Friends in Prayer

I’m going to take a little time out from the normal banter of this blog today. Yes, as usual, I have some thoughts on my recent birthday. And for a while now I've also been meaning to film some stuff for an upcoming post here. You read that right. Film. Don't get too excited; it'll be a while yet.

Alas, life goes by much faster than I have time for here. A lot has happened to me in the last couple of weeks, more than I will ever be able to write here. But every once in a while something happens that simply can't be let go, something that just needs to “get out there.” Now. And so, today, I’m writing about just such a something.

On Friday 15 January, two of my friends[1] welcomed their second son into the world, a truly joyous occasion. Unfortunately, there were some complications.

A CT scan revealed a subdural hematoma, and on Saturday evening, this not-even-one-day-old child underwent emergency brain surgery to treat it. Though the operation was a success, he remains in neonatal intensive care where he is being carefully observed to ensure that there is no more bleeding or swelling.

His parents are strong believers in God and are clinging to every bit of good news and every prior success story from the doctors. So far, things are looking good; however, the next several days will be critical.

Please, dear readers, keep this precious child, his parents, and his entire family in your thoughts and prayers during this trying time. With God’s help, he can be another success story for a new generation.

I’ll resume my regularly scheduled programming soon enough. And in due time, Lord-willing, I hope to report good news on this front.

* * *
[1] To avoid the confusion I caused some people when I had mentioned this to them earlier, it should probably be noted that these particular friends are not as near to my own age as the word “friends” might connote. The parents are both in their 30s.

2010

Well, it'll still take a bit more time before I'm fully comfortable with it being 2010. I'll give it about a week. Once I start writing it down at the beginning of every class, it'll sink in quickly, I'm sure.

I feel that my annual doodle is somewhat reflective of my mood and optimism for the year. Of course, a lot of the glamour of the new decade has faded since midnight. We romanticize the coming of the new year to end, and a somewhat mystified once it finally arrives, but after about a day or so we quickly realize that everything's pretty much the same.

And the next year, we do it all over again.

Still, even if 2010 doesn't lend us a complete escape from the negative aspects of our lives, it still provides a clean slate of sorts. And it's kind of refreshing.

I rang in 2010 in a much more normal fashion compared to last year, which for me meant sitting at home in the living room and counting down with the family. At midnight. Not at 03:00.

Earlier this evening, I made New Year's Day Cheese Sticks, and while I was perfectly satisfied not making it a new "tradition" like the Chips-'n'-Salsa and Nachos, my brother insisted otherwise. Let's just hope he remembers all these things next year.

And right now, I'm watching Florida beat Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, which is making me very happy, for a number of reasons. (None of which involve any animosity toward any of my friends who happen to live in the Cincinnati area. I love you guys.)

Anyway, I'm going to declare a moral victory over my 2009 blogging resolution. Although I did post more than in 2007 or 2008 due to attempting BEDA and my trip to China, I completely failed at even providing a basic update on my life for nearly three months toward the end. I'd like to move past that so that I can get beyond mundanes and actually write something meaningful from time to time.

So for 2010, I resolve that I'll make progress. Progress in writing more often, both for this blog and for myself. Progress in school. Progress in whatever comes after school. It's a lot of unknowns, but part of me thinks that that's what makes me so hopeful.

Best wishes to all for a happy and blessed Twenty-Ten, in whatever forms it may come!

Hopes for a New Decade

Alas, it is time for another year-end post. But it's not just the end of a year, it's also the end of a decade. Yikes!

There is now less than half an hour left in the 2000s. I'm writing this on my laptop in the family living room with my mother falling asleep in the chair next to me and my brother upstairs microwaving the New Year's Eve Nachos. Dad's upstairs and will come down later.

New Year's Eve Nachos are a relatively new tradition in the Parenti household, actually, in that they've only existed since 24 December. You see, on 20 December, Mom came back from the store with chips and salsa (among other things, of course). By 22 December, David was insisting that we eat said chips and salsa. I suggested we wait until a special occasion — Christmas Eve, in particular. Christmas Eve Chips-'n'-Salsa would become a new tradition. Okay, fine.

Christmas Eve came and we were eating dinner and Mom asked if we were "still doing the New Year's Eve Nachos," completely getting both the holiday and the food item wrong (although to be fair, she was kind of close). We corrected her, but then decided that New Year's Eve Nachos would also be a good tradition to start.

So we did.

Anyway, I still can't quite grasp the fact that we're on the cusp of 2010. It's just always seemed so far away, and yet... here it is! Heck, it's already here in so many parts of the world.

Earlier today, I was doing some year-end data management and typing 2010 repeatedly into some spreadsheets. I mentioned to my brother how much I like typing 2010 as compared to recent years like 2009, 2005, or even 1996.

You see, for as long as I've been able to type, every year has had a repeated digit in it (and in the cases of 1999 and 2000, a triply repeated digit). In order to type a doubled digit, one has to release the appropriate key before depressing it again. It slows you down. However, for 2010, I don't have to fully let go of the zero before I hit the one. It's wonderful! (Or at least, it will be until 2011 puts a kink in the works for a year.)

But not only will the new year bring the end of the "double-ohs," it will also bring new beginnings for my life.

As 2005 turned into 2006, I wrote that I was excited for new "firsts" entering my life in the coming year. That sentiment is certainly repeated again now, four years later, as I prepare to finish my college career in just a few short months. I still have no idea what I'll be doing come May, but I'm excited to live 2010 to the fullest.

That will certainly mean some big changes for me in the coming year, some personal and some not. I may not know what 2010 or the ensuing decade will bring, but I'm ever hopeful that things will turn out for the best.

Busy, Bussy, and Fussy

Okay, so it should be abundantly clear from the fact that I basically haven't blogged at all for the entire semester that I've been pretty busy. I've had a lot of things on my mind. Lately, it's been the three group reports, a presentation, and a concert that are all in the next 72 hours amongst a hectic race-to-the-finish week of band practices and other meetings.

So needless to say, when I got on the bus to head back to Shadyside just a few moments ago, these things stayed with me. I'd been fussing about, and had a lot of thoughts running through my head. And when I finally looked up, the sign at the front of the bus flipped from my stop to the one after. Rats. My three-month-long perfect streak was ruined. But it's okay; I got about 160 meters more exercise than normal, and I got 160 extra meters' worth of fresh air.

I needed that.