javier... wow he went a little far didnt he? lol

shnitzel... closeup

one of caleb's bulldog pups

this morning... sunspot on the road in front of our house

little guy I was hanging out with last night.... not a really breathtaking pic but whatever

some pics of the hillbilly social we had in our barn. this is jet

jamien

Never
Your life to me is worth much more
You stagger through the closing door
And call for help

Fight
Your hopeless godforsaken dreams
Are more beneath than what it seems
To those around.

Alone.
Crying in the darkness of the street
Cry to your god but rise to your feet
Again victorious.

random poetry

Disappearance
Change
To watch the falling leaves,
The passing time, the summer grieves.
He stumbles.

I watch
Falling off the cliff into the sea.
Of thoughtless, fake humanity
God save his soul

I cry
My heart is pounding in my chest
I’ll take the plunge and do my best.
To save a mockingbird.


Anger
Mock pity bleeding from your eyes
Your demon friends are no surprise
You’ll stumble soon...

Remove your saintly masquerade
Your painted smile soon too will fade
And then your eyes will cry.

I'm lovin my job right now.
I get such a kick out of these friendly old black ladies. they laugh when i mess up and crack jokes. totally makes my day.

Names I have been called at market: (ya just gotta love these ppl.)
babe, baby, babycakes, sweetcakes, honey, sugar, sir, my boy, sweetheart, and(this is the winner) my love. except when the lady said it, it sounded more like mah luv. ("Dass ok mahluv Dass alraht.) lordy lordy. but its a totally different culture... totally.

I ate the most wonderfullest things today. I bout this loaf of really tough Italian bread and dipped it in this Cajun sea food soup with rice and tomatoes and peppers and carrots and the works. yessiree "this is the life."

I met a really cool guy at market today. We were both at the coffe shop and bread place at the same time and coincidentally (or not) went to sit at the same place to eat. So he talked to me for a bout a half hour. (note I said he talked to me I could hardly get a word in edgewise. lol.) He is a doctor who is originally from Germany. And he gets a high out of working in the emergency room and seeing spilled guts. He calls open heart surgury "fascinating." He has been dead twice in his life (why does that sound so funny?) once from a hockey accident and once because of open heart surgury. We talked about his life, my life, education, and advancements in the medical field (ok ok it sounds geeky i know :) and i enjoyed it, but i think he enjoyed it more cuz he acted like the kind of person who needed someone to spout off to.

life is good,
conrad

I got this one while waiting for mom and pop to come out of the church after the wedding

i dunno if i like this one yet

Camp Peniel was fun, although interrupted by my cousins wedding. stayed up till five thirty.... drank coffee, played basketball and volleyball, the usual stuff.

later,
conrad

Went to market today. It was really slow which is the way I like it. And clam chowder is very good.
I saw John Mccain. pretty cool. I knew as soon as he was there because of all the booing. then there was this mini rally for obama... about twenty or thirty people holding up signs and chanting "Obama! Obama! Obama!" walking all over the market. I had to laugh.
Its fun getting into conversations about politics with ppl. most are democrats in philly. One man asked me what I say to plain ppl to convince them that Obama's the man. wow.
And another man told me a political joke that contained language which i would have to censor, therefore it won't be included in this post. email me if your really curious.
I go to market again tomorrow.

later folkses,
conrad

Long Road out of Eden by the Eagles

Moon shining down through the palms
Shadows moving on the sand
Somebody whispering the twenty-third Psalm
Dusty rifle in his trembling hands
Somebody trying just to stay alive
He got promises to keep
Over the ocean in America
Far away and fast asleep.

Silent stars blinking in the blackness of an endless sky
Cold silver satellites, ghostly caravans passing by
Galaxies unfolding; new worlds being born
Pilgrims and prodigals creeping toward the dawn
But it's a long road out of Eden.

Music blasting from an SUV
On a bright and sunny day
Rolling down the interstate
In the good ol' USA
Having lunch at the petroleum club
Smoking fine cigars and swapping lies
"Gimme 'nother slice of that barbecued brisket!"
"Gimme 'nother piece of that pecan pie"

Freeways flickering, cell phones chiming a tune
We're riding to Utopia; road map says we'll be arriving soon
Captains of the old order clinging to the reins
Assuring us these aches inside are only growing pains
But it's a long road out of Eden

Back home, I was so certain; the path was very clear
But now I have to wonder - what are we doing here?
It's hard to stop this binging once you get a taste
But the road to empire is a bloody, stupid waste
But it’s a long road out of Eden
Behold the bitten apple - the power of the tools
But all the knowledge in the world is of no use to fools
And it's a long road out of Eden

Check this song out on youtube if you get the time... the Eagles play it. the full version is ten minutes but its worth every second. I edited the lyrics a little to suit my taste.

later,
conrad

something i found while digging through my files

Blood, sweat, and fears.
Dread and falling tears
Shattered hope;
Trust destroyed.
Something needs to fill this void.

Fire hail and rain
Unrelenting pain.
What do I do? Where can I go?
I think I've gone insane.

MERCILESS

hey everyone.
I was at market today... I wanna take the camera along sometime and get some pics of where i work.
Everybody else is at a ballgame tonight. I was too tired so I didnt (surprise surprise).
I like drunkies. This dude at market was so out of it he could have sang the star spangled banner backwards without too much trouble. gotta love it. or maybe not.
Im handraising two more cockatiels right now. Thats really fun.
I made some tea so I am gonna enjoy the solitude with my guitar. Amazing what that does to unwind you after a long day.

Quotes: "If John Mccain wins [sic] its gonna be because alot of people were praying" (!!!!! um, no commment)
"I'm going to vote for my dad."

I wonder...
I wonder why we as Mennonites lean towards Republicans. Take this election for instance. Some of us support Mccain because he is pro-life and all that (read quote #1 above) and criticize Obama because he would allow abortion/gay marriage etc.. But Mccain wants to stay in the middle east "for a hundred years or more," killing loads and loads of innocent (and not-so-innocent) people. It makes you wonder who is really pro- life ya know?! its practically impossible to consistently support one or the other. Kinda makes you have doubts about where we are as "Christians." Take that for what its worth. hopefully you can understand it.

oh and if you ever want something interesting to do, start a conversation about politics with a five or six year old Amish boy. might surprise you.

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
The rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand

peace brothers,
conrad

my art project

set up a card table in the laundry

finished product. I cheated a little bit and resized it on picasa so its not as long. and sorry about the glare

"and conrad looked, and saw upon his blog that, lo, there was a great dearth of comments in the land. " :P

later,
conrad