A Better Year

This has been quite a year, and most people are glad that it's finally over, hoping that 2021 will be a better year. But 2021 will only be a better year if we make it a better year. We need to stay positive, help each other, be smart about our decisions, and choose to follow the path that leads to happiness. It's true that 2020 wasn't the best year, and 2021 is almost guaranteed to not have some of the problems that 2020 had, but other than that, how the year goes is mostly up to us. Our actions, reactions, interactions, and attitudes will have a profound effect on the overall quality of the year. We won't be able to control everything that happens this next year, but we can control what we do and how we respond to what happens.

We all hope that 2021 is a good year, but we don't have to just hope that it is. We can make it one.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

Today, I watched a video that said, among other things, that pessimism is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we think that things can't possibly improve, then we won't put in the effort to improve things, and nothing will get better. By the same token, hope can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we have hope, and act on it, then we can, in small ways, improve the world. Reality is shaped by our actions, and our actions are shaped by our thoughts and attitudes, so our beliefs about the world can have an effect on the part of the world around us. If we believe the world is terrible, then we're more likely to see the terrible things in the world, and possibly add to them, but if we think the world is good, we're more likely to both see and contribute to the goodness in the world. We choose what kind of world we live in, partly by choosing how we see the world. Both optimism and pessimism are self-fulfilling prophecies, and I know which one I'd rather see fulfilled in my little corner of the world.

Choosing Our Paths

One of the gifts I got for Christmas this year was Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. I like this book because it's inspiring, yet surprisingly realistic, and it covers one of my favorite aspects of the gospel: agency.

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
...
You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

I love that we have the freedom to choose what path we follow, and I love the implication of being highly selective in which paths we choose. If a particular path doesn't seem so great, we can choose another path. We have the freedom to decide where we go, so where we end up is mostly up to us.

Granted, there are also forces outside of our control that can affect us. We don't choose our starting point, for example, and there are aspects we can't choose about the road ahead of us. Sometimes, our only options are bad ones, and we have to try to choose the least-bad one, but barring situations like that, we often have the freedom to choose between multiple good options, and we get to try to find the best one. And while there will always be forces outside our control, there are also always forces within our control, like our own decisions. We can make up our minds to do something, and even if we try and fail and learn that we lack the power to do it, our decision still matters. In the end, we'll be judged by our choices as much as by the consequences of our choices. If we try and fail, we still tried.

So, ultimately, our decisions matter, and those decisions are entirely up to us. There are lots of paths laid out before us, some better than others, and it's entirely up to us to decide which paths we choose to follow.

Warning Signs

The other night, I saw a phenomenon that I couldn't explain. It was a ring of light, a "halo," surrounding the nearly full moon. It looked incredible. At the time, I entertained the possibility that it was a sign from God, perhaps even a sign of the Second Coming. Whatever it was, I prayed, fearing the worst.

I now know that this phenomenon was a "22° halo" and that these events are actually fairly common, even more so than rainbows, which are also frequently interpreted as signs from God. Yet, despite the phenomenon's natural explanation and frequent occurrence, I think I was right to interpret this sign as a warning sign.

We are in the Last Days. We have been for some time now. I don't know how many "Last Days" are left. And regardless, any day could be any given individual's last. We only have a limited amount of time on this Earth, and it's constantly running out. Every winter, every new moon, every sunset, every hourly chime of the clock, is a warning sign that our time is running out.

I was right to pray when I saw the halo around the moon. We should always pray. We should always be preparing for the Second Coming. And we should always be ready to face the fact that any day, any moment, could be our last. Every sign that time is passing is a warning sign, urging us to repent and prepare while we still can.

This blog post is a warning sign. Will we heed it?

Components of Change

The new Come, Follow Me manual says "The aim of all gospel learning and teaching is to deepen our conversion to Jesus Christ and help us become more like Him. ... This means relying on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to help us change our hearts, our views, our actions, and our very natures."

Change is required in all four of those components. A change of heart or views is nothing without a change of action, and a change of action is hollow without a change of heart. And any of these changes would be, at best, temporary, unless we change out natures as well. Granted, these changes take time, especially since we're trying to change in so many areas at once. But these changes build on each other. A change of heart naturally leads to change of action, if we let it, and as we maintain these changes through conscious effort, our natures with gradually change to match.

We have many changes head of us. Let's try to make sure that every part of us is steadily working on changing for the better.

The Greatest Gift

My family has exchanged a lot of wonderful gifts over the last few days. It's been a lot of fun, and there's a lot of fun and joy to look forward to as we enjoy our gifts together. But at the end of the day, a handful or us watched a video reminding us that the first and greatest gift of Christmas was God's Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. As wonderful as our gifts to each other may be, none of them can match the gift that God gave to us over two-thousand years ago. I'm thankful for the gifts I received today and yesterday, but I'm even more thankful for the gift God gave me before I was born and the gift Jesus Christ gives me every day, through the Atonement. Jesus' love is the greatest gift ever given to anyone on earth. My hope is that our still-pretty-great earthly gifts help us remember and be thankful for the greatest gift we've ever been given.

A Special, Evening Tradition

Today was a great day. We enjoyed lots of yummy treats and exchanged lots of nice gifts, and we even managed to spend some time visiting with relatives near and far via video calls. And we ended the day, as always, with prayer and scripture reading. One thing I love about my family is that, no matter how tired we are at the end of a day, we try to make prayer and scriptures a priority every evening. It's a great way to end a day, especially a day as special and sacred as this. I'm thankful for my family's traditions, both our annual ones and or daily ones, which help us maintain and grow our faith. They're important, no matter what day it is, but they seem especially meaningful on a day like today.

Christmas Family Time

Something that's consistent among many holiday traditions, both in December and at other times of the year, is that these holidays are often spent with family and/or other loved ones. I love how these traditions remind people to spend quality time with those who are closest to us. It's important to have strong emotional connections to other people, especially this year, so I'm glad that, at least over video calls, we can spend Christmas time with our family, which I am going to do now.

Another Testament of Jesus Christ

In our Book of Mormon reading tonight, my family focused our scripture study on verses that testify of Jesus Christ. They speak of His role as our Savior and Redeemer. They speak of our need to turn to Him for salvation and eternal blessings. The Book of Mormon truly is, as its subtitle says, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, in addition to the Old and New Testaments. I'm grateful that we have so many scriptures from so many people, places, and times, all teaching us about Jesus Christ, our relationship to Him, and how we can strengthen it. I'm grateful that the ancient prophets made the effort to record their testimonies and teachings in the scriptures, and countless people made the effort to preserve and distribute those scriptures to all corners of the world. We have been blessed with many scriptures and testimonies of Jesus Christ, and I'm grateful for all of them, including those found in the Book of Mormon.

Serving the One

My brother and I went on a bike ride tonight. It was supposed to be a community thing. My brother had planned a route, and he had invited lots of people from his neighborhood to join him. I was the only one who came. And, actually, I almost didn't go. But I'm glad I did. And when I got there and saw that it was only me, I almost told my brother that we could call it off. But I'm glad I didn't. My brother had already put in a lot of work, scouting out the best Christmas lights to see and planning our route. I didn't want all that work to go to waste, and I knew that my brother would be blessed for performing that service, even if the only person he was serving was me.

But of course, I wasn't the only person my brother served tonight. "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." My brother served the Lord tonight, and I'm glad I was there to see it.

So, give service. Even if you only end up helping one person, you will still be serving the One.

Time and Growth

I'm not a huge fan of the passage of time. Our time is a finite resource of an unknown quantity, and it's constantly depleting. Yet, there is something good that comes out of the passage of time: Growth. People become better, stronger, more Christlike people only through growth over the passage of time. So I suppose I'm glad that time is passing. That passage of time makes growth possible. Without the passage of time, everyone would be forever stuck wherever they are. So I'm grateful for the passage of time, and more especially for the growth that can come with it.

Still a Church Family

Our church had a Christmas Devotional tonight, and it was pretty nice. We had Christmas songs and the reading of the Christmas story, but my favorite part of the program was right after the end. After the closing prayer was said, just about everyone unmuted themselves and wished everyone else a Merry Christmas. Hearing everyone wish everyone else a Merry Christmas made me feel like I was part of a church family in which everyone cares about everyone else, at least enough to wish each other well. It was heartwarming. During this pandemic and quarantine, I've mostly been enjoying not having to go to so many social gatherings and meetings this year, but tonight gave me a taste of what I've been missing. It's nice to know that I'm still part of a church family, even if we don't meet together in person so much anymore. We're still there for each other in spirit, even when we can't be there with each other in person. There were no hugs or handshakes, but at least we were still able to wish each other a Merry Christmas.

Feeling Okay

I'm in a weird mood right now, and I'm not sure how to describe it without sounding strange. I feel okay. And I feel like, no matter what happens, it's going to be okay. God is in control. Life will go on, and even when it doesn't, the afterlife will. We are immortal, eternal beings having a temporary (though sometimes unpleasant) mortal experience. When we die, our spirits live on. When the world ends, a new world will take its place. Even though things are kind of rough right now, everything is going to be okay.

So, let's wait it out. The bad times won't last forever. Let's do what we can while we can, and maybe things will get better. And even if they don't, that's not going to be a problem forever. God has a plan for the eternity after the end, and in it, everything is going to be okay. We don't have to worry about how things will turn out. We just have to have faith and an eternal perspective, remember that God is in control and trust that, in due time, He'll make sure that everything is okay. To some extent, I do, and to that extent, I feel okay.

Us Against the World

When I saw this image, I was reminded of how life sometimes feels like it's us against the world (and it is), but that doesn't mean that we aren't going to win. The world is a formidable opponent, but God is an even stronger ally. He will ask us to face great challenges, but He will help us overcome them. God has given us a near-endless series of mountains to climb, but if we follow the path He has given us, He will give us the strength we need to climb them.

It is us against the world, but when God is with us (or rather, when we are with Him), we'll win.

"Mercy Calls You -- Break Your Chains"

While I was looking up Christmas song lyrics with which I was less familiar than I wanted to be, I found a song titled "Angels From The Realms Of Glory," which had been sung to the tune of "Angels We Have Heard On High." Looking up the lyrics, I saw that there were some verses that the Tabernacle Choir didn't sing. One of the unsung verses referred to the Trinity, so I'm not surprised they skipped that one, but there's another unsung verse that is (at least somewhat) doctrinally sound and that affected me pretty deeply when I read it:

Sinners, wrung with true repentance,
Doomed for guilt to endless pains,
Justice now revokes the sentence,
Mercy calls you—break your chains.

I don't know how doctrinally sound the "endless pains" part is, and the part about justice revoking the sentence isn't technically correct, but we can chalk that up to poetic language. What really struck me about this verse was the command to "break your chains," implying that this is something someone can do, and something that they must do for themselves. God seldom breaks our chains for us. He merely empowers us and encourages us, and leaves the decision ultimately up to us. I was grateful for the reminder that we can and must do what we can to work out our own salvation, with plenty of help from the Savior, of course.

I also love it when Christmas Songs include reminders of what the Savior did for us and why it's so important that He came to earth in the first place. The reason we celebrate the baby laid in a manger is because that person spent the last three years of His life making it possible for us to break our chains, and the best way we can honor Him is by doing so.

Jesus was born so that He could live and die for us, and He lived and died for us to make it possible for us to repent. So, in a sense, repentance is one of the main reasons for Christmas, and it's probably one of the best ways to celebrate it.

Good Gifts

Moroni 10:18 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ.

Many gifts are being exchanged this month, and I'm sure that some people have wondered whether the gifts they're giving to others are "good gifts" or not. There are many possible metrics one could use to measure the "goodness" of a gift, form the cost or value of the gift to the amount of time or effort that was put into the gift, but I think that the best metric for measuring the goodness of a gift is the amount of love that went into the gift. Now, that love can take the form of time or effort or personal (monetary) sacrifice, but it's just as likely to take the form of thought or care or a desire to bring joy to the recipient. Gifts don't have to be flashy or expensive to be good gifts. They just have to come from a place of love. And since Jesus Christ is the source of all love, I suppose it could be said that all good gifts, or at least the goodness of all good gifts, come from Christ.

I may be taking Moroni's words way out of context, and I'm probably being too literal, but I'm not trying to say that all of our Christmas Presents come from Jesus Christ. I'm trying to say that all good gifts come from the heart. If there is love behind the gift, then, in my opinion, it is a good gift.

The Lord Is and Will Come

So, I got curious as to why some versions of Joy to the World has "saints and angels sing" and some versions have "heav'n and nature sing." As it turns out, the "saints and angels" version was adapted by W. W. Phelps, and early LDS songwriter, as part of many changes he made to the song to change the song's focus from the birth of Christ to the Second Coming of Christ. The version that's in our hymnbooks today seem to have kept some of Phelps's changes and reverted some of them to the original version. In my opinion, both versions merit existence because both events are worth singing about. Jesus Christ has come, and He will come again. Both the past and future arrivals of Christ are worth celebrating. Granted, I have a preference for the version I'm most familiar with, the one in our hymnals, but I'm glad that the other versions exist. We should have songs to celebrate both the birth and the return of the Savior.

Losing the Light

I went on a bike ride this evening to look at Christmas lights. When I left, the sun hadn't set yet, but as I biked, I gradually lost the light. Thankfully, I had brought some good bike lights with me, and a reflector vest, so when the light started to get dangerously low, I turned on the lights I had brought, so I could safely see and be seen as I rode around, looking at all the lovely Christmas lights.

The world goes through daily cycles of light and darkness. We can always count on the sun to light our days, unless we're way too close to a pole or under other extraordinary circumstances. Even on heavily overcast days, the sun reliably gives us enough light to see by. Yet, we can always count on the sun to set beyond the horizon, taking its light with it. Without the light of the sun, we will be plunged into darkness. 

But that doesn't mean that we have to go without light entirely. While the moon and stars don't generally shed enough light to do us much good, we can make our own light, usually with fire or electricity (tonight, I chose the latter). But, with but fire and electricity, the light it gives us only lasts so long. Man-made lights use energy. When the energy runs out, the light goes out. When you run out of juice in your batteries and you run out of firewood to burn, your light will fail.

However, losing the light isn't the end of the world. Daylight will return when it's supposed to, just as it always does, and you were probably going to go to sleep long before then anyway. While it's helpful to have a light source handy every waking second, not all of our seconds will be waking ones. We can live without light for a few hours each day. What's important is that we make our light last as long as we need it to. We can count on daylight during the day, but we need to make sure that, during the day, we gather enough energy to make our man-made lights last as long as we need them to.

There's almost certainly an obvious, light-based analogy in here somewhere. If we think of the light as spiritual light, then daylight could easily represent the light that comes from God, and our man-made lights could represent the spiritual light in ourselves: our own testimonies. It's easy to believe and have faith and be faithful when God and His light are readily available, but we know that we're not always going to be that lucky. There will be times of spiritual darkness, during which we will need to rely on our own spiritual light. When those times come, we can only hope that we have enough personal spiritual light to last us until the spiritual daylight returns. So, to prepare for those times of spiritual darkness, we need to gather as much personal spiritual light as we can.

God's light is abundant when available, but sometimes distant. Our own personal lights are constantly available, but limited and probably weak. Losing the light in terms of daylight or perhaps even God's light is inevitable, but temporary. Losing the light in terms of our own personal lights is usually preventable through sufficient preparation and extremely dangerous when not prevented.

The sun will continue to rise and fall, as it does, but as long as we carry light with us, "losing the light" doesn't necessarily mean that we will be completely deprived of light.

A Day of Rest

For the last several days, I've been working on a report for school. It has been time-consuming and stressful, and I'm not proud of everything I said and did while under the effects of that stress. But this morning, I submitted my report, and I spent the rest of the day relaxing, attending church meetings, watching youtube videos, and resting. It was a nice change of pace. I'm thankful that I was able to spend most of today relaxing and resting. I think it was good for me and for my relationships with other people. I'm thankful that the semester is basically over now and that, for me, today was a day of rest.

Challenging Lessons

Elder Bednar spoke of how challenging 2020 has been and then said "I pray that we as individuals and families are learning the valuable lessons that only challenging experiences can teach us."

In Dungeons & Dragons, characters gain Experience, which helps then grow in skill and ability, only by overcoming challenges. Without challenges, they don't gain experience, and they don't grow.

In both D&D and real life, people need to face challenges in order to grow. It is only by facing challenges that we can learn those lessons and become more capable in those ways.

There are lessons that we need to learn in life, and some of those lessons can only be learned by facing challenges. That part of the reason why there are so many challenges built into mortal life. My hope is that we will be wise enough to learn from those challenges and not resent having to face them.

Mormon Remained

Something that struck me as we read the last few verses of Moroni 8 tonight is that Mormon kept fighting alongside the Nephites, even though he knew that they were basically doomed. He knew that they would be justly destroyed if they didn't repent, and he knew how unlikely it was that they would repent. Yet, he stayed by their side. This suggests to me that he possessed an enormous degree of either of two traits: hope or loyalty.

It's possible that Mormon had a ridiculous amount of hope. He knew that the Nephites weren't likely to repent, but miracles happen. Maybe he was hoping that, against all odds, they might repent.

Or maybe he was willing to die with them anyway. Maybe he had so much love and compassion for his people, sinners though they were, that he was willing to die with them, even though they clearly didn't deserve his help.

Either way, Mormon was quite a person. It's amazing that he was willing to stay with the Nephites, despite everything they were doing and everything that was happening to them. I don't know if I would have stayed by their side that long. Mormon's example of either hope or loyalty is incredible. He must have been quite a man.

I don't know exactly why Mormon remained with the other Nephites as long as he did, but I find it inspiring that he did.

Happy to Help

Today, despite having my own homework to work on and making terribly little progress on it, I spent some time today helping others with their homework, and I'm glad I did. It felt good to be able to help them, even though I could have used that time for myself. I hope to have enough time to get my work done over the next two or three days, but I'm glad that I spent some time today helping others. It felt good to help.

The Extent of Self-Sacrifice

To what extent is self-sacrifice a good thing? Naturally, being selfish is bad, and putting others before oneself is (generally) good, but is there a limit? Is there a point at which self-sacrifice becomes pointless, and perhaps even immoral? I would argue that there is. Self-sacrifice, taken to an extreme, can become self-destructive. Sometimes, people give so much of their time and energy that they end up hurting themselves. Those who spend too much of their time and emotional energy dealing with other people's problems may not have enough time and energy left to deal with their own. It's good to help others, but not to the point of hurting yourself. You are a child of God as much as anyone. Hurting one child of God to help another isn't always a good idea. So, before you sacrifice yourself for the good of someone else, carefully consider how much you're about to sacrifice compared to how much good your sacrifice will do. If the sacrifice is greater than the good that will come of it, perhaps making that sacrifice may not be the wisest decision. If the hurt outweighs the help, it may be best not to engage in that extent of self-sacrifice.

Not All Criminals Are Evil

Adjacent to my thoughts from last night, I wrote an essay today about how I don't think that all criminals are evil. Many of them are motivated by very human needs and emotions, and are often victims (or survivors) of tragedies themselves. I believe that many criminals are more worthy of sympathy than blame. Hurt people hurt people, and I'd rather heal that hurt than hurt them back more. I don't think of criminals as evil people who need to be punished. Criminals are unfortunate people who need help.

Passing Judgment

I spent this afternoon reading the story of Cyntoia Brown and Johnny Allen. In this story, 43-year-old Johnny Allen was shot and killed by Cyntoia Brown. Brown claimed self-defense. Allen's family claimed premeditated murder. Either person could be described as the villain or the victim, depending on what evidence you consider and which witnesses you trust. Brown was convicted of murder, but she was granted clemency before her sentence was completed. Both sides believe that an injustice was done, either by her incarceration or by her release. I don't know what to believe. But just about no matter how you slice it, this story is a tragedy, and I'm glad that I don't have to pass judgment on anyone involved.

I don't envy the Lord. Final Judgment isn't going to be quick, clean, or pretty. There will be countless factors to consider, including the complex motivations of the human hearts. Luckily, the Lord is pretty well equipped to read people's hearts and to judge them. I am neither blessed nor cursed with such insight. I don't know what goes on in other people's minds or hearts. I don't fully know why people do what they do, and I don't even know for sure who did what most of the time. I don't know enough about anyone's situation to pass judgment on them. I can say how things seem to me, using the limited knowledge and judgment I have, but that's not enough to prescribe fair punishments for them. I'd really rather not do that. I don't know enough about Johnny Allen or Cyntoia Brown to pass judgment on either of them, so I won't. So, when it comes to passing moral judgment on people for what they may or may not have done, I'll pass.

Different Tradition, Same Spirit

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is attending and participating in a Messiah Sing-Along concert. For obvious reasons, that's not going to happen this year, but during tonight's First Presidency Christmas Devotional, I took the liberty of joining the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square in singing the Hallelujah Chorus of Handel's Messiah, and I realized that I don't have to attend any in-person concert in order to sing along with that sacred music. I can play those songs on Youtube, on my MP3 player, or on CD, and sing along to my heart's content. Preferably, I'd do it at a time and place that wouldn't bother others, but I don't need others to join along. Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, I can enjoy and join in that music anytime, anywhere.

I hope you find ways to enjoy reflections of your favorite Christmas traditions, despite these extraordinary circumstances. This pandemic has cancelled many things, but it shouldn't cancel our (perhaps individual) celebrations of the birth and life of Christ. Our celebrations may be different this year, but they are no less sacred and important than they have always been. Let us all try to find ways to keep the spirit of Christmas alive this year, even if the traditions by which we celebrate that spirit have to change.

Different Sets of Insights

My family just had the fairly unique experience of reading the same chapter of scripture two nights in a row, and what I find interesting about that is that we found a different set of insights each night. What this tells me is that there are lots of insights to be found in the scriptures, and different insights may stand out to us as we read them, as inspired by the Holy Spirit. God will have different messages for us at different times, even just on different days. We're fortunate God put so many of those messages in the scriptures for us to find at different times.

Feeling the Spirit at Home

Today, I did not visit the Temple. I usually visit the Temple on Fridays because, even while it's closed, I can sit on the Temple grounds and feel the Spirit there. But the truth is, while the Temple is a special, sacred place, it's not the only place at which one can feel the Spirit. I've felt the Spirit today, even just sitting at home, as I've listened to uplifting, faith-inspiring music. While one absolutely should visit the Temple about as often as circumstances allow, it's comforting to know that we can feel the Spirit wherever we are. We can invite the Spirit into our homes and into our hearts, regardless of our physical location. So, while I enjoy going to the Temple most Fridays, I'm glad that I know that I can feel the Spirit, even at home.

Moving Forward

Tonight, I am extremely late blogging. I don't even have a good excuse this time. But rather than make excuses or apologizing, I'm just going to commit to do better next time. That's just about all a person really can do. I can't go back and make better use of the last few hours, but I can move forward and make good use of the time I'll have tomorrow.

"To All People"

One of the special things about the musical program I watched last night was the multicultural nature of it. People from many different countries sang hymns in different languages while depicting scenes from around the world. For me, the highlight of the program was a reading of Luke 2 in multiple languages, driving home the point of the angel, who said to the shepherds that these "good tidings of great joy... shall be to all people."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints isn't just an American church; it's an international church, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses everyone in the world, whether or not they belong to His church or any church at all. Some of the blessings of the Atonement extend to literally everyone in the entire world, not just those who believe or who live in some parts of the world.

I'm glad that God loves all His children enough to bless all His children with gifts such as the Light of Christ and Resurrection and that He extends even greater blessings to everyone who will accept them. God wants to give all His children all the blessings that He can, and while divine law dictates that some blessings be reserved for the righteous, I find it comforting that some of the most precious and important blessings are extended freely "to all people."

Soothing Music

I spent part of this morning so stressed that I considered calling in sick from work, but I eventually managed to cope with it. Then, I spent part of tonight listening to lovely Christmas music presented by the church, and I felt wonderfully relaxed. There are many good ways to relieve stress, and listening to soothing music is one of them. And if that music also invites the Spirit by reminding us of uplifting, encouraging truths, all the better. Next time I'm stressed, I'm going to try to relieve that stress by listening to soothing, uplifting music. I just hope it doesn't backfire if/when I get interrupted. Still, it probably couldn't hurt to try.