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November 26, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

Do you know why the pilgrim killed the turkey?

He was in a fowl mood!

Posted by Nathan Gemayel at 4:57 PM | Comments (0)

November 25, 2008

LOST is Coming Back Soon!

...well kinda. January 21st, 8/7 Central to be exact...
I'm very excited!

Posted by Nathan Gemayel at 11:19 PM | Comments (1)

Goodbye Kaldi's!

Welp, it's been three and a half years that I was with Kaldi's, but my last shift was last two Fridays ago. I made some great friends along the way and learned to love coffee more than any person should. Ha! Thanks for the memories Kaldi's!

Posted by Nathan Gemayel at 11:00 PM | Comments (1)

Where I've Been...

So it's been a while since I've posted for real. I've been in "new job land" for the past week and a half. Things have been good and encouraging as I move forward with my place of work. I can't believe that people are trusting me, (ME!), with peoples' lives. It is exciting and yet humbling at the same time. I've heard so many horror stories, and concern from others who have been in my position. They all say, "Dude, you need to take time for yourself," "You need to have a good way to de-stress," "You're going to have to learn to cut yourself off and leave your job at your job." I'm sure all that is true. I don't doubt that being a foster care case manager is going to be tough and emotionally exhausting at times, but it's good work that I'll be doing. I feel like I finally have a reason to get up in the morning again.
Last night I went with another case manager to a supervised visit with a child and her parent, while I can't give any of the details as to what happened or why she's currently living with a foster parent, I can say that it felt good to be working towards reconciliation. The fact that people can neglect their kids or do abusive acts against them, and yet still have the opportunity to undo those evil things gives me reason to believe that God is a part of my work. It's in His nature to bring the possibility of making things right in our lives. We all receive second chances everyday. Just as Peter denied Jesus three times, I do as well...I'm not guilt free. Regardless of whether you're a Christian or not, His graceful offerings touch us all. We receive clean water, food, relationships with support and love, laughter, and blue skies, everything good is from His hand; included with that is the opportunity to forgive and restore relationship. I'm helping to make that happen. The evidence of living in a fallen world will be all the more obvious to me than ever before with my new position, and yet I'm encouraged.
That's where I've been...in court, peoples' homes, learning about all the massive amounts of paperwork I'll have to do, (seriously, these people might be the demise of many forests of trees across the country), and learning how to care for the kiddos the best I can. Thank you for your prayers!

Posted by Nathan Gemayel at 10:28 PM | Comments (0)

November 23, 2008

Showchoir does Coldplay!

Heidi Vincent loves showchoir, and Coldplay, therefore, she'll love this performance! Heidi, this song ones for you!

Posted by Nathan Gemayel at 10:35 PM | Comments (2)

To Rachel & Kami

I've found our future...

Posted by Nathan Gemayel at 10:26 PM | Comments (1)

November 19, 2008

MVP in STL!

Congratulations to Albert Pujols for winning his second MVP award for the National League. 'El MVP,' as the Post Dispatch calls him, has finished in the top ten all of his 8 seasons that he's played with the Cards, and has finished in the second spot three times.

Posted by Nathan Gemayel at 3:13 AM | Comments (0)

November 9, 2008

Guess Who Got a NEW JOB?!?!

That's right people! I got a new job! Thank you to all who supported, encouraged, and prayed for me over the past several months. I finally am on my way somewhere good. Not that I wasn't before, but it kinda felt that way at times...many, many times.
In case you're wondering, and I'm sure you are, I'll be working for the Family Resource Center where I'll be a Foster Care Case Manager! I will have a rotation of 15 cases at a time where there has been child abuse and/or neglect in the household. The goal is to get the children and the parents reunited after appropriate steps have been made...I'll be there to make sure they are. It's a job that will involve helping people...and I am so excited about that!!!
I'm starting training on the 17th and my last official day at Kaldi's will be the 23rd. Come by and see me! I'll be there from 2 - 9 in the p.m.

Posted by Nathan Gemayel at 7:37 PM | Comments (7)

17th Annual St. Louis International Film Fest

I'm excited about all the great filmage coming to town over the next couple of weeks. The festival starts on November 13th and last until the 23rd. Here's some of the movies I hope to or, should say, would love to see if I had enough funds. While there are more than 120 movies and documetaries to be shown, here's just a highlight of what I'm excited about:

Special
A parking-meter ticket writer, who also happens to be a comic-book junkie signs himself up for a drug study on an experimental anti-depressant. He ends up quitting his job and taking on a new position, "superhero." The guy is convinced that he's got super special powers...and the fun begins...

Slumdog Millionare
Jamal, an 18-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai is about to win the equivilant of $1 million dollars on India's "Who Wants to be a Millionare?" when they have to break taping for the night. What happens before the next day involves accusations of cheating, asserting that no kid from the slums could do well on the show. Jamal goes into each part of his life thinking back to reveal keys to the answer to one of the questions from the night before.

Timecrimes (Los Cronocrimenes)
This Spanish film tells the story of a murder witnessed through the binoculars of a man named Hector. A chase follows the crime as Hector runs after the bandage-faced murderer, which leads him to a machine that transports him back to just before the crime took place. All kinds of time-warp action are sure to make for a fantastic adventure!

Under the Bombs (Sous les Bombes)
A Christian taxi driver takes a Shiite woman from Beirut to the middle of the Lebanon-Israel conflict in order to find her son. Most of the film was shot in the summer of 2006 when the City of Beirut was in ruins and uses mostly non-actors, that is, journalists play journalists, soldiers play soldiers and so on, to tell the unfortunate, but common story among very different backgrounds.

The Wrestler
Mickey Rourke plays a has-been wrestler from the 80s who's shining days in the ring are gone. In fact, all he has to show for himself is an estranged daughter and a tentative romance with a stripper. Rourke has received excellent remarks from critics for this film, which just might result in a nomination for one of those golden statues.

Don't forget the documentaries...

Chasing Birds
Sit back and enjoy the zany adventures of the Hunter Thickheads, the Hunter Home-Brewers and other teams who spend their free time looking for the most foulest of species. It's time for the annual "Twitchathon" down in Australia, (bird lovers are known as "twitchers"), and everyone is gathering to go out and spot as many species as possible in 24 hours. Good times ensue!

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father
Dr. Andrew Bagby was murdered by Dr. Shirley Turner on Nov. 5, 2001 and then she fled to Newfoundland where she revealed that she was pregnant with Andrew's baby. In order to assure their grandson's security Andrew's parents embark Newfoundland to form a fraught relationship with the killer of their grandchild's father.

Carny
Let's take a closer look at the lives lived by "carnies." The nomadic lifestyle of the traveling fair workers is hard and poetic, lonely and yet, full of life. The stories seem intriguing...poverty, shattered dreams and refuge sought are at the center of Hairy, a cotton-candy seller, and some of her friends and co-workers.

Posted by Nathan Gemayel at 6:19 PM | Comments (0)

The Disk Premiere

I'm in this movie that's premiering at the Tivoli on the Loop. It's called The Disk: Code Zero. If you're in the St. Louis area, or other parts of the country, you should come...December 28th at 8 p.m. If you want tickets, talk to me, I'll hook you up! I mean, for the price of $10. Tell your friends and family!
OK, so here's the trailer:

Posted by Nathan Gemayel at 5:31 PM | Comments (0)

November 5, 2008

History in America!!!

I remember as a kid watching black people being sprayed with a fire hose on the sidewalk with force during the segregation. I remember asking, "why?," with sadness. A couple of years ago Barack Obama wrote a book called, "The Audacity of Hope," to think how ironic that title is when putting it in conjunction with the "I Have a Dream" speech of MLK Jr. 45 years ago. The glass ceiling has finally been broken not just for African Americans, but all minorities. I can't know what it's like to be a black person in our country, but it must be a good day.

As a person who has generally voted Republican I had a difficult time coming up with a decision. If nothing else, my pro-life-iness keeps me voting GOP. However, I couldn't help but think about wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and how many thousands of people have died. I couldn't help but think about health care in our country and how many people don't have coverage and therefore, are not cared for. I can't help but think about kids who haven't been blessed to grow up in a community with great public schools like mine in Kingsport. I can't help but think about immigration reform and the millions of people who are given a second chance through America for something better. Through each of these situations and others not mentioned, God's fingerprint is on them. When He created Adam and Eve, He gave them tasks to do...they were not just to be in relationship with God, but with the land, and with each other. This would include taking what is given to you, whatever the education, situation, race, or gender and pursue something good and useful for our society. It is true that it is our humanness alone that gives us dignity, but given the right situation and education people can have hope to achieve greater heights...and given the right opportunities, they can make it happen.
When man was first created, God gave man a job to do, which included naming the animals, to work the land, and to multiply. Something spiritual, no matter how mundane they may seem, happens when we do our own "working of the land." It seems that by simply providing for ourselves we are in relationship with God, and no matter how task-y it seems, we are exercising our own dignity as human beings created by God. I can't help but feel like human dignity is given a push forward with Obama.
While I am excited about the outcome of the election, I am aware of the fact that we still live in a fallen world. There is no one person who can make things the way they ought to be except Jesus, it is true. I hope and pray that our nation can move forward together. As I have seen on bumper stickers, "God is NOT a Republican, or a Democrat." As both McCain and Obama urged Americans to do last night, it's time to cross party lines and work together.

Posted by Nathan Gemayel at 12:20 PM | Comments (6)

November 2, 2008

Sweet Chicken Nuggets: vol. 3

Hey! Hey! Haiku!
The results came in from the second annual Haiku contest, and yours truly received 3rd place honors! There were 17 entries, I was therefore surprised to get the news that I actually placed. Here are my entries:

FALL:
Walking without shoes
We crack the leaves together
Embraced in the cold

WINTER:
How come it's so cold?
Did we piss off el Niño?
Better grab my scarf

Urban Garden in the Fall

Ben Gibbard, the Scorpian King
Did you hear that Ben Gibbard got stung by a scorpi0n this week? Death Cab for Cutie is on tour right now and were about to go on stage in San Diego, while changing pants for the beginning of the show Gibbard felt something close to a bee sting two different times. Nick Harmor, another band member says that although everything seems fine, they haven't ruled out the possibility that he's been affected in a superpower kind of way from the incident.

Elections, I'm Over It
Is anybody else as sick of hearing about the elections as I am? I'm just ready to go get my vote on and move to the next 4 years. I feel like at this point the entire country needs a vacation for a week or two after November 4th...we all need to take off of work and go to the beach. It's funny, every Halloween party I went to was attended by somebody running for office...don't remember that being the case in the past. It's time for pop culture to get back to being political-free.

Posted by Nathan Gemayel at 5:13 PM | Comments (1)