Jedi Prayer

May the Force be with you,

and also with you.
Blessed art thou among Jedi,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Yoda.
Hail Padme, mother of Luke.
Pray for our Sith,
now and in the hour of our decapitation.
Amen

Pulcherrima es

Meam puellam es.
Pulcherrima es,
Plena argutiae risusque es,
Habuisti magnam artem,
Tu es mira.
Facis me redeo subrideoque,
Gratulor te.

If You Can't Handle Me

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." — Marilyn Monroe

I haven't really looked at a quote in a while, but this one caught me attention recently. (Long live Facebook statuses.) I think this one is pretty self-explanatory. People have faults. If you can't handle them when they're at their worst, you don't deserve them at their best.

One thing Junior year has really helped me with so far is self-reflection. There is an art to talking about yourself without sounding narcissistic. I'm going to work on it a bit. Something I've noticed this past year is that I can be a very empathetic, understanding, young man. I am able to listen well to people's issues and to be supportive when people need support. This has been really nice, because it seems to lead to very good relationships with people. I like to think that this ability to handle people when they aren't at their best is one of my better skills. It's been useful so far. It's also important to realize that I rely on other people treating me the same way.
So, to all those who handle me at my worst, Thank You. Who knows, maybe this trait will be useful again.

A Collection

A lonely man leans up against a brick wall. Streetlights dot his view, obscured by fog and rain. He clutches his old, ragged jacket close. People hurry by, eyes down, heads bent against the storm. They don't notice the poor man, hidden from view.

A lonely man sits in an airport terminal, slaving over his laptop. Surrounded by other strangers. Everyone has someplace to go, someplace to be. No one living in the now. Planes come and go. The man remains, lost in time.

A lonely man lays down for another night's sleep. T.V.s blare from the apartment upstairs. Radios crackle next door. He stares up at his ceiling, thinking about all the paths not taken. The sun comes up, the man stays in bed.

A man sleeps out under the stars. Surrounded by the sounds of nature, away from all things man. He is at peace with all the world.

The Song of Songs

I will love you more than me,
You are my sweetest downfall,
I just wanted to hold you in my arms.

The stars lean down to kiss you,
I loved you first, I loved you first,
It’s been a long time, but my time is finally near.
And I will see my dream come alive at last.

Hold you in my arms,
And the battle's just begun,
Counting the ways to where you are,

I'm just dreaming.

And I lie awake and miss you.


Note: This poem is a collection lyrics, not my own work. I simply arranged them.

Potestne legere?

If you haven't guessed yet, I'm taking Latin this year. Here are a few of my favorite Latin phrases. Hope you enjoy:

Canis meus id comedit - My dog ate it
Mea maxima culpa - Through my very great fault
Ad maiorem dei gloriam (AMDG) - For the greater glory of God
Illiud latine dici non potest - You can't say that in Latin
Ave atque vale - Hail and farewell.
Nill illigitimi carborundum - Do not let the bastards get you down

There's no shaking me.

I feel guilty not posting on The Strategy more than I feel guilty about not posting on my own blog. Unless this is supposed to be a solo deal. In which case, I apoligise.

William Shakespeare's Sonnet 43. My own personal favourite, which I wanted to share.

When most I wink, then do mine eyes best see,

For all the day they view things unrespected;

But when I sleep, in dreams they look on thee,

And darkly bright are bright in dark directed.

Then thou, whose shadow shadows doth make bright,

How would thy shadow's form form happy show

To the clear day with thy much clearer light,

When to unseeing eyes thy shade shines so!

How would, I say, mine eyes be blessed made

By looking on thee in the living day,

When in dead night thy fair imperfect shade

Through heavy sleep on sightless eyes doth stay!

All days are nights to see till I see thee,

And nights bright days when dreams do show thee me.

What's On Your Mind?

When I wake up in the morning, I do three things. Shower, get dressed, and check my email and Facebook. Okay, so four things. By far the biggest challenge of my morning isn't getting out of bed, it's choosing the appropriate Facebook status. Some people put up a little tidbit about their day, others post song lyrics or quotes from movies. Still others put up an inside joke. It's always fun to see what people comment on those posts. But me, I tend to put up funny or thought -provoking quotes. I like to see what people have to say about them. It can be incredibly interesting to hear the opinions of some people who I don't get to see everyday. (Like my Aunt who lives 3,000 miles away in California.)
I think you can tell a lot about a person by what they post on their social networking sites. Aside from just learning what type of music they like or what they're doing that day, you can get an inside look at what the think is important. Why does one person constantly post lyrics from the Rolling Stones? Or why does your best friend constantly quote from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog?
What do you think your status says about you?

A Basket by the Door

He sat there for hours

but nothing came

All his efforts

lay in a basket by the door

The shadows crept across

the library floor

the lights come on

the ideas stay away

Finally it all flooded out

Pen flashed across paper

Thoughts became words

Words became action

The man slept at last.

The Summer's Gone...

Well it's the last day of summer. It's an incredibly sad day, but I'm also pretty excited to be going back to school. I'm going to go out and enjoy my last day of freedom. I will write more once school starts.