Nerd Mode

First things first: I always find it interesting that even though I have exponentially more time on my hands during break from school, I usually end up being lazy and am far less active than I am during school. I think it's because school keeps me on an active routine, and thus I am more motivated to do stuff.

While on break, sitting on the couch watching television always sounds more attractive than cleaning, writing, moving. So some things suffer over break. Like updating this here blog. But now school is in full swing again and life becomes active once more.

Some cool things happened last night and I found myself hopelessly entangled in Nerd Mode.

After Bible Study (where I had some cool revelations, more on that in a bit), I ended up in my room with Katie, my roomate Greg and his girlfriend Steph. Katie and I were about to jump head-in to disc 3 of 'Planet Earth' when Greg and Steph came in to hang out. Greg asked about my record player, and the ball got rolling.

I often find myself living with two different kinds of people: those in tune with the more artsy culture I tend to follow (indie music, small-market films, classic literature) and those who couldn't care less about that kind of stuff. Mind you, I don't consider myself 'cooler' because I appreciate this stuff more. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' - other people have other interests. If anything, I'm just a big nerd.

And I fall into Nerd Mode sometimes, like when Greg asked about my record player - he's one of those not exactly in tune with my interests (though, of course, Greg and I are close friends and share several common interests.) As I started explaining the vinyl to him, Steph turned her attention to my Sufjan Stevens records. That's when I really got excited - I can sing Sufjan's praises for hours. And I probably would have last night if 'Planet Earth' hadn't been calling my name. Either way, I started playing Sufjan for them and talking fast and answering their questions and being a big nerd about my music and my vinyl. This is stuff I am really passionate about, and if there are more people to be learned on it, then I am willing to do the learning.

It was good time in my room hanging out with Greg and Steph, even though I was being a nerd and probably completely overwhelmed them (Katie is used to this kind of stuff.)

I found it interesting that this exchange with Greg and Steph happened last night because of what we had discussed at Bible Study. Josh had mentioned at group the passage Psalm 103:5, which says God 'satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.' We discussed this in relation to our desires for things like music, movies, etc. (it's a Bible Study for those who find themselves more into artsy stuff like indie music and such), and my friend Max had an interesting thing to say.

Max said that he doesn't desire to watch more movies (which threw us all off because he's a film student and knows more about movies than anyone I've ever met), but that what he truly enjoys is watching a favorite movie of his with someone who has never seen it, or discussing different aspects of movies with someone else.

And it hit me - I'm the same way with music. Sure, I love to get a new CD or find a new artist and listen to them, but my real excitement comes from sharing that with other people. And as we talked about it more, we connected that idea with the idea of community, and how we are called to live in community and fellowship. I was excited because I thought about how maybe we have this excitement because this is how God sometimes calls us into community, through passions like these and our willingness to share them.

Yes, I got caught up in Nerd Mode last night. When I get worked up about my passion for music, all these desires I have to share my passion overflow and I get to be like a kid on Christmas morning.

Maybe you could say my youth had been restored like the eagle's.