Old Country Buffet

Everybody has a couple of stories they will never live down in their family. Some of them have absolutely no comedic value beyond the familial walls like the story of grandpa cutting through a paper plate. Some are funny to everyone but the person, por ejemplo, when I said I could use deodorant as a birthday or Christmas gift my freshman year of college. This was received by my family as hilarious as if I was too cheap to buy deodorant even if I didn't have any. Not the case, I was simply running low and I do not need the classic gifts of birthdays or Christmas, although still appreciated, so I thought at least make my gifts functional and save me some money! Finally, there are those stories that are comedic even beyond families. I used to choose the Old Country Buffet for my birthday dinner. I could go anywhere, but I choose this place with unlimited mediocre options. Nothing great, nothing that bad, but I could get a little bit of it all. I never thought of it as weird or a waste of a birthday dinner use at the time. Now I see, and I am understandably made fun of this occasionally by my mother.

Here is my Platter at the of this buffet:

A bundle of Moms

1 Podcast to be

23k reasons to stay

A few frolf rounds

2 Bible studies in

1 Unwatered Idea

1/8 mile walk

2 years of an umbrella

2 hours, that's all

"critics are the true optimists"

A bundle of Moms- As with all things in my life, my mom is the biggest fan of my blog. She always shares it to her Facebook page. This last time, for some reason or another, all the moms seemed to read it and love it. Tons of comments popped up on her page and even "Will for president" from some lady I don't know. It's kinda weird to think Moms are reading my advice/inner thoughts blog. Don't moms know everything? Mine does. Anyway, it is a sincere and great affirmation that motivates me to keep writing.

1 Podcast to be - My dream is to work for NBA Cares. It's the dream job and combines two things I love. My motivations are of my heart. Unfortunately, I can't work for NBA Cares today, I'm not qualified or ready. However, I am hoping to start a podcast with a simple goal: To highlight the service, the humane, the family-side, the charitable side of professional athletes past and present. These athletes get butchered, headlined, and scrutinized for everything they do ESPECIALLY when it is negative or controversial. Players like LeBron James and Russell Westbrook do loads of work off the court. A lot of people see it or know of it but it's glazed over. I want to make it the headline for just one podcast, one day, one listener, and produce good media. If you have any connection to a good (as in the person not the skill level) athlete past or present, I'd love your help because my connections are limited.

23k reasons to stay- This summer I dabbled in the land of TikTok. Let me tell you, it was fun. One of my videos went viral and I gained 23 thousand followers in a couple weeks with minimal effort. Eventually, I began to hate to pride it gave me and the desire for extrinsic motivation so I stopped making videos. However, TikTok is addicting. It feels like a need, a light-hearted enjoyment, a way to connect, all these weird things. Their algorithm is brilliant to getting videos you enjoy. This furthers addiction because it's personalized and your content seems "useful" or enjoyable. I deleted the app reluctantly because I killed too much time on it. I feel really free.

A few frolf rounds- I've played quite a few frolf rounds since being back on campus. Some alone, some with Jack and Hannah, some with random friends, old friends, and even one with Shaelen! It has only affirmed my love for the social aspect, nature, and the competitive parts of the sport. I'm getting better, but most importantly, I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate it into my quest for sainthood.

3 Bible studies in- I love leading Bible Study. Do I love leading and sharing my ideas that I think are full of wisdom? Yes, a sort of prideful love. But I love it more that I have friends of faith. I love it more that when I read something, someone else hears God's voice in it differently, yet, still clear. I love it more that it motivates me to spend time with Jack and God's word.

1 Unwatered Idea- this idea was so unwatered I forgot what it was by the time I finished writing this blog. Oops.

1/8 mile walk- I hit this point a week or two ago where I was really stressed. Not your typical college stress. I was killing exams, making time for friends and sleep, and watching all the basketball I could. I was stressed that I wasn't spending my time well. I had really given into social media, television, naps, texting, anything that wasn't productive in any way shape or form. I felt stuck in my apartment, especially on rainy days. So, I took a walk around my apartment complex. I figured out that I needed a little more structure to my day without in-person classes. It's a journey that's led me to go to daily mass twice a week. Pick a day for groceries and plan my meals around it. It's taught me to seek prayer and when I feel like there is nothing to do to write out a schedule.

2 years of an umbrella- Well, well, well, almost two years since my broken umbrella blog led to a brand new umbrella in the mail. It's been many blog posts and I just want to thank you guys for reading and your support. My umbrella: unbreakable and the best shield against rain.

2 hours, that's all- I've been trying something new. Spending this first and last hour of my day without my phone, television, or computer. It's just two hours but you wouldn't believe how difficult it is. But what I really can't believe, is that it feels foreign to eat breakfast, poop (I know I'm not the only one here), or go on a walk without it.

"critics are the true optimists"- I watched this Netflix movie called "The Social Dilemma." Basically, the movie describes how big technology doesn't have proper ethical regulations for its designs. For example, social media uses user information to increase your time spent on your phone. Thus, it is kinda designed to addict you. A quote from the movie is paraphrased as "drugs and technology are the only two industries who call their customers users." This movie inspired the aforementioned breaks from technology. Anyway, I like the bolded quote better. I think it has an element of truth that I haven't thought of. That doubt or admonishing something is in pursuit of truth or change. It reminds me that when I see something as broken, not to just leave it alone, but voice my word and hope it can be fixed. Burnt out from trying is not a good excuse.

So a two-part takeaway here. First of all, I have learned recently that things in our life have gravity. Not Newton's apple type of gravity, but the gravity to pull your attention. Disc golf is one of the strongest forces of gravity in my life. I also feel a strong pull to mass. Prayer, on my own and in my own words, I feel the pull but I can resist it. My phone has an awfully strong pull. Here's the thing about gravity. It's stronger the closer you are to it. My phone contains too much that pulls me in. I draw closer to the apps, the messaging, the calls, and the possibilities it has. Prayer from my own heart doesn't have as strong of pull because I have not been diving into it, but I love being at mass and I have been going 3 times a week. Still, I want to go more. I have realized this connection to my phone and I have been trying to put "distance" between it and my life to limit its pull. Ultimately, my point is to reflect on the gravity of things and events. What pulls at you? How can you distance yourself from pulls of sin?

The Old Country Buffet has endless options for food, but only one plate is manageable to load and carry food. There's a lot of choices on how to appropriately portion the space on your plate and in your stomach. In the end, it's what you say "yes" to that decides your experience. Our day to day decisions are ALL "yes" to something on our plate. Even if we say no to mashed potatoes, we say "yes" to save that space for say Mac N Cheese. I've realized lately, too much of my plate is filled with something like potato chips. Potato chips take up a lot of space, they aren't filling, they are addicting, and they don't provide much nourishment. For example, I don't understand why I am okay with seeing my screen report of X amount of hours PER DAY. I don't need my phone that much, it doesn't fill me up, it doesn't advance my life typically unless I'm on my Bible app, communicating a healthy amount, or posting for PSUB (which 99% of the time ends up in more potato chip time).

My ingredients are things I've said yes to good and bad that fill my plate. I've said yes to blogging which bred umbrellas and inspired moms. I've said yes to frisbee golf and bible study which led to friends, time with God's nature, and better mental health. I've said Yes to TikTok for a long time until I said yes to being further away from my phone. I say yes to my phone everyday for too much time. I say yes to putting off a podcast, but hopefully a bigger yes that the dialogue and ideas I create will come to fruition. I say yes to being my own critic, because in the end its optimism that I can do better.

I am also not trying to say fill your plate-up with 100% productivity, positivity, and never take a single minute off again!!!!!!!!!! Nope, I think we, or at least me, just need to learn to rest and leisure. Do we know what that looks like? I think we, or at least me, need to learn to focus, be patient, and restful. Do we have long-term goals? I think we, or at least me, need to ask God to resist distraction or temptations more often. Do we pray to turn our sins around or strength to resist? I don't. I try to fight them myself or give into my temptation. So, here is a prompt and goal for myself and I encourage you to answer the same prompt in your own way.

Replace a time of worldly rest with Godly rest: for me, A rosary instead of nighttime social media.

ORRR maybe you are the secular readers of this blog. I think its pretty universal to have temporary purposes (student, employee, organization member) and passions. Replace a time of consistent aproductivity (could just be 20mins) to pursuing a purpose or passion. For me, I'm going to try to read (not my passion, but I love learning) and cook more.

Happy Fall. My favorite color is orange in nature and there is a whole lot in fall trees and pumpkins. So enjoy its beauty :)