Hysteria and the End of the World

The end of the world is apparently coming in three days.

I was not aware of this at all until just now. I've seen signs of "Christ is returning" and "The Rapture" but I've been ignoring them thinking it was more "I'm going to force my beliefs down your throat" kind of Christians.

But I did not know the prediction was May 21, just three days away. What happened to all the December 21, 2012 mumbo jumbo?

This is what I found online:

The first proof is based on Genesis 7:4, when God said to Noah: "Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."

When God referred to seven days, he meant both seven days and seven thousand years, because "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." The flood occurred in 4990 BC. Seven thousand years later is 2011.

How do you get 7000 years from seven days? That's just assumption. If you're going to quote Genesis, why not quote what the Bible says only two chapters later?

And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
- Genesis 9:11

Boom. Take that Harold Camping (that's the preacher who predicted this May 21 thing). The second reason is even worse than the first.

The second proof looks at the significance of the number of days between the Crucifixion and May 21, 2011.

There are 722,500 days between these dates. 722,500 is a significant number because it is composed of the significant numbers 5x10x17x5x10x17. Five signifies redemption; ten signifies completion; and 17 signifies heaven. The numbers represent the day of redemption (5) and the end of the Christian era (10) and the ascent to heaven (17) -- and these factors are doubled for added significance.

Really? Why multiply it only twice? Why not three times? I'm pretty sure three is a significant number in the Bible as well. That's the amount of times Peter denied Jesus. That's how many times Jesus prayed in Gethsemane before he was arrested. That's how many days it took for Jesus to resurrect. So why two? Why not multiply those three numbers three times? Again, mumbo jumbo.

It's like those statisticians saying Player A is the first player to record at least 32 points, 17 rebounds, and 14 assists in a single game. Of course he's going to be the first when you make it to the exact number of his stats. Not sure if I made my point clear there. Numbers can be played with is what I'm trying to say I guess.

So to anyone who is worried about impending doom, I say don't worry. This thing will blow right by just like Y2K did.

Highlights and Resolutions

No matter how I look at it, it was a pleasant end to the year 2010 (and I insist on saying twenty-ten not two-thousand-and-ten). I was typing up things I've learned in 2010 when I realized I was making the king of cheesy lists. Don't want that now do we? It started looking less like a list and more like my life story. I'll try a new list this time.

Highlights of 2010 include:

• Getting hired at Burger King (then quitting it) and Toys R Us.
• First semester as a small group (family group) leader.
• Watching World of Dance: New York. Met (and probably creeped out) Poreotics! I'm like a little fangirl for them.
• Going to my first ever dance class.
• The start of this blog. And Tumblr too. I just checked. I made it in January.
• Won my first giveaway.

Feels like there was more to my year highlights, but I guess if I can't remember them off the top of my head, I can't say they are truly highlights. I feel so young, but much older than I have in my life. Might be the lack of sleep in this month catching up to me.

But this was a good month as a whole to end this year.

Giving Josh his first taste of Malaysian food.

Getting some "siu long bao" or Shanghai soup dumplings with high school buddies at Joe's Shanghai.

Watching Syracuse win in the Pinstripe Bowl at James' place.

I suppose this when I start listing New Year's Resolutions. However, as the years go by, resolutions seem less...how should I put it? Relevant? I don't know. I'm at a loss with my wording right now. My eyes feel like they've gained about 20 pounds in the past 5 minutes. I'm probably going to start a new book now that I've just finished Hunger Games (which I will dedicate a blog post about. I recommend it to anyone looking for a good read).

Back to resolutions. I was never good at keeping them. I just looked back on my high school blog and one of my first posts was a resolutions list. The only thing I managed to do was pass Calculus. I ended up getting a job which was also on the list, but a year later. Does that still count? There was 12 things on that list. I did 1 (kind of 2?). I've never made a list since.

I don't need to. If I see the need to improve myself, I'll do it then. I don't need a specific day to announce to myself how to improve my own well being. The only immediate thing I can say I want to accomplish in 2011 (well, more like as soon as possible but it is 2011) is get my permit then license. Long overdue. I've been nagged about it for the longest time now. I would have gotten it by now but the bus and subway system surround me and give me a convenient way to travel.