The Retraction

Re: A comment made by I (Tyna Vayalilkollattu) to an answer provided by Patrick Geyer.

In discussing the matter of What would you do with one million dollars? proposed by Phil Mittlestaedt (resident "youth pastor"), Patrick Geyer (an attending and present youth) proceeded to answer the question by saying he would, if provided with the one million dollars in question, purchase a computer with the dollar value of $15 000.00 (fifteen-thousand). At this time I, Tyna Vayalilkollattu, (who from this time forward will be referred to as "party A") responded with a "comment" to the likeness of: "our first one was thirty". At this time "party A" would like to clarify that the "thirty" (30), mentioned in her statement at the time of discussion, was in fact a false statement, if the statement was understood to have been interpreted in such a way as to represent thirty-thousand dollars ($30 000.00). The "first one" party A spoke of, is in reference to the first "computer" purchased for the household of the "Vayalilkollattu's". This initial "computer" was not in-fact thirty-thousand dollars ($30 000.00), it was thirty-hundred dollars ($3 000.00), in conjunction with colloquial and "popular" phrases, this sum is also said to be equivalent to "three-thousand" (3 000).
If by any means party A put forth the assumption or verified any comment that was made to clarify that the afore mentioned "thirty" meant thirty-thousand (30 000), please be notified of party A's apologies.
Be also notified that: party A has a slight tendency to speak without pre-meditation, and be advised that future "retractions", "corrections", and/or "apologies" may be common and/or prevalent in email "inboxes" or during a discussion setting.


"youth pastor": (a) youth- a young person, older than a child, younger than a legal adult. (b) pastor- lit. shepherd; a title and role of one in the church who performs duties of guidance

"comment": a statement or remark made to refute, prove, support, or deny a previous statement or remark.

"computer": used to describe the compilation of the technological device you currently sit in front of reading these very words.

"popular": the familiar or common trend among a segment or selected population or representation of peoples.

"retractions": plural. a withdrawal or renunciation of a statement.

"corrections": plural. a reassessment of a given piece of information resulting in a change to an error or wrong committed or said.

"apologies": plural. a statement expressing sorry, affirming an error committed and implicitly requesting forgiveness; a rare trend among many individual persons.

*please note: these definitions do not reflect the definitions of any published or certified dictionary and wholly flow from the mind, thoughts, and opinions of "party A".

Sincerely,

Tyna Vayalilkollattu

Ode to my Sweatpants

Oh dear Sweatpants
How glorious is thy comfort,
Thy sweet smell of cotton polyester
Will forever linger in the depths of my nostrils.
Fromst the dawning of the sun,
Till the rising of the moon
I shall dwell in thy 'er flowing fabric.
The warmth thou dost provide is as none other.
Only a mother's hug can I compare to the peace you give.
The elastic of your waist permits for the
Expansion and compression of mine own.
Oh, how I shall miss thee my lovely Sweatpants,
Only the curry, mustard, and oil
Stains shall profess of my love,
And the chocolate on the back-side
Shall speak of the midnight treasures we be-took.
I shall remember how you slid down my waist
Till you sat comfortably on my hips,
But nay, never to go further,
Lest you reveal those curves you hide so well.
How glorious was our time together
And never shall I forget the
Comfort and unshapely silhouette you gave in return
For my love.

Blessings

everyone's always talking about blessings, "bless you", "you're blessed", "i'm blessed", it's become a word that is used by anyone and all the time, but what does it actually mean to be blessed? i don't want to throw out a dictionary definition, it's pointless- unless webster has actually witnessed and had a blessing, he has no idea the power of a blessing. well, to me, a blessing is God's ultimate gift, an answer to prayers, a promise, and something he won't ask for back. These past few days i've been thinking about my blessings: a house, 3 blankets on my bed for the cold winter nights, heating when the blankets aren't enough, hot water when i come in from the rain and cold, a mom who makes the best chicken curry in the whole world, a dad who understands, a sister i can pick on and lead to God, the rest of my family- all special in their own ways, a church where i am welcomed and loved, and above all friends.
being a part of the indian culture, it's always emphasized how important family is, but i'm living in a western society where friends are the focus, not family. and you know what, my friends are nothing else but a blessing. each day i have to thank God for bringing them into my life, and i do. each one in their own way help me through my day in their own way. one makes me laugh, another tells me when my head gets too big, another sprouts with the wise words at just the right time, and the other listens when i need to be heard. They really are God's blessings, i can't emphasize that enough, and i don't ever think they will actually know how much of a blessing and privilege they are in my life.
i don't want to get sappy, but they really are a big part of my life, and i truly believe, and we tell each other this all the time, we are lucky and blessed to have each other. through all the battles of life, home, work, school, we've helped one another fight and conquer. when hallmark talks about friends they have no idea what they're talking about. real friendship isn't described in words, it's felt inside and granted and given by God.
just image, 20 years ago, God was forming 4 other people who He knew i was going to meet 18 years later, in an english lit class, was going to form a study group and form a bond that will last us until we, well....until He decides. i can't in any way believe it was randomness that brought us together, no way was it coincidence that caused one of my friends to move half way across the world to be at my highschool and in my class. i'm not leaving this magnificent grouping of people to random molecules that could possibly have missed a collision, i leave it to God, who caused circumstances to collide, to be brought together. Someone's gotta be behind this blessing, and it's gotta be God Himself, who knows all, sees and, and forms the now for the future.
Amongst all my blessings that i recieve and have recieved, i'm glad for the 4 in my life that are in the 4 friends that i thank God for daily.

Laugh

i love to laugh, so here's a website with some really Ha-larious stuff:
http://www.comedy-zone.net/shopping/index.htm
the funny pictures and quotes are of particular interest to me!

Certain Words

okay here's the deal:
i'm a christian, not just by name- by practice, to the best of my ability and with much help from above. i don't like meaningless talk about nothing in particular and vague summations of a days events that have nothing to do with my life. if you've got something important to say, something funny, something that will benefit my mood, feeling or disposition- say it, if it doesn't, please accompany me in prayer or my poli readings. calling other people vulgar names and judging their person by what they say in a few brief moments is something i try not to do. above all i do not appreciate swearing, even in the least. my friends call me "virgin ears"- as much as i would like to experience this, unfortunately the world i live in has no regard for clean language and broad vocabulary, thus i must admit, my ears are not virginal, i have heard all sorts of bad words, dirty phrases, sly remarks and altogether words that make me cringe.
what is it with people, is their vocabulary so limited that they feel as though they need to fill thier meaningless sentences with such excessive profanity to make it sound somewhat filled with meaning? some wise person should have said "it is not how many words you can say, but how many words you can mean"- or something to that extent- i cannot admit to being a wise person, thus lack some fluidity in saying what i want to mean.
i can walk into any random building, and there is bound to be one person who is adamant about using their choice of swear word at least 4 times in one sentence. now mind you, an english sentence is composed of a subject, noun, and verb, there may be additional words within that one sentence making it about 6-10 words long. now, if you add the same word 4 times throughout this sentence have you achieved anything? at most you have added 4 words to your sentence- you have not enhanced the meaning, caused the listener to give more thought to what you have said- if what you have to say deserves any thought to begin with-, and you have not futhered yourself in anyway by representing yourself as a person of intellect to those around you.
i can forgive others who have no idea who i am or what i believe in, but i expected more from my friends, who know what i believe, who know that i don't like hearing those words, who know how i can feel disjointed as soon as one of those words pops into a sentence. i expected more, i was too hopeful.
but that's okay, i can set an example, keep asking them to stop, give them unsatisfied looks, and do other creative things to let them now my position on such words and phrases. but what gets me- is that everyone talks about respect, respect those around you, respect their opinions, respect what they have to say, respect what they believe in- do i not count amongst those people who deserve respect? i thought it was just common curtesy to use polite language around people, i guess that rule when out the window when the world accepted "coloureds"- you know to keep the balance.
another thing, if you're sure you want to use any profane language, you know your friends are okay with it, and you're ready to bear any consequences that may arise from the use of the word, please use it in the right context! if you don't know what the word means, i mean really means, don't use it! it's just annoying!
before i get too caught up in my ranting, i shall end.

God's Boxes

God's Boxes
I have in my hands two boxes,Which God gave me to hold?He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black box,And all your joys in the gold."I heeded His words, and in the two boxes,Both my joys and sorrows I stored,But though the gold became heavier each day,The black was as light as before.With curiosity, I opened the black,I wanted to find out why,And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole,Which my sorrows had fallen out by.I showed the hole to God, and mused,"I wonder where my sorrows could be!"He smiled a gentle smile and said,"My child, they're all here with me."I asked God, why He gave me the boxes,Why the gold and the black with the hole?"My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings,The black is for you to let go."
-Julie Beitel-

introduction

my page, for my thoughts. written with my grammer and my punctuation. expressing me and what i believe. to be judged by none. and read by those who wish to be enticed by the ramblings of a person who speaks for none to hear. this is mine.