Well, here is where I fulfill an old request. I think it was Sam who requested it... Sorry that I can't quite remember. It has been some time. Anywho... Here is where I shall explain what Biznitz is and will be. [blog unfinished]
How'd that happen... I was following one of the links in one of the Blogs here at Tblog and I took a moment to follow the quiz... You are Morpheus, from "The Matrix." You have strong faith in yourself and those around you. A true leader, you are relentless in your persuit.
What Matrix Persona Are You? brought to you by Quizilla My favorite movies are The Matrix 1-3. If you know me, you'd know that I am a big fan of those three movies. So, even though it was dumb, I took the time to fill them out. Now I'm off to finish a website modification for my sensei.
My parents drive me to the DMV. The first step is the paper process. I must wait in line for whoever knows how long until I am served. Then I am to present my permanent residency card, social security card, and birth certificate to someone and get my legal parent to sign some sort of paperwork. After that, they're going to take me into another line and, depending on its validity, I either waive the written test because I took driver's ed and obtained a waiver, or I take the written test on a computer. After that, I am taken to a separate set of seats where my family and I can wait. They give me a piece of wrinkled paper on a clipboard that outlines the driving portion of the testing.
I ask one fo my parents to take the car that I am to be tested in and park it in the Reserved for Testing parking space. After then, I wait and wait for a DELAP certified driver to test me. I go in and he checks the car. He checks the tires. He gets inside and he jiggles the steering wheel. He taps the breaks and checks to see if they're not too hard and not too spongey or soft. He checks the signals. He then checks to see if any of the windows will break. He then hands me the keys and he gets into the passenger side of the car. I get in. He's checking to see if I do things the right way. 1. Check my seat. I adjust it so that my arms aren't too cramped and aren't too far away when I reach for the steering wheel. My seat is at a distance so that I don't get foot cramp. I am raised enough to safely drive. I either have my hands at the 10 and 2 o'clock position or the 9 and 3 o'clock position. 2. Put my seat belt on. I make sure he has his on, too. 3. If it is about to rain or there is fog, I put my lights on. 4. Check my mirrors. I adjust them so that I am able to see the whole front of the vehicle that would be behind me if such were the case and that I can see into my blind spots. 5. I put the key in the ignition and I am careful not to grind the starter, for he shall take points off for even that. I have my foot on the break.
I put the car in reverse. I put my arm across the back of his seat and I check to see that no traffic is in the parking lot. If I am pulling out and going to go to the left, I am to pull out, turn the wheel to the right to face left when my left mirror aligns with the end of the parking line or past the end of the car, then switch to drive and pull to the left when my left mirror aligns with the middle of the roadway and drive off. If I am pulling out and going to go to the right, I am to turn the wheel to the left when my left mirror aligns with the end of the white parking strip or just past the end of the car, then turn all of the way facing right, then pull off to the left and drive off. All the time must I check for traffic, for he will be looking for this when pulling out. He will then tell me to go to the end and make a left. I am to drive perfectly on the end, turning on my left turn signal 100 meters before the turn, check to see that no cars are coming, and then execute a left turn without driving on the other side of the road. He will then tell me to drive to the two cones at the end that are parallel to the roadway and make a left, turning between the two cones. There will be a dashed yellow line that runs between them and to the end where a bunch of other cones are set. After I execute another left turn, I must drive to the other cones where he will then tell me to park. I am to give myself enough room so that when I try to park, I can easily swing in without touching one of the cones.
So then I must park between the four. I must nudge any cones or go over the white parking bump at the front. I must go past the two cones representing the front slightly so that it is just past my door mirrors. He will then ask me a question. I must do as he asks. He will ask me what I will do in the following situations: 1. Parking downhill with a curb. 2. Parking uphill with a curb. 3. Parking downhill without a curb. 4. Parking uphill without a curb. What I must do is... 1. Put the car in park. 2. Engage the parking/emergency break. 3. If I am uphill with a curb, I turn the wheel to the left, otherwise it is to the right. 4. Turn the engine off and remove the key from the ignition. Then after I have done so correctly, he wants me to start it up again and remove us from the parking space. I must... 1. Put the key in the ignition and start the car, careful not to grind the starter and having my foot on the break. 2. Straighten the wheel. 3. Remove the emergency break. 4. Put the car in reverse. I am then to back out of the driving space. He is looking for me to look back. I can't just pull out and use my mirrors. I am looking back, with my hand behind his seat and I pull out until I see the cone in his window whiz by. I then turn my head and I turn the wheel to make sure I get past the other cone when I pull out to face left. There is another cone behind me that is there to make sure I don't pull out too far on my pulling out facing left. If I nudge that one, too, I fail. So then I pull out going the opposite way that I came. I go to the end of the way where I passed the two cones. He tells me to make a left beforehand, so I must have my left turn signal on. I turn left. I go to the end of the parking lot where it meets to turn into a road. I must check the sidewalk before I pull out. I must also stop. I then make a right, with my right turn signal on prior. I must stay on my side of the street when I make my turns. I then drive until I come to a four-way stop sign. I must stop, wait for my right of way, then proceed forward. There is another 4-way stop, but there are trees hiding the sign. I must notice this. I must stop and do the same thing. Then I proceed to a round-a-bout. The concept behind this road feature is European and it is new to Americans, who usually don't know what to do and have a hard time with it. Even though everyone else is doing the wrong thing, I must yield the right of way to persons arriving from the left and also to those within the circle, then proceed forward, driving to the right, and connect with the next street. This next street is narrow and there is a speed limit of 35. I must maintain the speed limit. He will tell me to make a left. I must slow down and turn, careful not to drive on the other side always. This is a residential area. I must go about 25 miles per hour. But he's going to test my emergency stops. So then I must go fast until I get to about 20 mph and then do the emergency stop, where I stop suddenly, but not so suddenly that his head or body jerks. So then I must execute a 3-point turn. I must pull over to the side of the street. Then I must put my left turn signal on and go as far left as I can, until my right mirror is about past the center line of the street. I must check the street for traffic. When executing a 3-point turn, I must turn the wheel before I pull off. I then put the car in reverse and I reverse until the front of the car is slightly left from straight. Then I check. Then I put the car in drive and turn to the left, check, then pull forward. He will then test me on my reversing. He will want me to put the car in reverse. I will then do so and put my hand behind his seat. I move my hand to the noon position. While reversing, I must go about 10 mph and be careful not to make sudden movements, keeping the car straight. Once he tells me to stop, I must stop without moving my head back. I then put the car in drive and drive perfectly back to the DMV. I will park in the front. Then I will go back in to take a picture for my driver's license, with a perfect score, and drive my parents home with a letter that says I am a permanent resident able to drive. A week later, I shall receive it in the mail. That's the driving test in a nutshell. I have already passed.
I know this person and her name is Vaiva. Speak her name. It rolls right off of your tongue. :o She's from [b]Lithuania[/b]. I'm keeping what I know about her close to me. She's a nice person and she has a beautiful soul. She's one of the good ones. I don't know if she knows what we know. Maybe she like me and doesn't like to talk about it. I know what kind she is, but I don't know how devoted she is to Him yet. I was given the opportunity of working alongside her once upon a time, but I no longer see her. I talk to her, though. I know that I will see her again, though. And after, too.
Yesterday, Tuesday night, I was at Kung Fu. I arrived late. At about 20 minutes into the class. My sensei was angry at me. I'm supposed to set a good example and such. I was late because I have to rely on my parents to get there. It is, to my nearest approximation, 3 minutes away. It took me 20 minutes to get there. Why? Because they had to wait until they felt satisfied enough to get up and take me. If I had that drivers license of mine I could get myself there in no time flat. Since my bike was stolen, I can't get there so easily and it would be a waste to take the bus since it's so close. It takes 2 hours by foot and a half our by bike. Well, I walked in there... They were practising side kicks. I quickly did a stretch and then got started. Even though I didn't stretch that much to begin with, I was surprisingly more nimble, which is an improvement. So then we did about 10 minutes of practising kicking over the chairs. Then after that we all lined up to practice blocking. 4 different lines with certain orders there were. So then we'd go against the Sempai's Shinai and block it. I seriously need to work on my blocking. Then after that he sat us all down and he wanted to do a Shinai tournament. My sensei: he was eyeing me because I was late and he was angry at me for certain things. All throughout the class he was referring to me in the terms that he uses when he's angry at me - calling me "black man" and talking about me visualizing rebelling against some master on some plantation. Those things don't get me angry. Neither me or any of my relatives or ancestors were never even saw a plantation. My family is European and my ancestry is Ethiopian. Anywho... So after Cammy and Brian fought each other, he set me against Wick. He's a black-belt in Karate. After we stood there and were about to fight each other, he stopped us and he wanted the both of us to go against him. I was ready to do it. I bowed and got ready. Then Wick sucker-sliced me and I sat down. Then the sensei killed him three times. Then it was my turn. I went against Wick. We went 6 rounds. Six bloody rounds, killing each other. He got me 3 times and I got him 3 times but I won the last two so the skillful sensei declared me the winner. I faught so swiftly. He was talking to the class about how impressive my speed was and that he suspected that I had been practising independently. Once I sliced Wick twice - once in the stomach and then in the back in one attack and then blocked all of his attacks. So then after that, he decided to face me. And he gave me the most rock-hard look he had ever given me. The true stare of the Samurai. Of a true Bushi warrior. It was frightening. So I did my best. I faced him and I tried to make my stance as perfect as possible. He was inching forward. I kept my sword close. I wasn't thinking about preserving my own life, I was thinking about taking his. I readyed my Shinai for an attack. I attacked, he killed me right there. Instant death. So then we went again. This time, I wasn't as ready to attack. I was on defensive mode. When you're facing your opponent and it's his life or yours, there isn't much to think about. There's no life flashing before your eyes, there's only him and his eyes. I was watching his eyes. The entire time he never took them from mine. That's the way that a good Samurai fights. If you take your eyes off of your opponent, you're already dead. And I did just that. I knew I was doomed, but I also knew that I had a chance. Something inside of me told me to block every single one of his blows. He was creeping forward slowly and I was creeping backward at the same rate. We went so far that I hit a chair that was at the front of the door. We took the time to walk back to the middle of the room. I did the same thing and he was starting to get frustrated and so we walked back. There was no bowing and therefore no more respect. I got back into stance. He gave me a dark grimace. I made the mistake of looking away from his eyes. That was when he made his attack. I think he struck 12 times. The attack must have last about 3 seconds. He's that fast. I blocked every strike. But then he got my leg. That's when I broke the last of my defenses and he was able to cut off my arm. After then I was attacking on one leg and one arm. He made another attack and I lost the other. I accepted defeat. He gave me a swift death with one swipe of the Shinai.
As you can see, I enjoy Kendo. Kendo is like Japanese fencing. It's the sword-art of the Samurai. It literally means 'way of the blade.' Bushido is the 'way of the bushi' and a Bushi is like a warrior of the sword. I'm privelidged to know what I know. I love to practice. I want to know more. There's so much more. And that's what my sensei used to defeat me. I was using basic moves and he was using a style I hadn't learned yet. So maybe if I learned everything from him, I'd stand a better chance. I don't attack very well because I am a pacifist. I am nonviolent, but I will defend this life that God gave me or the life of others if I must. I know I can defeat him next time. I simply need more work and more knowledge.
Too many things to worry about and too little time. I shall leave my job on the 20th of November. I don't know what I'm going to do about money... God's on my side, so I don't need to worry about such things.
I am addressing this issue because it has become controversial. Now, what is politically correct isn't always correct. It should only be considered correct if it meets God's standards. If we all know the truth, we wont need to battle each other over matters that have a right and a wrong way. Where else to discover the truth than in God's word? Sexual practices and gender aren't a matter of personal choice. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the Earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the Earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the Earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over tyhe fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the Earth." The book of Genesis, Chapter 1. God created human beings with free will and provided opportunities for them to enjoy their freedom. He gave them dominion over all of his other Earthly creations, to care for them. He was even allowed to name them. "And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof," Genesis Chapter 2, Verse 19. Who was Adam? Adam was the first man. Ooo-la-la. His name, originally translated, would be pronounced Ha-Ah-Dom. How did God created him? "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul," Genesis Chaputer 2, Verse 7. This is why when man dies, he decomposes back into the dust of the ground of which he was formed. God put this man in a paradise, called Eden. Eden was separated by 4 rivers, named in Chapter 2 of Genesis, and had minerals and many, many trees. Adam was to tend to these trees and he could eat the fruit of any of them, except that of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Then, God judged that it wasn't right for man to be alone. "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him," Genesis Chapter 2, Verse 18 (grammatically exact). So he gave him the animals, formed out of the ground, and let him name them. But there was still no help for Adam. So then... "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall bbe called Woman, because she was taken out of MAn. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh," Genesis Chapter 2, Verses 21-24. So God made Adam sleep and he took a "rib" from him. Later, I discovered that the original word used for "rib" in the original Bible was the word "curve," and this was supposed to mean curve of DNA, as in the curve of a double-helix. And God allowed Adam to name her Woman. So that's why when a man and a woman marry, they are considered "one flesh." God gave instructions when it came to sexuality that were there since the beginning. Woman was for man. This was the way God created it. Of course, if we go against the way makes something, we are angering God.
Now, because of Adam's disobedience, which you can read about if you continue to read and study the book of Genesis, we have all inherited imperfection. We all have strong desires and weaknesses of the "flesh" that are out of harmony with God's purpose. God gave laws that were against unnatural (natural being the way God created and made things) practices. You can read about those in the book of Leviticus, the third book of Moses, Chapter 18, Versus 6 to about 24. God also forbids men from portraying themselves as members of the opposing sex for immoral purposes. You can read about this in Deuteronomy Chapter 22 Verse 5. So what is the right way? God's word teaches that the only sexual relationships approved by God are theose with a member of the opposite sex within marriage. Somewhere along the lines the other sexual practices became ways of life. Attempts to detract these ways of life have spawned the controversial issues that we see today. There is still forgiveness in the flesh for those that have turned from God's way. Read for yourself in 1st Corinthians (The First Epistle of Paul) Chapter 6, Starting at Verse 9. Read it with understanding. It looks like it could confuse someone that weren't truly reading it to understand it.
[Blog Unfinished] There you are. I encourage you not to just read the smaller selections from the Bible that I have quoted here, but the entire chapters that pertain to them to gain a full understanding. I encourage you to go back and look the verses quoted here today up in your own personal Bible, and, as always, read it with understanding, because...you don't have to take my word for it.
