a man named Aeneas escape. This is ironic because Aeneas was said to go on to found Rome, which eventually defeated Greece. Then Odysseus embarked on his ten-year journey to return to Ithica.

I am so fortunate to have been able to go many places I have dreamed of. Despite this I still want to go back to Paris, Rome, Berlin and Madrid. I would love to tour Europe in a Lorelei and Rory (Gilmore Girls) back packing trip where I revisit where I have been and also go to other cities like Prague and Athens. If I ever find the guts, time or money I would love to spend a year in Europe. If only I were so lucky. Really though, I want to go everywhere. Right now Buenos Aires and India are at the top of my list.  There are too many places for one lifetime, for now I’m just adding more and more to my list.

For the past few years I have been dreaming of living in Rome. It could happen.

     Paris is where I would go to for vacation if I lived in Rome and it got too sunshine-y.

It Couldn't Possibly Be A Trap

Before you ever read the actual story and you only know about the horse tricking them into getting into the story you always think "why in the world would they bring the dang thing in?" After reading it that makes a bit more sense but still wow superstition and crap. Anyway, so the story goes that the Greeks were trying to defeat the Trojans -- get the upper hand in the war and all. Since that wasn't working out, brilliant Odysseus came up with the plan to build a giant wooden horse, stick all of the best warriors in it, and try to get the people of Troy to take it into the city as a sneak attack. By tricking the Trojans into thinking that Athena was mad at the Greeks and the horse was a way to appease her, and that by not taking it into the city they were also angering her, the Greeks managed to get the Trojans to pull the giant wooden horse into the city and up to their temple. Then of course the warriors hidden in the horse attacked and the rest of the army (hiding close by) also attacked, after being let into the city by the Greek warriors already in the city. Let's just say it wasn't really the best day for the Trojans -- Troy fell that night.

Quite frankly it'd be easier to talk about where I wouldn't like to go. My journey would be long and winding, assuming that someone else was paying for my trip, that is. I'm open to pretty much everywhere, though there are certain stops that I'd really like to make. Europe sounds cool, I'd love to go pretty much anywhere in Europe. I also would like to make stops in the Middle East, Egypt, Turkey,  Iran, all of them (assuming that's safe enough to do). I'd also love to go to India, for the culture as well as for an authentic taste of the food! I'd then make a stop in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to look around, see the sights, and see my friend Tasneem, who I haven't actually seen in person since 5th grade. I'd love to peek around that entire area, loop up and see the sights in China, Japan and Korea as well. While all of those places are on the Eurasian continent, I'd also enjoy traveling to various parts of Africa and South America (dunno where exactly, just somewhere).

All of that said, my journey would be sadly lopsided if I didn't also see the western United States, since the furthest west I've really been is probably Chicago. The farthest away I've been is Toronto, and Canada is also the only foreign soil I've ever stepped on. I've also never been in a plane, but with my crippling fear of heights that's probably all for the better. So my journey would be long and I'd probably not want to do all of it at the same time, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't want to go through with it.

Have you SEEN the spiders in Australia?

Mkay so there was Troy, and the Trojans and the Greeks were just boxing day after day trying to take control of it. The Greeks couldn't get far enough into Troy to completely take it, and the Trojans couldn't unify to vote the Greeks off the island. One day, a Greek general, Odysseus, was just done with that life and he decided that the Greeks were going to pretend to leave. It was Greek tradition to give a gift when they accepted defeat, and the Greeks were for sure known for their art. Somebody was like, "Yo, what about a wooden horse?" and everyone was like "Yeah, definitely. That's a totally normal idea for a gift." So the Greeks had their best artists build the gosh darn thing, and then they climbed inside it. Everyone else's got on a boat and pretended to sail away, and so when the Trojan archers saw they were leaving and that others were bringing a big arse gift, they were like, "THAT'S WHAT'S UP!" and they just let the Greeks gift them that horse. There was gargantuan celebration, and people were getting wasteeeeeed. Additionally, some of the intelligent people were like, "Yo, what if we burned it? That'd be pretty cool. We could get some smorez going on and we could roast some weenies. Bonfire type stuff." But no one was really down with that because they thought it was a pretty pony and they wanted to use it as a symbol for their victory (oh sweet irony). So after the whole town was wasted and passed out, the Greeks broke out and killed all the dudes and then enslaved everyone else.
Fin.

Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this way, but I want my great journey to be a compilation of my great journeys in life. I want to go to Spain and Argentina and and Australia (only maybe Australia because they have some crazy spiders though and I am so not about that) and Great Britain and Scotland and I think maybe even for a little bit I'd like to live in Peru and/or New Zealand. I think that'd be pretty amazing. And then when I was old and wrinkly, I could tell my grandkids (assuming I have them) about the incredible journey that was my life because I was a totally amazing old gal and back in my day you actually had to fly to these places not teleport.


One of the spiders in Australia. Their legs can be 15 cm long. That's roughly six inches. That spider has half-a-foot-long legs.
I think not.

Huzzah for the Trojan Horse!

The story of the Trojan Horse begins at the near end of the Trojan War. Our boy Odysseus is trying to think of some ingenious plan to end the war with the victory of the Greeks, and he finally comes up with a solution--the Trojan Horse. The Greeks make a plan to construct an enormous wooden horse and all hide in it, while one member has the job of acting as though they left him behind and then explaining the horse to the Trojans. This all goes according to plan (although there are several Trojans who can tell something is amiss; fortunately for the Greeks, they are ignored.) and the Trojans accept the horse as a gift. The Greeks emerge from the horse to find the Trojans drunk, celebrating their supposed victory, and thus are able to easily slaughter the soldiers and capture the town.

I don't really know where I'd want to go if I could go anywhere I wanted... there are too many options! I'd love to return to the Badlands in South Dakota, and of course there's England and Scotland, and the time I spent in Guatemala was one of the most amazing times of my life... so difficult to decide! It's funny, though; I've been thinking about places to go, mostly in the continental US, a lot lately, but not because they'd be somewhere that I'd go. I'm writing a young adult novel for my mentoring project, and it's about four teenagers on a road trip. It's kinda a horrible thing that I'm still figuring out where on earth my characters are going, but I honestly don't know yet. I've been trying to figure out the places the four of them individually would want to go, and then see if there's a good path between them all, but I seem to be coming to conclusions of Maine and the Grand Teton National Park (and probably the Badlands, too), which is potentially very problematic, given that the two are not what one might call neighbors. I digress! The point is that the possibilities are endless for myself, but that I have in fact been considering journeys and trips more often than usual in the past few weeks.

Look! Just look at the Badlands! If you don't think they're beautiful, then I will...  respectfully disagree with you. So beautiful! I'll probably live through my characters and send them here, at least for a little while.

Odysseus and the Trojan Horse

This story takes place during the Trojan War, the war against the Greeks and the Trojans. The Trojans are protected by a wall that wraps around their whole city, making it very difficult for the Greeks to conquer and win. Odysseus wants to invade the city of Troy, so he comes up with a master plan. The Greeks build a giant wooden horse that the Trojans think is a gift but once the Trojans bring the horse inside the walls, all of the Greeks jumped out of the horse. They killed most of the city of Troy and enslaved the children and women.

I have many dreams. I want to graduate college, get my dream job, have a family, and just have a great life. And, I hope, all of the dreams come true. Although these are all a part of my "dream journey," my ultimate dream is to just be as happy as I can be. If you dream of having a great life, you might as well dream of enjoying it too. I want all of my dreams to come true, but I want to be truly happy with whatever life gives me. As Albert Schweitzer once said, "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."

Odysseus and the Trojan Horse

As the war between the Trojans and the Greeks raged on, the Trojans took cover behind the giant walls of their great city Troy. Knowing that once behind these walls the Trojans would not be an easy adversary to defeat, the Greeks needed to devise a plan. As if in an act of surrender, the Greeks built a giant horse to present as a gift to the Trojans. The giant wooden horse was so big that the main gates of Troy had to be opened in  order to bring it in. But the horse was not a gift. The horse had been hollowed out and filled with Greek soldiers ready for a surprise attack against the Trojans. When the horse entered the city, the soldiers waited until nightfall and then attacked. Troy fell and the Greeks emerged from the battle victorious.



My dream journey is to go on a trip in which I visit all of the 7 continents. I think I would be an amazing experience to visit all of these places sequentially in order to understand the vast differences in both culture and geography around the world. Though it is unlikely I will ever be able to take a single drawn out trip in which I visit all 7 continents, I do hope to visit them all at some point throughout my life.

Odysseus and the Trojan Horse

The Trojan War has been raging for years, but the end draws close. Odysseus and his Greek comrades are trying to invade the gates of Troy, with little success. But! Clever Odysseus has a plan. Naturally, he decides to build a huge wooden horse and give it to the Greeks as a victory gift. Or so they thought. The horse was actually filled with members of the Trojan army, ready to spring into attack as soon as the Greeks went to sleep. They would then open the gates of Troy from the inside and let the full army in, slaughtering the Greeks and winning the war.

I'm not sure what kind of "journey" I want to have. I just want to see where the road takes me, and whatever happens happens. I want to go to college and have an awesome time there, and eventually settle down somewhere. I would just like to enjoy life, and never take anything too seriously. We can sometimes get so wrapped up in work or school that we never have any fun, and on my journey, I strive to never be like that. And also, if I ever end up inside of a horse something has gone dangerously wrong.

No More Trojans.

The Greeks and Trojans are fighting in the Trojan War. The Trojans are protected behind a big wall. It didn't look good for the Greeks, so they had to come up with another idea for how to win the war. Odysseus came up with a plan to build a big wooden horse and fill it with soldiers and have them jump out and attack the Trojans. The Trojans believe they have won the war, so they all get shit-faced and celebrate. During the celebration the Greeks flooded out of the horse and killed the male Trojans and enslaved the women and children.

My dream journey is to hop the border and go to Mexico. In Mexico I will capture 5 very small Mexicans. Maybe they'll be kids, maybe not. But I'll put them in my car and tell them that they're going to have a better life with me. We'll start a mariachi band deep rooted in American culture. We will sing about how I captured all of the members and we'll also sing pop songs that will make it onto the radio. I will develop a deep emotional attachment to each of the members, but I'll eventually have to bring them back to their homeland of Mexico. There will be tears, but we'll hop the border again and I'll return them back to where they were living. Approx. time of trip will be roughly 3 years.

Odysseus and the Trojan Horse

The story of Odysseus and the Trojan Horse is a familiar one to all of us. The Trojan War is taking place between the Greeks and the Trojans; Odysseus and the Greeks are trying to invade Troy with little success. Odysseus comes up with a plan to build a giant wooden horse to be presented to the Trojans as a gift of surrender. All of the Greek soldiers except one hid in the horse and it was brought into Troy. The Trojans celebrated and got drunk, then in the middle of the night the Greeks climbed out of the horse and easily took over the city. They killed the men and enslaved the women and children.

My dream journey is to travel the world and then return home and settle down. I want to visit all seven continents, study abroad as much as possible, and leave Lexington for work. I have already had the opportunity to travel to several countries in Europe, most of the 50 states, Mexico, Canada, and the Bahamas, but I want to take a long trip after I graduate from college. I believe traveling is one of the most important things a person can do. You can see different places around the world as well as learning different languages and cultures. Once I return home to Lexington or elsewhere, I want to settle down and start a family. My dream journey is to travel and go to exotic and new places while I am still young, then settle down.

This is an image of the Trojan War (http://annoyzview.wordpress.com/)

Wooden Horse of the West

So the story of Odysseus is super familiar to all of us having read it and studied it multiple times but here we go anyway.
So it's the Trojan War, this big stupid war started because stupid ol' Paris decided he wanted a gorg woman as his wife and now everyone is fighting over this gorgeous woman named Helen and it's all very dumb because why do hundreds of people have to die so one dude can have a hot wife. Anyway it's the end of the war and there's this great plan among the Greeks (mostly Odysseus, he was always the brains) - they start packing up their stuff as if they're conceding the war to the Trojans, then the Trojans get all drunk at night celebrating a war they haven't quite won, and so when they see this great big wooden horse statue they thing "Oh cool brah the Greeks left us this gift as a testament to our might" and they roll that big guy inside the city walls and then those clever ol' Greek dudes in their tiny battle skirts hop out of inside the horse statue when everyone in Troy is drunk and asleep and they slaughter all the men and enslave the women and children because that's what good invaders do after they achieve a duplicitous victory.

When thinking about the greatest journey I could go on I mostly think about the way I would really like my life to progress, at least in a geographic sense. Having been born out in the western US I've really fallen in love with it. I sort of see myself drifting that way the older I get. For college I'm going north like I've always wanted - Chicago or New York or maybe Maine - then as I grow older I hope to go further west, maybe to San Francisco, definitely Portland when I'm in my late 20s or early 30s, and maybe later go up to Seattle. I've always really been in love with the idea of retiring to Alaska and spending the last part of my life around the natural world. I suppose in a way I'm being drawn back to my home in the west, returning to my personal roots, but also to my origins as a human being, drifting back towards the rugged and the wild of the nature that humans as a whole seem to seek to separate themselves from.

Me and my future home somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Original artwork, do not steal.

Never Accept Presents from the Enemy

So the story of Odysseus...we've all heard it before, right? Read about it in (multiple) English classes even. Regardless, the story of Odysseus and the Trojan Horse is only a small fraction of Odysseus's journey, but important nonetheless. It's the Trojan War between the Trojans and the Greeks and the Trojans are well protected behind the fortified walls of the city of Troy. But, Odysseus was a sneaky one he was, and he came up with the idea to build a giant wooden horse in which all but one of the Greeks would hide. Then, the one remaining Greek would add as a spokesperson and tell the Trojans that the Greek had left and given them the giant horse as a "Congrats, you won the war!" type deal. Their plan worked flawlessly, and once inside, while the Trojans were rejoicing and getting drunk, celebrating a war they didn't win, the Greeks all poured out of the horse and slaughtered the men and enslaved the men and children. So that just goes to show, always look a gift wooden horse in the mouth.

As for my dream journey, I sure hope it's not as hazard-filled as Odysseus's. It's funny, because when I think of my dream journey, I always end up thinking of where I will eventually settled down. And stay. Cause, who wants to be a Cain, an aimless wanderer forever? Though, that's not to say I wouldn't like some adventure and exploration! And when it comes to where I would like to one day live, or even where I would like to live for that matter, I tend to teeter on the two extremes of the spectrum. I can imagine myself going urban, in the middle of the hustle-and-bustle, living in some swanky loft overlooking the traffic-filled streets of....wherever. But then, I could also picture myself in an urban setting, owning an old cottage or victorian house in the middle of nowhere which I renovated, and I could own chickens, and I could relax, and the air would be clean and fresh and everything would be peaceful. Comparing those two, I have no idea where I'll end up, so I guess that takes me to the journey again. I want to be able to experience (most) everything at least (cliched, I know) because maybe, if I do it all, backpack somewhere, take a month long road trip, anything, I might just discover enough about myself that I realize what it is I actually want, whether it be rural or urban. Or hell, suburbia (though I'm not holding my breath for that one.)

Not Good Enough for God

So the story of Cain and Abel is basically that there were two bros, and by that I mean actual brothers, though I guess they were probably bros as well, who worked really hard and both sought to honor God. So yeah one day God is all "Yo dawg why don't you lay out a sacrifice for me so I can inhale those sick fumes" and so Cain, being a farmer, offers up God some wheat and herbs and stuff and Abel, being a shepherd, kills a cute adorbs lil lamb and burns its flesh in some sort of creepy-sounding ritual. Anyway so God rejects Cain's offering (HUGE theological implications there, it's been the focus of thousands of studies) and favors Abel. And yeah Cain is totes pissed and goes off and kills his bro (not cool dude, bros before deities yo) and then God is all "Yo dawg where's your bro" and Cain is all "Sod off God I ain't keepin track of that guy all the time he can take care of himself" and God is like "Yo dawg you're his bro it's your responsibility to take care of him and now that you've killed him I gotta invoke my sick magykks and curse you" and then now you've got stories about Cain being the Wandering Jew, this undying, bitter, scorned Jewish wanderer present at all the major biblical events, even though that's a totally unfounded story and Cain probably died miserable and alone of natural causes at a ripe old age of Very Very Old because everyone lived a long time in those days according to the Bible.

Anyway I've always had an incredibly deep personal connection to this story, it's without a doubt my favorite biblical story and possibly one of my favorite stories in general. What really bothers me about it is that Cain offered what he had, he offered the fruits of his labor, and God rejected it in favor of something Cain couldn't possibly have offered. A lot of theologians have sort of explained God's rejection as more of an issue with Cain's attitude towards the sacrifice, like maybe Cain was too proud of what he brought to God, or that maybe Cain didn't work as hard as Abel did to make his offering and thus his was worth less, but none of it really satisfies. Because honestly Cain had one thing in this world and he chose to sacrifice some of that one thing to God, to honor him, to worship him, and God spurned him. I really identify with Cain, because for many many years during my life I sought to honor God, to please him by offering what I had, yet every single moment of my life I was surrounded by people who claimed that what I was, who I was as a gay man, dishonored God. So it was a huge struggle because I would offer myself to him, everything I had, but I was constantly told I wasn't wanted by him, that what I had to offer displeased God. I felt, and still feel, Cain's resentment. All I have in this world to offer is myself. And all I have to offer has been rejected. Of course I'll never kill my fellow man over that rejection, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't harbor resentment towards every straight person, every straight Christian, who seems to be favored by God.

All I wanted was to please him. And like Cain, I never could.

CainAbel

Adam and Eve had two sons: Cain (the eldest) and Abel (the younger one). Cain was a  farmer, so he maintained the crops. Abel was a shepherd, so he watched over the sheep and lambs. One day God asked the two brothers to a make a sacrifice to him. Abel being selflessness and a a God-loving man chose his best lamb to sacrifice. Cain was more of a wordly thinker, so he decided since he had plenty of crops that year he would just offer some wheat or something. But God took favor to Abel's offering and this angered Cain. So Cain asked Abel to go on a walk with him, and Cain killed Abel. But instead of questioning his murderous act he just hoped that no one had seen him do it. But God sees all and so he asked Cain, "Where is Abel thy brother?" and Cain said "I know not: Am i my brother's keeper?" God cursed Cain for his act and Cain was forever shamed.

I am an only child, but recently my family has acquired a new member into our household. She is a rascal. She can't sit still. Her hands have to be touching everything. Her nose has to be in everything. And now that she can talk she has an opinion. Hurricane Halaya that's what i call her, she's three, still in that "terrible twos" stage i guess.

Cain (Paige) & Abel (Stewart)

Cain and Abel are the offspring of the first humans, Adam and Eve. Cain was the eldest and worked in agriculture, while Abel worked with the livestock. As an offering to God, Abel presented to him fat portions from his livestock. Cain did the same, but with his produce. The lord favored Abel's offering over Cain's, which the latter did not appreciate. Cain, then, invited Abel out to the fields, where he proceeded to kill his brother. Because he had done this, God punished him with a curse of having infertile soil for the rest of his life. He also marked him so that nobody was allowed to kill him either.

You wouldn't know by looking at pictures of us, but my brother, Stewart, and
I did not coexist well, as the above picture might lead you to believe.

Okay while my brother and I, by no means, got along when we were younger, I don't think either one of us felt the overwhelming urge to kill the other. I am perfectly willing to admit now that I was an awful child. Stewart so lovingly calls me the spawn of Satan (like Cain, perhaps?). He backs this up with the story of the time that we were in church when I was around 6 or 7 and had a complete tantrum and was screaming my head off (don't ask me why) until my parents had to drag me out. "See, she can't even stand to be in church! She is a demon child!" I would just like to take this time now to apologize to my big brother for being such a nuisance throughout our childhood. Thankfully now, we got on just fine!

Sibling rivarly is not so new after all....

"15th Century Depiction of Cain and Abel, Speculum Humane Salvationis, Germany. [Medieval Mystery Plays: Cain and Abel]." Medievalists.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.


...this is for you, mom, who said siblings don't fight.

After we meet Adam and Eve in the first three chapters of the Bible, we are introduced to their kids Abel and Cain (or Abel and Cayn as these old Germans called them). Abel and Cain were brothers and Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer. Both of these things are necessary because the good life is all about meat and potatoes...or bread....or rice. But God did not praise Cain for his offerings and did praise Abel. Not cool. Cain got crazy jealous and killed Abel. That was not nice of him. So God cursed him and his fields.

Sibling rivalries are incredibly prevalent in almost every family I've met. Except for my mother's so she never understood why my sister and I would fight...loudly...and all the time. When I went to Germany my host mom told me she had plotted to kill her sister when she was 8 because her sister got to name the horse. That seemed irrational. Then again, most sibling rivalries are. My host sisters would scream all the time about things like feeding the bunny rabbit or for no reason at all. My sister and I would bite each others head off at the first opportunity before I left for Germany, but it settled down when I got home because she and her host sister didn't get along. (Her host sister said she looked like a fish.) In the end, we get along. I could never kill her, but mostly because I don't like blood. She wants to be a doctor though (she doesn't mind blood) so maybe I should be worried.

Sorry, Trinity

In chapter 4 of Genesis, Eve gives birth to her first son Cain and later to her second son, Abel. Abel was a shepherd and Cain a farmer. Abel offered to God fat portions from the firstborn of his flock, while Cain offered some of the fruits he had grown. But God isn’t about that hippie vegetarian foolishness and preferred Abel’s offering to Cain’s (duh). Cain got mad and killed Abel when God was off doing whatever else God does. When he discovered Cain had killed his brother, God cursed Cain to never be able to grow any crops again. He did, however, guarantee Cain he would not be murdered.

There’s also a guy named Lamech in this chapter who kills someone and tells his wives he has to be forgiven because Cain was forgiven. Thank goodness we don’t use that logic anymore today.

(I see, reading the new version of NIV, that they’ve stopped using the word “knew” and instead simply say “made love.” I guess because “knowing” your wife doesn’t sound sexy at all yet “having sex” is still too blunt for a holy text.)

 

My older sister is 22 and, mysteriously, still lives at home. I’m sure we’d get along more if she moved out and I didn’t have to see her every day, but the fact remains that there are days in which I honestly cannot stand her. I think I was meant to end this paragraph with a disclaimer on how at the end of the day I really do get along with her, but if I’m being honest I secretly count down the days until she finally decides to stop spending her every paycheck and starts saving up enough to find her own apartment. Sorry, Trinity. You do make me laugh quite a bit, but this whole coming home at five thing while making all kinds of noise has really got to stop.