RyanCordell.com

Blog

My Last 10 Posts

My Recently Played

My Photos and Videos

Blogs I Enjoy

Visitor Infomation

30.12.05

Phuket Haiku

Here is my tribute to the mighty island of Phuket, where I've been for the last week and will leave soon...

Under the water
Anemone and clown fish
Everywhere I look.

Good pancakes on board
After the third dive of the day
Leftovers are few.

My friends got some ink
A souvenir of Phuket
Shirt will do for me.

Posted by Ryan at 20:57 0 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

27.12.05

This Web Of Rhyme

Took a two day dive trip out on the open sea
A busted ear made my dive buddy unhappy
On the last few dives it was just Oliver and me
Had to figure out what kind of fishes those be.

------

Why is it that many white guys here I see
Appear to want a Thai girl as company
Even if the age difference is twenty-three?
But don't worry friends, they're not for me.

Posted by Ryan at 00:25 0 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

25.12.05

Under The Sea

A couple photos from the dive adventure...

Me and Chris

I hear some people have been looking for this little fish.


Currently watching:

Posted by Ryan at 22:56 1 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

So This Is Christmas?

So last night I got back from a two day dive trip where I picked up my Advanced Open Water Diver certification. The three of us then decided to go out for Christmas dinner. Best dang steak I've had in a while. Then it was over to the Irish pub, where I ended up watching a whole Robbie Williams concert. The things you do on vacation!! Then it was off to bed early with the hopes of Christmas morning dancing in my head.

In the middle of the night there arose such a clatter, I sprang to my bed to see what was the matter. Could it be Santa, finding me in such a remote location. No, it was the speakers of the Irish pub playing Bon Jovi at four "I didn't think it existed" thrity in the morning. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy a little Jovi from time to time. Just not that early.

Today I spent a good amount of the day catching up on the sleep that the boys from Jersey deprived me of, as well as catching up on some much deserved Christmas television. I saw the Christmas episodes of Frasier, Just Shoot Me, Flintstones, Scrubs, and Becker. I only wish I could have caught the Christmas episode of Grizzly Adams, Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, and Wham's Last Christmas video to complete it all.

Now it almost time again for bed, as well as my internet time is almost up. So I must go... I have more to tell, but only two minutes to post this whole thing.

Posted by Ryan at 10:26 0 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

24.12.05

It's A Christmas Haiku

A couple weeks ago I was asked to write some haiku about some of the key players in the Christmas account. Here are a few of them...

Simeon-

Righteous and devout
Waiting to see the Savior
He sang his praises.

Mary -

A virgin with child
How would she explain to all
That it was of God.

Joseph -

Just a carpenter
Given a greater calling
Raising the Christ boy.

Herod -

A king under threat
Felt his throne under attack
By a new born boy.

Currently listening to: Bill Mallonee -

Posted by Ryan at 05:08 2 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

20.12.05

Who Is In Rhyme

To avoid missing a plane I had to run
But arrived in Phuket ready to have fun
Today on the beach I walked in the sun.

With every calendar year that I turn
You would think that I would learn
To apply the lotion to avoid sunburn.

Posted by Ryan at 08:41 0 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

Tourist Tales

Hey, just wanted to let everyone know I'm safe and doing my part to help revive an economy.

Nothing to report except one couple here in the internet cafe is "eating a lot of salads." I don't know why they felt like reporting that to the people they were chatting online with, but I thought I'd share it with the world.

Hope you are all getting enough salad.

Posted by Ryan at 08:31 1 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

18.12.05

Takeoffs And Landings

I just got my new passport a couple weeks ago. While it is nice to no longer have to carry around a 1995 photo of myself to foreign lands, my passport is nice and empty. My old passport looks like a well traveled companion. It is full of stamps from around the world. With each stamp comes the stories of the people and places I encountered. It looks worn as it has traversed this globe with me for ten years. Oh yeah, it also took a spin through a German washing machine.
But now I have a nice and shiny passport. There are no extra pages added and only one stamp. One stamp that allows me multiple entries into Korea for a year.

But don't worry, as I've got plans and dreams to fill this passport up soon. In fact, my bags are already packed for the quest for the next stamp... Thailand. A few hours from now I'll be leaving for two weeks in Phuket with two great guys as colleagues in adventure.
I just wonder how many countries stamped in my new passport will no longer be in existence when I have to get my next passport?

Currently listening to: Bill Mallonee -

Posted by Ryan at 08:00 1 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

15.12.05

Freedom Friday Haiku

Break is almost here
While I wish I was skiing
The beach will be nice.
------

Last week I was asked to explain the Habitat For Humanity trip to a potential leader. I gave them the response in the 5-7-5 form I've been addicted to lately...

Build homes for poor
Take a bunch of kids with you
Go or be a jerk.
------

B-4 and B-5
Dang you sunk my battleship
Always lost the pegs.
------

Falling from the sky
Above where I went to school
Gonna be a mom.
------

There in Big Bird's Nest
Not what you thought would be there
I think he was framed.

Currently watching:

Posted by Ryan at 12:44 1 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

In The Batter's Circle

I was excited a few weeks ago when I learned of the World Baseball Classic - like the World Cup, but they use more than just their feet. But today, I read the news that Cuba is being denied the opportunity to play, and my interest faded a little. Is America so threatened by a team of baseball players? Are we afraid they will beat us on the field, or even worse, cause us to rethink our political system and go communist? But then again, it can't be the political thing, as the largest Communist country in the world, and a statistical leader in human rights violations is allowed to play. And we all know China can't even make a quality cigar, so what is up with that?

So when the games come around, if I even watch, I'll be rooting for Korea.

Currently listening to: Bill Mallonee -

Posted by Ryan at 02:55 1 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

14.12.05

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

They left America to make it big in Germany. Then they came back. Now they tell us they were Never Gone. And in a month they are coming to Korea.

Who thinks I should go? Who wants to go with me? Who wants to beat me up for considering it?

Currently listening to: Bill Mallonee -

Posted by Ryan at 10:58 2 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

13.12.05

I Want To Breathe In Rhyme

Last night in a bus we all did pile
To eat and have fun for a while.
Our students how did they smile.
As we rode from mile to mile.

Family night for me and the crew
Off to the Bennigan's that is new
Plenty of food did they all chew
Our waitress she was Blue.

Posted by Ryan at 00:01 0 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

10.12.05

Internet Searches And Prayer

I loves the internet. As an information junkie, I love the challenge of finding information as quick as possible. Like tonight, when a friend needed some help with an upcoming trip. Within seconds of them asking about something, I already had a links to the weather, what to wear, and a few choice tourist spots to visit. Heck, even before the question was even thought, I was providing a list of churches they could worship in, as well as the movies on their flight there and back.

Now I originally wrote that first paragraph to lead into giving you some information on a previous post. The domino toppling bird is going on display in a museum.

But as I was reading over what I typed, I was hit with a thought. Rarely do I compare myself with God. I know better. But in the first paragraph, I saw a dim reflection of God and his knowledge of our needs. He hears our prayers, but already knows what we need even before the sound escapes our mouth. Now I'm not saying God will always be as quick as some internet searches to respond to one's prayer, but he knows our need and he knows what is needed to fill that need. Sure sometimes it is a quick answer, but at times it is a slowly delivered answer. Sometimes we must wait on Him, sometimes he requires us to take action. I guess it is just comforting that he knows our needs, and is waiting to hear from us.

Currently listening to: Barenaked Ladies -

Posted by Ryan at 09:03 2 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

8.12.05

Haphazard Haiku

Dang, I don't know what my deal is, but the haiku are popping out like zits on a kid hitting puberty... There are some personal, some pop cultural, and a whole lot of current news...

A contract in hand
Working in a dorm with kids
One more year at least.
------

Italian dinner
Wondering why I'm lucky
Having such good friends.
------

Superbowl shuffle
Walter, McMahon and the Fridge
At least they could play.
-------

A lone crusader
Helped bring down the Berlin Wall
Once patrolled the beach.
------

Fond du Lac people
Taking a leak in the streets
Get to write letters.
------

A year between meals
Translucent until blood filled
Watch out for bed bugs.
-------

Bed bugs in New York
They have a taste for Swiss blood
Who want some money.
------

Too much drinky drink
A night in the rubbish bin
Almost was his last.

Currently listening to: Barenaked Ladies -

Posted by Ryan at 09:19 0 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

The Rantings Of A Mad Man

I've had a couple posts I've started to write, but never fully finished... today, I'm tossing them out in their roughest form.
-----

Last week, I took a trip across town to see the latest film in the Harry Potter series. I'll admit, I've read all the books and have now seen all the films in the series. I know that among some Christian circles this carries the same stigma of admitting you made change in the offering plate, attended a Marilyn Manson concert, or shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.

At the same time, I've heard most of the arguements against the film, and I think the whole thing about kids wanting to be wizards and casting spells is just a smoke screen for many parents... they are really afraid of is their kids falling to the alure of life in a boarding school. Yep, you've probably read it first here... My theory of why parents hate the Potter is the appeal of life away from parents. They fear their kids will see the perks of living in a setting away from their immediate parental control and will be signing up to attend one of many boarding schools in this world. Oh, and what perks there are. For example, having a roommate your own age, instead of your bratty little brother. Or when you want to get a game of basketball together, you just ask the guys on the hall.

As one who has worked in boarding schools for the last eight years, I can give you a list of names of people who wouldn't think it is all fun and games.
------

I'm concerned... if the beautiful, rich and famous can't keep their engagements or marriages together, how in the world is it to work for us common folk?
------

Finally, what in the world are these churches thinking? Closing on Christmas, because it falls on a Sunday? Wow, what a great idea. Heaven forbid that this is part of the central focus of why have a church in the first place. I know several people that Christmas is the only time they actually attend church. I guess they will have to find a new place to go. And what about all those who are in need of some form of family or stability on what some claim is the loneliest time of the year?

By the way, if anybody from the mega-churches are reading this... I hope you know Easter will be falling on a Sunday this year as well. Are you guys going to be closing down for that holiday too?

Currently listening to: The Rickey Gervais Podcast

Posted by Ryan at 01:21 1 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

6.12.05

With Such A Vicious Rhyme

So, when an officer of the law tells you to do something - you do it. So I've written a poem to try to explain my last haiku. This also begs the question, anyone want to start Rhyming Tuesdays?

A friend from the past
With some tickets for a show
Thought it would be a blast
If with me she would go.

But alas I'm in a foreign land
And that week will be a busy fellow
No Coldplay ticket in my hand
In the hopes to hear them sing "Yellow."

Posted by Ryan at 08:29 0 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

5.12.05

Brothers And Sisters... Dance, Dance, Dance!

Lately there has been a craze in the dorms with the DDR pads hooked up to the Playstation machine. For those not in the know, this is a large mat on the floor that tracks one's movements and processes them into a video game where one is judged based on their dance movements. It is very similiar to the Nintendo Power Pad of days gone by.

As one who was raised far from the dance halls and discotechs, I feel inadequate when my coworkers get together. I feel shame at my lack of rhythm. But what is worse, is that I'm offended by the lyrics of the songs that these folks are dancing to. Can I honestly object my impressionable mind to the likes of M.A.R.R.'s - "Pump Up The Volume?"

But thanks to the fine folks at Digital Praise, I can now bust out my lack of skills with music that will lift my spirit up. They have released a Christian version of the dance pad. It comes complete with songs by Steven Curtis Chapman, ZOEgirl, Earthsuit, and tobyMAC. And very much like their counterparts, the new dance pad is set up with a cross in middle of the pad. How more godly can it be? I'd bet that if King David had one of these, he wouldn't have gone dancing naked!!

Now if there were only a Spiritualized version of Soul Calibur II, Silent Scope, or PSP Grand Theft Auto. And what scares me the most is that there is probably someone working on a Christian version of Playboy the Mansion ... where you tour the heavenly mansions and help build them for those who come after you.

Currently listening to: Trans-Siberian Orchestra -

Posted by Ryan at 02:11 1 comments have been left. Where is your comment?

1.12.05

Haiku A Plenty

The calendar on the wall tells me it is time once again to set free some haiku on to this world.

Asked out on a date
A cute gal with Coldplay tix
Too bad I can't go.
------

White stick with a flame
Causes much trouble for kids
When will they wise up?
------

Bounces like a ball
Lifts image from the paper
The Silly Putty.
------

Not heaven or hell
A waiting zone for the dead
Is now in limbo.

Currently snacking on:

Posted by Ryan at 09:07 3 comments have been left. Where is your comment?