Day Cruise

What is a youth? Impetuous fire.
What is a maid? Ice and desire.
The world wags on.

A rose will bloom
It then will fade
So does a youth.
So does the fairest maid.

Comes a time when one sweet smile
Has its season for a while...Then love's in love with me.
Some they think only to marry, Others will tease and tarry,
Mine is the very best parry. Cupid he rules us all.
Caper the cape, but sing me the song,
Death will come soon to hush us along.
Sweeter than honey and bitter as gall.
Love is a task and it never will pall.
Sweeter than honey...and bitter as gall
Cupid he rules us all

Posted by daycruz at 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Daycruise.net has been around for a year now! First thing I've ever done that's last longer than six months. Amazing. Thanks for those of you who still visit to see if I'm still alive.

PS: The one year anniversary was in October.

Posted by daycruz at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

Something embarassing that could happen to anybody. This certainly isn't me, but I've heard about this happening to other people.

Let's say you're standing next to your significant other. There are lots of other people, friends of hers or his. So, in this wonderful moment, someone decides to crack a joke. You laugh... really hard.. and you fart.

Can anything be more embarassing than laughter mixed with flatulance?

Perhaps... Some one has urinated in their pants before... publicly.

Has this happend to you? The best embarassing story gets a free Dippu tshirt, once they get made.

Oh, put them in the comments section, you can be anonymous if you want.

Posted by daycruz at 7:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

I really don't. I'm sick of all these Indians saying that the best way to promote cultural unity is to have these sort of scenes. Go look at that picture and tell me if that doesn't make you sick. It's not that I have a problem with Sikhism. I love Sikh people! (cue video of Jerry Seinfeld: "Not that there's anything wrong with that.") But why does cultural unity have to mean that Paul Martin has to bow before a holy book? Couldn't cultural unity mean that he could just acknowledge the presence and influence of Sikhism without bowing before their holy book?

I swear

Posted by daycruz at 6:47 PM | Permalink | Comments

I hate that feeling.

When you know there's something you want. You would do anything to get it, to just have it, to enjoy it.

The problem is... It looks a lot like it's not God's plan.

I've had to deal with some things in the past few days where I am coming to the realization. Some thing seems right and perfect to me, but I soon figure out that that I probably can't have it.

I don't know. I've been praying for a while and I'm very much in the dumps about it, but that's life.
I wish there were things I could do differently. I wish I could go back in time and change things.

But I can't. Things are how they are. I am who I am. There is no turning back now.

And everytime I'm thinking what I can't have, I have to catch myself from going into more despair.

The Scriptures say that David "encouraged himself in the Lord" I've quoted that scripture to so many people who've come to me when they are having the toughest moments of their lives. When they feel like they are completely alone in their problems and there is no one to help them. Now it's time for me to use that scripture. Time for me to turn to it.

Only one thing else to do..


Pray.

Posted by daycruz at 6:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

...we get it already, "Somebody gonna get hurt" blah blah blah. Great.

Anyone else think Russell Peters is getting old really fast?

Posted by daycruz at 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments

I work a night shift.

Let me rephrase that.

I work a late night shift. 7:30 PM to 8:00 AM to be exact. I work for a large company that requires me to wear a white mummy-like suit over my clothes before I head in to my work area. When it gets to around 6:15 in the morning, it comes time for me to take my last break. A little breather actually, when I head out and just hang out in the cubicle. At this point, I am so incredibly tired that I am hallucinating and talking to myself. This morning, something happened that really made me think the entire morning. I'm pretty sure I wasn't hallucinating...

I was done with my break and heading back into my work area when I noticed something unusual. I saw the most gorgeous girl that I has ever seen. She was standing at her locker and getting her things together. I think I must have been in awe for at least thirty seconds. Now please understand, this isn't lust or something. I really didn't feel like that. It was just amazing to see an absolutely beautiful girl. Then I walked on. I didn't stop and talk to her. I didn't look at her for another second. I just walked on. Usually, I would have stopped and said hello. I would have initiate something, not because I wanted a relationship but just because I enjoy talking to members of the opposite sex.

It just felt like there was no reason to stop and introduce myself to her. What had attracted me was her almost perfect beauty. Not something she had said or done, not any sort of personality. I would have loved to gotten to know her. But really, what's the point?

Here's how I plan to get married:

A. I meet a wonderful Christian girl, who I absolutely adore-- and we meet her parents and we meet our parents. They approve, and we get married.

B. My parents and family members find in their universal database a decent match for myself. A meeting gets set up-- the girl and I meet; we like each other. They approve, and we get married.

I sometimes wonder how it would have been if I were born in a different family. I sometimes envy my American friends who seemingly have no constraints on them as they go about their daily lives. The plethora of societal, cultural, religious values that come into my equation doesn't come into theirs. I have to consider all of the above mentioned values to even think about a girl that I meet. But then I take a look at my parents who just completed twenty-eight years of marriage yesterday. And I am amazed. How they got married is probably quite different from how my sister got married and how I will get married in the future. I don't believe they talked to each other very much before the big day. They sure didn't go on any romantic dates. But seeing them today really gives me confidence that committing choices like these to the hand of God would be a prudent decision.

Now, many young people out there would jump at me and accuse me of taking the traditional route. I agree. I am taking a very traditional route but with a twist. A lot of young people do not realize that the dating game in the United States is not what it was 40-50 years ago. Individuals courted rather than date. When one went out on a date with someone- it was understood that this relationship would be a long term deal. Too many young Malayalee teens look at the culture portrayed on American television today and falsely assume that the self-gratification lifestyle has always existed. They are wrong to believe that shows like "alienated", "Blind Date", "Fifth Wheel", or any other processed trash represents what America has been for the past decades. The problem that comes up when we discuss situations like this is that the parents don't realize it either. Parents complete outlaw dating just for the sake of dating without explaining the real purposes behind the set boundaries.

Now, I've talked a lot about dating here. But what do I really believe? Pastor K. Joy put it best at my sister's wedding (an arranged marriage, by the way) when he gave a great statement: "Don't spend your life looking for the best partner, spend your life being the best partner." Sometimes the downfall of dating is that we search around for someone who we think is right for us. We forget about our character and how much instruction and guidance we really need before we can make correct choices ourselves. We see life as a competition with the end goal being a victory with the trophy at the end. What if we were to be that trophy? If we identified things about ourselves that were not according to Scripture or the will of God? If we were to correct ourselves in different aspects of our lives, God will provide us with the right partner at the right time. I sincerely believe that your parents have to have a direct role in finding you your soulmate. Why make it hard on ourselves? God has given us guides on this earth to help us.

But Malayalee Pentecostals have a tendency which drives their children insane. Approving tradition for the sake of tradition. Having done the same thing for centuries doesn't necessarily make it the right thing to do or the only correct way to do things. Some parents apparently have a hard time adjusting away from this attitude. This is why they sometimes shun any thought of their child finding their spouse on their own.

I listened to Ravi Zacharias speak the other day about love and relationships. He gave what I believe is one of the most consequential messages in modern time about men and women. The talk was aptly titled: "The Will To Do: I, Issac, take thee, Rebekah" I encourage every young Malayalee teen to listen to this message. It will profoundly change your life.

Let me offer a quick conclusion. Malayalee teens and parents have been fighting the wrong battle and for the wrong reasons. It is time to stop looking at American or Indian traditions to find the answers and just look straight to the word of God.

I never did end up talking to that girl. I know somewhere out there, there is a woman that God has prepared for me. And God is preparing me for her as we speak. Perhaps my parents will find her, perhaps I will. Until then, I will not restrict God's vision for me. Rather, I shall do more to find His will and follow it.

Sorry about that rant- I know it isn't well organized but it was written over a span of a month at different times...

Posted by daycruz at 7:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

"One of the people on the Lord High Executioner's list of expendables is 'The idiot who praises, with enthusiastic tone, / All centuries but this, and every country but his own.'"

W.S Gilbert

Posted by daycruz at 6:40 AM | Permalink | Comments

It was getting dangerous.

My father had been urging me for weeks to wash my car. I had been reluctant, being quite lazy to actually go to the trouble. But when I drove my nineteen year old Volvo to work last Friday, I realized that I could see very little out that windshield when the light shone through.

It was getting extremely dangerous.

Thus, when I saw the $5.00 premium car wash sign at the Kaady’s off of T.V Highway, I was interested. I drove through earnestly. I had never driven through a car wash before. As the man motioned for me to drive up to the ramp, I relaxed a little bit. This was going to be a blast. I loved going through car washes, I had been through one many times with my father. I rolled up all the windows, put my car in neutral, and just leaned back.

I felt like I was going through a waterfall as streaming water splashed the car from all sides. Large industrial sized wipes cleaned up the windshield, allowing for me a view from the driver seat of the outside world for the first time in days.

I smiled; all was well.

The sounds of a car wash are the best part. One feels and hears dozens of different parts moving in unison while layers of dirt are swept clean off the top of their vehicle. The car continued to be moved along by the ramp—or was it the motions of the different tools in the car wash itself? I certainly had no idea.

Reverend Vernon McGee was on the radio. The man had been dead for years now, yet his messages still reached hundreds of thousands of people every year.

"Paul said to the Christians in Ephesus----"

I noticed the car had stopped. This was the drying process where the water was finally dried.

As I waited for the green light that would allow me to drive away, I felt something drop on my head. I looked up to see what seemed like a bucket load of water come straight through the ceiling and drench my face. It continued.

I raised my jacket to protect the instrument panel and the car itself. I was in total shock as I saw the puddle of water forming on the floor of my car and my lap.

Only one thought came to my mind at this time.

...

Darn! I forgot to secure the sun roof!

Posted by daycruz at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments

"ALL RIGHT!"

I winced. I hated when my friend was like this. The mention of the phrase "ice cream" would cause this fellow to fall into hysterics. My friend wasn't fat at all. He just loved ice-cream with a passion. Thus, when our company announced that it was giving ice-cream to our shift for doing such a great job of "not screwing up", he was certainly the most excited person there.

"Come on man! Let's head down there," he slightly nudged me in the direction of the elevators, "if we don't get there in time-- the others will finish all the ice-cream!"

I nodded and followed him to the waiting elevator.

"You know, I just hate it when they only have vanilla ice cream with some stupid chocolate syrup. It drives me nuts! It doesn't matter if they put the syrup on there, it's still vanilla ice cream, it always looks the same! Why do they have to be so cheap!?"

As my friend continued on his tirade against our company bosses for not providing him with better desserts, I leaned my head against the elevator wall and closed my eyes. We worked the late shift; 7:30 PM to 8:00 AM. We were the night warriors. Regular day shift stayed away from us, simply because they thought it odd that anyone preferred to work at night. I was tired, so tired that I almost forgot to walk out the elevator-

"COME ON!" my friend was outside the elevator, shouting so loud I could almost see the words in the air. Bold with a exclamation mark right after it.

I walked out and followed him to the cafeteria. It is about this time that I noticed that there weren't many other people trying to get ice cream. Maybe I was the only one with a gluttonous friend. I walked into the cafeteria and saw a long table set with, to my friend's dismay, vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. My friend was already there and was serving himself. I walked into line and noticed a hefty fellow greeting everyone. That was one of the supervisors; he was standing at the front of the line greeting everyone by name. As he got to me, the rotund man beamed a heavy smile with sleazy teeth, looked straight at me and exclaimed.. "KARIM!"

Then slowly his eyes trailed down to my chest. The I.D card. I saw the wheels frantically turning in his mind as his pale-snow-white face turned bright red in dismay. I thought about this man's thoughts. Oh sh**.. This isn't Karim! This is some other arab guy!

This sort of moment in time is usually led by the adjective known as awkward. I stood there with a muddled look of anger and confusion. Rather than acknowledging his mistake, the man turned his head slightly to the next person in line:

"Hey Bob! How are the kids doing!?"

As I got the ice cream, I had a train of thoughts going through my head. I was angry, furious, enraged, livid, and any other adjective you could pile on there.

What an idiot. Man, I really hate this guy. Stupid white trash, thinks all of us brown people look the same. What a piece of crap. I bet he thinks I'm a terrorist too. I wonder if he even knows that India isn't in the Middle East. He's probably never even seen the outside of this Podunk small town.

I kept thinking angry thoughts as I headed over to a table next to my friend. I sat down and started eating. The burst of vanilla and chocolate in my mouth was not enough to stop me from thinking about this. I quietly finished my ice cream and headed back upstairs to continue working.

Upstairs, my friend and I saw Khoa, a close friend of ours, walking down the hallway. I extended my hand in a greeting, smiled and said "Hey Khoa! Long time no see!"

Khoa just glanced at me sideways as he kept walking up the hall. I reached my hand up to my hair and brushed it slightly to avoid looking like an idiot. Khoa had just ignored me. "I wonder what the heck is wrong with Khoa," I said as I looked at my friend.

My friend had the most ridiculous look on his face as he surveyed me head to toe.

"You idiot!"

He startled me, "Thats not Khoa! That's Tu Wong! Khoa is Vietnamese! Tu is Chinese!"

My mouth was open as I brought my hand down and looked at it. I stared down the hall at fading figure of another Asian guy: Tu Wong.

My friend looked at me with a smile on his face and said.. "You know, DeCruz, not all Asian people look the same."

I grimaced and followed him to our work area.

Posted by daycruz at 12:24 AM | Permalink | Comments

It’s almost three in the morning and I can’t seem to get any sleep. I decided I would write a little about the new joy that happens to be in our family. Many times, people have commented to me that I appear to be a very sardonic person. One who cares very little about others; a self-centered jerk. Many times, I tend to agree. Expressing love for another human being is a difficult thing for me to do. Or so I thought. I have been overjoyed this last week at the addition of a new born child to our family. If you follow Dippu.com, you would have noticed that I posted a few pictures of her right after she was born. Hannah P. John. (image placeholder)After she came to Portland, and I finally got to hold her after a month, I realized that I was capable of so deeply loving another human being. This precious life, so fragile and beautiful, I see her being so dependent on those around her. This little girl happens to be my newborn niece. I’m sure many of you have experienced this before: A new nephew or niece and absolutely being lost in their innocence. This little girl has the whole world ahead of her and she is already becoming a blessing in our lives. I see my parents, my sister, my grandma, and the rest of my family just feeling the same way I am. We endlessly thank God for this child. Yet, I think about other children... Those that do not have this sort of love given to them. I’m sure we’ve heard of crack babies (meth babies now) in the inner cities. These babies continuously cry because they were born with an addiction to crack cocaine. I wonder shows them the sort of love we show for Hannah. I saw people looting stores for baby formula in the south after Hurricane Katrina. I thought to myself, If Hannah mol were to be in the same situation- I would do everything in my power to make sure she never went hungry or suffered. When we see the suffering of others in no matter what situation they are in, we must thank God for his endless mercy and pray for those suffering. Excuse me, I must go. The baby is crying. (

Posted by daycruz at 2:55 AM | Permalink | Comments