Many of the truths we cling to...

One of the primary thoughts in my head today has been this: Our preconceived notions come true... and by this I don't mean that our preconceived notions ARE true. It's just that when we have already made up our mind, it warps our perceptions and crafts the world into the form of which we were already certain. We do this with all sorts of things that we encounter on a day to day basis, but the place where it does the most damage is with people. We categorize them and think that we have them "figured out". We dehumanize them, sometimes villanize them, and as soon as they act in a way that gives even the slightest hint of proof to our prescient visions, we "close the book" on that individual because we were right all along. We've got to start seeing people in three dimensions instead of limiting ourselves to our own stupid, first-person perspective on life. People have DEPTH that cannot be glanced in surface interaction. I keep coming back to this idea in my life: we need to cut each other slack. We have to stop being quick to judge others, allow them to make mistakes, and allow them to be PEOPLE. I'm not saying its easy... I'm just saying it needs done.

Believe it or not, as I'm typing this, we think Alesha may be starting labor. She has been having steady contractions all night, but they have suddenly stopped. This is, of course, all part of the natural order of things, but we get the vibe that we could be parents even sooner than expected. (Though we've been calling for a June 25 due date even though the doctor says the 29th.) I'll keep you updated!

While awaiting the arrival of Aurora, I've been up to three things:

1. The Alive Festival- It was a two-and-a-half hour drive from RadioU to Canal Fulton today. The drive only takes two hours but the people we were with had to stop and have breakfast. (No, I don't mean hitting the drive thru to grab something to eat on the way. I mean sitting down to have breakfast. This is all wonderful and good for those who are remaining at the festival all day but for those of us who could leave when our assignments were done, breakfast seemed like a waste of time.) I got a chance to see House of Heroes play their set and they continue to be EXCELLENT. It rained the majority of the time that we were there but we did manage to get next week's weekend edition of TMW finished despite the weather. The festival highlight? Mike Redcay!! I haven't seen the guy in years and there he was! I'm not sure how private he is keeping it, but he's working with a ministry that pulled him to Alive. It was great to see him. The drive back was peppered with MP3s collected from college archives and the sounds of the Gottee Tribute to DC Talk's Jesus Freak. Some of the covers on that album are great and some are AWFUL.

2. The Prey Demo- I don't know if I'm the only one but some FPS games give me motion sickness. This is not true of games built on the Doom 3 engine which is what made Quake 4 and now Prey so attractive. (Log them under the "Games I Can Play Without Getting Sick" category.) The game is built around a guy who is born on a Cherokee reservation and wants to get out ASAP... aliens invade, your grandfather dies... and you become a fully realzied Cherokee warrio with the ability to float through walls, return from the dead, etc. The gameply is impressive and at times, downright bizarre. Especially since certain paths in the game allow you to walk on walls... which means you will shoot an enemy and they'll fall "up" instead of down. The demo is big, but it is free and I thought it worth my while.

3. Nightwatch- It's an imported Russian sci-fi flick about an ancient struggle of good vs. evil. I just rented it and the first half hour is fabulous. More to come on this one.

I could be a dad in hours and this is what I'm posting about? I figure a little distraction might go a long way... to fully ponder the implications of the next several days BEFORE the events occur might cause me to have a massive coronary and not actually make it to fatherhood.

I'm off!