for allowing me to run into the right people at the time when I need prayer =]

Well it’s definitely been one of those weeks… too many things to do with too little time…

Luckily, I managed to fit a sizable nap in before my saxophone lesson.

Lately I feel anxious or something. Like the time to act is very soon. I don’t know if this is true or just in my head, but I don’t think I should ignore this.

I feel afraid of what is to come. Obviously I shouldn’t because my God is real and active, but I feel like I haven’t resolved my discovery at Breakthrough: I just don’t trust God. I don’t know why… Why, in spite of all the evidence displayed in my life, do I not trust God? He works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Why do I fear for the future? He plans to prosper me, not to harm me, etc.

Why can’t I be saying this in this post?

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
And to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!

Anyways, I wanna trust You, God. I’m giving what I can of myself right now to You. Please take the rest while you’re at it.

Still needing to go through with a decision that I’ve been discerning for the past few months. Waiting for an opportunity currently. God’s timing is the best timing. I just pray that I can last until then.

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
   therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
   Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18

hmm… not exactly the message I wanted, but oh well…

It’s been awhile. Please don’t leave me again. It’s SO nice to be able to think clearly again.

I really don’t know how to intro this blog post. I should mention that I don’t intend to name any one of my kids these (assuming I get married and have kids; thinking way too far in advance here). I already feel sorry for the boy named Sue from the Johnny Cash song.

However, I haven’t posted here for a LONG time, so here’s what my friends, my dad, and I have come up with:

Ben Zene

Ethel

Polly Ethel (ene)

Decalin

Ethan Noel

Barry Liam

Barry Alm

Kelsey Alm

Dalton

Rault

Henderson Hasselbalch

Al Anene

Anne Yu Lin

Ferris II (or III) oxide (Rusty)

Buckminster (Bucky)

Al DeHyde

Gibbs

Dean Stark

Peg

Lucine

Markovnikoff

Anna Lynn

Nics

Today in lab, my friend and I were discussing an upcoming reaction in our syntheses, and we discovered that coupling reactions and dating relationships are hilariously similar. I’m getting really good at relating chemistry concepts to social concepts. But anyway, here’s a list of similarities between coupling reactions and social couplings. 

1. The idea is to join two things together. They don’t have to be remotely similar. They can be very different.

2. They are painful to setup. Lots of careful planning is required.

3. They require an expensive, often rare-earth metal catalyst.

4. They are miserable to work up/work out.

5. They are not always successful.

6. Each one has it’s own unique set of optimum conditions. So getting it to work out the first time is highly unlikely.

7. They are extremely sensitive.

8. They are often very messy.

9. In the case that one fails, regaining “what was” or at least some semblance of what was is often a long and painful process.

10. The exact mechanism is not always known.

11. Their progress must be monitored often.

12. Success is followed by much rejoicing.

13. Much has been written on the subject.

14. Sometimes, the substrate (that which is being coupled) needs to be changed, not the conditions.

So what i’ve learned from this experience is that I’m satisfied with where I’m at, both socially and in my chemical synthesis. I am not going to look for a relationship or force anything. I’m just gonna let that happen naturally (that is, in God’s perfect timing).

I unfortunately cannot take that approach with the actual coupling reaction. That has to happen. (btw, it worked).

After once again becoming lost in thought, I realized I have many nicknames — way too many nicknames. I think that for my benefit (and maybe yours too), I should list them here, in no particular order. I will also expand on them as much as I can to better my/your understanding. For our convenience, I will only list nicknames that are still in somewhat use.

1. Drew - So this come as a surprise to you, but my real name is not actually Drew.

Take this moment to catch your breath and maybe get some fresh air…

It’s Andrew. I think my parents call me Drew because it’s less syllables and because they (and I) like it better. Andrew sounds better with my middle and last names, which is probably why it’s still my official name.

2. Drewby - After a while, my parents decided to manipulate my nickname further to make it sound more informal. Since some names sound funnier with an “ee” sound at the end of them, my parents decided to add “bee” to the end of mine. So don’t be surprised if you hear someone call me “Drewby”.

3. Drewbies - The plural of the above. My first day of college, I met an upperclassman named Sabrina. She was very bubbly/enthusiastic about meeting freshman. When I started attending Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Sabrina started shouting this variation of Drew whenever she saw me. Another IVer, Niki decided to spread this nickname also. To this day, most of IV Trinity knows me as Drewbies. I never really embraced it my freshman year, but I kinda like it now. I often refer to myself as Drewbies.

4. Luke and Kemo Sabe - these were started by Dr. Heller, my music theory teacher. Luke references Luke Skywalker, the protagonist of the latter three Star Wars movies. I’m not too sure why he chose that, but I think it was because he always compared himself to Darth Vader (I must have shown some interest in a Star Wars quote he used). Kemo Sabe is what Tonto called the Lone Ranger. I have no idea why he chose this one. I think he’s just a Lone Ranger fan (or he thinks of me as a disciple or something).

5. The Chosen One - yeah… Day one of college once again: a hallmate named Ben spotted me from afar and immediately set out to be my friend. In other words, He “chose” me to be his friend, so I’m really not some sort of “savior” (though I am on a mission from God). I should note that because of Ben’s loyalty and trustworthiness, he remains one of my closest friends in college.

6. (DM)^2 - Stands for “Drum Major Drew Metzger.” Obviously, this has little use to me now because I am no longer drum major, but I thought I’d mention it because it occasionally appears in my fb photo albums.

Think about the following words: ORGANIC SYNTHESIS

To some, this is an oxymoron.

I was recently asked if I could still listen to music without analyzing it. The answer to that question is yes, I can. Most of the time, my analytical mind takes control, but if I’m generally feeling emotional, I can usually enjoy the music without the roman numeral and instrumental analyses.

After answering that question, I began to think about what my mom asked me a while back. “Can you even enjoy listening to music anymore with all that music theory?”

I unfortunately cannot answer that question with a simple yes or no. Yes, I do still enjoy listening to music, but I wouldn’t say my enjoyment is entirely the same. When I was younger, I knew almost nothing about the mechanics or nature of music; I was always in awe of this mysterious thing called music. Now, I can’t say that I can listen to music with that same pure naivety, but I get the same feelings and awe that any normal person would get from listening to music.

Unlike normal people, however, I can now put names to the sounds that I hear and have heard in the past using what I’ve learned in college. I have to note that music theory to me is not just rote memorization of analysis techniques. Music theory can be a little tedious and pointless at times, but this is only if it is used solely for analysis. 

I don’t just memorize concepts and analyze Bach chorales. I apply the theory concepts I learn (this is a new way in which I enjoy music). I’ve been leading worship at IV for about a semester now, and I have utilized aural skills on an almost daily basis. For instance, I make almost all of the chord sheets that the worship team uses (sometimes I only need to listen to a new song once), and sometimes I even tweak the chords a little bit to strengthen the progression. I also taught myself how to play the electric bass with intervals and scales. I have even derived triad and scale patterns for electric guitar.

To wrap things up, my enjoyment of music has not diminished from studying music; it has actually greatly increased. I can listen and enjoy, but I can also reproduce that which I hear. With my memorization-intensive sax lessons, I will hopefully have enough musical material to start evolving my own vocabulary. Then, perhaps I can start writing music, and fully expressing myself.

Yay! time to rant.

I don’t care what your credentials are. No musician, no matter how professional or proficient, can ascertain a tempo from “one beat.”

Tempo is measured in beats per minute, like velocity is in miles per hour. So, in pre-algebra terms, tempo is the slope of the graph (line) of beats vs time. A line is defined by two points, from which you can calculate a slope by measuring change in rise over the change in run. A single point has no change in anything. Therefore, it is impossible to calculate slope from one point (or in my case, tempo from one beat). I love preaching to the choir. That was a bad pun.

Rant over