And More Thankful

I am home tonight. In the elder house. They tucked me in! Their bed time story was much nicer than Taffis. and now i am all snuggled in!

But i cant sleep...but tonight it is because i am super thankful

I am thankful for
- Really cool friends who made my night AWESOME
- Solid non moving ground
- Really good brownies
- Great advice
- Rock band
- Good internet speed
- Silence...something i really missed in the white noise of the boat
- The houston heat
- Greek food
- God!

Sorry, i know i wasnt meant to continue blogging....but this is addictive.

While laying down, i was thinking of the scene we watched from the Emperor's new clothes



So maybe in reality this does not happen. Maybe there isnt a red suit wearing pitch fork carrying cool dude who can do hand stands on my left shoulder all the time, who is bullying a robe wearing harp carrying dude, but there is a constant battle going on in me. Should i listen to advice, should i obey, should i just punch someone in the face, should i be humble etc etc.....the battle IS always there...

Maybe these angels were a metaphor.. or maybe the metaphor was not for angels but for the different aspects of the human soul (different desires etc) and then changed by society.....maybe?

I am going to start using the word "righteous" like Julie :)

BAAAAAAA

Its a happy night tonight!

Freedom

So what does freedom really mean? Is it the ability to be finally be able to do what one wants to do? Can there be certain restrictions for freedom? I think so! I am gonna be freed today. Finally go home (julie's closet)...and i couldnt be happier!



I am really happy. Scratch that.....i am ecstatic! I've missed good people...and good conversations...and walks in parks..and animals....and i guess.....all sorts of random things....like middle of the day starbucks...and buying food for random people...and picking up litter from the park....and going on walks....and....i have missed loads of stuff. Maybe i have missed some ballerinas in my life as well!




I've been thinking loads about if i want Taffi to continue working in the oil field. Taffi does not want to......is tiered of it. Has had some super bad experiences in the past month....and it has last a really bad taste in Taffi's mouth. I am not so sure. Taffi seems to be ok at it, can get the job done etc. Doesnt seem to be really taxing (mentally) for taffi.....why not continue.

Was talking to a guy who has been in the oil industry for like 40 years......and all he can still talk about is MORE MONEY....MORE MONEY.....money seems to be like an unsatiable greed.

Taffi used to think that everyone in the oil industry forever and ever on some deep down level is greedy.....or bad or something. Taffi is realizing that is stupid. I mean, i told taffi that the ballerina's earthly father has been in it forever....and he seems to be a stellar of a person.....so that doesnt make sense. Taffi agrees


Regardless......Taffi is happy tonight. Freedom is just around the corner ...or is it. There is the chopper ride....(s c a r y) and then the long ride back home....and then Taffi will have to face the family.......not exciting prospects but something shall have to be done.

Anyways, i end this blog...with a happy dance.

This blog shall continue....at random occasions now...whenever i need to communicate to some awesome people in my life :)

Signing out...

With loads of l word

Baaaaaaaaaa



Jacob Elder!

Class disparity and relationships.....

Taffi is really thankful today. Taffi chatted with someone random for a bit today, and it helped Taffi. Clear out the mind. Give some hope. It was good.

Been thinking of some more thinks I am thankful for.

1. Julie (THE NOOK...NOT THE PERSON)
2. This awesome bookmark i have....it says "the most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious".
3. I read a quote today.....it said something to the extent that if you are not constantly struggling with your soul, struggling to make certain moral decisions, you are not making life what it should be. Life needs to be a constant struggle. It was for all. It is an accepted fact that it is a broken world, we are waging a war against Satan and his evil forces, so if everything is fine and dandy, there is something seriously wrong. We may have compromised, or settled ....on issues we shouldnt have.
Good to know this....cause i know i am still mad struggling....with lots of things





Taffi has been grappling with an issue for the past few days. Not the biggest issue ...but certainly one worth worrying about.

Taffi feels very strongly about class disparity and discrimination. We are all humans and deserve basic rights. To treat one differently based upon any reason, color, money, religion, position in life, age, gender, sexual preference, physical disability, whatever it may be...is WRONG...and should not be tolerated. Everyone deserves to be treated humanely. Taffi tells me childhood stories, where people with lesser financial standing were treated horribly (eating left overs, tying shoe laces, staying out in the sun, the whole nine yards)..and that is a burden Taffi definatly will bear for the rest of life.

So check this out. How is this any different now , on these boats, in this great country of USA. The client reps all get their own rooms. and better internet service. How is that ANY SORT OF FAIR? BP does not allow its female employees to share rooms with guys...either with other females or on your own. That is fine enough. But why is this rule not implied on the other contractor females (they are working down the chain for us). Is their "safety" and "privacy" not important enough. Why do client reps get more privileges, INTERNET, PHONES IN ROOMS, BETTER SERVICE etc?

How is this not another Rosa Parks situation....with Taffi being on the wrong side of the fence?




Now dont get Taffi wrong.....Taffi really enjoys this privilege and is spoilt to the extent that would not know what to do....if Taffi did not have this facility. But still.....how is that fair?

This is a systematic issue.....tons and tons of boats were literally made this way....single bunk rooms (on quieter floors) for clients. Really? Do others not deserve good sleep, privacy, own space etc? (Also consider that others do more critical work ..lifts, manhandling etc, and are here for extended periods).

This is bothering Taffi....


Was thinking about something else. About God really. Taffi has a tendency/desire of asking for stuff sometimes, but then that makes Taffi kinda see God more as a genie, a wish fulfiller than a God! Wonder if we all want that sometimes, for God to be our genie, that He just appear when we rub our little lamp, and jump through hoops for us, grant us our wishes and dissapear....That really cant be reality. I thought that it was more about having a relationship with God! Maybe that is why it is so hard for me! I havent ever had a real good relationship with anyone, or cared for anyone, so caring for a being i cant even see, or having a relationship with Him, that is bewildering.

Countdown continues..1 day 8 hours 56 mins 23 secs

Cheese

Taffi owed this to the Ballerinas for a while.....but Taffi is lazy, and disobedient, and didnt wanna do it.

Hence I, the faithful sheep Jacob has dun it.....dun dun dun....

Here goes......and yes this took some time.


Mozerella = Cow + Bufallo
Caravane= Camel
Buffalo = Buffalo
Cow=colby jack, pepper jack, provel
Cow and eve = Richotta
Cow and Reindeer= Juustoleipa
cow ewe and goat milk= Feta
cow sheep goat= Farmer
Cow ewe = baby swiss, cheddar, brie, beer cheese, Gouda, montery jack, Parmessean, pressato, richota, swiss,
Eve and goat= Aragon, xynotaro
Pure goat milk = acapella, fromaggio de capra
Mare Milk= Airag
Yak Milk= Tibet

And yes, the image is of Gouda Cheese!!!

Crickets chirping

No detailed blog or pics today. Just quiet reminisces of the past,and thoughts about life!
Baaaa

Trends

Your favurite sheep Jacob at your service!

I have been selfish today, thinking of myself. Today, I thought about my actions and thoughts and if i was letting myself get swayed by the trends and fashions of current times. All the other sheep want fluffy wool, so do all. All of them want to eat grass, and so do i! yall notice a pattern over here?

Spoke to Taffi about this. Taffi has been having similar thoughts. Are actions motivated by something internal, a greater yearning for truth and honor and service, or is it all a trend. Another way to busy the mind, cloud it with so many influences that it is unable to see reality.

Read on the news that Oprah ended her TV show, and wondered why it was important enough to get a headline on CNN. The same stands true for the actor from Greece. I mean, it is sad that someone died, but every human life is worth the same, if this death should occupy front page on a major news website, so should the poor man who died in the slums of idea. It has to be the same.

Taffi is re-reading blue like jazz before the conference. Read the part about congo to me. It says that we can not really end the tragic civil war in congo unless we win the war against our sinful nature......we cant end slavery in the world if we are still slaves to our desires.....we cant end starvation in developing nations if we are starving for some sort of closure ourself.

Taffi has been thinking loads for the past couple of days..its become kind of sad in the room....wont talk to me....wont tell me long stories. Pretty sure Taffi has something serious on the mind....but tells me that i am too "sheepish" to understand!


So after all that seriousness, here is my cool pic for the day....baby panda recently born in a zoo


Baaa,

Blue, Water spouts, crackers and cookies

I like the color blue, it makes sense to me. Blue makes sense to me. It makes me feel peace and calm. Blue was my favorite color, at the time i was choosing favorites. I used to color these little figures in my 4th grade text book, and the family i colored was always BLUE. I got scolded for that once, that i wasnt colorful enough. I disagreed with the teacher then, and i disagree with her now.

There were too more water spouts heading towards the boat today. It was a little scary again. One passed less than 100m away from the platform. Could have caused the platform serious harm. Taffi was wondering if platfroms are designed for a certain magnitude of water spout.



A few of the folks left the boat today. Taffi was sad. The two guys taffi gets along well with left....and then taffi was bombarded with lots of stupid news.

And oh, Taffi ran out of the animal cracker supplies. Taffi had rationed out, 2.2/day...still had a few to go, but a guy just came in the room and started eating them! How rude. This is the last guy....a horse

Taffi has been reading a book called the warrior's code. It is about spiritual warefare. This is a paragraph about pain

"What is the pain of being human? To me, it’s the condition of being suspended between two worlds and being unable to fully enter into either. We can’t reach the upper realm (that belongs to the gods) but we can’t forget it either; we can’t escape intimations and half-memories of … what? Some prior sojourn, before birth perhaps, among the immortals or the stars."

OK....lil Jacob is out. Fizzle is leaving tonight to go to San Antonio with the elders. I am excited for him.

Baaaaaaaaaa

HIP HOP and Diamonds

Here yee here yee
What do yall see
You see Jacob the sheep
As Gangsta as he can be

I be rhymin this mornin
Too tiered to write proper
I am the only sheep you will know
Who is a real tight rapper

I be writtin tonight about the hard life
Bout struggles and what they make
They create a soul in us
A heart, if we aint fake

Under pressure is a good thing
It makes carbon into diamond
Silver and brass will melt under regular heat
But what about platinum

Its the struggles that make us they say
Determine our integrity and real grit
Its the dodgy ones who upon seeing issues
Blame others, or worse, they split

You choose your struggles though
There are those u can avoid
But picking the battle for the true cause is awesome
The things the society tries to hide

Ones got to open his soul to new ideas
In the brain and heart are where the real battles wage
Territory or land or religion may be used as the pretext
But issues really happen when one's mentality is in a cage

I saw the sun rise this mornin
Over a flat ocean horizin
Across the world there are numerous folks
And millions of wars they are fighting

Stop this garbage you folks
Says the white gansta sheep J to the dawg
Dont live in ignorance
In your mind it creates a fog

There is truth out there to seek
And the humble and meek with inherit the earth
If i live up to my ideals and morals
I will be ok, even if i am poor as dirt

Peace..and Romans

Taffi wants to go home today, or at-least be on solid land. The winds and waves are picking up, the boat is really rocking but that does not seem to be an issue. I think Taffi's "word" and "integrity" was questioned, and it is bothering Taffi to a very high level.

During a moment of reflection, it made Taffi think about Peace.....what it really means....and how it can ever be achieved. So there have been movements since the beggining of time for it, great revolutionaries are proponents of it, every religion seems to be talking about it, but where does true peace originate from?

Is it guys like John Lennon who can spread peace in the world, was Malcolm X right, or what Martin Luther's approach better?

What makes people act in vile manners? Point fingers? Create things out of nothing? One thing is for sure though....we live in a broken broken world...and some people are just sad.

How do some things provide us with more comfort than others. Great music for example, and arts...and just a good book

Taffi made me listen to some Ingrid Michelson stuff.....she is great.





One of the songs we heard was about controlling emotions....how much can we, or should we control them.....control them too much and you loose your soul..become a robot.....control them too little and you end up hurting other people and messing things up....

There has to be a fine balance with it all....

Baaaa.....aint i sounding like a wise sheep today....baaaa

Gangsta...real freedom..and thankfulness

Baaa....

It was a better day today for Taffi, and so we hung out. Things are sort of calming down and therefore Taffi and I had some quality time. Taffi told me about "Gangsta-ness" and what it means to have real values.

Taffi was really torn between some concepts today. So, we are supposed to stand up for what we believe is right, and true and honest...and uphold the honor of the poor and the downtrodden and those dismissed by society. How about family and friends? Where does the line lie? Would you stand in court and testify for your friend in a dishonest manner? How about if you knew the entire court system was corrupt? Would you still do it?

This is me in my gangsta hat!!!



This made us chit chat about freedom. What does real freedom mean? Taffi had a nice conversation today with one of the galley hands. He grew up in Louisiana and has experienced loads of racial segregation. This made Taffi think about how wrong segregation actually is. How bad would i feel if i could not hang out with cool black sheep, and brown sheep, and purple goats.....the sad part is that it lasted for so long. How many cool people were actually ok with the whole concept of slavery....never realized how wrong it was. How many other things are going on, that we are not truly cognicent off? How do we actually stand up against injustice in the modern day and age?

Taffi has been reading this book by Howard Zinn about this, called the "People's history of the United States". It looks at history from a different perspective....the view of the black immigrant instead of the senate man, the view of the indian being slaughtered instead of that of Christopher Columbus. There is a documentary about it as well! Great stuff. Taffi has the book on the nook ,and i have been reading it. BAAAAAAAAA





I have been asked to write about what i am thankful as a cute white fluffy sheep for...here are my top items.

1. I am thankful for my friends..and people l-word me. It makes my existance in this world meaningful
2. For the fact that i have some sort of comfort and hope in my life. That life is not deed based. So i dont need to be doing good sheepish things all the time
3. For being able to see and appreciate things sometimes other sheep can not see
4. For thai food
5. Browniessssssssssssss

OD-ing on Tylenol....and mind words

Baaa....

I am not feeling to well. I got all angry today, and had a massive headache, probably cause Taffi was in a bad mood last night and did not read me any bed time stories :(

So i tried to take some ibobrufen. Straight up OD-ed on it.











All of this made my sheep brain think about reactions. What kind of reactions do we have to our surroundings? Taffi read an article stating that "we are the average of the 5 people we hang out with/talk to/think about/like etc the most . That makes sense to Taffi.....but it scares Taffi at the same time. Taffi does not want to be the average of the 5 people around...


The speech i heard today ..well....it was weird! Taffi had been talking to someone about...the potential to change one's self, one's wishes, desires. The speech was about something similar. It spoke about how the society effects us, we are creatures of influence. We may think certain things are the norm, acceptable in these days. The idea about a "growing life", with self growth and discipline at its core is to choose where one gets his influence from. One can get it from the media, or his surroundings, or he can choose the books, and company he keeps, and use those to continuously improve and optimize himself.

Thats all i got for today!

Baaaa

Thinking ..and Hazelnut flavored cookies

Hello

Short blog today, because I am worried today.

Taffi seems to be restless...and pacing, and agitated today. Taffi was chatting with someone around 11pm, and then just got all irritated. Not seen Taffi like this on this trip. Seems to be all moody, and in thought and stuff. S C A R Y!!!!


On another note, some other folks on the boat were in a bad mood as well. The galley hand Taffi made friends with has a sick mother. He wants to go home, but does not want to go home at the same time (wants to continue making money for her). In order to cheer him up, Taffi pulled out the hidden stash of hazelnut flavored cookies. They are a hit on the boat.



I dont like Taffi in a bad thoughtful mood. Things arent so fun anymore.

I am getting homesick now...

baaaa

Cookies and Monkeys and Rabbits

Hi Ho everyone

I am super duper hyper today...cause i had oatmeal+ peanutbutter+ chocolate chip cookies ..and they were YUMMY

I woke up when Taffi tried to sneak out of bed cause of some noise outside. We had a supply boat offloading some groceries to ours. It was amazing. No one was helping the galley crew load a bunch of stuff. So Taffi went out to help them. It is amazing. As Taffi went, more and more people started to come by and help as well!! BAAA. Taffi calls it magic. I call it ....sheep power!

Taffi and the other challanger decided to do something for the boat crew today. So they decided to bake cookies. The kitchen is by far the busiest place on the boat. Cookie making was ....it was not up Taffi's alley...but it made Taffi feel good. People and sheep were happier, and more hyper...and it made the day go by faster



So, the lecture Taffi heard today was by this new speaker. And he was talking about a subject Taffi has been thinking about. It is about the blurry boundary of self reliance (independance) and depending on others. There was a famous concept about helping stop starvation in 3rd world countries. It was thought that if people were provided with a pair of rabbits and a piece of land, the rabbits would populate with each other and their waste products would fertilize the land to enhance crops. As long as a decent amount of rabbits remained, the people would have both meat and vegetables, in a cyclic process. However, this plan never worked....because people always ate up the rabbits faster than they could reproduce and keep the land fertile. So, the point being that if one cuts off his source of nourishment, is too greedy, too focused on the immediate outcome, he may loose his long term focus. That may happen in choosing mentors/disciples/friends etc. Are we looking for instant gratification in them? Would it be ok to have a little bit of pain/suffering sometimes to have a better long term situation.

The idea of responsibility was presented. When we are in college....we have a small amount of it. We know we should probably go to class and get good grades...and maybe look for a job. A small monkey on our shoulders



Then we graduate, get a job, and the monkey turns in to a chimpanzee. Be on work on time, be there everyday, act in a particular manner, represent your company around others etc



Then we grow up, have a family, a pet goat, 2 kids and a house...and suddenly the chimp is now an orangutan. We hardly have time to do any self reflection. Run in between work, house, moving the lawn, playing the social scene...





The question over here is :
1. Are we willingly taking these responsibilities? Do we know what they entail and is that what we signed up for?
2. Are we just doing these to get busy......for the sake of getting busy? Ignoring the true calling?


Reminds me (Jacob) of a quote....."GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT"

Ok...my hyperness is done..and so is my blog for the night!!! Baaaaaad

Cleaning and inciting incidents

Jacob again, at your service




I had a cleaning day today. Ok, actually Taffi had a cleaning day. Yesterday, Taffi had noticed that the cleaning staff did alot of work in the galley. So this morning, Taffi woke up without telling me, sneaked out of the room around 11:30 (mid morning meal time) and asked the Galley guys if Taffi could help em. They looked as if Taffi had lost neurons..but then said "hey, its your boat, whatever you wanna do"

So Taffi cleaned counters, washed disgusting plates and pots and then helped put icing on a cake...for like 2 hours. It is disgusting. Taffi came in smelling of 409, bleach and clorox all combined. But....Jacob knows that Taffi had alot of fun.....baaa!! It felt more productive than Taffi has felt for the longest time. Everyone gave Taffi weird stares...and a couple of people asked Taffi if everything was alright!

It was fun....baaa......after seeing Taffi cleaned, i got all inspired and tried picking up the room towel (see photo) and clean Taffi's room. I am a procrastinating sheep though....baaa






James (the other challanger) told taffi about Mike Tyson today! He had an inciting incident. He grew up in the slums of Broklyn and loved to feed pigions. One day in high school Mike and his buddy were sitting at the bridge, feet dangling, feeding pigions when suddenly a dude just straight up stepped on a pigion and killed it. It filled Mike with more fury than he had ever felt and for the first time in his life, Mike fought. He beat up the dude, and at that moment, something clicked in him. He wanted to be a fighter. And ever since then , he has been fighting.

The moral of the story being that there can be a single incident in your life which can change its course. But we have to "LET IT CHANGE US". Cant remain stagnant. Like myself, i needed to come on this offshore trip with Taffi. Baaaaa



Taffi read the following thingy today...and read it to me (yeah...our QT is reading time)....

I have loved you with an everlasting love
I have drawn you with loving kindness
I will build you up again
and you will be rebuilt
And go out to dance with the joyfull (Jeremiah 31:3-4)

That just makes me wanna smile!!!


BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Jacob makes a friend and thinks of elephants

Hi there, Jacob here

I made a new freind today. He is the other challanger with Taffi on the job. An Alaskan Native, he is def the most interesting challanger Taffi has spoken to. Taffi and he have gotten pretty close over the past few days. They were chilling in Taffis room when he spotted me and wanted a picture with me. :)

No Julie, he is not PC material.

Reasons:

No JC lover