Comments on Life and Love

Pictures!!!

2006-02-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

Home Sweet Home. This is a nice little shot of my room. I got dibs on top bunk, and let me tell you about trying to jump down at 7 in the morning....your limbs dont work quite how they are supposed to. My favorite chair in existence is at the bottom of the screen. The book on the automan that looks like it hasnt been read is my speech book, and it hasnt been read. The whole right side of the screen is encompassed by Michaels massvie desk and 5 computers. That kid is just nuts.
This shot is of my boy Paul and I. We accidentally wore the EXACT same thing yesterday and that was so crazy i had to take a picture of it. I really didnt feel like changing though so i let it slide.
THis is a slightly different view of my dormitorio. Its alot like the last view, but now you can see just how much more room Michael has in the room...jerk. THat little desk is mine. But he spends alot more time in the room so i guess its ok that he has about 80% of it. Im not bitter.
This is a nice little pic of some of the guys on our floor. We had a nice little formal get together the other night and i decided to get a little artsy with my camera. Dont hate, appreciate. These guys are absolutely awesome.
This is the view i have right now. Kinda crazy to think about huh? Check out my wall of friends. If you look hard enough you will probably see yourself. It doesnt have everyone i want to have so send me pictures!!! Good times. I miss all yall. Talk to you later.

Tis the Season to Update

2005-12-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

The first semester of my college career is just about over.
It sounds so strange to say that. I am going to be honest and just say that college is one of the best experiences of my life. And im actually sad that a part of it is over. Having said that, lets catch up on the month i have been away from my blog.
It looks like im going to have to stay with my roommate for another semester. I only have about 4 days left to put in for the room transfer, and the guy im depending on to move out is dragging his feet majorly. Its a bit of a sad affair, but some of my awesome friends down the hall will be moving next door so its basically a win win situation no matter how i slice it. Classes are going pretty well, i only have to take 3 finals and one of them is already out of the way. The other good news: I take my last final on Tuesday. Unfortunately i take one until 11:30 and the other starts at 11:50 on that Tuesday....Yikes. What can you do though? Im pretty sure that last night was one of the best days of my life. It wasnt even all that eventful. I was in an incredible mood though, even when i had a bout 4 hours of homework to do, i was still really happy. Im gonna chalk this one up to the 3.5 hour nap i took in the afternoon. It was simply amazing. My weekend is pretty much going to rock. Tonight is the CHristmas dinner, which words will not be able to describe. Im totally not kidding either, wow. Then im going to Christian Challenge, a ministry group i havent been to yet. The music is supposed to be rocking. Plus one of my friends, whom i havent seen for a couple weeks got ahold of me via facebook and we will be hanging out tonight. Afterwards i will hang with some of the coolest kids i know, til who knows when, because i dont have classes tomororw. Tomorrow i will See the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We will probably have apretty massive caravan for the 7 oclock showing but the more the merrier. Then saturday i have a movie night scheduled which im very excited about. Sunday is church and life group dinner. Its the last meeting for some of the seniors so some tears will be shed, but im sure itll still be fun. In about 4 minutes im going to leave for Sociology, the only thing which stands between me and all these good times is a quiz, but i dont cur, im a.....well you get the point (if you dont i will explain it later). Oh......and i will probably be having atleast one friend stay over for some of a weekend over Christmas break. Super cool. Alright, well i must away to class.

New Faces in the Crowd

2005-11-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

people from my dorm. Starting from the left : Willow, Adam (hopefully a future roommate), me, John (also known as Deej, and another hopeful roommate), Emily, Godsey, Morgan, Vaughn. These kids are hilarious. We just got done with a dance party, and a round of Good riddance by Greenday.
This is paul (white shirt). He is probably the guy i hang out with the most at college. He rocks, and tries to do entirely too much.
Left is Krista, Middle is Rachel. They are probably my two best female friends here. Plus they're roommates. Crazy Crazy girls. Oh yea, and they love Harry Potter (they are going to the Midnight showing with me too....AMC 30 in KC what what.) Halloween '05. This is my frat boy costume. We had the double popped collar, cadillac belt buckle, ipod in one ear, flip flops, Sweat bands, and trucker hat. It was awesome. The girls live in boyd (the hall across from mine) and they are dressed up like the K-State classy cats. We like to have Disney movie night after ichthus on thursdays.

Well that is about all for now. I will try to get some more pics up in a bit. But until then, stay classy world.

Victory

2005-10-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

So guess what i found the other day. That's right, Legolas is now mine. I love college.

Shot Down

2005-10-25T23:10:00.000-07:00

No dice on stealing Legolas.
Those girls sure are tricky. They changed the location of the movie at the last minute. I will find a way in though. Mark my words, i will steal that life size cut out. This week has been pretty amazing so far. Sunday night i went over to one of the dorms to study for a spanish oral interview, sadly very little studying occured. I went to bed at 3:30. The next day was my oral interview (you are given 3 topics to study, one day you come to class and teacher randomly picks two people to talk about one of the 3 topics (also picked randomly). You have to talk for 8 minutes and she grades you.) We had to wait outside the room until our names were called so i started to study with this pretty smart guy. Slowly the crowd thinned and all of the sudden i realized that hey, that guy and i were the only two people left. By some stroke of luck, we had gotten placed together and we recieved the easiest topic. Booyah. Last night i attended a Fraternity and Sorority dance event called WRL and i have never been so happy to NOT be in a fraternity. The mindless conformity and stupid traditions were just ridiculous. I felt very out of place, but cherished my individuality.
Today i didnt have to go to my first class, which rocked. After the two classes i was required to attend, i took a nap and just relaxed. I ate dinner pretty early then went to this weird event called Pant the Chant (dont ask), Then i went and checked on my friend Laura. She works at the local quick shop and has a really creepy stalker. This guy has gone into her shop every time she has worked since the beginning of the year. He even sneaks up behind her and watches her. So i went and made sure that the guy wasnt harrassing her. He wasnt even there so i left after a few minutes and watched the strangest movie i have ever seen. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is the trippiest movie ever created. Hands down. But i like it.
I guess that im going home to topeka tomorrow (Wednesday). I am really excited about this weekend (just kidding). Actually, im going to see the orthodontist. Why you may ask? Well i'm not exactly sure. Starting about 3 days ago, my jaw has been totally screwed up. Im guessing that it is off-centered, because every time i try to open my mouth all of the way, it pops and hurts. I might have slept on it wrong. Very strange, and very not cool. So we will see what the damage is tomorrow. Thats about all i have to say now, later.

Just for Thomas

2005-10-20T17:15:00.000-07:00

My lunch was delectible today. Usually lunch is just the meal before dinner, but today i had a southwest chicken club. MMMMM. They gave me a chicken breast on a sub bun, bacon, swiss, lettuce, and tomato......and i gave them a smile. Scarce are the times when i can legitimately sit down and enjoy my lunch. Today was one of those days. And i needed it too after my spanish test.
Tonight should be pretty rocking though. First is ichthus in about 20 minutes, then i am heading out to watch some movie called Drop Dead Gorgeous. I will give it a try, but my expectations are low, plus i have an alterior motive. My master plan is to somehow distract the girls whose room i am watching the movie in, and then steal their lifesize cut out of Legolas. Once Legolas is in my possession, i need to somehow find a girl in Boyd to escort me out of the all female dorm. Without an escort i could potentially get in alot of trouble. If i can manage to get Legolas back to my dorm room, i will take a hostage picture with him, and hold him for as much ransom as i can. Hopefully this will work, and legolas will join me on my facebook as early as tomorrow morning. Later all.

Blessings in Disguise

2005-10-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

Hey All,

Life has been pretty interesting lately.
It all started when we were assigned our presentations for Spanish class. These presentations arent your normal stand in front of the class and spout out random words for a minute. No, these are twenty five minute beasts about topics such as global warming, biculturalism, and my topic: Green Peace. The syllabus says that groups of 4 will share the responsibilities, so its not quite as bad, but i was placed in a group of 3. To top it all off, the third member of our group dropped the class. Im not really worrying though, you know why? Because he wasnt going to help the group at all, and now the teacher is going to take time off of our presentation! Yay. Plus, everyone else is in the exact same boat as me. We all know about the same amount of Spanish, and the class is getting steadily smaller (due to disgruntled students dropping it before it drops their GPAs). But the kids in my class are really nice and forigiving.
The weekend rocked by the way, Friday i went to a coffee shop and hung out with some friends. Afterwards, we went back to the lobby of my dorm and played card games. I was told my love life by one of these games and it was hilarious. Surprisingly accurate too. No it wasnt tarot. We split up about 1:30, and i went upstairs. I noticed that one of my friends was passed out/ trying to recover from a serously crazy night, so paul and i watched out for him (we were told that pizza was on its way so we had a little insentive too). To kill time we played Golden Eye for 64 and brought back memories. The pizza promptly showed up 2 hours late and i found my bed at about 5. But of course i had to be up for KU vs KSU at 8:30. It was not a great game, but the crowd was pretty ridiculous and we WON so it was a good day. And now I'm listening to Keane, drinking V8 splash and enjoying the fact that i have relatively little to do for tomorrow. Tuesday is a different matter, but life kinda stinks when you just focus on work, so now is for relaxing and enjoying life. I hope you are all doing the same.

Perspectives

2005-09-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

Its easy to lose perspective sometimes. We live in our climate controlled environments and worry about how hard to study for our next test.
Sunday was a terrible day for me, im not gonna lie, i was really stressed. It all started when i checked my spanish grades online and it said that one of my assignments hadnt been turned in (yea i totally turned it in). Then i started freaking about the crazy amount of work i have to do for the week.
Then i did something that i would recommend to anyone who has the opportunity to. I helped out at a barbeque for the victims of hurricane Katrina. As i sat listening to the story from the lady who stood outside as her house and every possession in the world was torn apart by the powerful winds, or as i talked to the newlywed couple who would have to start their new life together with nothing but the clothes on their backs, i realized just how much people in this world are going through. These people have troubles, it was sure an eye opener, sometimes it is healthy to step back and look at the world through someone else's eyes. Well thats all i have to say for now. Yay for fall break!!

Update!!

2005-09-22T23:42:00.000-07:00

Today i wrote my first Spanish composition.
I was up until 3 last night preparing for the assignment, and i must say that it most definitely could have gone worse. I was able to cover all of the topics in my outline, and the final product was a little over 2 pages written. I probably could have varied the vocab and structure a little, but the important thing to remember is that its done!!
Now the fun begins! Tomorrow im gonna go to the Rec. at 8:30 and do some excercising with this really cool guy in my dorm.
Around 11 a couple friends and i are going to watch the first five episodes of Lost. Yay. Then there is this party that starts at 9, which i hear is going to be all the rage. (Christian kids)
Saturday is the Football Game!! Can anyone say tailgating? This is going to be a good weekend. Later all.

Waiting for the Axe to Fall

2005-09-21T19:16:00.000-07:00

What adjectives connotate extreme fear?
Well just think about those as i tell you about my most intimidating college experience (it hasnt even happened yet). Basically, i have this spanish class that is ridiculously hard. The teacher is pretty mean/hard, and she makes everyone feel really dumb. Every one of my class assignments has been graded to the most extreme degree and she seems to enjoy failing people. Having said that, i have an in-class writing assignment tomorrow for this class. We have picked topics (i chose bilingualism in the U.S.) and tomorrow we will spend the entire class (50 minutes) just writing as much and as fast as we can. The target length is 2 pages double spaced, think about that in terms of writing. But seriously, i just know im gonna freeze and sit there having a panic attack while everyone else speeds along.
During the summer, i took a spanish placement test and ended up in Spanish 3. It seemed like an awesome idea to skip spanishes (word?) 1 and 2. I guess that they covered the basics of in-class writing assignments and other necessary knowledge in those classes, so i find myself alone and very inexperienced in an unfamiliar place. I hate timed excercises and i hate that neither Jenny or Craig are not there to help me through. So what the heck do i do, well i thought about praying and seeking a dark corner. If it was any other subject i wouldnt worry this much, but with a foreign language, either you know it or you dont. You cant make it up as you go unless you are amazing. The unknown is so very scary. Well i just thought i would vent a little bit. The positive sides are that you can take an outline into class, take a list of vocab that you can put together, and after the assignment, you can rewrite and raise your grade as much as 10%. Later All.

I Love Facebook

2005-09-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

So at college, lots of people have addictions.
I choose not to drink or smoke, or do other things.....So i waste my time with THE COOLEST THING ON THE INTERNET. Facebook. So basically you have this profile on the internet, which has a pic, lots of info, clubs you are in, and a bunch of other random stuff. Some haters like to call it 'stalker net' but they just dont know. Yes you can find just about any information on a person, but they get to choose what they tell you. You can message people, write on their wall, or just poke them. I basically draw all of my validation from messages. It is a great way to meet people, and talk to them across the internet (and its pretty safe). Well thats about all for now. Im gonna try to get some pictures on here sooner or later. Bye

Running Scared

2005-09-07T23:15:00.000-07:00

My lungs burned, but i knew that i had to keep going. The awful truth was that i was surrounded, but the only logical way to go was forward. Travelling on foot, i had to avoid any major roads or street lights. Then i saw it, my glorious destination. It was obvious that my greatest challenge was yet to come, but the end of the trial was invigorating. Slipping along the forest i inched closer and closer. Then there was no cover, i was outnumbered 3 to one, but they werent expecting to be challenged so soon. They ran full tilt, but a simple misdirection sent them reeling to the side. Then the goal was mine.
Ok, so tonight i joined a pretty popular game at k State. Its called fugitive and you basically try to avoid certain people while running to a predetermined building. Usually they play off campus, but since tonight was the first game of the new year, we stayed in familiar territory. Its pretty fun. Lots of running and some hiding. Not as good as Mission Impossible, but it has its moments.

We played our first Putnam soccer game last night. We lost 2-3 but it was really really fun. These two girls from the floor below me made signs and cheered us on. The soreness didnt set in until this morning and let me tell you...Oww. Definitely worth it though.
Tomorrow has potential to be a very fun day. I am going to the Navigators (Christian Ministry) and im hoping to meet lots of great Christians. I am still amazed at how many freaking people go to this school. It is soooooo cool. You should all come to K State. The people are really nice, the campus is beautiful, and you can play soccer!
Other news includes the fact that it is 1:30 and my roommates girlfriend is playing duckhunt in the middle of the room. This doesnt really bother me, but if she is here when i wake up, then i wont do anything but i wont be happy either. Before i go, i think i should point out that monday is the universal movie night at my college. It kinda stinks because they all plan there various films at the exact same time. So you cant go to alll of them. Later

Good Times

2005-09-04T23:46:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

Now that the whole homesick, new experience thing is over, i think ill try to let you know what my college experience is like. First of all, it rocks. The dorm i live in (Putnam) is definitely the best. It is relatively small, and i live on the best floor, (fourth what what). The stairs are pretty crazy but they keep me moving. My roommate is a cool guy, who never leaves the room except for class. His girlfriend loves to spend all of her time just sitting watching him play World of Warcraft, but if it works for them then great. I try to leave the room as much as possible. My classes are kinesiology (that is a weight lifting class, not a real class). I look forward to this class every day i have it. A couple guys are muscle bound, but for the most part, everyone is like me (learning). My funniest experience from this class was when the kstate cheerleader told me how to work my abs better. A bit embarrassing, but she was pretty nice about it. Then there is spanish 3. Alot of the kids hate the class, but its not tough at all. There are alot of menial and annoying things to do, but if you just buckle down, they can be done pretty quickly. Funny story is that my teacher is from the Ukraine and speaks very little english, lol. The Weight teacher is Greek.
Then i have spanish conversation. The grades in this class are comprised of a couple presentations and speaking tests, but i have spanish everyday so its coming back pretty quick. In case you were wondering, half of my 14 hours are spanish classes. Cool huh?
Other classes include sociology, definitely the most boring class. I love the subject, but there are 199 other kids in the class and the teacher is from Kenya. He is a nice guy, but his thick accent makes him difficult to understand sometimes. The kids that sit next to me are really funny so oh well. Lastly we have expository writing, the syllabus says that our grade will consist of like 5 papers. All of which we will be able to revise, so we will see how that goes. And of course-NO CLASSES ON FRIDAYS.

As far as fun college stuff goes.........I try to make atleast one new friend each day. In case i mention names, i will give you a little intro into some of my new buds. First is paul, this guy is absolutely crazy and random. We try to race each other no matter what we do (it usually involves stairs). Like the other day, it was about 2 in the morning (we were outside watching all the drunk people come home) and paul was like, "Dude we should go running". So we ran, went to bed about 4, then got up at 8 for breakfast the next day. Good times.
Then there is derrick. This kid is quiet but hilarious. He is really nice and just an all around good guy.
Next is Rachel. Rachel is a great girl with some unique taste in music, most of it is simply amazing. She is super nice and is always up for doing random but really fun college stuff. Like watching Kill Bill. Yea thats right, this girl likes good movies.
Krista is Rachels roommate. This girl is really talented. She can tap dance, sing, play instruments, and pretty much any other skill thing that i cant do. She is wild just like Rachel. So far all of the people i have mentioned are regulars for our Monday Movie Night. As of right now we have done both Kill Bills.........yes.
I also hang out with some friends from Topeka High. Lets see, sometimes i hang out with Lyndsey, Resa, Mellisa, and Jayne. All i can say is that is never boring. Except when you watch a movie called ' The ballad of jack and rose'. This is a horrible horrible movie which should have nver been made. But Lots of you already know them so i wont go into descriptions.
Other noteable people include adam, shaun, and John. They live on my floor and i played some serious mario cart in their room.
Then we have all of the people who will help me in my classes before the end of the year, Joe, Jeff (an awesome guy who is in both of my spanish classes and in a criminal justice major, heck yes. Then we have Moira, i know a very cool name. She lives in putnam, i didnt know this until we said goodbye to each other after class, and i followed her all the way back to our dorm. That was definitely a little uncomfortable (i mean, i expected her to turn off). My campus ministries rock. I really like ichthus and am already involved with groups on sunday morning, sunday nightm and thursday night. Soccer will soon begin on Wednesdays. Im super stoked. Well that should be about enough for now. I will try to cover more new people next time. Later.

What Can this feeling Be?

2005-08-28T17:20:00.000-07:00

You know, I never thought i would be writing about this.......atleast not this soon. The feeling crept upon me over the span of a week. Slowly but surely, a homesick longing started to claw at my insides. There's only one cure for this sickness, but i can't resort to that just yet. Instead of returning home this weekend, i decided to stay in Manhappenin. I dont regret the desicion, loneliness isnt the infection im describing. The people here are sooooo nice, and i simply love it, but right now i just want to see my family. It's kinda lame i guess, but the love and comfort of home are amazingly alluring sometimes.
The absence will only make the reunion sweeter and this pain is a bit necessary i guess. Call it what you will, but im testing myself right now. I need to prove that independence is possibe. It may be the tough decsion, but this stretching is a necessary evil. More and More, connection and involvement show themselves to be essential for college survival. Right now, the new relationships are more important than the comfort of home.
On a brighter note, im leaving my dorm in about 20 minutes. My new friend Karlie is picking me up and we are going to a church small group. I really love the Ichthus student ministry. The down side of this fellowship is that im missing out on some delivered pizza, which sounds ridiculously good right now. Ben Nelson you rock and im super sorry i can't come over and catch up :(. (all i have eaten today are 2 strawberry poptarts, lol). Maybe there will be munchies at the meeting. Might as well keep my fingers crossed. Later all.

Two Down...

2005-08-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

Ok so now i've finished my first two days of class.
The only class that should pose a serious threat is Spanish 3. So far, i have understood everything she has said in class, and that is what scares me. This class is gonna have a massive amount of projects, papers, and events. I like spanish and have been amazingly well prepared for the college version. But i dont want all of my time to be taken up by silly projects in my second language.
Moving on, Im still surprised at the ridiculous numbers of people i see every day. I have about 30 new names circling around in my head, and i know i will never get the right one out in time. I guess it is to be expected. I just love the college atmosphere. Very Very cool. But i still miss home too.
As of day two, i dont have any real homework. I was sitting in my room, doing very little, and i decided to go play soccer at the old stadium. I walked all the way over there and started playing on the side opposite from the rugby players. There were about 50 of them so i kept my distance. I am kicking around and this guy with a radio comes sauntering over. He tells me that i need to get off the grass because the rugby guys have reserved the whole field. Bummer......especially because they arent even using the other half. Such is life i guess.
There is good news though....I dont have classes on friday. This means that the whole year will be filled with 3 day weekends. ALRIGHT!!
For anyone that cares, my classes this year are: Kinesiology-wieght training, spanish 3, spanish conversation, expository writing, and sociology. Later all.

Not Like Old School

2005-08-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

So i finally made it. Dorm life and everything that goes with it. Yesterday i got all moved in, said goodbye to my parents, and started a new chapter in my life. The roomie is pretty cool. He stays in the room alot, but is really nice. I also see alot of his girlfriend though.....take from it what you will. Right now i am relying on the support of all of my tried and true friends. I havent had much time to meet new people so it would be a bit lonely without them.
If you were wondering why i didnt post yesterday, i didnt have internet yesterday. Our school is requiring all of its students to go through antivirus stuff. So i spent about 3 hours there today. It was great, and i would have been totally lost if a friendly helper hadnt lent her expertise.
Yesterday was nice, but tonight should be super fun. There is a picnic for my dorm complex and then there is an all dorm dance. Fun Fun. Im sure there will be lots of stuff to write about tomorrow. But until then....I want to take a nap.

When Goodbye Just Doesn't Say It

2005-08-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

How do you say goodbye if you don't know when the reunion will be?
I leave tomorrow and I'm scared. Ive been ready to move on for quite some time, but dont think i will ever grow accustomed to leaving the people i care about. One by One, my classmates and friends have left for a new life. All i can say, is that they will be missed....
Then there is the part where i have to watch my family sink into the distance, taking with them the sweet security of home.
I wont pretend like i dont have friends back home either. It will be so wrenching to have to choose between staying with my new friends or driving back to familiar safety. Maybe we can just sort it all out by having everyone come to Manhattan.
Its a shame, because i really want to take a few road trips to California and Arkansas if you know what im talkin bout, talkin bout!
But enough of this, you can't move forward if you only look back.....
The new story begins.

Home Again

2005-08-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

"Maybe home is just a group of people all missing the same place"- Garden State

I am happy to declre that the house i grew up in is still my home. But that might change in less than a week. I'm excited in a way that i have never experienced before. For the last 6 years, the final week of summer was the one where i went to soccer hell week (lots and lots of running) and finished my summer reading assignment. BUT this year i get to decide what kind of bedding to take to my new residence. No more laundry service or gourmet meals (thanks mom). I never thought i would say it, but the familiar option seems more appealing at times. The fear of the unknown can be more intimidating than the actual ordeal you are facing.
I think the realization of a new life took shape when the first of my classmates left for college. Jessica Boucher was the first, but she wont be the last( By the way, i miss you Jess, and am sorry i couldnt say goodbye) . These people have shared my pains and triumphs for years, and now they are moving on. So must i. The days are short, and the separation will be long.
The only consolation is that i will make new friends. But this doesnt mean that my 15 classmates will ever be replaced. They will always hold a special place in my heart.
Thankfully, the Mexico trip eased my mind a bit. While we were there, we met and got to know Rachel, Monica, and Vanessa. These girls were absolutely great. Their upbeat attitudes and friendliness showed me that it is possible to make new friends who you can have an awesome time with. (if you girls read this, thanks for helping the group and being great Christian friends). If you are ever in California or Oklahoma, you should look them up :). But seriously, i forgot to acknowlege them in my Mexico posts so i am trying to do them justice now.
Well i better go, I have alot to do with my friends before the big move.
P.S. Dana is in town so we need to show her how to have a good time in Kansas.
Before I go i need to recommend a band to everyone out there. Emery.....Their song Fractions is my favorite in the entire world.

We're Not in Kansas Anymore

2005-08-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

Sadly, my bags were barely unpacked before I had to leave Kansas again. No international travel this time.
Bro and I were asked to watch our cousins for a few days, so we left for New Mexico early on Sunday. Surprisingly, the 12 hour car ride seemed to go pretty quickly. I hadnt had a deep conversation with Nick for quite some time. And let me tell you, my brother is a cool kid (and single, lol).
While i am having a stellar time in NM, im not gonnna lie. I miss home. I want to sleep in my own bed, drive down Gage, hang out with all of you awesome Kansans, and eat my mom's cooking.
It's times like these that make me think about college. I will be sharing a cube with a complete stranger. My home will no longer be the place i grew up. Times are changing. Boundaries will be stretched and im sure that i will do alot of maturing. Anyone who knows me understands that :).
At this point, my basic gameplan for college is to meet as many new people as i can. Hopefully, these new acquaintances can help me through my inevitable homesickness. Life is full of leaps of faith and the best rewards come from large gambles. Here is to hoping this one pays out.
I will be home on the 12th, so we will hang out.Later all

Cuando Fui a Mexico Parte Dos

2005-08-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

Friday or Viernes as they call it in Mexico was a pretty tough day. I wouldnt call myself a skill laborer, but my limited talents were tested when i was asked to help install some piping at a bathroom. Now dont think that we did anything special, all i did was dig where i was told. Once the digging was complete, we had to pour a floor in the newly constructed lavatory. There was more than enough help, so i decided to revert to my strongest skill, manual labor. I relocated myself and spent the rest of the day moving rocks. We actually enjoyed ourselves too.
Saturday my most trying day. We moved dirt for most of the morning, and then set out on an adventure. The leaders planned a lake day for us, so we went on a little viaje to a nearby resevoir. Aside from the floating garbage, everyone had a wonderful time. The water was very refreshing and the PB and J sandwiches hit the spot.
Then the drama ensued. Story time and VBS awaited us on our return. Snag #1: we went to the lake during the time when the story was usually constructed and aligned with the puppet show. We were at the lake so long that we were forced to cut the 50 verse David and Goliath story down to 26, IN THE CAR. Not easy, but Craig helped me. Then disaster struck. I quickly learned that one of the necessary copies of our spanish story had been carried away by the Mexican wind some time during the previous night. Now we are in serious trouble. Without this crucial copy, the skit cannot work, because none of the skit group understood spanish well enough. OK, time for God to step in and save the day. In our moment of utmost need, one of the bilingual members of the camp came up and volunteered to translate the bible story into spanish while i read it in English. I wasnt watching behind me, but i was told that the lesson was a success.
Sunday was our day of rest so we did just that. There were two bible lessons and a wonderful session at night. Sunday was our last night in Mexico so we said our goodbyes and took what pictures we could. There were a few tears shed and i am happy to say that i was able to develope some relationships that i should have focused on earlier.
Monday we started the Axe Effect and left for home. I was placed in the Red Van and all was great (except for the fact that Mr. Tod Wheelan wasnt able to share the experience with me). We made some good time and only arrived in Dallas a mere 6 hours late.
Tuesday we stayed in Dallas and watched a Rangers game. GREAT TIME.
Wednesday i had an absolutely wonderful time in the vans, thanks Mikey, Thomas, Darby, Ashley, Doug, Ben, Ben, and others. It was fun while it lasted wasnt it Andrew, Jaq, Tommy, Suzy, Craig, and Ashley.
End of story, we got home at around 7:30 and began life again in T town. Too bad this was the last time...

Cuando Fui a Mexico

2005-08-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
As you probably already know, the TBC group has returned from Mexico. The trip was simply amazing.
Overview: We spent 2 days driving down to Acuna and finally arrived on Monday night. Tuesday began with our group of 50 being divided alphabetically into 4 groups. Let the drama begin. The administration of the trip found it necessary to institute a 'no dating' mandate, so Andrew and Jaqueline, Thomas and Suzie, and Craig and Ashley should have been separated into different groups. The separations were met with some hostility, but the real problem developed when Craig and Ashley were left on the same team. The separated love birds found this unfair, but the teams stayed the same. We will return to this coupling drama a little later, in the meantime lets discuss the first day. My group (#1 or the Electric Showdown) went to the Orphanage and played with the kids. It was really fun to see the friendly little ninos and we had a rousing little game of futbol. Later that day was the first day of VBS. Lets just say that VBS was a bit frightening to me. Because i knew the most spanish in the stories group, i was in charge of finding, refining, and reading the bible stories in spanish to the kids. I was freaked out to say the least. But it went OK. The kids started to lose focus from the word "Hola" but how would you do if a foreigner stumbled across words you have known for your whole life?
The first night was awesome. The extreme heat (120 in the sun) and wonderful insulation of our concrete dormitories forced us to sleep on the roof each night. The mood was amazing when we sang and retold stories underneath the stars.
Day 2 was a killer. Today the Electric Showdown was assigned to move 3 huge dirt piles into a ravine. This was probably the most difficult day of the trip. The only tools we had were shovels and pick axes so the tons of dirt took a while to move. The heat only allowed us to work until lunch, but thankfully we were able to finish with about 3 minutes to spare. I handed off the VBS responsibilities on day 2 so it was a little less stressful, but i decided that i could handle the stories for the rest of the days.
At this point in the trip, you must be wondering how the multiple couples on our trip are handling the mandatory separation they are forced to endure, the simple answer is.....not well. While there are some like Thomas, who complain about the rules, others like Andrew and Jaq simply ignore it altogether. A and J could be found every night in the neutral zone of the roof chatting away until they were discovered and told to retreat to their relative blue and pink zones. Most of us got a kick out of the purpling (boys blue girls pink) and decided to refer to it as proximity warnings (reference to the movie The Island).
Day 3 it rained and we were flooded out of our rooftop sanctuary. A dusty country doesnt handle rain very well so we were pretty confined on what we could do.
Day 4 my team worked on cement at a local youth center. There was also a great group from Oklahoma staying at the base. We got to know a few of the members and they joined up with the TBC crew for a few days of manual labor. MORE TO COME LATER.

Mexico

2005-07-23T23:27:00.000-07:00

Well we leave for Mexico in the morning. Ready or not, it is time to hit the road. I will see you all in 10 days...

Summertime Reflections

2005-07-22T22:18:00.000-07:00

How does one describe summer. Simple descriptors like awesome, fleeting, hebble, bittersweet, and intense, just dont seem to cut it. It has been nearly a month since my last post and you may find it surprising, but there is a reason for this extended absence. I just didnt feel ready to share my feelings and experiences with the wide world out there. I wont lie, i have stuck my e-foot in my e-mouth more than once, and it wasnt a pleasant experience. Now i feel that it is time to start venting once more, so here goes.

July has been pretty crazy. I find that working in the 100+ conditions isnt all it is cracked up to be. Today my paint crew was blessed by the presence of none other than the legendary Paint Kabertime (boss Nate Kaberline). We started to scrape old paint off of the most annoying house in the painting world. I exaggerate only slightly. The heat and effort was so draining that we called it a day at 11 AM. No complaints here, but we arent always so lucky.

Moving on from work (sorry i will probably jump around alot but there is alot of ground to cover). A couple weeks ago Craig and I decided to embark on our very first Road Trip. We travelled all the way up to Minnesota to visit some friends for the weekend. Good times were had by all. There was bowling, Newsies, Swimming and everything a successful road trip requires. Perhaps the most glorious part of all was finally doing something on our own. Acting grown up has its perks sometimes. The Wibles were simply wonderful to us and i cant thank them enough.
Shortly after the minnesotan adventure, i headed to Church camp with about 40 friends from the youth group. We had a blast with pretty much every activity under the sun. It was great to see everyone again, but the experience was a little bittersweet because it was the last time that i (a graduated senior) will ever get to enjoy the Lakeshore Resort or Summer Blast ever again *such is life.
Do i even need to mention Harry Potter? What a Brilliant series of books.
The summer is almost over, but some amazing experiences are still in store. In less than 2 days, A group from TBC will embark on a missions trip to Mexico. I must admit that I am a bit scared about taking such a leap of faith into an enirely unfamiliar place, all i can do is offer it up to God and trust him to handle the rest. You can expect a full recount of the trip when i return.

This summer has been a great one, and it has truly impacted my life in many ways. Some of these ways have been mentioned in this post, while others must not be. There is one in particular that will get around pretty quickly, but this is not the place for that kind of explanation. I am sorry to be so vague, but if you really want to know, just drop me a line and we can have a chat. Have a wonderful week and enjoy the rest of the summer. Seize the Carpe.

Not All Days are Bad

2005-06-27T13:29:00.000-07:00

I decided to Post because i dont want all of you to think that everyday is bad for me. In fact, the house we did after the peely one was quite wonderful. There was hardly any scraping and we finished 20 hours ahead of schedule. If you do the math, that is 40 dollars for hours i didnt work. Oh yea, and i only worked for an hour on Friday. We had to return to a house that was not done to the satisfaction of the homeowner. ( Basically he was a perfectionist jerk). Oh yea, today i didnt work at all!! Last night i spent about 6 hours finding track names for my i-tunes. I had to manually enter every track name and album. But it was ok because i got to sleep in until 12 today -Booyah.
By the way, this post is special. I am blogging thanks to a wireless internet connection at Craigs House. It is beautiful by the way. No constrictions on my space.
Poker tonight. So that is about all for now. Have a wonderful Monday.

"How to have a crappy day" by Nathan Eilert

2005-06-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

Ok so lets start at the beginning.
Today i woke up at 8:30 (excessively early) and went to work.
I am going into this day expecting to be finished by 12. The crew gets working and the time slowly slips away. Minutes turn into hours and hours turn into lost money. You see, every house we paint is scheduled for a certain amount of work time. This particular house needs to be finished today in five man hours (i.e. 1o AM) to be on budget. That time sure rolls around and we set our sights on 2:30. The hot sun continues to beat down on us and the tedious detail work slows to a crawl. We finally finish painting and then.....we have to clean up. Normally this process is relatively speedy, however this house was ridiculous. We have to pick up the paint chips we scraped off over a 5 day period. Menial tasks such as these will be in hell for sure. Long story short, we left at 7:30. Needless to say, we were over budget. The finished product alway seemd to allude us and i have never been so annoyed/ tired of work in my entire life. Bad Day. Then i went home and only saw my family for like 30 minutes. The only highlight of my day was that i won poker. I came and conquered the two dollar buy-in. Call me a nerd but just realize that i am a victorious nerd. The day wasnt a total waste, just a major one. Plus the power trip is still going on :( let me tell you about sad times. Ok so it would take too long. I must now go to bed and pray that tomorrow is better than today. Until the next time.

Nod Your Head and Act Cool

2005-06-19T22:59:00.000-07:00

Hello all.
Today was Padre Day and i spent it by eating lunch with the fam. This meal was excessively long, but i dont spent enough time with those guys so it was perfectly fine. Alot of TBCers left on the power trip today (I dont know why i just said alot because stace is the main one i was talking about). So i guess You could say that kinda stinks.
Moving on, i went to a concert tonight. Most of my past concert experiences were wild and crazy. We are talking mosh pits, drunk people, crowd surfing, and massive amounts of pushing. Tonight was different... I get to the Granada in Lawrence and everyone is spread out. Little clicks have formed and polite conversation rules the room. Welcome to the ultracool, semi- unknown realm of local bands. When the music starts, no wall of humanity rushes the stage (like at the incubus concert) rather, guys in size 4 girls jeans and girls in blazers (still a super cool style) adopt random couches scattered around the club . The key to this form of entertainment is to move as little as possible. Most people just stand motionless with their hands securely crossed around their chests. If the song really rocks, it is rewarded with a head nod on pace with the beat. The first band wasnt very good, the mics werent loud enough (plus lots of other problems). The second band (the billions) were missing their lead singer. So they had fun with it and did the best they could. I heard that it was their worst performance ever, but i still had fun. Clint, Jessica Boucher, Bro, Court, Ashley, and i did what we could to liven up the quiet room. Good times were had by all. The headlining band was an instrumental band. All i can say is.....unique. There were five members: 3 keyboards, drums, and a bass guitar. Neat stuff, but i was never a huge fan of instrumentals. All in all it was a pretty fun time. You should try it some time. Just grab your little sisters jeans, a childs shirt from a remote business in Arkansas and your dirty All stars. Maybe i will see you there.

The Good Ole Days

2005-06-15T23:18:00.000-07:00

Summer is my favorite time, Period (.)
Can any season beat summer?
Winter is cool but school just clouds any long term enjoyment. Seriously though. You can stay out late and kick it with your friends. You dont have to worry about homework. The night time weather is glorious. You can play sports. Swimming.....need i say more. I rest my case.
Today work was different than usual. First of all, only craig and i were working. Griff was sick and Thomas was tooling around the Carribean (yes my verb usage was appropriate). C and I did pretty well though. This current house is simply ridiculous. Probably the hardest house i have ever tried to paint. Normally scraping old paint will take a small amount of time, but yesterday i spent about 9 hours doing nothing but that. Today however, we got icees from Burger King on our lunch break and then took a nice refreshing dip in the pool. It was jsut a good time all around (we actually worked some too).
Then i came home and took a nap (the first one in about 2 months). I know....Ridiculous!
After a bit Stace came over and we just chilled at my casa. No obligations just a relaxing time. Stace you are awesome!
Now it is 1:30 and i need to go to bed. Enjoy your summer, and seize the carpe if you forgot.

Mr. and Mrs. Awesome Movie

2005-06-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

Lets start with the title.
(No Spoilers)
I saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith tonight and it was really really good. I would give it a much deserved 9 out of 10. Action was good, dialogue was good. I was very impressed (plus its only pg 13)

Alright. The past week was definitely good. It was summer sizzle (AG) at the church. Much fun on the times i could get off work. Im pretty sure the seniors and 13th graders won so it was good times. Oh yea, and i enrolled at K-State on thursday. What an amazing time. I am sooooo psyched about finally getting to go to college. It is a great campus and there are a billlion people to meet.
First they split us up into our relative majors. Then they had some question answering sessions and did some killer skits for us. The people were very nice and i met this one person that made me feel like an underacheiver. Going to the national debate championships is a hard subject to respond to in casual conversation. Long story short, my personal advisor is very cool, I got all the classes i wanted and the grand total is 14 hours...woohoo.
Bummer situation of the week: Staci's phone got stolen :(
Unimpressive highlight of last week: I devoted my Saturday to thankyou notes and i finished the 60 odd little packages of appreciation. Yay for spending 5 hours on the couch with a pen.

So life has been pretty crazy lately and i must say that i have alot of things on my mind right now. I had a great conversation with the bro today and we talked about some very complicated issues. But they will all get sorted out eventually. Well sleep tight all and enjoy the summer.

Weekends....

2005-06-05T21:46:00.000-07:00

Sunday night has come and gone...the clock now reads 12 am.
I cant help but imagine the many things i wish i was doing instead of sitting at home. Alas, you just cant live your life wanting something else. So many thoughts come to mind on that subject dont they?
Life is sooo complicated sometimes. There are complications which are unavoidable: distance is one of the biggest.
Then there are a few which you want to change but dont have the strength: the ability to say no to things you dont want.
Well that was probably a little ambiguous for my blog, so i will tone it down to my usual. Take from it what you will.

My weekend was pretty crazy. I am afraid i might have an addiction. I played halo for 6 housr on friday night. The gameplay started at 11PM...

Saturday was probably one of the coolest days ever. It wasnt amazing because of everything i did, it was uber cool because i did ABSOLUTELY nothing. By nothing, i mean didnt leave the couch til 5:30. I dont condone this severe lack of activity, but it is incredible if you have been ridiculously busy for about 6 months. The best cure for stress is to just take a break :)

Tomorrow is going to be ridiculous. I am starting work at 7:45 in the morning and working until....well the job is done. This servitude is taking the place of Worlds of Fun. Isnt work great? The money is great though *oh yea we havent gotten paid yet. Going on strike is becoming more and more appealing. Painters of the world unite!!
Still nothing on the kitty search. I will definitely keep you all up to date with details as they arise.
Stay classy world.

Romeo must die.....instead of living with us.

2005-06-02T22:32:00.000-07:00

Sad times on the kitty search. So we went to the cat society to find a new pet. The lady at the desk was really mean and denied us from adopting Romeo. They were pretty much saying that they would rather put him to sleep than let us adopt him.
I think the whole confrontation came from us admitting that our future kitty would be allowed to go outside. She was like...."Well he can get across the street 500 times...but it only takes once." Implying that we had something to do with Mia (RIP) getting hit by a car.
My mom was definitely close to tears.
Long story short, we are still catless. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hopefully things will work out.
Tonight was the missions trip meeting, 7-11 is quite the marathon, but it was still fun. There are a billion people going to mexico with us. Our crew is soooo huge and i dont know how well that will end up working out. Last year the team was much smaller and we were able to get closer, but God works in mysterious ways and it will work out (there are a ton of cool people going).

Painting is definitely hard. The past week i havent finished before 6:30 at night, not fun when you just want to go home and hang....or watch pay per view. But the bright side is that I DONT have to work tomorrow. Oh yea, get the party started. Well i better go play halo now. I know it is 1 AM but it is halo after all.
Later

Sleep...Who needs sleep?

2005-06-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

So i basically decided that i will sleep when i am dead.
Summer is great, honestly it is. But my body is kinda rebelling against the new schedule. Waking up at 8 a.m., working for 10 hours, then hanging out with friends is pretty much the norm these days. So my party was pretty fun, i saw a bunch of people- except some of my TCCC friends...whats up with that (thankyou janye and matthew and sasha...no thanks to kelsie or rachel (just kidding of course)).
I am pretty sure that there is just a little more to say. Painting houses is hard and tiring work, my bed is entirely too comfortable, griff is always late to work, dana isnt done with school yet lol, i am getting a new cat soon....his name will most likely be....Romeo.
Ok now im just rambling. Enjoy your summer and when it comes down to hanging with friends or sleeping, go with the bros.
Later all.

Thirteen Years in 13 Minutes.

2005-05-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

Ok i will admit it, i was close to a tear yesterday..... but i didnt cry. I really didnt. There was some dust in the air (jk).

So we graduated yesterday. The class of 2005 has now become the class of 2009. I must say that the ceremony was amazing. Bens speech was very well done and Mrs. Congdon did amazingly. She is the best speaker i have seen at a CP graduation.
Then Joel dropped the frozen chicken on the stage.....classic. I didnt think he would follow through on it but he came through and it was great. Mrs. C grabbed it up pretty quickly but it still did its damage. The video was also a definite highlight. I always enjoyed the videos most and this year was no exception. It was my memories being flashed up on that projection screen and the feeling was honestly a little surreal (hence the title of this post). It was the ending i had hoped for, lets just say that.

I am also pleased with the turnout for my graduation party. I really appreciate all the people that made it over. I hope everyone had a great time cause i know i did. Sorry about my uncle, he gets a little excited sometimes, i hope he didnt bother anyone. :p
A little while after the party finished i made it over to watch Mystery Science theater. There was a big group of folks there and the mood was really nice. What a stellar flick, honestly. Genius. I think all crappy movies should be made fun of at some point. So that ended a ridiculously good night for me. You just cant beat good times with good people.
Thanks to all the friends who made yesterday unforgettable.

A short walk, then a long journey

2005-05-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a long time since i posted and im very sorry. Life has been very busy lately and i got side tracked. But from now on i will do better.
Tomorrow is graduation and i honestly couldnt be happier(for the most part). I have been at CP for 13 years and it is definitely time for a change. I am soo stoaked about graduating, it is always a great experience and this time it will be my memories and experiences. The video is gonna be stellar and you all should most definitely come. Im sure the whole "done" thing will hit tomorrow but im still unfazed.
Anyway this first week of summer has been pretty good. I painted my first house in like 2 and a half days. I must admit.....im a pretty good painter. Just playing. But tommy (aka high roller) has found his calling. I havent seen a painter annihilate a house like that since...well never. But it was alot of fun all around and the home owner swore worse than a drunken sailor who just stubbed his toe but he was really cool.
I think this job could be fun and you all should get your houses painted by me (no nickname yet) and craig (aka a cut above) and tommy. Well tonight is gonna get partied up and im sure that memories will be made. Most of them good no doubt. Then comes tomorrow.... The last step. The first step. The ultimatum?
Well i better get goin. I hope to see all at tommy and craigs party.

Mine is tomorrow at Bens house 7pm. Go down gage to sixth, left on sixth, right on yorkshire, straight down yorkshire till you see the mass of cars and the tree with the rope swing in the front yard, i will be waiting.

El Fin

2005-05-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

And so it ends....

Summer has arrived. The realization hasnt sunk in yet and i still havent shed a tear. This chapter has ended and it is time to move on. The summer will rock and so will the fall. Thats all i can say right now. My mind is going at 100MPH and i just need to go and think somewhere.

Everyone come to my graduation party.
7:00 PM Saturday 28th of May Ben Mooneyhams house.

Revenge of the.....SENIORS

2005-05-19T21:40:00.000-07:00

Oh yea!
Thats right, only one more day of highschool.
It still hasnt really hit me that i will finally be done! Wow this year went pretty quick when you look back on it. It seems like the high school retreat was sooo long ago. We had some great times didnt we. I feel like taking a trip down memory lane.
We made the mission especially impossible on that retreat. Everyone was getting so mad and it was awesome. Thats what i love about CP, you get to do retreats and tours that other schools only dream about. I mean we got to spend the night with the whole highschool and play great games all nigh.....Do i even need to mention senior guys boxing. We have it on film for anyone interested.
Then there was soccer, Senior night was cool, but not as cool as beating Lansing at their senior night in overtime. That game is on my all time funnest times ever. It is the end of an era for the soccer team let me tell you, losing 8 guys plus the coach... but i still have hope.
I will never forget all the drama. Tool Box and Tool Shed.... Oh my gosh, i almost forgot about Summer Sizzle last year when we went to the Williams. TPing has always had its moments but that one scared the pee out of me. Well tomorrow will probably be super busy, but we will see about reminising if there is time.
Tonight was the 6th installment of the Star Wars franchise. It was amazing. I highly recommend it and would gladly go again. It was no Episode 1 if you know what Im talkin bout, talkin bout. We definitely left for the 7 oclock show at 3. I mean we had to get in line, its star wars for goodness sake, Gosh. Now it is 12 AM and i need to start studying for my last finals of all time at CP. Pray for me my friends, this chapter is about to end. PARTAAAYY tomorrow. I want memos about any parties taht i might not know about. Seriously folks i dont want to miss any.

Finals for tomorrow:
1. Chemistry
2. Music History

The Beginning of the End

2005-05-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

The first day of finals has come and gone.
I dont think i have ever been so ready to finish something. My time at CP has been great, but i am ready to move on. It has been 13 years for goodness sake! I mean come on. The sadness will hit me eventually but i have been tear free thus far. Wow it is sooo near.
After my defense in GI i checked out my new job for the summer, scraping and painting houses woohoo. It could be really fun, cause Tommy, Craig and Griff make up my painting crew (i know a recipe for disaster).
Other meaningful events included watching Star Wars with full commentary from the peanut gallery (hilarious). I never realized how much could be made fun of in those movies, but you know i am still gonna go see the thrird installment tomorrow because my nerdiness requires it. We even considered dressing up like hobbits isnt that great. Im sorry but girls are expressly forbidden, i mean you can come, but you will have to stand in a different part of the line, sit in a different part of the theatre, and go to a different showing. Sorry but rules are rules.

I cannot even express how much i am looking forward to the plethora (thats right i went there) of parties that will be happening this week. Booyah its gonna be great. Free food and well free food. Did i mention its SENIOR YEAR-----OOOO FIVE. Today i thought alot about what my potential roommate will be like next year, and the possibilities are basically endless. Hopefully he will be really cool, but you can never tell. I may just have to spend alot of time in other peoples rooms.
Other news, Staci decided to stay at home instead of hanging out with me tonight. I dont know how i feel about this. Im sure it had nothing to do with the fact that we were watching Star Wars.

Finals for tomorrow:
1. Rhetoric
2. Spanish
We can do this, deep breaths.

Think Chernobyl

2005-05-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was my first major meltdown. I wont go into all the reasons why, but just know that things were piling up. I found myself at my computer at 11:30 going absolutely nuts with all of the things vying for my attention. I had to go outside and just sit down for a little bit. After my return from nature, i settled down and got started. I came to the realization that this is the end. NO more after this week, and you dont want to waste your time feeling terrible. So i did what i always do in times like this, all of the work. Sleep suffered but it all got done. Just one day at a time. Smile, how much will this matter in 10 years. I am soo excited for tomorrow!
Seize the carpe and knock out the last bit of school. This is our time to be kids and make "the good old days".
Later all.

Prom and Beyond

2005-05-10T22:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday was quite a day.
I awoke at 10 in the am and worked until 4. After walking around strange neighborhoods and talking about painting, I decided to skip the usual nap and get ready for the big night.

Thats right, the big dance, the game.......Prom.

There are flowers to buy, suits to rent, and cars to wash. Guys have it tough, let me tell you. The girls get to get pampered all day (hair, nails, the works) guys have to do all of the planning and prep work. Dinner was a bit of a hassle because of reservations and bookings and the stress was just kinda startin to mount.
But you know what.......When you see that special person looking absolutely stunning, you seem to forget about the menial details you worried yourself with.
Im gonna be honest with you, Saturday was simply amazing. I had the most wonderful time, and not just at prom. Stace and I decided to eat at the Blind Tiger before gettin our groove on and i must say, it was excellent. We both had the steaks and loaded potatoes and the atmosphere was great. After dinner we were invited to have dessert at Reed Underwood's house. Yea her dad is an orthodontist. I was so happy because some of my good friends were at the pre-prom bash. We chilled with Maddie, Jayne, and Andrew while working on the creme brulle (orthodontist). Then we left.
Im not really one for dances. I have been to them before, but i never really got into it very much. First of all, Elena Wenger Katie Kaberline, and Kevin Williams jsut made my night. These kids busted a serious groove and managed to get me in on the action. I wont go into all the details, but just know that prom does not have to be overrated. One of my best experiences all year, seriously.
That is about all you need to know about how great of a date Staci is. Because you know what, she has one more prom and i dont want to give ideas to any of you guys out there.
**Note to self** never check your coat or purse at the door. We waited over an hour to get our stuff because the line was just that ridiculous. The fighting and yelling just took it out of Stace and me. We only stayed at After Prom for about an hour, then chilled for a while at my house. Staci walked into her door at about 4:45 and i should have gotten home at 5. On my way to my soft bed i decided to tell Andrew and Jayne that i wouldnt be joining them for breakfast (like we had initially planned). I definitely got talked into going over to Jills house for a few minutes. Im sure that the conversation would have been much more captivating if i knew any of the topics of conversation. Teachers i never had, people i never knew (i just sat in the corner). The group was awesome, but i was seriously tired and very lost... so i left at 5:45.
Sunday consisted of small amounts of sleep and large amounts of homework. But you know what PROM ROCKED MY FACE OFF. Thanks everyone for making it special (especially you).

Sleep Beckons

2005-05-05T22:46:00.000-07:00

3 hours spent on an English presentation due tomorrow.
1 and a half hours spent on a Reading Assignment due for tomorrow.

I am absolutely exhausted, it is now 1 am and time to go to bed.
I'm just too tired to write any extended analysis of my day.
Forgive me.
8 days of school, then finals, then freedom.

The Best We Could...

2005-05-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

I woke to the flying elbow today....There are few sensations comparable to being wrenched from dreamworld by a professional wrestling move. Needless to say, i got up. I mean Tommy's mom made pancakes! (and i feared severe bodily injury)
After our feasting, Ben and I followed Craig and T to the Schneiders house, by followed i mean sped through school zones trying to catch up to the speck on the horizon. We had some good times making pottery until about 12:30, and then we collectively decided to not go back to school. Call it what you will, it was a skip day.

That's right, we are hardcore.

I had my mom call into the office to tell them that i wasnt going to make it (it is plenty hardcore to ask your mom for permission to skip) and then i played some soccer at 10th and Gage. We were all pretty rusty, but hey, we werent in school! The day was ended with a few rousing games of Halo and we all had a pretty spectacular time. I think we should try this skipping business a little more often.
So tonight was basically awesome and i know that this summer is going to ROCK!
Later all.

No Reason to Panic

2005-05-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

Some people might tell us that we have it bad right now, but let me tell you, we havent seen anything. Last night i played a rousing game of poker and finally got home at 11:30. Luckily it wasnt too late to start a movie ;).
Lately I have complained about how hard my life is and how much i have to deal with, but a movie like Panic Room sure put my perspectives in order. Somehow when you compare writing a paper to running from 3 armed robbers who just want to hurt you, your situation seems a whole heck of a lot better . I will highly recommend watching Panic Room if you dont mind alot of language. The storyline was very interesting and the 2 hours just flew by. I know that you are probably doing the math in your head right now and figuring my bedtime to be after 2 AM. Yep i finally fell asleep at 2:45. i just cannot understand how you people go to sleep at 11 at night. Your home time seems so much shorter if you are sleeping. If you are awake then you get to sqeeze the most out of your non school/ learning time. Anyway, we only have 2 weeks left so dont get too upset about massive amounts of homework. Summer is near, and hey, you arent being chased by 3 psychopaths with sharp and dangerous weapons. Count your blessings, you probably have more than you realize.

Repetition of a Great Conversation I Had.

2005-05-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, New York.
Isnt it funny how much hope and anticipation you have before you leave for a big trip. In my carry-on bag i had A Brave New World by Huxtable, playing cards, and a LOT of unwritten-on Senior Pictures. Would you like to know what i got around to during my 50 hour bus ride--about 5 games of Kanasta. I know, i am a lazy, unmotivated, uneducated senior with 2 weeks left....Woohoo. Back to the trip.
Monday we rolled into Philly and took the grand tour of the Liberty bell (definitely lasted 5 minutes) . Later that day i had a serious case of claustrophobia or some kind of scared out of my mind experience as we were driving though the Lincoln tunnel. I felt strangely trapped and i had no escape. Sometime during my panic attack we entered the Big Apple...
That night we hit up our first Broadway show-The Phantom of the Opera- I definitely loved every minute of it. This story was absolutely incredible and the singing was superb. As we walked back to the hotel through Times Square i was in total awe. The lights and pure liveliness was so exhilerating. There were people freaking everywhere and it was like 12 at Night! What an amazing city.
Day 2 in The City. We set out in our assigned groups for a day of site seeing. I straightened my hi-i-am-a-tourist-so-laugh-at-my-complete-ignorance-of-your-city-hat and we began the 10 mile walking tour.
I will be honest with you---My patience was tried that day. My group was the only one that seriously competed in a photo scavenger hunt and i grew extremely weary of taking picures at every single site on that infernal itinerary. I must apologize for my attitude on that day---we were supposed to see alot of sites that day, it was not our free day and it wasnt supposed to be fun (there i go again lol). I am sure i will look back on that day and laugh someday, but not right now. I dont get peaved very easy, but i was close to meltdown.
Yankees game that night. Probably one of the best baseball games i have ever been to. The atmosphere was amazing and when A-Rod hit that Grand Slam the place just exploded. Very Fun.
Before we continue we need to discuss (by we i mean I) a very sad fact about New York. In NY the majority of the population is extremely cold and unfeeling to strangers. If you walk down the street, everyone is just hurrying to their next destination. Eyes are fixed forward and a friendly glance is unheardof. They just look down their noses at you and pass you by- the only ones who make conversation are trying to sell you something. But Ben M showed them, he just stole the product and walked away- Full story some other time, but basically Ben took a CD from this guy on the street because the guy was offereing a free listen to his music and BM misunderstood and walked off with the merchandice.
Day 3 was uniform day, tour of Ellis Island, The Statue of Liberty, and the U.N. building. I laugh at their politics. Bunch of flippin Hippies. Just because they want everyone to drop their thermonuclear weapons doesnt mean that they will. I bit my t0ngue.
Waldorf and Awesome food that night. Mmmmm for steak and cheese cake. That alone made everything cool for me. I really wish that more of you could have been there.
Day 4 and final day. Drama and more Drama. I wont go into all of it, but i felt very bad. Basically, i didnt want to see NY according to a mapped out and timed out itinerary. So i switched groups. It was extremely hard for me to look at my sponsor and tell him/her that i wanted to go in a different group. Awkward silence then i walked off. I wasnt alone in my decision, but i still felt kinda bad. What would you do in a situation like this.... be honest.
After a wicked awesome day with lots of great people, we hit the road for T-Town. 25 hours and a tylenol PM later we rolled into the school parking lot. It was a great trip and sadly the last one.....

What Do I Say

2005-04-23T22:49:00.000-07:00

Well we have finally arrived at the night before. What can i say, i am a mess of emotions right now. This is the last of many things. The last tour, the last bus trip with my 15 close friends of 13 years, the last 7 day marathon with a list of regulations longer than my arm, well you get the point. This year has been so surreal. It is going soooo fast, and i dont know how to feel about that. I want it to be done, but do i really? Wow these emotions will really tear you apart if you let them. It is going to be amazing in New York, but why am i not totally stoked? One major reason is what (quien) will be left here, but there are so many others. I am sure that i will feel differently tomorrow, but right now it is hitting me pretty hard.
Isnt it funny how you can think you know what will happen in a certain situation, but then you start to question what you thought you knew as time goes on, well you probably dont understand, but i thought i would say it anyway. Apply it how you will.
I better get goin before i get too tired. We have to leave tomorrow you know. I will do my best to stay out of trouble (for the most part). I will miss all of you, especially you.
Watch disney movies (Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, any of them will do.)
Time to va, have a great week and we will hang when i get back!

The End of the Race

2005-04-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

Wow yesterday was absolutely horrible.
Today is pretty much the end of the race, but Wednesday was the start of the 300 yard sprint to the finish line. I had to write 2 papers, do a scholarship essay, and think about studying for a chem test. I havent been so stressed in a long time and it was a very dark day. I wasnt able to see any of my friends cause C-groups fell by the wayside, Oh yea and someone couldnt get ice cream cause she put off all of her homework! I didnt even have enough energy to blog about my sorrows.
Today was a little better, the classes werent hard until my dreaded nemesis reared its ugly head-Chemistry (notice that i am not speaking out against the class in any way, i just dont like the subject). This test honestly scared me to death. I was willing to put it off until after NYC (booyah), and that would have made it even worse, i was seriously that desperate. But we did some review before the cursed exam and that helped a little bit. I still wasted over 2 hours of my life on this little examination. Long story short, i finished, came home and took a nap.
I really dont know what to say about tomorrow, it will probably be one of the most embarrassing excperiences of my life. We had our annual Senior Slave Auction on Monday and a bunch of maniacal 6th graders bought me. This is seriously a BAD thing. They get to dress me up in anything they want and tell me to do whatever they wish (anything shy of breaking the law). I hear that my wardrobe will consist of a miniskirt, blond wig, high heels, a fur wrap, silver cape, and baby doll to carry around with me. The himiliation wont be restricted to school grounds either, i have to take these little monsters out to lunch. This is the public i will be going into!!! It is time to pray that no one has a camera. I dont even want to imagine the agenda for my day of servitude. Does anyone know how to scare a group of pre-adolescents into submission? I am up for any suggestions.

Tuesday's Troubles

2005-04-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, the second day of the week. School was just fine today, that is until i went to my final class and realized that i understand very little. So we have a test on Thursday and it will take some major studying to get ready for it. Not cool.
Tonight i have done relatively little in the way of school work, i started to do a precis but decided to put it off, and thats about all. Senioritis is definitely kicking in right now and i dont really care to talk about school anymore. I think i did more schoolwork for Kelsie than i did for myself ( she asked me to finish an awesome sentence for her on a paper).

NYC here we come! Sunday is the day when it all begins. Booyah! I am soo stoked about going out of town and i just cant wait to be in that crazy city. Its gonna be great fun and a very memorable trip.
(if you have any requests for what you want from NYC just let me know. Keep in mind that a request doesnt necessarily ensure a present, but you are welcome to try and i will do my best).

TOnight we return to an all to familiar topic for teenagers. Drama. What can i say other than it makes me mad sometimes. I just dont understand some of the inner workings of the female psyche and it just drives me nuts! Why do we make such big deals out of relatively minor things. Ahh i just dont understand and wish i could say more, but i am censoring what i say these days to protect the innocent. I was going to say some ther things, but i feel that it would be a bad idea. Why can't we all just get along?
I hope you are all having a good day.

The End is Near

2005-04-17T22:19:00.000-07:00

I am preparing to rest my weary head once again and it makes me sad.
Why must the weekend be so wonderful, and the school week soo dreadful. I have recently made it a habit to stay up as late as possible to delay the awful truth which will be revealed at 7:30 the next day.
What can you do?
Answer: Absolutely nothing. The teachers wont listen to your appeals and their sylibi is set in stone. We might as well adopt a Stoic (dont care) attitude and just knock it out. I mean we only have 3 weeks left! How hard could it possibly be?

I had absolutely nothing to do with my time tonight (no homework for the first time in ummm 8 years) so i decided to go for a midnight run. I know it sounds weird, but it was an awesome night. As i was slowly treading the pavement i experienced a sensation altogether new to me. A bug decided to end it all by dive bombing into my eye. Seriously, i was just running along and then something gets stuck in my eye. What do you do in a situation like this? It was very precarious and i had to act fast. First off I did the usual blinking and random outbursts which no one could hear except me (its like when a person pulls out in front of you or Andrew Crandall is watching a sports event...you can shout all you want but it will do absolutely no good). It took me about 10 minutes of intenisive cleaning to retreive said intruder from my eye. Im afraid our little freind didnt survive the operation, but it was either him or me.

Ha, that little story just reminded me of something that happened when i was selling house painting yesterday. I rang the doorbell and was patiently awaiting my sale and something drastic happened. Just as the lady opened the door a wasp attacked me. It flew straight at me and chased me from the porch. The bewildered lady looked on with amazement until she realized what had happened. She probably just thought i was crazy or something. What can you do? Go to bed and get some sleep, thats what.
Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.

A Movie to Remember

2005-04-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

Few movies can actually move me to tears. It may sound wimpy or dumb, but the movie 'A Walk to Remember' is one of my favorite movies of all time. Some claim that it is a chick flick or a predictable teen movie, but this film is so much more.
** BEGIN SPOILER**
The story doesnt glorify the life of sex and drugs, but rather focuses on the benefits of seeking true love in a faithful companion. The two characters in the movie truly love each other. Their relationship isnt defined by how far they go, but by how much they care for one another. The physical aspect takes a back seat to the emotional and spiritual developement of their love. Just being with each other is enough. The relationship is allowed to bloom at its own pace, and he sees her as a wonderful christian girl, not just some easy fling. Landon moves from an arrogant jerk to a caring and compassionate young man.
Even when he learns that Jaime is sick with Lukemia, Landon stands by her side. They decide to face the unbeatable disease the only way they know how...Together. Landon never leaves his beloved's side and he shows that physical ailments mean nothing to him . He will stick with her no matter what.
When Jaime finally goes home to heaven, Landon cherishes the times he had with her and devotes his life to the one person who saved his life...His wife.
**END SPOILER**
Who doesnt want this for their own life. The story is so inspiring and encouraging. In todays sex crazed media, movies like 'A Walk to Remember' help bring us back to the essence of love. Two people who are willing to spiritually and emotionally devote themselves to one another.

So i got up early today.........

2005-04-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

Today you bear witness to a strange occurrence. I am blogging at 12:30 PM instead of AM.
SO, I finally got to sleep at 3:00 AM last night. Not a big deal if you can sleep in until 12, but i had to work today. Normally i dont mind work, but i spent 2 hours getting 1 lead. Which means my hourly wage was more than my commission. Which is not cool. It is a beautiful day though, and i want to do something tonight. Serioulsy though, i went to about 15 houses that definitely needed painting and no one was interested. JErks. I would go to sleep now, but i have to got out again for 3 hours (with my boss) a little intimidating to say the least. Well i hope that your Saturday is going better than mine. I am going to the play tonight and i hope to see you there. I should write some more tonight and let you know how the day went. BYe all.

Music, Memento, and Muggers

2005-04-13T22:33:00.000-07:00

Music.
Few things on earth have the emotional influence of music. It invigorates when you need energy, soothes after a hard day, touches your heart, and even consoles after a heartbreak. Right now i am listening to a little known band named Emery and it is awesome. It seems that no matter how hard my day is/was, i can always retreat to my room and find comfort or solace in a certain song. My favorite song has to be the 6th track on the cd (Emery) it just encompasses all the emotions that i am going through (no you dont get to know the lyrics, maybe some other time). I dont know how you feel about music, but it is a huge part of my life. Whether i am in the car, my room, or just taking a walk, it is always there with a melodic answer to my question.

It happened again today, i took a nap and had a trippy experience. I was dreaming about some stressful situation and suddenly i woke up to my alarm. Thoughts of school flooded my mind as i contemplated skipping my educational obligations.....then suddenly i realized it. It isnt thursday, i was just taking a nap. My night is still ahead of me (let me tell you how awesome that feeling is.......pretty awesome lol). In that moment of complete confusion i had absolutely no idea where i was, why i was there, or even what day it was. I sure am glad taht im not the guy from Memento. Short term memory loss would definitely ruin my day.....or would it......oh i cant remember.

So i ate Mongolian food for the first time today. It was pretty fun i must say. I met Staci's G-rents and they are hilarious. Her 'Gram' is soo funny and she tries so hard to be part of the conversation. It was a great time. But i still must say that my crazy uncle takes the cake for most unique relative.
Sidenote before i leave, have you ever wondered what it would be like to be mugged? Well i did as i went running at 11:30 tonight. This car was going kinda slow on the street next to me, but he eventually sped off. I dont think that i would be a hero, if there was no real reason i mean if i had to defend someone i would step up, but to risk your life for a few dollars, its just not worth it. But if i had something to fight for, it would be on.
Sleep tight.

The Good, The Bad, The School Year

2005-04-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

Another day, another session of hopeless boredom. Today was one of those days that will be totally gone from your memory in a week. Absolutely nothing happened at school. Sure learning took place, but a total lack of desire held my mind captive. Sure i had three classes, lunch, and PE, but it just wasnt a day worth recounting.
Today i did figure that we have about 10 projects due before the end of the year. Ok lets recount: 2 concert summaries and a group video project for Music History, A Great Ideas paper on the GOod Life (Oh yea, and an oral defense in front of Schneider, Congdon, and Waldy), A Chem Final which will destroy me, a Rhetoric speech, My life story in Spanish (not cool and very scary), an English Critical Analysis on a book i havent read yet, A public lecture on said book which has not been started. Good Times. Someday i will look back on this time and laugh. Someday...
However, the Mr. Brightside is quite encouraging.
The New York trip is coming in two weeks and it will be amazing. I have never been to NY and the prospect is getting me really excited. Broadway shows, Yankees games, rude people, celebrities on every street corner. Plus they have uber thrift stores. Awesome.
Other highlight is Prom. I know that prom is overrated, but it is still special. Many complain that the music is terrible, or the dancing sucks, etc. but the secret to a good time can be found in your date (partner, companion). If you are with a person that is enjoyable to be around then you will have a stellar time. This is why i am looking forward to prom soo much.
Well it is about that time and i got up at 5:30 this morning so i must away.
Smile, It is senior year and there are only 4 weeks left!!!!!!

......And I will Strike upon Thee with Great Vengeance...

2005-04-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

Ok so i must confess, the title has only a little to do with todays occurences. But that will come later.
Have you ever woken up only to realize that you have two more hours before your alarm begins blaring...Glorious. My day began with this rare blessing. The euphoria was quickly destroyed however, by the fact that it was Monday (clearly the worst and most hated day of the week)...Hmm maybe we could just quit going on Mondays...

Where were we.... Ah yes, Monday ruins my life. The weekend was absolutely amazing and today was the awful reminder that i have 4 weeks left before the blessed absence of school. But on the bright side, we have finished about 450 weeks, so what is 4 more?
I stray from the point....The combination of GI, English, Spanish, Rhetoric, and Music History projects will probably end up killing me. My breakdown has been scheduled for May 5th. Please make the proper arrangements. I think that the only thing that is holding me together is my band of friends.
Today, We talked about friendship and relationships according to C.S. Lewis. You know, it is no wonder that the guy is the patron saint of CP. He occaisionally has some good ideas.
(Time for a shameless segway) Speaking of good ideas, i should have taken Art History instead of Chemistry. Its not that Chem is a bad class, its just that i am bad at Chemistry. I dont like being the last to understand and the first to ask a question. Feeling inferior can be very dishartening sometimes. This stuff just doesnt click for me.
On to happier affairs. I decided to get off my increasingly fat posterior and do some running. It was dark (about 10) and the weather was perfect. The only sounds were the rustling trees, the humm of civilization, and my gasping breaths. The ole lungs burned a bit, but the experience was definitely worth it, i think i may try it again tomorrow.
Just a bit of useless trivia for you before i go. Today i counted my good will clothing whichi i regularly wear, and i have about 45 items from that glorious store. Just thought you should know.
Oh yes i almost forgot...The title of this composition. Today during English we were grading grammar. I traded papers with a certain friend whose initials are Thomas Carr and we began checking the material. Suddenly i realized taht i had made a very small mistake. Thomas, in his infinite mercy, decided to let this one slide because i showed that i recognized the accidental error. I was extremely grateful. Further down the line, i noticed that Thomas had missed a problem. I kindly brought this fact to his attention and he did something which made my blood freeze. With a cold efficiency, he swiftly and silently returned to my small mistake and did what damage he could. He Slashed a black mark through my beloved page and heartlessly retook his previous mercy. I just thought you should know.

Like a Phoenix

2005-04-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

So by now most of you have probably heard why i deleted the blog. All i can say is that there are no secrets at CP. It was a mistake and will NEVER happen again. I had no right to say what i did and for that i apologize. Well that is the end of that conversation. On to the brighter things in life.

I have never been so tired in my whole life. Walking around talking to strangers can really take it out of you. So today i worked for college pro and managed to interest about hmmm zero people. I mean come on people---If your house looks crappy, you need a bunch of strange college kids to come make it look nice---How is this a bad plan?
If i have learned one thing from this whole exprience, it is that taking the two seconds to say something nice, is a small but immensely kind thing to do for a scared kid who is trying to put himself through college (dont tell Thomas i was talking about him) lol.
Oh yea, and today i spent three and a half hours setting up for the pasta bar-oh yea. It was a good time, however i found that more than one jefe can be a problem.

It may have been a long day, but there was one redeeming element....I didnt have to take Satan's questionaire.....aka the ACT. Has anyone else noticed that you get a better score on the Science section if you make cool patterns with the bubbles, cause i kinda did. Booyah. Did you know that i once cheated on the test...now dont freak out, but i kinda went back and just filled in a few blank bubbles when i was on a different section. I didnt flip bakc in the booklet, but i figured that a 25 percent chance was better than zero.....please dont copy this post off.

Before i go, i must offer a bit of advice to all of you reading this: take the time to enjoy spending time with your family (using the word 'time' twice in a sentence, and they said it couldnt be done). I stayed home on this Saturday night and you know what, a little R and R is not a bad thing. Your rents know more about life than you think they do. Plus they just want to spend time with their babies who have grown into young men and women. I hope you enjoyed this little post and that you will read my random thoughts again some time.