Uvula

(Jordan and I looking at my Uvula in her computer camera.)
Uvula is the term I found after googling "the dangling thing in the back of my mouth is swollen" at 5am NOV 22, 2006. After finishing an essay around 4am, I attempted to fall asleep. Unfortunately I began coughing uncontrollable. I decided to get up and look at my mouth in the mirror, upon which I nearly had a panic attack. To encapsulate this moment, imagine a second tongue in your mouth. This tongue was either moving around in my mouth, resting on my real tongue, or it was going down my throat and giving me a chocking sensation.

I figured I needed help, but who was I going to wake up? Maybe someone would be up. And who would guess no one other then Katy. Katy is an easy going Texan who has a weird sleeping schedule. She simply looked in my mouth and told me "oh that’s probably fine, I think I had that once." This oddly enough calmed me down. I tried to go back to sleep, but no such luck. Upon freaking out again, I decided to resort to google.com. At google, I quickly typed "dangly think in the back of my mouth" under the image search. I found a diagram where it pointed out the uvula. Then I typed "swollen uvula" under the web search which pulled up a wikipedia article on the Uvula. It is truly amazing how useful the internet is.

At wikipedia I found: "At times, the mucous membrane around the uvula may swell, causing the uvula to expand 3-5 times its normal size. When the uvula touches the throat or tongue, it can cause sensations like gagging or choking."

Later it said: "There are many theories about what causes the uvula to swell, including: 1) dehydration "

Upon which I drank around 10-12 glasses of water.

I was rest assured when reading: "A swollen uvula is normally not life-threatening and subsides in a short time, typically within a day."

Since Wikipedia has not failed me yet, I calmed down and attempted to get some sleep. Upon which it took me about half an hour to fall asleep, due to the coughing and gagging. Once asleep, I found myself waking up periodically due to the urge to go to the bathroom from all the water I drank. Then it was back to trying to fall back asleep.

Through all this, I was never too upset. I couldn't help but laugh at how weird the situation was. Telling people I have a swollen uvula is also interesting. It’s rather peculiar getting asked how your uvula is doing, which people here seem to enjoy doing.

Wikipedia article can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uvula

Paris...

well.. this has been exciting so far!

we arrived in Paris around 12:30 (Paris time) and try to figure out how to get to place de clichy, which is no easy task may I point out. First all, we have to find people that speak decent enough English. We took the tube to place de clichy, and eventually found our destination... hotel decart. It was too bad our room had flooded. They took us to another hotel. This hotel had no affiliation, but none the less the guy bargained with the lady to get the price down to something similar to the one we had booked. He left in frustration and we were left to bargain with the lady who spoke no Enlgish. She was surprised we wanted one room, because she had no rooms with two beds. When we asked for a room she told us that we must pay for two rooms. It was way too expensive. Anyways, we agreed on 45 euros for one room, and we then went to the room. I finished my paper that was due at 9 am and then went to the old hotel (which promised internet) to mail off my essay. After that we went down some weird street that had a bunch of lights and noise. We thought it would be cool, but we were in for a surprise. It was about 20-30 different strip clubs. Each one had someone, similar to a used cars sell person, trying to heckle us to come in. Telling us that he could give us a a better deal. After all the heckling and walking, we went to bed.

The next morning we woke up late to the hotel lady that spoke no English. She was curious to if we were staying another night because we had slept passed curfew. When we told her no, she told us that 45 was the wrong price. She said that we owed 5, because she didn't know it was two people for one room which was the argument we had with her last night. We paid and left to the Louvre which is the most amazing museum that I have ever seen. We still need to give it another day before we see more of it, but the best exhibits so far were the Italian and French sculptures. They were amazing. We also saw the Mona Lisa which was surrounded by guards that constantly chased people down who were taking pictures despite the fact it was restricted. After that I met up with my friend and went to party. It was an amazing apartment that had a great view of from its balcony. Ryan and I played beer pong and lost. The people were awesome and we plan on seeing them again later on. We then went to get a taxi, but i left to use the bathroom. I got lost, i guess, and found a different taxi que. Ryan was no where to be found. I tried to explain my problem to the taxi driver, but there was no explaining to him to search the near by taxi ques.. I then went back to find no Ryan. Hungry I set out and got some food and found a guy trying to sell my cigarettes. He told me about how his love was in basketball. He admired Jordan and he coached also. There was just no money in coaching, so he sold cigarettes at night during the time the stores that sold them were closed. I found Ryan and we ate our food in our new room which is pleasant.

Look for pictures from the Louvre later! Thanks.

Locke vs Barth

First matter is that I quickly realized that this numbering the blogs by days is not going to workout. I will be lucky if I submit one blog a week.

Amidst the archaic library, I find myself studying David Hume, a great philosopher who puts forth one of the best arguments for agnosticism. From the library I leave to a seminar, where I debate about Locke's argument of reason being the final means to every thing, including religion. What ever happened to the "child like faith" they told us as kids? It is nice though to assume there is faith after all the studying of Hume.

Anyways.... this debate got heated. I just sat back clueless. How could Locke's argument not make sense? Through reason we reach faith, and through reason we should reach our final judgment on everything. If your faith is not based off reason, then what is it? Fear of death?

I personally find these few reasons to stand out for me as a believer.

1) First of all, it was what I was told in Church. Sounds sort of stupid for me to believe everything I am told, but this is different. I was told about Jesus, God, and what not through the people at my Church (well the many Churches..). The people that told me, were told through the congregation that they grew up in. This is a long heritage that has been passed down. I trust that they are telling me the truth about what was told to them. I also place trust in the trust they placed in the people that told them about religion. This is an endless chain. What makes this reason at the top of my list, is how prevalent it is in our world. Just think of the countless congregations there are and have been.

2) People from different places, different times, and different cultures wrote to combine one story with one common voice that is found in the Bible.

3) Different geological evidence that supports the Bible.

4) Skipping a lot of reasons to my last and most favorite, the experiences that I believe I have with God. I place this last because this one has the most doubt. I can't help but think about the idea of our brains in a dim room being massaged into different situations that appear to us. Unknowing to us, we (our brains) never leave the dim room.

These are the reasons I place my faith in God. Reasons are in somewhat of descending order. As in any other reasonable conclusion, the only way to pull you away from that conclusion is through reason. I have to assume that it is theoretically possible to bring forth enough evidence to change my faith. With out doubt there is no belief, there is just knowledge. I believe that the bringing forth of this evidence is highly unlikely. I can't put my finger on what exactly would have to be brought forth, but it would have to be fairly substantial and with great credibility. Maybe the finding of Jesus' remains (particularly bones)?

Who knows. I can never say though that it is impossible for there to be enough evidence and reason to counter all the evidence and reason I have compiled in support of my faith. This is because I find it to be impossible to base your faith off anything but reason.

*Many examples stemmed from prior conversation with Ryan Pendell, but none the less are extremely relevant.

D5-D9: I dont even know

Well.. i kinda have been lazy on the blog. but that will change. A promise to myself. First of all.... D5: we went on a field trip to St Albans. St Albans is famous for St Albans Cathedral which has the longest midieval nave. The church was just amazing. Midieval architecture is awe striking. Up above you can see some of the nave, which wouldn’t fit in the whole picture. St Albans also had one of many pubs which claims to be the oldest in England. I purchased bangers and mash... which is sausage and mash potatoes... it was told to me to be one of the most promising meals. It was okay I guess. Upsetting if it is one of the best meals. We also saw a roman outdoor theater.

Day 6 was a blur... so don’t ask.
D7: On saturday we went to London. Which was amazing. We saw the National Gallery, The Monument, St Paul’s Cathedral, and more.






<--- Big Ben I have never seen so many statues of American presidents than I have in London. When I asked, they informed me sarcastically that the revolutionary war was illegal and that they are proud of their presidents they have sent over.

<--- view of London Tower from The Monument





I am going to put more pictures on facebook so anyone can check them out. Besides that I have been playing soccer. Some of the locals are very good and some are not so good. One not so good local told me that he thought in America that football (soccer) was a woman’s sport and he was quickly to note that America had never won a world cup. I replied with the face that England had only won it once it 1966 when they hosted it.

I have also been reading Duns Scotus, a midieval philosopher for one of my first papers. The reading is pretty good. He touches on metaphysics mainly, which isn't one of my favorite topics. His metaphysics is primitive though, but sometimes that makes it even that much harder to comprehend.

D4: Landscapes, Football, and the club...

Landscapes: Today went by fast as well with the tea breaks and British accents. I learned a little more about the history. A Viking, Canute, succeeded in his invasion of England. He ruled England for a while until he died. Earl Godwine was second in charge during Canute's rule, and he stuck around. Edward the Confessor, a descdent of Alfred the Great, became king and Earl was second in charge yet again. Edward tried to rid England of Earl, but he returned and took over when he came back with a fleet. Edward secretly offered the crown to William the Conqueror, the king of Normandy. It is said that Harold Godwineson gave an oath to William the Conqueror will in need of help in Normandy. The British believe Harold consented to being William’s right hand man while in Normandy, while the Normans believe that he consented the throne to William. Harold Godwineson took over after Earl's death. William heard this and got very upset, he even convinced the pope that Harold had cheated him. Harold’s army went from being a personal vendetta to a blessed army. Harold was waiting for William to attack when his brother, Tostig, attacked with the Vikings because Harold had kicked him out. Harold and his army defeated his brother, and then returned to face William. William changed England, making 90 new castles. He died in Manter, France when a burning log fell in front of him on his horse. It is rumored that he confessed his sins on his death bed and was robbed his dignity and everything he had.

Football: After class I went down town to have tea with the staff of Wycliff hall. I then purchased a soccer ball for 2 pounds and some cleats for 20 pounds. I plan on trying out for Wycliff Hall. I came back and kicked the ball around and juggled a little bit. It has been a while and I am a little rusty. I kicked the ball into the neighbors yard who had to let me in through this crazy gate. They had a really beautiful yard though.

Club: After that we went to The Purple Turtle again. It started out as me and this one girl, and it ended up with 3 guys and about 6 girls. I think some people might have been drunk for the first time in their life. It was kind of funny to see. We even danced which was funnier to see.

D3: Orientation, Pubs, and more!

Orientation: The English people know how to handle school. I don't know if I can stand these long lectures better because listening to their accents is just awesome, or if the face we have a tea break every two hours is very convenient. School is so scary! So many essays. They call it an academic boot camp, which I guess will be beneficial to me. The food served at the cafeteria was not good at all. But besides that, orientation flew by. I started learning about British history. How Romans invaded when there was one main civilization in Ireland, and they sort of took control. Then Vikings came in and started getting rid of the Romans. When the Romans left, the Saxons had nothing left to do but unite and fight against the Vikings. I guess Alfred was the first leader, and his grandson the first king. He was crowned in a very Roman fashion, in Baths, a Roman city. It is crazy to think the influence the Romans have had on the world.

After class I went to a grocery store. They have way different laundry soap. I bought a box of ten packets that are wrapped in these bags. The bags expand and let the soap out at the right time. They also did not have those drier sheets that you throw in. The store lady had a hard time explaining to us how their detergent worked.

Pubs: Tonight is going to be one of my last nights with out a ridiculous work load. So Dan and I headed out to the Pubs. We went to The Purple Turtle first, which was more like a club. It was huge. They played music that any American would be familiar with, and from the sounds of it... most popular music from here comes from America. I plan on going back to The Purple Turtle, when I don’t have school the next day. They have dancing and there seemed to be a vast amount of cute girls. The second pub was The Kings Arm, which was okay. All the people were older than Dan and myself. The beer was a little more expensive there. But we chilled for a while.

I went for a bike ride after the pubs and found a place where people go punting, or riding in these small canoe like boats with big sticks that you stab into the basin of the river to make your boat move. A girl asked me if I was alright. I don't know if I looked not alright from the drinks, or if I just looked lost. It was probably a combination of both. Anyways, I definitely have to try punting.

D2: Church, aquiring a bike, and The Gardeners Arm

Church: St. Mary Magdalen was a small church, but very beautiful. It was built 1000 years ago. The service was very formal and almost resembled a Catholic church. At one point the vicar (what they call pastors over here) sprinkled water on all of us from some contraption he slinged from the front in every direction in order to remind of us the first time we were forgiven for our sins, baptism. Everyone was very friendly and more than egar to tell us what we should check out during our stay. I guess it is not hard to tell we are foriegnors...ha. Afterwards they served cofee and I purchased a couple of post cards. The best part was afterwards the vicar took us to a pub and bought us beer while we chatted for about an hour.

The bike: From dailyinfo.co.uk (a craigslist for Oxford) I found a posting for a bike in Headington. I took a bus there and met a Korean guy, who had trouble with english but still had the accent. His main selling point was the bike had a kick stand which he reminded me of frequently. I attempted to haggle him down froun 49 pounds to 40 pounds, but he wasn't having it. He asked me if I knew what bikes went for around here. I kinda laughed and we settled at 45. Then I set off back to Oxford on my new fully loaded bike that had mudflaps, lights, and a lock. After getting lost and asking a few people for directions, I made it back safley.

When I went on a bike ride I meet a couple girls whom I asked if they knew where a soccer field or basketball court was near by. They were very nice and took me to one that was about 5 blocks away. They seemed more interested in the fact I was American then I was in living in Oxford. At the basketball court I met a local who frequented Seattle. His dad lived there. He wanted to know if I ever went to Seahawk games, and wanted to know all the details when I told him that I have been to a couple.

The Garderners Arm: A pub only 2 blocks away is where Dan and I ate dinner. I ordered currey chicken which was served on top of this giant potatoe. It was actually good. Dan just drank a couple beers. I tried a pimma and lemonade, which was horrible. The bar tender traded it back to me for a half pint of hoegardenner.. which was a very good beer.