No, I would not like to switch to the new version of blogger. I think you're mean for asking. I hate when things like that change. I always get used to it, but begrudgingly.
I'm dumb. I should be writing that thing for history. I should be doing trig. One hard trig assignment comes along, and I'm suddenly too lazy to do it. I'm really lazy. It makes me angry.
That laziness. It makes me afraid of actually doing work. I'm afraid of a lot of things. I'm afraid of
- change
- commitment
- the future
- girls
- the possibility that my friends (and/or people in general) just put up with me
- screwing things up. in anything really.
- letting other people down
- and spiders
Okay, so I'm not trying to deal with the last one right now, but at least that one's a relatively valid fear. Or common, if nothing else.
Let's take change. I guess this is one that a lot of people are afraid of. It's not to say I don't like change...sometimes I do. But I always fear I'm leaving something behind I'll never get back. How irrational.
Commitment. This probably goes along with girls. I tell myself that I want a girlfriend, but truth is, in the event that I had one, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't know what to do about it. Seems to me that there's a lot of pressure involved...or maybe I've been viewing extremely poor examples of relationships.
The Future. This one's so broad. It's the fear of screwing up, doing something that I can't go back and undo. Let's just say that the future freaks me out.
Girls. I'm still bad at talking to girls. Like freshman-bad. Actually I think they're better at it for the most part. And I haven't the slightest idea why. Supposedly they're just as afraid. Supposedly. I don't think I buy it.
The friends one. This probably isn't even true, and I think a good percentage of high schoolers have likely felt the same way at one point or another. I know for sure I'm not the only one. None the less, it still gets me sometimes.
Screwing things up. I like to do things right. I hate messing up, because messing up makes me feel stupid, and I hate feeling stupid. Call me a perfectionist, and I kind of am.
Letting other people down. This may very well be one of the biggest, and actually ties in with most of the others. I don't know why, but since a young age, I've always wanted to impress people. I want be liked by everyone, and I want to like them back. For as long as I can remember, I've always gone to pieces trying to right my wrongs to those I care about. There are people who always let me know when I'm letting them down, and it totally kills me. Right now, I'm going to say I'm sorry.
I guess that pretty much does it. I'm not entirely sure why I wrote that. It's probably not going to do the general readership any good, but I think I needed it. Sort of. I like to get these things out of my mind. And my blog always listens.
And I just plain don't like killing spiders.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Monday, November 20, 2006
A one way non-stop to anywhere, find anyone, do anything, forget and start again, love
There's so much to blog about, which usually kills my inspiration, but I'll give it a shot.
First off, I'll start with the Reel Big Fish/Streetlight Manifesto concert. What a blast.
Reel Big Fish and Streetlight are really good bands, and their openers weren't too shabby either, but the real fun in a ska show is the jumping around, skanking, and screaming the words at the top of your lungs. I would say this was easier for me with Streetlight because I knew all the words (aside from their new songs), but I immensely enjoyed both of them. It's probably the best Wednesday night ever.
The very next morning it was two class periods at Lakeside and then off on the 7-hour bus ride to the one and only Martin Luther College for a two-night campus visit. I can honestly say it's left me with a lot to think about.
I'll start off by saying that I had a complete blast. Some of my best high school friends were on the trip, and I got to spend some quality time with a bunch of MLC students from camp. There were so many of those "this won't be funny, or even make sense a day from now" moments and a lot of much needed catching up was done. But that's not the reason for going.
I've done a lot of thinking about if MLC is the right place for me to go. I really like the idea of being around all the people there. There are so many great young Christian people surrounding you, and, as Matt Borck said "There's no fun like Lutheran fun."
I'm just not sure if being in the ministry is right for me. That's really the decision I have to make. I'm not going to MLC unless I'm sure that I want to be a pastor or teacher, because going there for any other reason and going through the motions would be plain wrong.
Thankfully, I have a lot of time to think about my decision ahead, and of course pray about it too...I guess this is growing up.
18 hours of bus riding, countless games of sheepshead and Ray Charles jokes, and a head full of thoughts later, I arrived home for the rest of the weekend. And of course not to catch up on any of the sleep I missed.
The first day back at school (the first of two, and then a field trip...) John and I established our loose off-season training regimen...so I'm pretty excited about that. Cross Country, here I come!
War and Peace out.
First off, I'll start with the Reel Big Fish/Streetlight Manifesto concert. What a blast.
Reel Big Fish and Streetlight are really good bands, and their openers weren't too shabby either, but the real fun in a ska show is the jumping around, skanking, and screaming the words at the top of your lungs. I would say this was easier for me with Streetlight because I knew all the words (aside from their new songs), but I immensely enjoyed both of them. It's probably the best Wednesday night ever.
The very next morning it was two class periods at Lakeside and then off on the 7-hour bus ride to the one and only Martin Luther College for a two-night campus visit. I can honestly say it's left me with a lot to think about.
I'll start off by saying that I had a complete blast. Some of my best high school friends were on the trip, and I got to spend some quality time with a bunch of MLC students from camp. There were so many of those "this won't be funny, or even make sense a day from now" moments and a lot of much needed catching up was done. But that's not the reason for going.
I've done a lot of thinking about if MLC is the right place for me to go. I really like the idea of being around all the people there. There are so many great young Christian people surrounding you, and, as Matt Borck said "There's no fun like Lutheran fun."
I'm just not sure if being in the ministry is right for me. That's really the decision I have to make. I'm not going to MLC unless I'm sure that I want to be a pastor or teacher, because going there for any other reason and going through the motions would be plain wrong.
Thankfully, I have a lot of time to think about my decision ahead, and of course pray about it too...I guess this is growing up.
18 hours of bus riding, countless games of sheepshead and Ray Charles jokes, and a head full of thoughts later, I arrived home for the rest of the weekend. And of course not to catch up on any of the sleep I missed.
The first day back at school (the first of two, and then a field trip...) John and I established our loose off-season training regimen...so I'm pretty excited about that. Cross Country, here I come!
War and Peace out.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
We must stare into a crystal ball and only see the past
In the caverns of tomorrow
With just our flashlights and our love
We must plunge, we must plunge, we must plunge
So I finally listened to some Bright Eyes. I liked what I heard, but regrettably, I was so incredibly tired that I couldn't make it past about two songs off "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" before my heavy eyelids defeated my brain in a battle of endurance. It was kind of a bummer that I was so tired because I missed out on events I was planning on going to. Mang.
I played soccer today, that was pretty adjective. We actually got some 11-on-11 pickup game action going, with subs even. I scored some goals, but I think I blacked out and my sub-concious did it. I'm way too clumsy, I'm pretty sure I'd miss the ball...I already do a lot anyway. Either way, I think Lakeside is closer to getting soccer. I'd be amped.
Uh...
"Mommy? Where does dirt come from?"
This is kind of an ADD post. Maybe because I can't think of what to post. Maybe I didn't really need to post. But I kind of wanted to anyway. The Beatles are worth my time.
Uh...Not sure if I like this week. Random day off is a plus. Hardcore journalism assignments are not. Sports people being in between sports is also a plus. I need to expand my social life to include girls. I enjoy actual conversation. Good night.
With just our flashlights and our love
We must plunge, we must plunge, we must plunge
So I finally listened to some Bright Eyes. I liked what I heard, but regrettably, I was so incredibly tired that I couldn't make it past about two songs off "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" before my heavy eyelids defeated my brain in a battle of endurance. It was kind of a bummer that I was so tired because I missed out on events I was planning on going to. Mang.
I played soccer today, that was pretty adjective. We actually got some 11-on-11 pickup game action going, with subs even. I scored some goals, but I think I blacked out and my sub-concious did it. I'm way too clumsy, I'm pretty sure I'd miss the ball...I already do a lot anyway. Either way, I think Lakeside is closer to getting soccer. I'd be amped.
Uh...
"Mommy? Where does dirt come from?"
This is kind of an ADD post. Maybe because I can't think of what to post. Maybe I didn't really need to post. But I kind of wanted to anyway. The Beatles are worth my time.
Uh...Not sure if I like this week. Random day off is a plus. Hardcore journalism assignments are not. Sports people being in between sports is also a plus. I need to expand my social life to include girls. I enjoy actual conversation. Good night.
Monday, October 23, 2006
I wish I was a rapper
Click-clack
She workin' that back
I don't know how ta act
I'm a have a heart attack (Oh!)
Call an ambulance
Girl you ain't makin sense
Dat's a consequence
Of me 'n be 'in so intense
It's an art that's lost on me
I hate falling behind on blogs. There's always so much that needs to be reported, and then I cut my losses, because I'm too far behind to accurately report on anything that happened then.
So, uh, what is new? I guess my last post was before homecoming even? Wow. Homecoming week was pretty fun, as usual. Eisenhower tied for 3rd at the talent show, which is the best a band has done in recent years. I suppose I feel that we could have been higher, but I really can't complain. The whole point was to go up there and entertain people, winning or losing was really only secondary. There's always still that competitive part of me though...
Homecoming dance was not particularly eventful. It was kind of like all the others. I'll still always go.
The day after homecoming was hanging out with Charlie/Fray concert. That day was a lot of fun, and I really like Charlie. With any luck I'd like to see him again sometime.
October. What has happened so far? Not too much, but, really, that's not such a bad thing. October of last year blew. This one's been pretty fun, and after the next two days (likely to be stressful), there's a four-day weekend and the state cross country meet. I'm pretty excited about that, and maybe (aside from the day of state) I can actually get some sleep. Probably not though.
And, um, I still need to put the finishing touches on my "I am" speech costume, so it's best I stop putting that off. I need a bibliography. Crap!
She workin' that back
I don't know how ta act
I'm a have a heart attack (Oh!)
Call an ambulance
Girl you ain't makin sense
Dat's a consequence
Of me 'n be 'in so intense
It's an art that's lost on me
I hate falling behind on blogs. There's always so much that needs to be reported, and then I cut my losses, because I'm too far behind to accurately report on anything that happened then.
So, uh, what is new? I guess my last post was before homecoming even? Wow. Homecoming week was pretty fun, as usual. Eisenhower tied for 3rd at the talent show, which is the best a band has done in recent years. I suppose I feel that we could have been higher, but I really can't complain. The whole point was to go up there and entertain people, winning or losing was really only secondary. There's always still that competitive part of me though...
Homecoming dance was not particularly eventful. It was kind of like all the others. I'll still always go.
The day after homecoming was hanging out with Charlie/Fray concert. That day was a lot of fun, and I really like Charlie. With any luck I'd like to see him again sometime.
October. What has happened so far? Not too much, but, really, that's not such a bad thing. October of last year blew. This one's been pretty fun, and after the next two days (likely to be stressful), there's a four-day weekend and the state cross country meet. I'm pretty excited about that, and maybe (aside from the day of state) I can actually get some sleep. Probably not though.
And, um, I still need to put the finishing touches on my "I am" speech costume, so it's best I stop putting that off. I need a bibliography. Crap!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Dancel and Metal and the search for the Keebler Elf
This is a fairy tale I wrote sometime for creative writing in grade school, and I just found it while looking at old junk in the basement. I completely forgot I ever wrote it, but it's pretty hilarious to look back at, so here it is word for word.
Sometimes, though, they would go to town and not even pass through the enchanted forest. Today was one of those days. They came into town, and Daisyfeather, the bakery owner, wasn't wearing his usual smile. Dancel and Metal immediately knew something was wrong. Metal inquired the proprietor's long face.
"Haven't you heard?" he snapped, "the Keebler Elf is missing!"
Dancel and Metal replied in unison, "Oh no, what will we do?"
"I dunno," quipped Daisyfeather, with a far-off look in his eyes.
"We need to find the Keebler Elf, and soon," said Dancel.
Part I
Once upon a time, when elephants always forgot, and Michael Jackson was normal, there was a brother and sister named Dancel and Metal. Unlike their friends, they lived with a witch named Mrs. Fields in a gingerbread house in the forest. Every day they went into the enchanted forest and said hello to their friends. They passed the four little pigs - the typical ones, and their less famous brother Clarence. They passed Snow White and the six dwarves (R.I.P. Dopey) and the mansion of the Keebler Elf.Sometimes, though, they would go to town and not even pass through the enchanted forest. Today was one of those days. They came into town, and Daisyfeather, the bakery owner, wasn't wearing his usual smile. Dancel and Metal immediately knew something was wrong. Metal inquired the proprietor's long face.
"Haven't you heard?" he snapped, "the Keebler Elf is missing!"
Dancel and Metal replied in unison, "Oh no, what will we do?"
"I dunno," quipped Daisyfeather, with a far-off look in his eyes.
"We need to find the Keebler Elf, and soon," said Dancel.
Part II
Dancel and Metal scurried back to the old gingerbread house, where Mrs. Fields was throwing out another batch of botched cookies.
"That'll be the day when I beat that dad-burned Keebler Elf at baking," she muttered to herself.
"Mrs. Fields! Mrs. Fields! The Keebler Elf was kidnapped!" yelled the kids as they entered the house.
"Oh, um....that's, uh, too bad," replied the kindly old witch, holding back a smile. Definitely quite, um, a tragedy. He'll be missed," she said, desperately trying not to chuckle.
"He's not dead yet," replied the kids matter-of-factly, "At least we don't think he is."
"So sad, seeing that he'll miss the World Cookie Championship. I guess I'll just have to beat him," she sighed in mock sadness. Dancel and Metal exchanged glances suspiciously. They decided to go out into the forest and discuss the mystery. Both of them agreed that Mrs. Fields was acting strange when the kidnapping was mentioned. They decided to go talk to Daisyfeather about it.
"That'll be the day when I beat that dad-burned Keebler Elf at baking," she muttered to herself.
"Mrs. Fields! Mrs. Fields! The Keebler Elf was kidnapped!" yelled the kids as they entered the house.
"Oh, um....that's, uh, too bad," replied the kindly old witch, holding back a smile. Definitely quite, um, a tragedy. He'll be missed," she said, desperately trying not to chuckle.
"He's not dead yet," replied the kids matter-of-factly, "At least we don't think he is."
"So sad, seeing that he'll miss the World Cookie Championship. I guess I'll just have to beat him," she sighed in mock sadness. Dancel and Metal exchanged glances suspiciously. They decided to go out into the forest and discuss the mystery. Both of them agreed that Mrs. Fields was acting strange when the kidnapping was mentioned. They decided to go talk to Daisyfeather about it.
Part III
The tandem entered the bakery to see two other customers talking to Daisyfeather. Dancel and Metal asked the shopkeeper about the two customers.
"This is Shortbread Ned and Macaroon June. They're here for the World Cookie Championship," he answered, "They're a husband-wife team who has blown away the competition in all the regional meets. They've come here hoping to defeat the top two finishers of the last two championships - The Keebler Elf and Mrs. Fields. Speaking of Mrs. Fields, she's supposed to be here dropping off her entry for the judging. Do you kids know where she is?"
Suddenly, the couple slipped out the door. They ran into their horse and buggy and galloped away. In the light, Dancel could make out the outlines of the Keebler Elf and Mrs. Fields.
"They're the kidnappers! We need to stop them!" screamed Metal.
Dancel looked around. Suddenly, he saw Harry Potter, who was munching on some Bertie Botts Every-Flavour Beans.
"Put a spell on that carriage! We need to stop them!"
Harry pointed his wand toward the buggy and yelled, "Evil-us Carriage-us vanishium!" and the entire buggy disappeared except for Mrs. Fields and the Keebler Elf.
"How did that work?" Harry questioned, "I did the completely wrong spell!"
"Well, this is a fairly tale," replied Mrs. Fields. Everybody laughed and, of course, lived happily ever after.
"This is Shortbread Ned and Macaroon June. They're here for the World Cookie Championship," he answered, "They're a husband-wife team who has blown away the competition in all the regional meets. They've come here hoping to defeat the top two finishers of the last two championships - The Keebler Elf and Mrs. Fields. Speaking of Mrs. Fields, she's supposed to be here dropping off her entry for the judging. Do you kids know where she is?"
Suddenly, the couple slipped out the door. They ran into their horse and buggy and galloped away. In the light, Dancel could make out the outlines of the Keebler Elf and Mrs. Fields.
"They're the kidnappers! We need to stop them!" screamed Metal.
Dancel looked around. Suddenly, he saw Harry Potter, who was munching on some Bertie Botts Every-Flavour Beans.
"Put a spell on that carriage! We need to stop them!"
Harry pointed his wand toward the buggy and yelled, "Evil-us Carriage-us vanishium!" and the entire buggy disappeared except for Mrs. Fields and the Keebler Elf.
"How did that work?" Harry questioned, "I did the completely wrong spell!"
"Well, this is a fairly tale," replied Mrs. Fields. Everybody laughed and, of course, lived happily ever after.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Let's play "Blog Post" with the help of Laura Hall and Linda Taylor
What do I even blog about ever? It seems so pointless. I like reading other people's blogs though, so I guess it'd be selfish of me to stop.
Well, this weekend I went to the cross country meet near Fond du Lac. That was pretty neat. Evan came up and watched the meet too, for the first time. I think he enjoyed it, meets are pretty cool.
I also got to visit with Becca, her friend Sara, Dave Moldenhauer ("hey! that rhymes!" "Dude! You're right!"), and Phil Hunter. This meet is always great because nearly all the area Lutheran high school attend, so I get to see a lot of camp people and such. Managing cross country is a lot of fun, aside from the whole getting up early thing. I've gotten to know so many quality people through it.
Earlier this afternoon we did the picture comic again. That's really fun to do, I ejoy scrambling to come up with stuff, and the finished product is really neat. I hope Sydnie can help out too, she had some of the first ideas. Maybe if she can drive on Mondays. I think the comic has a bright future. I'm curious to know what Charlie will think when he sees them.
Until then, War and Peace out.
Well, this weekend I went to the cross country meet near Fond du Lac. That was pretty neat. Evan came up and watched the meet too, for the first time. I think he enjoyed it, meets are pretty cool.
I also got to visit with Becca, her friend Sara, Dave Moldenhauer ("hey! that rhymes!" "Dude! You're right!"), and Phil Hunter. This meet is always great because nearly all the area Lutheran high school attend, so I get to see a lot of camp people and such. Managing cross country is a lot of fun, aside from the whole getting up early thing. I've gotten to know so many quality people through it.
Earlier this afternoon we did the picture comic again. That's really fun to do, I ejoy scrambling to come up with stuff, and the finished product is really neat. I hope Sydnie can help out too, she had some of the first ideas. Maybe if she can drive on Mondays. I think the comic has a bright future. I'm curious to know what Charlie will think when he sees them.
Until then, War and Peace out.
Friday, September 08, 2006
There's the pitch, slow and straight, all I have to do is swing and I'm a hero
Oh crap. I'm in another one of those moods. "I feel all high school so why don't I make a blog post." Well you know what, it's going to suck if I go with that.
Well, let's not put it that way. I'm definitely nowhere near as high school and emotional as many people I know. Whatever.
All right, so, about the weekend? We had a football game, so thusly, I had pep band. It was pretty fun, playing baritone's always fun, and then for a little I played 1st trumpet. I was pretty proud of myself, I'm a lot better at trumpet now than I was when I actually played trumpet. Jordy, Eric, Jon and I went to McDonalds before the game. I love those kids.
Yesterday I went to Miller Park with my parents to see Evan play the national anthem with Platteville's marching band. I guess that was sort of cool, Jake and Kelsey were there.
After that, Steve V and I completed something we had always hoped to do - go to the other's dance. I went to Fox Valley's back to school dance. It was really really fun hanging out with Steve for the fast dances. The slow dances were a little weird, because I didn't know basically anyone, but Steve realized this and hooked me up a few times. Thanks Steve.
Well, so, today was just a lazy sunday. I enjoy fantasy football. I just felt like I needed to make a post.
Good night, Pat Summerall
Well, let's not put it that way. I'm definitely nowhere near as high school and emotional as many people I know. Whatever.
All right, so, about the weekend? We had a football game, so thusly, I had pep band. It was pretty fun, playing baritone's always fun, and then for a little I played 1st trumpet. I was pretty proud of myself, I'm a lot better at trumpet now than I was when I actually played trumpet. Jordy, Eric, Jon and I went to McDonalds before the game. I love those kids.
Yesterday I went to Miller Park with my parents to see Evan play the national anthem with Platteville's marching band. I guess that was sort of cool, Jake and Kelsey were there.
After that, Steve V and I completed something we had always hoped to do - go to the other's dance. I went to Fox Valley's back to school dance. It was really really fun hanging out with Steve for the fast dances. The slow dances were a little weird, because I didn't know basically anyone, but Steve realized this and hooked me up a few times. Thanks Steve.
Well, so, today was just a lazy sunday. I enjoy fantasy football. I just felt like I needed to make a post.
Good night, Pat Summerall
Saturday, September 02, 2006
The popular new game show "Advertise Us"
Dude, I got a cell phone. I don't really know what to do with it. I've been getting people's numbers (and taking some of Evan's contacts), but I don't really call people. At all. I'm bad at the phone.
So the other day, our classes decided on our homecoming themes. The school theme is "game shows" so we have to pick our class game show with which to base our float, mural, etc.. on. Our class held a meeting to do this, and the class advisors (two faculty members) decided to have the class officers (my friend Caleb and me) lead it. Caleb and I thought we could get this over with quick, and just end up with something like "wheel of fortune" and be done with it. Nonetheless, we took a tally of what game shows people actually wanted, and "The Price is Right" was the majority, with the remaining guys and girls split between "Legends of the Hidden Temple" and "The Newlywed Game" About 6 people chose "Wheel of Fortune"
We got news that Price is Right was taken by the senior class, so Caleb and I had an interesting predicament. We knew that if we took either "Legends of the Hidden Temple" (an old-school nickolodeon game show that I very vaguely remember) or "The Newlywed game" we'd have a completely divisive gender split. Not something we wanted. When we pitched Wheel of Fortune again (which was obviously supported by Caleb and I..as a neutral choice and easy to make a float for) about 3 people joined us.
So now we were stuck with opposing forces, a few random suggestions from the audience, and a whole lot of whining from the general public. Eventually Caleb and I convinced what was "close enough" to a majority to go for Wheel of Fortune, and chose it.
It was kind of funny though. We got a piece of paper where we could put our 1st and 2nd choices. For our first choice we put Wheel of Fortune, and Caleb got so frustrated that he put "Douchebags" down for our second choice. We had a good laugh about that one.
Other than that though? I can't complain. Homecoming will probably be really fun, my friend Danielle and I are campaigning like mad for us as junior class reps (so we get to ride in a car for the homecoming parade in street clothes, rather than march it in uniforms).
Caleb Schmiege and I also played a song he wrote in chapel. It was really cool. We didn't have much time to practice it, but it went really well. Props to The Dude Upstairs. I don't talk like that.
What else is going down...We had our first cross country meet, that went really well. And I'm also going to Fox Valley's back to school dance I believe. That will be nifty times ten.
Alright, well, it's late, and I'm listening to Anatomy of the Tongue and Cheek. What a great album.
War and Peace out.
So the other day, our classes decided on our homecoming themes. The school theme is "game shows" so we have to pick our class game show with which to base our float, mural, etc.. on. Our class held a meeting to do this, and the class advisors (two faculty members) decided to have the class officers (my friend Caleb and me) lead it. Caleb and I thought we could get this over with quick, and just end up with something like "wheel of fortune" and be done with it. Nonetheless, we took a tally of what game shows people actually wanted, and "The Price is Right" was the majority, with the remaining guys and girls split between "Legends of the Hidden Temple" and "The Newlywed Game" About 6 people chose "Wheel of Fortune"
We got news that Price is Right was taken by the senior class, so Caleb and I had an interesting predicament. We knew that if we took either "Legends of the Hidden Temple" (an old-school nickolodeon game show that I very vaguely remember) or "The Newlywed game" we'd have a completely divisive gender split. Not something we wanted. When we pitched Wheel of Fortune again (which was obviously supported by Caleb and I..as a neutral choice and easy to make a float for) about 3 people joined us.
So now we were stuck with opposing forces, a few random suggestions from the audience, and a whole lot of whining from the general public. Eventually Caleb and I convinced what was "close enough" to a majority to go for Wheel of Fortune, and chose it.
It was kind of funny though. We got a piece of paper where we could put our 1st and 2nd choices. For our first choice we put Wheel of Fortune, and Caleb got so frustrated that he put "Douchebags" down for our second choice. We had a good laugh about that one.
Other than that though? I can't complain. Homecoming will probably be really fun, my friend Danielle and I are campaigning like mad for us as junior class reps (so we get to ride in a car for the homecoming parade in street clothes, rather than march it in uniforms).
Caleb Schmiege and I also played a song he wrote in chapel. It was really cool. We didn't have much time to practice it, but it went really well. Props to The Dude Upstairs. I don't talk like that.
What else is going down...We had our first cross country meet, that went really well. And I'm also going to Fox Valley's back to school dance I believe. That will be nifty times ten.
Alright, well, it's late, and I'm listening to Anatomy of the Tongue and Cheek. What a great album.
War and Peace out.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Oh faulty lyrics
I can't think of a good song. Aside from "going away to college", but that's more about girlfriends or something.
Anyway, the point here is that Evan is moving out tomorrow. That's right. And living 100 miles away. So goes college.
I'm certain Evan's life is going to change drastically...of course it will, this is a totally new and different time in his life. See, thing is, my life is going to also be changing quite a bit.
For my entire childhood, Evan's always been there. We're basically best friends and it's pretty much always been that way. I know he's talked about our relationship a little in his blog, and everything he's said, I echo. We've always told eachother everything. And if not for Evan, there's a half-decent chance I'd be kind of an anti-social loser at school (not that I'm Mr. popularity, but you get the idea).
And now? He'll be gone? I don't think I've fully thought about what that's gonna be like. I'm basically an only child from here on out...and I'm going to have to fend for myself. It makes sense that I'd have to start being more independent. And maybe more reliant on my friends for companionship. Maybe get a girlfriend?(ha!)
It's not like those things are going to make up for his absence. Man it's going to be weird. I'm not going to know how until a while from now. Well, anyway, thanks, Evan, for a great 15 years. I hope college goes well, I really do, and I'm praying for you.
Goodbye, and...I'll see you around.
Anyway, the point here is that Evan is moving out tomorrow. That's right. And living 100 miles away. So goes college.
I'm certain Evan's life is going to change drastically...of course it will, this is a totally new and different time in his life. See, thing is, my life is going to also be changing quite a bit.
For my entire childhood, Evan's always been there. We're basically best friends and it's pretty much always been that way. I know he's talked about our relationship a little in his blog, and everything he's said, I echo. We've always told eachother everything. And if not for Evan, there's a half-decent chance I'd be kind of an anti-social loser at school (not that I'm Mr. popularity, but you get the idea).
And now? He'll be gone? I don't think I've fully thought about what that's gonna be like. I'm basically an only child from here on out...and I'm going to have to fend for myself. It makes sense that I'd have to start being more independent. And maybe more reliant on my friends for companionship. Maybe get a girlfriend?(ha!)
It's not like those things are going to make up for his absence. Man it's going to be weird. I'm not going to know how until a while from now. Well, anyway, thanks, Evan, for a great 15 years. I hope college goes well, I really do, and I'm praying for you.
Goodbye, and...I'll see you around.
Monday, August 21, 2006
I'm not gonna skirt the issue (pun intended)
My bad. When I announced that I was accepting comments from non-registered users, I forgot to actually change the setting. Sorry about that, if anyone even noticed.
First day of school was today. Bummer, there goes the summer (ha! that rhymes!). The first day of school was not particularly eventful, for me at least. Although I do think I'm gonna go back to locker 4. I far prefer it.
One of the things I noticed right away (although this wasn't a big part of my day, I do feel the pull to blog about it) was the fashion trends. Not that they were a whole different from before, but now I guess I'm thinking about it differently than I used to. The fashion item? Low cut shirts. Man, those are so popular right now, probably half the girls I go to school with wear them on a fairly regular basis.
And I'm not talking about a loose shirt or something, I'm talking about clothes designed for the sole purpose of showing off ample amounts of cleavage. You know, the kind of clothing that's not so much for covering anymore, but for "look! look at this!"
So basically I don't understand this fashion trend. Are these girls making an effort to cause temptation and be lusted after? Because, well, that's about all that's being accomplished. Women are by no means objects, but it seems like this constant showing of cleavage appears to show that some people wouldn't be too upset with that label. To me it's pretty sad.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm not trying to attack girls for dressing this way. As big of a problem is the guys who lust after them. Which basically is every male teenager.
Unfortunately, I cannot exclude myself from that list. I've been guilty of lust about a million times over. I know it's wrong, and I know it's a sin. But every day, I'll catch myself looking down someone's shirt or something (Especially with it being so easy lately). I feel pretty guilty for it. I want to not do that at all, but there's a part of me known as "sinful nature" which, along with its friend "hormones" feels very differently. I think it's fair to say lust is one of the biggest temptations in my life right now. It probably goes for others too.
It's a real catch-22. The guys themselves are lusting, but the girls are creating and breeding these feelings of lust. It goes to show that no one's perfect.
So let's hit up the Bible for some guidance. Phillippians 4:8, a fairly familiar verse, states "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Simply put, it says that we have a command from God to think pure things. Can we, with our sinful nature, do this at all times? Of course not. I didn't have to tell you that. However, I think we should all make a conscious effort to keep our minds pure, no matter our environment.
Temptation is never going to leave, at least until we're in Heaven. So it's not fair to sit here and blame temptation for our sins(It may seem like I'm doing that here, but I take full responsibility for my sins, I'm just channelling frustration toward the temptation). Sometimes we can avoid temptation, but other times, we're surrounded. It doesn't seem fair. But we can keep our minds pure even then. God gave us some awesome gifts to help us - our conscience, and prayer. Our conscience obviously can tell us that we're doing wrong. Without my conscience, I would never have thought in this way. Lusting is an enjoyable thing, but I feel guilty about it. And it can make me realize that this is actually a sin.
The second tool, then, is prayer. We can pray for a few things considering sins. First, we can pray for forgiveness for these sings we have, but also, pray for the strength to resist temptation. And believe me, prayer is powerful. I never really believed it myself until I tried doing it regularly. So you can never know until you try.
I kind of feel like a hypocrite, because I've always been a proponent for this kind of clothing, for very obvious reasons. Even quite recently. But I think I kind of realized that there's way more to life than staring at cleavage. Will I continue to commit this sin? In all likelihood, yes. It's a weakness in my sinful nature. However, I'll pray that I, and any one of the many others being pressured by this sin will be able to resist temptation and live for the right reasons.
The signature Camp Phillip dedication to God is starting to become a permanent part of myself, I hope.
First day of school was today. Bummer, there goes the summer (ha! that rhymes!). The first day of school was not particularly eventful, for me at least. Although I do think I'm gonna go back to locker 4. I far prefer it.
One of the things I noticed right away (although this wasn't a big part of my day, I do feel the pull to blog about it) was the fashion trends. Not that they were a whole different from before, but now I guess I'm thinking about it differently than I used to. The fashion item? Low cut shirts. Man, those are so popular right now, probably half the girls I go to school with wear them on a fairly regular basis.
And I'm not talking about a loose shirt or something, I'm talking about clothes designed for the sole purpose of showing off ample amounts of cleavage. You know, the kind of clothing that's not so much for covering anymore, but for "look! look at this!"
So basically I don't understand this fashion trend. Are these girls making an effort to cause temptation and be lusted after? Because, well, that's about all that's being accomplished. Women are by no means objects, but it seems like this constant showing of cleavage appears to show that some people wouldn't be too upset with that label. To me it's pretty sad.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm not trying to attack girls for dressing this way. As big of a problem is the guys who lust after them. Which basically is every male teenager.
Unfortunately, I cannot exclude myself from that list. I've been guilty of lust about a million times over. I know it's wrong, and I know it's a sin. But every day, I'll catch myself looking down someone's shirt or something (Especially with it being so easy lately). I feel pretty guilty for it. I want to not do that at all, but there's a part of me known as "sinful nature" which, along with its friend "hormones" feels very differently. I think it's fair to say lust is one of the biggest temptations in my life right now. It probably goes for others too.
It's a real catch-22. The guys themselves are lusting, but the girls are creating and breeding these feelings of lust. It goes to show that no one's perfect.
So let's hit up the Bible for some guidance. Phillippians 4:8, a fairly familiar verse, states "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Simply put, it says that we have a command from God to think pure things. Can we, with our sinful nature, do this at all times? Of course not. I didn't have to tell you that. However, I think we should all make a conscious effort to keep our minds pure, no matter our environment.
Temptation is never going to leave, at least until we're in Heaven. So it's not fair to sit here and blame temptation for our sins(It may seem like I'm doing that here, but I take full responsibility for my sins, I'm just channelling frustration toward the temptation). Sometimes we can avoid temptation, but other times, we're surrounded. It doesn't seem fair. But we can keep our minds pure even then. God gave us some awesome gifts to help us - our conscience, and prayer. Our conscience obviously can tell us that we're doing wrong. Without my conscience, I would never have thought in this way. Lusting is an enjoyable thing, but I feel guilty about it. And it can make me realize that this is actually a sin.
The second tool, then, is prayer. We can pray for a few things considering sins. First, we can pray for forgiveness for these sings we have, but also, pray for the strength to resist temptation. And believe me, prayer is powerful. I never really believed it myself until I tried doing it regularly. So you can never know until you try.
I kind of feel like a hypocrite, because I've always been a proponent for this kind of clothing, for very obvious reasons. Even quite recently. But I think I kind of realized that there's way more to life than staring at cleavage. Will I continue to commit this sin? In all likelihood, yes. It's a weakness in my sinful nature. However, I'll pray that I, and any one of the many others being pressured by this sin will be able to resist temptation and live for the right reasons.
The signature Camp Phillip dedication to God is starting to become a permanent part of myself, I hope.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Sweet melody, you'll be singing in your sleep
Whoa. I bought a new CD - Like Vines, by the Hush Sound. It's really really good. In my opinion. And for the record, I knew about them before they went on tour with Panic. And now they're coming to Milwaukee with Jack's Mannequin. If I can get a ride, I'd be pumped.
For a few days last week I was at Camp for Jesus Cares. For those of you that don't know, Jesus Cares is a week or half-weeklong program at Camp Phillip for developmentally disabled adults. Wow, it was so much different from anything else I've ever done. It was at some points incredibly challenging, and at others, completely fun and rewarding. Everyone was kind of assigned to certain campers, although we kind of all helped with all the campers. The camper I was around most was probably Peter.
Peter was a pretty decent guy. He'd talk your ear off, usually about beating the ladies. If there was anything Peter would want to do, it was beat the ladies. Whether it was in lawn bowling, volleyball, swimming, sheepshead, you name it, Peter wanted to beat the ladies. It was kind of funny, if he got bored or tried to wander off from the group, you could always bring him back by suggesting that we "beat the ladies". He talked a lot about playing sheepshead, so I thought he could actually, you know, play sheepshead. Turns out, definitely not. So we played Jesus Cares Sheepshead - 6 people sit around a table and put cards face up in a pile. The dealer (Aaron Schulz) determines what those cards mean ("ohhh!! the 6 of spades!!! Now you have to switch places with someone else at the table, and then say 'hunka hunka love, baby!' before each turn!!!"). It was so fun to play with the Jesus Cares campers, they thought we were actually playing a real card game. And honestly, it was fun for the counselors too.
On the last night, they had a talent show, to showcase all the talents that the Jesus Cares campers had. Some of them had to be kind of a stretch (for instance, "smiling" or "being quiet") but for Peter, we played Jesus Cares Sheepshead. it was so fun to play on stage, because we're all acting enthusiastic about a game that's quite obviously being made up on the spot. Peter managed to "win" the game on stage. haha.
After Jesus Cares was over, I got a ride home with Ryan Ziche, who I hadn't really seen in a long time. It was pretty fun. Since then, I've been home for the last half-week before school starts.
Two nights ago, Evan and I went with Anna to see Pirates 2. It was the last showing of the night, and we were 10 minutes late, so they almost didn't want to let us in, because we were the only people coming to see it, and they didn't want to start the movie late. The lady let us in anyway, I think because we were being super polite and understanding about it. Thanks, lady at the movie theater.
I kind of liked the movie, all but the ending. And a few things were not explained very well, and the organ on the ship? That was just kind of dumb. Don't worry if you haven't seen it yet, the organ plays such a small part. I'm not giving away the movie for you.
And last night, Evan and I went to Sun Prairie to play footie with Jake and Jordy as we do so often. Dave was there too, so this was just an exhibition, but crazy fun anyway. As usual. We also watched all of "The Office" season one, but I fell asleep during the second episode. Nothing against The Office, I was just really really tired. Then we hung around the Hanke household until about 1:30 ish.
Evan and I were home then, with the afternoon and evening free to us. So what did we do? Why, finish off the recording for the first full-length album of Earth, Wind, and Beatbox! Oh man, what a quality piece of recording. It should be ready to go on sale by September 1st. We haven't set a price yet, but it will probably be at around $2.00 or less. So exciting, this will be the first full-length album by either of us, even with Eisenhower's existence.
I guess that about does it. Oh, by the way, if there are even any people that read this who don't belong to blogspot, I opened comments up for you guys too. Evan is trying it out, and it seems like a pretty good idea. So just leave your name and stuff if you do in fact feel the need to comment.
Cheers.
For a few days last week I was at Camp for Jesus Cares. For those of you that don't know, Jesus Cares is a week or half-weeklong program at Camp Phillip for developmentally disabled adults. Wow, it was so much different from anything else I've ever done. It was at some points incredibly challenging, and at others, completely fun and rewarding. Everyone was kind of assigned to certain campers, although we kind of all helped with all the campers. The camper I was around most was probably Peter.
Peter was a pretty decent guy. He'd talk your ear off, usually about beating the ladies. If there was anything Peter would want to do, it was beat the ladies. Whether it was in lawn bowling, volleyball, swimming, sheepshead, you name it, Peter wanted to beat the ladies. It was kind of funny, if he got bored or tried to wander off from the group, you could always bring him back by suggesting that we "beat the ladies". He talked a lot about playing sheepshead, so I thought he could actually, you know, play sheepshead. Turns out, definitely not. So we played Jesus Cares Sheepshead - 6 people sit around a table and put cards face up in a pile. The dealer (Aaron Schulz) determines what those cards mean ("ohhh!! the 6 of spades!!! Now you have to switch places with someone else at the table, and then say 'hunka hunka love, baby!' before each turn!!!"). It was so fun to play with the Jesus Cares campers, they thought we were actually playing a real card game. And honestly, it was fun for the counselors too.
On the last night, they had a talent show, to showcase all the talents that the Jesus Cares campers had. Some of them had to be kind of a stretch (for instance, "smiling" or "being quiet") but for Peter, we played Jesus Cares Sheepshead. it was so fun to play on stage, because we're all acting enthusiastic about a game that's quite obviously being made up on the spot. Peter managed to "win" the game on stage. haha.
After Jesus Cares was over, I got a ride home with Ryan Ziche, who I hadn't really seen in a long time. It was pretty fun. Since then, I've been home for the last half-week before school starts.
Two nights ago, Evan and I went with Anna to see Pirates 2. It was the last showing of the night, and we were 10 minutes late, so they almost didn't want to let us in, because we were the only people coming to see it, and they didn't want to start the movie late. The lady let us in anyway, I think because we were being super polite and understanding about it. Thanks, lady at the movie theater.
I kind of liked the movie, all but the ending. And a few things were not explained very well, and the organ on the ship? That was just kind of dumb. Don't worry if you haven't seen it yet, the organ plays such a small part. I'm not giving away the movie for you.
And last night, Evan and I went to Sun Prairie to play footie with Jake and Jordy as we do so often. Dave was there too, so this was just an exhibition, but crazy fun anyway. As usual. We also watched all of "The Office" season one, but I fell asleep during the second episode. Nothing against The Office, I was just really really tired. Then we hung around the Hanke household until about 1:30 ish.
Evan and I were home then, with the afternoon and evening free to us. So what did we do? Why, finish off the recording for the first full-length album of Earth, Wind, and Beatbox! Oh man, what a quality piece of recording. It should be ready to go on sale by September 1st. We haven't set a price yet, but it will probably be at around $2.00 or less. So exciting, this will be the first full-length album by either of us, even with Eisenhower's existence.
I guess that about does it. Oh, by the way, if there are even any people that read this who don't belong to blogspot, I opened comments up for you guys too. Evan is trying it out, and it seems like a pretty good idea. So just leave your name and stuff if you do in fact feel the need to comment.
Cheers.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
"Hey, Muhammed, do you want a slurpie?" "No, it's against my religion/government/dead relative's morals"
^^From a conversation with Becca about the most common, yet least free person in the world, Muhammed Chang. The things you learn from Trivial Pursuit.
Yesterday was definitely interesting. A little background: My dad's company was having some sort of function for customers and vendors and other mostly boring business type jobs. I was offered an opportunity to work.
So basically I got paid to put brats in buns. I can't complain at all. And I met some pretty interesting people.
First off, there was this other guy I was working with, another co-worker's son. His name was Jamus (spelling? Who knows?). He was 19 and going into college. I spent the whole day with him, part of which we were just standing there, and the other part we were hectically replacing buns, brats, cookies, napkins, plates, etc... So I kind of got a chance to know him. It was sort of awkward for a while, but he seemed like a pretty cool guy. He played guitar, and is majoring in film, and went to the same Red Hot Chili Peppers concert that I went to. We both remember the Mars Volta absolutely sucking. I guess they've gotten good now? At the concert they were pretty much booed off the stage.
I also got to meet a bunch of my dad's co-workers and associates. Although I already knew a couple. Like this one guy, Dave. He has a ponytail and I guess his actual name is pretty weird and uncommon. But he's a cool guy. And John, who was making brats all day. I suppose I could get used to the white collar schmoozing scene if it was totally necessary.
Then I got home and took a long nap. I guess that's my day. I like Timber Creek subs.
This post goes out to the ugly, long-haired genie/cowboy/whatever he was in the other one.
Yesterday was definitely interesting. A little background: My dad's company was having some sort of function for customers and vendors and other mostly boring business type jobs. I was offered an opportunity to work.
So basically I got paid to put brats in buns. I can't complain at all. And I met some pretty interesting people.
First off, there was this other guy I was working with, another co-worker's son. His name was Jamus (spelling? Who knows?). He was 19 and going into college. I spent the whole day with him, part of which we were just standing there, and the other part we were hectically replacing buns, brats, cookies, napkins, plates, etc... So I kind of got a chance to know him. It was sort of awkward for a while, but he seemed like a pretty cool guy. He played guitar, and is majoring in film, and went to the same Red Hot Chili Peppers concert that I went to. We both remember the Mars Volta absolutely sucking. I guess they've gotten good now? At the concert they were pretty much booed off the stage.
I also got to meet a bunch of my dad's co-workers and associates. Although I already knew a couple. Like this one guy, Dave. He has a ponytail and I guess his actual name is pretty weird and uncommon. But he's a cool guy. And John, who was making brats all day. I suppose I could get used to the white collar schmoozing scene if it was totally necessary.
Then I got home and took a long nap. I guess that's my day. I like Timber Creek subs.
This post goes out to the ugly, long-haired genie/cowboy/whatever he was in the other one.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
What the Feingold?!
I don't know. I feel weird. Who is Fuzz Schnulle?
All kinds of stuff happened lately. I went on this band trip thing for a long long time. There used to be an anthology written about said trip on Evan's blog, but he deleted it because of some girl. I hope he saved it on word or something, I think it was, after all, his longest post ever.
I had day camp in Manitowoc. That was really fun. Steve and I bonded more. Steve's one of the coolest people I know. If we went to the same school I think we'd hang out a lot.
I came home for a day and played soccer. Not a good idea. I think I got pretty sick.
Wow, by the way, this is so far the worst post anyone's ever made on a blog. My mind is on full ADD mode right now, and I don't have ADD. Sometimes I think I do though. I can never focus on anything. Okay, that's not true, but it feels like it sometimes. Especially during Bible studies and stuff. I try to focus on them even. I've prayed for better focus. It just hasn't happened yet. Someday...
I've been at camp for the past week. That also was fun. I added one of my campers on myspace, bet you've never done that before. I think I friend requested Geisthardt sister 2 also. What a cool bunch, those Geisthardts are. I got a letter.
Tyler Shinnick was my counselor. What a guy. We definitely had a lot of fun this week, and I think I can say the same for our campers. I think both of us were kind of hoping we'd end up leading a cabin together, and it actually happened. And the experience was definitely not a letdown.
I got a chance to write some Melon Hut verses, and be in campfire. I think I'm getting far more confident up at camp, and I'm excited about it. I really enjoy the staff, especially this year.
After the week was over, I caught up with quite a few junior staff at Culver's...because one group came in just as the other one was leaving. Hugs were given. Potato Sauce was referred to.
I came home and Evan and I had one night to spend before he went to camp for a week to lead archery. So naturally, we spent this night in Sun Prairie playing footie with Jake and Jordy. Spain and Germany vs. Nederland and England. We really sucked this time though, although we did get to see a documentary on the only photo evidence of living giant squid. It was actually pretty interesting.
Anna and I hung out today. All the buildings around her house are pretty sweet. We went to the Frostie Freeze and got cheap and awesome ice cream. And then to Shopko to get Schleef a birthday card. And then to Goodwill to buy a super cool youth soccer jersey. I am now number 24. We went to Papa Murphy's and talked to Katie for a while. That was cool.
Okay, well this post didn't get a whole lot easier to read as it went on. Hopefully it still provides for interesting reading.
Keep it real! - Blake
All kinds of stuff happened lately. I went on this band trip thing for a long long time. There used to be an anthology written about said trip on Evan's blog, but he deleted it because of some girl. I hope he saved it on word or something, I think it was, after all, his longest post ever.
I had day camp in Manitowoc. That was really fun. Steve and I bonded more. Steve's one of the coolest people I know. If we went to the same school I think we'd hang out a lot.
I came home for a day and played soccer. Not a good idea. I think I got pretty sick.
Wow, by the way, this is so far the worst post anyone's ever made on a blog. My mind is on full ADD mode right now, and I don't have ADD. Sometimes I think I do though. I can never focus on anything. Okay, that's not true, but it feels like it sometimes. Especially during Bible studies and stuff. I try to focus on them even. I've prayed for better focus. It just hasn't happened yet. Someday...
I've been at camp for the past week. That also was fun. I added one of my campers on myspace, bet you've never done that before. I think I friend requested Geisthardt sister 2 also. What a cool bunch, those Geisthardts are. I got a letter.
Tyler Shinnick was my counselor. What a guy. We definitely had a lot of fun this week, and I think I can say the same for our campers. I think both of us were kind of hoping we'd end up leading a cabin together, and it actually happened. And the experience was definitely not a letdown.
I got a chance to write some Melon Hut verses, and be in campfire. I think I'm getting far more confident up at camp, and I'm excited about it. I really enjoy the staff, especially this year.
After the week was over, I caught up with quite a few junior staff at Culver's...because one group came in just as the other one was leaving. Hugs were given. Potato Sauce was referred to.
I came home and Evan and I had one night to spend before he went to camp for a week to lead archery. So naturally, we spent this night in Sun Prairie playing footie with Jake and Jordy. Spain and Germany vs. Nederland and England. We really sucked this time though, although we did get to see a documentary on the only photo evidence of living giant squid. It was actually pretty interesting.
Anna and I hung out today. All the buildings around her house are pretty sweet. We went to the Frostie Freeze and got cheap and awesome ice cream. And then to Shopko to get Schleef a birthday card. And then to Goodwill to buy a super cool youth soccer jersey. I am now number 24. We went to Papa Murphy's and talked to Katie for a while. That was cool.
Okay, well this post didn't get a whole lot easier to read as it went on. Hopefully it still provides for interesting reading.
Keep it real! - Blake
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
I might have to start liking Yellowcard by default
I'm always intimidated to make a blog post after camp, because I know I'll forget so many hugely important details about it. Well anyway, camp was super great, and I'll be going up there a lot more this summer. I've got a day camp in Manitowoc with Steve (What a sweet guy) a 6-8 grade week, and a Jesus Cares, which will probably be a huge learning experience for me.
I also had a Day camp in Fond du Lac at Becca's church, but stupid band forced me to have to cancel. It's really a bummer, but I'll just have to make the most of the weeks I can attend.
One cool but fairly secondary thing about camp was all the soccer we played. I've gotten really into following soccer lately, especially with the world cup and all, but also trying to rally support around the MLS. I scored some ridiculous number of goals, but I felt pretty bad about them, because I was basically hardcore cherry-picking and taking away other people's more deserved chances. I guess I might be too hard on myself.
I've also watched at least some of every world cup game since I got home from camp. Including the US and their sweet draw against Italia that keeps them alive. If they, however, get eliminated, I've chosen to cheer for, in this order
1. Teams from Africa
2. The Netherlands
3. South Korea
4. England
So I'm obviously getting a huge kick out the World Cup (Surprisingly, pun NOT intended). And Soccer in general. I can't wait until Milwaukee gets our MLS team. I'm going to go to a bunch of games, and it's gonna be sweet, and David Beckham is gonna play for them. Because he seriously is planning on joining the MLS once they get sick of him in Real Madrid or something.
Anyway, probably everyone reading this could care less about soccer, but it's moved into second on my list (Football is solid at the top, mainly because of fantasy football and its social aspect). So if you find yourself watching soccer sometime soon, realize you're not alone. I don't know how that helps you, but...ah...I've got nothing.
I also had a Day camp in Fond du Lac at Becca's church, but stupid band forced me to have to cancel. It's really a bummer, but I'll just have to make the most of the weeks I can attend.
One cool but fairly secondary thing about camp was all the soccer we played. I've gotten really into following soccer lately, especially with the world cup and all, but also trying to rally support around the MLS. I scored some ridiculous number of goals, but I felt pretty bad about them, because I was basically hardcore cherry-picking and taking away other people's more deserved chances. I guess I might be too hard on myself.
I've also watched at least some of every world cup game since I got home from camp. Including the US and their sweet draw against Italia that keeps them alive. If they, however, get eliminated, I've chosen to cheer for, in this order
1. Teams from Africa
2. The Netherlands
3. South Korea
4. England
So I'm obviously getting a huge kick out the World Cup (Surprisingly, pun NOT intended). And Soccer in general. I can't wait until Milwaukee gets our MLS team. I'm going to go to a bunch of games, and it's gonna be sweet, and David Beckham is gonna play for them. Because he seriously is planning on joining the MLS once they get sick of him in Real Madrid or something.
Anyway, probably everyone reading this could care less about soccer, but it's moved into second on my list (Football is solid at the top, mainly because of fantasy football and its social aspect). So if you find yourself watching soccer sometime soon, realize you're not alone. I don't know how that helps you, but...ah...I've got nothing.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Who did, in fact, let the dogs out?
I wrote this late at night, in response to a myspace comment. Maybe you'll enjoy it? It was fun, and yes, I realize that I abandoned most grammar and writing rules.
To say that the dogs were let out by one man would not only be a great overstatement, but also an outright lie. However, it is an entertaining lie, and isn't that what really matters? The answer, is no.
Anyway, once there was this man named Jonas. Perhaps you've heard of him, Weezer wrote a song about him a while back, and he also was in this book. The Giver, I believe it was called. He also invented penicillin or something totally awesome like that. Anyway, one time, Jonas was walking along this path...you know one of those paths in the forest that's sort of clear, but sometimes you're just like "Is this a path?" or "Where does this go" or "There sure are a lot of tree roots for this to be a path" or even "OMG ITS A BEAR GET TO THE TRUCK." So Jonas was walking along this path, and he met a man along the way. This man was fairly tall, not so much that you would say, "wow, look at that guy, he's really tall" But he was probably around 6'3'' and bold or charismatic people would tend to ask him if he played basketball. Well, the answer was no, he did not play basketball. It was due to the fact that he had seven toes on one foot and 3 on the other. When he told people this, many times they would ask "Why can't you just move the 2 extra toes to the foot that's missing 2 toes" and Jonas would reply sternly "You just can't, OK?!? Man, stay out of my life" And then there'd be a fairly awkward silence until someone excused themselves to go to the bathroom, and the other members of the conversations tried to keep it afloat by talking about how clean the bathroom was. Reportedly, the soap smelled pretty good too. It was like that foam stuff that probably doesn't clean your hands very well, but it feels cool, so you're generally quite happy with it. As were the members of this conversation.
Luckily, Jonas was not the type of person to ask strangers questions like "Do you play basketball?" So this considerable awkwardness was avoided, which is good because there weren't any bathrooms around, this being a path in the woods.
Unfortunately, Jonas was a strange man, so rather than greeting him with a typical "hello", he asked him how many toes he had per foot. Luckily, he averaged 5 toes per foot despite the strange placement, so the awkward conversation was again avoided. Jonas thanked the man and went on his way.
After about a minute and a half or so...I mean you can never tell around that period of time, unless you are wearing a watch, and you chose to look at it both times. Jonas did in fact have a watch, but he left it at home, and he was pretty upset about it. Because, you see, he was wearing different clothes than usual, because he was hiking. And he had said to himself "I've gotta remember to pack my watch with my hiking gear" but then he procrastinated like most other human beings would and he did, in fact, forget his watch. "It's probably even sitting on the counter" lamented Jonas to no one in particular, "although maybe I put it in my knapsack." Jonas, unfortunately, did not have a knapsack, which he had left at home, also presumably on the counter. "Darnit" Jonas thought.
As Jonas mulled his carelessness in packing over, he stopped paying attention to where he was going, and bumped right into a gorgeous woman, who also happened to be hiking this small trail.
"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed sexily. "There's got to be sooooome way I could make up for this" she hinted.
Jonas like this idea so he said "Okay!" So excitably that he kind of sounded like a little kid.
So the lady said "let me slip into something more...comfortable" as Jonas's eyebrows raised, but then furrowed.
"What on earth is she going to change into in the middle of this forest?" He thought to himself disappointedly.
When he was done thinking, he looked up and she was wearing a business suit. She handed him a sandwich, and said "Thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart!" Jonas didn't really know what to make of this, so he decided to press on and graciously decline the sandwich.
Mainly to be polite, and also because it was a tuna sandwich. He didn't really like tuna...I mean he would eat it if he was starving or something, but he was no more than a little bit hungry, and don't fish contain high levels of mercury anyway?
Jonas figured he was equally screwed either way because of his heavy diet of lobster. He realized he had packed some lobster in his knapsack, so he reached in and grabbed a lobster sandwich...? As soon as he grabbed the sandwich, he realized "hey, I thought I had left the knapsack at home...that means my watch must be...!" He glanced at his wrist excitably and in mid-sentence, but in fact, his watch was still missing. "Darnit" thought Jonas.
Jonas marched on, happily munching his lobster sandwich and humming the tune from that AT&T commercial. "All around the world...gotta something soooomething. Tell them what you heard...we're gonna make the bed today" Jonas mumbled harmoniously through the partially-digested crustacean currently at rest upon his tongue.
When he got to about the 5th cycle of singing these lines of this song, to the point where he was making up dirty lyrics to it and giggling to himself like a little schoolgirl, a strange desire to go hang gliding popped into his head.
"Maybe if I went hang gliding, I'd meet more women!" Jonas thought, although quickly realized that the only women he'd be able to talk to while hang gliding would be other hang gliding women. And if he met one through hang gliding and they bonded through hang gliding he'd have to propose to her whilst hang gliding, and what if he dropped the ring? Not to mention that they'd probably get married while hang gliding, by a hang gliding minister, and with a hang gliding wedding party, and they'd go hang gliding on their honeymoon and they'd have hang gliding children and it would just be too much for him.
Jonas was to the last bite of his sandwich, and he was really looking forward to it, because he had gotten all the crust and outer parts out of the way, to save the best for last. So as he was swarming into this bite, he realized that it was not good lobster meat, but it was a claw. "I hate when that happens!" Jonas yelled unabashedly, and in a fit of rage, threw the remainder of the sandwich a good twenty yards or so...or maybe it was twenty meters? How much is a meter anyway? It's pretty close to a yard I guess. On those metersticks they have in classrooms, there's a yard measured on the back, and it always ends up being a little bit shorter than the meter, and while it might not seem like much, I'm sure it would add up once you got that many yards. Or meters.
This stray piece of sandwich also flew directly into the nest of an unsuspecting owl, which, unfortunately, held the last 10 potential owls of this species. The nest teetered a bit, and Jonas ran to try to catch the eggs. 9 of them fell, but there was one left. Jonas yelled "Noooooooooooo!" and by chance, almost as if this story was written late at night and highly unrealistic, the egg landed squarely in Jonas's mouth, and hatched that instant. Jonas had a decision to make in his head, but he was still pretty hungry, and the remainder of his sandwich did not live up to its billing. Also, he had never eaten an endangered baby owl before, although he had eaten a full grown one. He figured, what the heck, it's probably moderately tasty. Perhaps on par with popcorn. Jonas was about to eat it, when he thought "Did I let the dogs out? I sure hope not"
Then it hit him like a ton of bricks...or even just one brick. Because that would hurt too. "I must have let the dogs out! Because I forgot my watch! Darnit!"
And that...that is the story of who let the dogs out.
To say that the dogs were let out by one man would not only be a great overstatement, but also an outright lie. However, it is an entertaining lie, and isn't that what really matters? The answer, is no.
Anyway, once there was this man named Jonas. Perhaps you've heard of him, Weezer wrote a song about him a while back, and he also was in this book. The Giver, I believe it was called. He also invented penicillin or something totally awesome like that. Anyway, one time, Jonas was walking along this path...you know one of those paths in the forest that's sort of clear, but sometimes you're just like "Is this a path?" or "Where does this go" or "There sure are a lot of tree roots for this to be a path" or even "OMG ITS A BEAR GET TO THE TRUCK." So Jonas was walking along this path, and he met a man along the way. This man was fairly tall, not so much that you would say, "wow, look at that guy, he's really tall" But he was probably around 6'3'' and bold or charismatic people would tend to ask him if he played basketball. Well, the answer was no, he did not play basketball. It was due to the fact that he had seven toes on one foot and 3 on the other. When he told people this, many times they would ask "Why can't you just move the 2 extra toes to the foot that's missing 2 toes" and Jonas would reply sternly "You just can't, OK?!? Man, stay out of my life" And then there'd be a fairly awkward silence until someone excused themselves to go to the bathroom, and the other members of the conversations tried to keep it afloat by talking about how clean the bathroom was. Reportedly, the soap smelled pretty good too. It was like that foam stuff that probably doesn't clean your hands very well, but it feels cool, so you're generally quite happy with it. As were the members of this conversation.
Luckily, Jonas was not the type of person to ask strangers questions like "Do you play basketball?" So this considerable awkwardness was avoided, which is good because there weren't any bathrooms around, this being a path in the woods.
Unfortunately, Jonas was a strange man, so rather than greeting him with a typical "hello", he asked him how many toes he had per foot. Luckily, he averaged 5 toes per foot despite the strange placement, so the awkward conversation was again avoided. Jonas thanked the man and went on his way.
After about a minute and a half or so...I mean you can never tell around that period of time, unless you are wearing a watch, and you chose to look at it both times. Jonas did in fact have a watch, but he left it at home, and he was pretty upset about it. Because, you see, he was wearing different clothes than usual, because he was hiking. And he had said to himself "I've gotta remember to pack my watch with my hiking gear" but then he procrastinated like most other human beings would and he did, in fact, forget his watch. "It's probably even sitting on the counter" lamented Jonas to no one in particular, "although maybe I put it in my knapsack." Jonas, unfortunately, did not have a knapsack, which he had left at home, also presumably on the counter. "Darnit" Jonas thought.
As Jonas mulled his carelessness in packing over, he stopped paying attention to where he was going, and bumped right into a gorgeous woman, who also happened to be hiking this small trail.
"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed sexily. "There's got to be sooooome way I could make up for this" she hinted.
Jonas like this idea so he said "Okay!" So excitably that he kind of sounded like a little kid.
So the lady said "let me slip into something more...comfortable" as Jonas's eyebrows raised, but then furrowed.
"What on earth is she going to change into in the middle of this forest?" He thought to himself disappointedly.
When he was done thinking, he looked up and she was wearing a business suit. She handed him a sandwich, and said "Thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart!" Jonas didn't really know what to make of this, so he decided to press on and graciously decline the sandwich.
Mainly to be polite, and also because it was a tuna sandwich. He didn't really like tuna...I mean he would eat it if he was starving or something, but he was no more than a little bit hungry, and don't fish contain high levels of mercury anyway?
Jonas figured he was equally screwed either way because of his heavy diet of lobster. He realized he had packed some lobster in his knapsack, so he reached in and grabbed a lobster sandwich...? As soon as he grabbed the sandwich, he realized "hey, I thought I had left the knapsack at home...that means my watch must be...!" He glanced at his wrist excitably and in mid-sentence, but in fact, his watch was still missing. "Darnit" thought Jonas.
Jonas marched on, happily munching his lobster sandwich and humming the tune from that AT&T commercial. "All around the world...gotta something soooomething. Tell them what you heard...we're gonna make the bed today" Jonas mumbled harmoniously through the partially-digested crustacean currently at rest upon his tongue.
When he got to about the 5th cycle of singing these lines of this song, to the point where he was making up dirty lyrics to it and giggling to himself like a little schoolgirl, a strange desire to go hang gliding popped into his head.
"Maybe if I went hang gliding, I'd meet more women!" Jonas thought, although quickly realized that the only women he'd be able to talk to while hang gliding would be other hang gliding women. And if he met one through hang gliding and they bonded through hang gliding he'd have to propose to her whilst hang gliding, and what if he dropped the ring? Not to mention that they'd probably get married while hang gliding, by a hang gliding minister, and with a hang gliding wedding party, and they'd go hang gliding on their honeymoon and they'd have hang gliding children and it would just be too much for him.
Jonas was to the last bite of his sandwich, and he was really looking forward to it, because he had gotten all the crust and outer parts out of the way, to save the best for last. So as he was swarming into this bite, he realized that it was not good lobster meat, but it was a claw. "I hate when that happens!" Jonas yelled unabashedly, and in a fit of rage, threw the remainder of the sandwich a good twenty yards or so...or maybe it was twenty meters? How much is a meter anyway? It's pretty close to a yard I guess. On those metersticks they have in classrooms, there's a yard measured on the back, and it always ends up being a little bit shorter than the meter, and while it might not seem like much, I'm sure it would add up once you got that many yards. Or meters.
This stray piece of sandwich also flew directly into the nest of an unsuspecting owl, which, unfortunately, held the last 10 potential owls of this species. The nest teetered a bit, and Jonas ran to try to catch the eggs. 9 of them fell, but there was one left. Jonas yelled "Noooooooooooo!" and by chance, almost as if this story was written late at night and highly unrealistic, the egg landed squarely in Jonas's mouth, and hatched that instant. Jonas had a decision to make in his head, but he was still pretty hungry, and the remainder of his sandwich did not live up to its billing. Also, he had never eaten an endangered baby owl before, although he had eaten a full grown one. He figured, what the heck, it's probably moderately tasty. Perhaps on par with popcorn. Jonas was about to eat it, when he thought "Did I let the dogs out? I sure hope not"
Then it hit him like a ton of bricks...or even just one brick. Because that would hurt too. "I must have let the dogs out! Because I forgot my watch! Darnit!"
And that...that is the story of who let the dogs out.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Post-hardcore, or a harcore post?
We played our debut show yesterday. I think it went pretty well, but it was only a 5 song set and it was pretty short. There were a few hitches, but for a first show it was great, and we got a pretty big crowd reaction on Seattle, which was cool. Unfortunately, not a whole lot of people showed...at least I definitely thought there would be more. In fact, about half the people that told me they would go for sure inexplicably missed the show. Kind of a shame, but thanks to everyone that did come, and for all the donations. That part was pretty cool, we raised about $1000 I believe.
And thanks to Dan and Becca for making the trip.
There's a chance we'll be opening for I voted for Kodos on May 20th in Oconomowoc, but it's not for sure yet. I'll announce it here if we get the OK on that.
And if not that, we might play the Jefferson County Fair Battle of the Bands, so that'd also be pretty neat. Once again, I can't be sure.
and that's about it.
And thanks to Dan and Becca for making the trip.
There's a chance we'll be opening for I voted for Kodos on May 20th in Oconomowoc, but it's not for sure yet. I'll announce it here if we get the OK on that.
And if not that, we might play the Jefferson County Fair Battle of the Bands, so that'd also be pretty neat. Once again, I can't be sure.
and that's about it.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Move Along
I am afraid of instant messaging. Deathly afraid. I hate to start conversations with people because I screw them up by saying something not possible to respond to, and then conversations with people that would normally be quite interesting and fulfilling in real life just go to crap, leaving me to assume that the other person thinks I'm boring, and well it's just one big mess. So I'm really sorry to everyone that I don't talk to online, and also to all the people that I fail at conversing with online. Let's hang out in person instead, it's 10 times cooler.
Moving on.
Prom was on Saturday. I guess a lot of people had a sort of sucky time, but I really enjoyed it. I went dateless as usual, which actually ended up being cool. There were some girls in my group who were also going alone, so Danielle kind of stepped in as my "date". We took some pictures and slow danced a bunch, and I thought it was really sweet. Thanks, Danielle, I had a super time.
After prom I went to a HOT TUB PARTY. It was also really cool, and I like hot tubs. They're warm and bubbly and provide for a good meeting place. We also tried to watch a movie, but failed miserably. That's okay though, it was still a blast.
Anyway, I'm pretty excited about May 13th. It's a benefit show for Cody Schwartz, who, for those of you who don't know, is a Lakeside student who had his leg run over. It's really cool that students are setting this up, and it's great that we're helping out, because of course the medical bills are going to be insane.
Naturally, another reason I'd be excited about it is that it's a concert with a handful of local bands. A handful that includes Eisenhower (myspace.com/eisenhowerband) and An American Tragedy (myspace.com/anamericantragedymusic). So that being our performance debut, I'm basically "stoked" as the kids would say. I'd encourage any and all readers to come. Most certainly. Tickets are $5, and it's at Lakeside's old gym/"auditorium".
Our set is pretty much ready, and I'd post it, but we've got 3 originals and 2 covers, and that's all I'll say. Because otherwise I'd be giving away too much, and that takes the fun out. But for those of you who have heard our 2 originals, we've got 1 more...that you'll have to wait to hear. It's a neat song, I think you'll like it.
And other exciting things are happening in the world of Eisenhower...like our chapel performance of Relient K's "Getting into You" which went really well considering we all practiced it together a total of once. Also, we're going on a Canada tour (seriously...kind of...more details as they come) and shooting a music video (which actually I just learned. super cool.) I guess it'd be for use in Lakeside promotional material. I'm pretty excited about that.
I have a really big blister from band practice and also jazz band tonight. It's really full of liquid, and I'm totally playing with it a bunch. I hope it doesn't pop when I'm not expecting it...because it's really full of liquid. Ya know.
What an excitable post. I probably used "cool", "awesome", "sweet" and "exciting" about 100 times. At least it means I'm in a good mood.
And life...it's more than a class project. 250,000 points to anyone who catches that obscure reference.
Moving on.
Prom was on Saturday. I guess a lot of people had a sort of sucky time, but I really enjoyed it. I went dateless as usual, which actually ended up being cool. There were some girls in my group who were also going alone, so Danielle kind of stepped in as my "date". We took some pictures and slow danced a bunch, and I thought it was really sweet. Thanks, Danielle, I had a super time.
After prom I went to a HOT TUB PARTY. It was also really cool, and I like hot tubs. They're warm and bubbly and provide for a good meeting place. We also tried to watch a movie, but failed miserably. That's okay though, it was still a blast.
Anyway, I'm pretty excited about May 13th. It's a benefit show for Cody Schwartz, who, for those of you who don't know, is a Lakeside student who had his leg run over. It's really cool that students are setting this up, and it's great that we're helping out, because of course the medical bills are going to be insane.
Naturally, another reason I'd be excited about it is that it's a concert with a handful of local bands. A handful that includes Eisenhower (myspace.com/eisenhowerband) and An American Tragedy (myspace.com/anamericantragedymusic). So that being our performance debut, I'm basically "stoked" as the kids would say. I'd encourage any and all readers to come. Most certainly. Tickets are $5, and it's at Lakeside's old gym/"auditorium".
Our set is pretty much ready, and I'd post it, but we've got 3 originals and 2 covers, and that's all I'll say. Because otherwise I'd be giving away too much, and that takes the fun out. But for those of you who have heard our 2 originals, we've got 1 more...that you'll have to wait to hear. It's a neat song, I think you'll like it.
And other exciting things are happening in the world of Eisenhower...like our chapel performance of Relient K's "Getting into You" which went really well considering we all practiced it together a total of once. Also, we're going on a Canada tour (seriously...kind of...more details as they come) and shooting a music video (which actually I just learned. super cool.) I guess it'd be for use in Lakeside promotional material. I'm pretty excited about that.
I have a really big blister from band practice and also jazz band tonight. It's really full of liquid, and I'm totally playing with it a bunch. I hope it doesn't pop when I'm not expecting it...because it's really full of liquid. Ya know.
What an excitable post. I probably used "cool", "awesome", "sweet" and "exciting" about 100 times. At least it means I'm in a good mood.
And life...it's more than a class project. 250,000 points to anyone who catches that obscure reference.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Perennially my least favorite day of the year
I am so sick of the 4/20 jokes. You don't smoke pot, and it's not cool to pretend you do. It's even less cool if you actually do smoke weed.
Today kind of sucked a lot. I don't know why. I guess I was in sort of a bad mood for some reason.
First off, the results from the Madison area math meet came back today. I usually do really well in math meets so I guess it's a self-esteem boost or something. So I was naturally a little upset to find out that I got 3 OUT OF 30 POSSIBLE POINTS. Meaning I got one question right...an easy question I'm sure. This also meant that I was:
1. The worst Lakeside participant, even losing to every freshman in math classes below mine.
2. Better than only about 12 Madison area math meet participants (out of, I don't know, 300?), who got either 2 points or none.
And for someone who's only competitive in academic competitions, that was like getting kicked in the face. After losing the Super Bowl.
I also discovered recently (was it today or yesterday? I'm not sure) that there's now no chance of our band playing before prom. We had pitched it to the committee, but it was overruled because they want to decorate the stage to the point where we would not fit up there. That's really a bite, I think, because I assume more people would gather enjoyment from a live band than from a few lousy decorations on a stage. Also, it may well be our only chance to perform before Evan graduates, which is something I definitely thought we should accomplish. I guess there's just no way to get a show around here, which is sad, because I finally feel good enough about us that I'm sure we'd be ready to perform in a week or two.
And today was probably about the 20th day in a row that I couldn't work up the backbone to ask anyone to the prom. It's stupid, I have a bunch of excuses, and they're all stupid. I guess that means tomorrow I will. Or something. I hope I do. I never even have before. I'm stupid.
Yes, I realize that this day was probably great compared to most people's days most of the time, but I don't know, I guess it was just a bummer enough to blog about. Because what's the point of having a blog except to recap what happened in the day and how you felt about it?
Today kind of sucked a lot. I don't know why. I guess I was in sort of a bad mood for some reason.
First off, the results from the Madison area math meet came back today. I usually do really well in math meets so I guess it's a self-esteem boost or something. So I was naturally a little upset to find out that I got 3 OUT OF 30 POSSIBLE POINTS. Meaning I got one question right...an easy question I'm sure. This also meant that I was:
1. The worst Lakeside participant, even losing to every freshman in math classes below mine.
2. Better than only about 12 Madison area math meet participants (out of, I don't know, 300?), who got either 2 points or none.
And for someone who's only competitive in academic competitions, that was like getting kicked in the face. After losing the Super Bowl.
I also discovered recently (was it today or yesterday? I'm not sure) that there's now no chance of our band playing before prom. We had pitched it to the committee, but it was overruled because they want to decorate the stage to the point where we would not fit up there. That's really a bite, I think, because I assume more people would gather enjoyment from a live band than from a few lousy decorations on a stage. Also, it may well be our only chance to perform before Evan graduates, which is something I definitely thought we should accomplish. I guess there's just no way to get a show around here, which is sad, because I finally feel good enough about us that I'm sure we'd be ready to perform in a week or two.
And today was probably about the 20th day in a row that I couldn't work up the backbone to ask anyone to the prom. It's stupid, I have a bunch of excuses, and they're all stupid. I guess that means tomorrow I will. Or something. I hope I do. I never even have before. I'm stupid.
Yes, I realize that this day was probably great compared to most people's days most of the time, but I don't know, I guess it was just a bummer enough to blog about. Because what's the point of having a blog except to recap what happened in the day and how you felt about it?
Monday, April 17, 2006
Funky Monday
Well, actually, every monday is funky with Clyde Stubblefield, the coolest musician to ever come from Madison, and direct inspiration for the new funk band "The Second Funkiest Cats in Madison".
I'll be honest, I am totally loving funk music right now for some reason. That probably makes me the biggest funk fan in Lake Mills. But one of these days, we'll head down to Madison and watch ol' Clyde and Friends be super funky. On funky monday. And then I'll pitch some funk to our jazz band. I'd really like to play "Express Yourself" by Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, I guess with some more exaggerated trumpet parts or something. However, I sort of doubt there's music out there to it, and that would probably make it really hard to play for our band. But a guy can dream...
Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go write a slap bass line.
I'll be honest, I am totally loving funk music right now for some reason. That probably makes me the biggest funk fan in Lake Mills. But one of these days, we'll head down to Madison and watch ol' Clyde and Friends be super funky. On funky monday. And then I'll pitch some funk to our jazz band. I'd really like to play "Express Yourself" by Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, I guess with some more exaggerated trumpet parts or something. However, I sort of doubt there's music out there to it, and that would probably make it really hard to play for our band. But a guy can dream...
Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go write a slap bass line.
Friday, April 14, 2006
The calm before the storm set it off - and the sun burned out tonight
Last night was super cool. I was online, and Evan went outside, to be joined by me in a minute to throw a football around or something. I was about to get up and go out there when I heard Evan pounding on the window. He signaled me out there, and we watched some of the coolest lightning ever. We must have sat out on the golf course in awe of the stuff for 30 minutes. We talked a little, but words didn't really need to be said, it was so captivating. After we were out there for a while, the lightning started getting closer, and my dad called us in, because he figured it was a little too close for comfort. It was probably a good thing, because soon after we came in, huge hailstones started falling. Regardless, it was so great. I love rain and storms.
On a side note, we recorded our second song, and I guess it's starting to make its rounds. Pretty neat.
Have a good rest of the night everyone
On a side note, we recorded our second song, and I guess it's starting to make its rounds. Pretty neat.
Have a good rest of the night everyone
Thursday, April 06, 2006
When it comes to relationships (I'm the dumbest one) and I don't mean just with girls (I mean with everyone)
I'm not going to lie to you. I see these people when asked about their marital status - "single and loving it!" Well, you won't see any of that from me. I'm single, and rather not loving it. I'm sure those people who say they are "single and loving it" aren't trying to convince others, they're trying to convince themselves more than anything.
Dating is a tricky subject. I'm sure no one reading this had to hear that from me. But I've been wondering...
When is the line crossed from "I have feelings for that person" to "I'm fulfilling my own needs"?
This has been a great uncertainty in my mind, and I go back and forth on it. Let's take a look at my example:
I have been single for as long as I've been alive. Which isn't saying much at all, considering I've only been alive these 15 years. So I'm definitely not saying I've got it the worst, because I know I'm nowhere near it.
But nonetheless, I, being a male teenager, would like to have a girlfriend. So I've been wondering - is it fair to date someone just to give yourself mental peace of mind? I think I see this too much, people are only in relationships for themselves, not for the other person. This is probably a huge contributor to the incredibly high divorce rate today.
So I think it's not fair to others to only try to satisfy their needs in any relationship. Granted, it's high school, and most of these relationships mean nothing. But I don't know. I guess it's just something I think of a lot.
Dating is a tricky subject. I'm sure no one reading this had to hear that from me. But I've been wondering...
When is the line crossed from "I have feelings for that person" to "I'm fulfilling my own needs"?
This has been a great uncertainty in my mind, and I go back and forth on it. Let's take a look at my example:
I have been single for as long as I've been alive. Which isn't saying much at all, considering I've only been alive these 15 years. So I'm definitely not saying I've got it the worst, because I know I'm nowhere near it.
But nonetheless, I, being a male teenager, would like to have a girlfriend. So I've been wondering - is it fair to date someone just to give yourself mental peace of mind? I think I see this too much, people are only in relationships for themselves, not for the other person. This is probably a huge contributor to the incredibly high divorce rate today.
So I think it's not fair to others to only try to satisfy their needs in any relationship. Granted, it's high school, and most of these relationships mean nothing. But I don't know. I guess it's just something I think of a lot.
Monday, April 03, 2006
To quote Rob Bell:
Anyone that's a sophomore at Lakeside knows who Rob Bell is. For those of you who don't, he's this guy who does all these videos for use in teen studies and such. His stuff is kind of on the cutting edge..."hip" if you will, but it's really great work. I learn a lot from it every time, and my personal favorite was one where he told a story about the time he went to the mall with his son. His son wanted some little trinket from one of the kiosks in the middle of the mall, but father-of-the-year Rob knew that it would break soon after they bought it. The kid, of course, was crushed, until they went to a sporting goods store, and Rob bought his son a big kickball, which was the whole point of the trip in the first place. Obviously, the kid was a lot happier with the kickball, and got a lot more use out of it. I just thought I'd put what Rob wrote about this particular volume of the series.
"We always think we know what’s missing from our lives in order to really make us happy, don’t we? If only I had that car, or that job, or if only I could lose those 15 lbs, then I’d be happy. Really? How often do we want something only to find out that it wasn’t that great after all? Sometimes we ask God for things and if he doesn’t deliver right away, we start questioning whether God really understands or even cares. Do we really trust God? Do we trust that God is good and sees a bigger picture than we ever could? It’s easy to want what’s right in front of us, but maybe God knows what’s better for us, and sometimes we just can’t see it. "
"We always think we know what’s missing from our lives in order to really make us happy, don’t we? If only I had that car, or that job, or if only I could lose those 15 lbs, then I’d be happy. Really? How often do we want something only to find out that it wasn’t that great after all? Sometimes we ask God for things and if he doesn’t deliver right away, we start questioning whether God really understands or even cares. Do we really trust God? Do we trust that God is good and sees a bigger picture than we ever could? It’s easy to want what’s right in front of us, but maybe God knows what’s better for us, and sometimes we just can’t see it. "
Friday, March 31, 2006
I'm the type of person who finds humor in irony
Have you ever seen some guy wearing this shirt? I always thought this was one of the more ridiculous things someone could wear. What are the odds that some girl would have worn that shirt? And if the girl was cheating with the current wearer, how likely is it that the guy would start wearing that girl's clothes? I don't know, maybe I'm just a literalist. But I was thinking, the perfect girlfriend for me would be one that would wear that shirt. To me, there's not much more satisfying than something pleasantly ironic. And the girl that would get as much of a kick out of that as I would is someone I'd like to know.
Just thought I'd put that out there. I guess if I broadcast my thoughts all the time, I'd post a lot more often. After all, what else is a blog for than to get out the stupid thoughts one has during the day?
Just thought I'd put that out there. I guess if I broadcast my thoughts all the time, I'd post a lot more often. After all, what else is a blog for than to get out the stupid thoughts one has during the day?
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Is her name really Ace? That is so cool!
I spent the better part of today with Becca and also Evan, at Becca's sister's basketball tournament at Lakeside. It was pretty neat, I enjoy hanging out with her of course, and it was really crazy to immerse myself with the culture of grade school basketball, something I was never really a part of.
But nothing hit me like one game we all watched. There were two seventh grade teams, Madison East and Mukwonago. East was a considerably better team, and they jumped out to a 20 point lead in the first half. But their coach was a complete jerk really. Here's what happened. with 18 minutes left in the game, they just started standing there. I guess there's no shot clock in grade school basketball, so they chose to stall. And the other team was so pissed that they even considered stalling like that, that they played a zone and let them. I was kind of getting angry, it was not a pretty sight. This pompous looking group of seventh grade girls were standing there holding on to the ball, watching the other team try to not let it get to them. It was so horrible. And the coach of Madison East wouldn't even let them play. He threatened to take them out if they did anything, tried to take a shot or something. So then the whole half went on like this. 18 minutes of this staredown. With seventh grade girls for crying out loud. Makes you wonder what's happening to society.
Well I said I'd blog about it, so I did. I guess I don't know what else to say. I had a good time. We'll have to plan another get-together...through myspace. Haha. I guess the most useless site on the internet served its purpose.
Oh yeah, and it's kind of a nifty way to get your band out there too. I'm really enjoying that part of it too, even if it has made me a shameless promoter of my work.
I guess that about wraps it up for this post. I was pretty distracted throughout the whole thing, so forgive me if it's a little (a lot) confusing. Okay. it's over.....now.
But nothing hit me like one game we all watched. There were two seventh grade teams, Madison East and Mukwonago. East was a considerably better team, and they jumped out to a 20 point lead in the first half. But their coach was a complete jerk really. Here's what happened. with 18 minutes left in the game, they just started standing there. I guess there's no shot clock in grade school basketball, so they chose to stall. And the other team was so pissed that they even considered stalling like that, that they played a zone and let them. I was kind of getting angry, it was not a pretty sight. This pompous looking group of seventh grade girls were standing there holding on to the ball, watching the other team try to not let it get to them. It was so horrible. And the coach of Madison East wouldn't even let them play. He threatened to take them out if they did anything, tried to take a shot or something. So then the whole half went on like this. 18 minutes of this staredown. With seventh grade girls for crying out loud. Makes you wonder what's happening to society.
Well I said I'd blog about it, so I did. I guess I don't know what else to say. I had a good time. We'll have to plan another get-together...through myspace. Haha. I guess the most useless site on the internet served its purpose.
Oh yeah, and it's kind of a nifty way to get your band out there too. I'm really enjoying that part of it too, even if it has made me a shameless promoter of my work.
I guess that about wraps it up for this post. I was pretty distracted throughout the whole thing, so forgive me if it's a little (a lot) confusing. Okay. it's over.....now.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Word in '98, yo!
I was listening to Catch 22 today for the first time in a while, and it brought back a lot of memories of the summer, when I was really into Catch 22 and Streetlight.
And wouldn't you know? They were some really good memories. I don't actually know if the past summer was very enjoyable or not, but looking back, it seems like it was. I have all these fond memories of Sheepshead in homeroom, thinking about my chances, going to St. Louis, Fourth of July, that stupid band Lube, that cool band Hence Reverie (nice guys, really), sitting on a bus for hours on end, and listening to ska.
Ska is happy music. Even when it's not...happy. It evokes this great feeling from me, because it was the soundtrack for all these cool things that happened in my life. Maybe it even made things better. But whenever I remember something from this summer or the end of the last school year, it's warm, happy, and there's Catch 22 in the background of it. It all goes together I guess.
So thanks, Keasbey Nights - you got me through the good times.
And wouldn't you know? They were some really good memories. I don't actually know if the past summer was very enjoyable or not, but looking back, it seems like it was. I have all these fond memories of Sheepshead in homeroom, thinking about my chances, going to St. Louis, Fourth of July, that stupid band Lube, that cool band Hence Reverie (nice guys, really), sitting on a bus for hours on end, and listening to ska.
Ska is happy music. Even when it's not...happy. It evokes this great feeling from me, because it was the soundtrack for all these cool things that happened in my life. Maybe it even made things better. But whenever I remember something from this summer or the end of the last school year, it's warm, happy, and there's Catch 22 in the background of it. It all goes together I guess.
So thanks, Keasbey Nights - you got me through the good times.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
"Fine, I'll be your umbrella"
Last night's post was weird. Only a few people would probably even get it. Oh well. I liked it.
Today was kind of cool. It rained. I like the rain, it means it's at least fairly warm...and oh, I don't even know what I like about the rain, but I just love being outside while it's raining. Alone, or with someone really neat. I don't know, I just like the rain. Next time it's raining, come on outside with me. We'll hang out. Really.
Wow. That was sort of (really) incoherent. This is the kind of post you make right after you finish reading for a really long time.
Plus I felt like I had to make a post for those who hadn't read "Catcher in the Rye", considering it's no fun to read new posts if they don't make any sense.
Not that this one makes a whole lot of sense. But I guess it's fairly self-explanatory. You know.
Today was kind of cool. It rained. I like the rain, it means it's at least fairly warm...and oh, I don't even know what I like about the rain, but I just love being outside while it's raining. Alone, or with someone really neat. I don't know, I just like the rain. Next time it's raining, come on outside with me. We'll hang out. Really.
Wow. That was sort of (really) incoherent. This is the kind of post you make right after you finish reading for a really long time.
Plus I felt like I had to make a post for those who hadn't read "Catcher in the Rye", considering it's no fun to read new posts if they don't make any sense.
Not that this one makes a whole lot of sense. But I guess it's fairly self-explanatory. You know.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
I read this book, about baseball or bread or something. I can never remember that sort of thing, if you want to know the truth.
If you really want to hear about it, I guess I'll just tell you. I'm not just gonna shoot the bull here, for chrissakes. It's kind of a crumby story, I think. She was kind of a funny old girl. I wouldn't exactly describe her as strictly beautiful. She knocked me out though. I just liked the way she looked, that's all. She had this thing, she'd look at you and smile. It was almost corny. But not quite too corny. It really killed me. It was like I was sure I'd go around with her. You'd like her, you really would.
That's the thing about girls, sometimes they're just so phony. Real queens, you know. Almost makes you feel sorry.
That's another thing about girls, you know. Sometimes they make you feel real sexy. But then it's so phony, you can't stand it.
Then some mac will come along and just get her for chrissakes. A real prince. Helluva thing to do, really. Kind of makes you sore.
You see these guys and their girls and they're just a bunch of phonies. You know, they're good guys, but you give them a girl and it's all about trying to give them the time. Really. It kills me.
You probably thought I think it's a big deal. Of course. It drives me crazy, though.
I'd like to do something about it, but I'm just a yellow guy. I try not to let people know, but you know what I'd do? I'd probably go up to the guy and say "what do you think you're doing?" He'd probably say, calmly "Nothing wrong." And then I'd just stand there for about 100 hours until I just left. That's how it'd go, it really would. It's kinda weird.
I'd tend to think of these things I'd do if I had a girl. It'd never work out in real life, really wouldn't. It'd be stuff like in the movies. Stupid stuff, the movies. I really can't stand 'em. If there's one thing I hate, it's the movies. Don't even mention them to me. They're too phony. Really are.
It's a racket, this life stuff. Really. Sometimes I wanna just jump out the window too. I really would if there was someone there to cover me up. I wouldn't want a bunch of stupid rubbernecks to look at me while I was all gory. Of course I really wouldn't do that, I'm too much of a yellow guy.
Well I'd love to say good-by to you, I really would. But I hate good-bys. They're just so phony.
(Disclaimer: If you've never read anything by J.D. Salinger, kindly disregard the content of this post.)
That's the thing about girls, sometimes they're just so phony. Real queens, you know. Almost makes you feel sorry.
That's another thing about girls, you know. Sometimes they make you feel real sexy. But then it's so phony, you can't stand it.
Then some mac will come along and just get her for chrissakes. A real prince. Helluva thing to do, really. Kind of makes you sore.
You see these guys and their girls and they're just a bunch of phonies. You know, they're good guys, but you give them a girl and it's all about trying to give them the time. Really. It kills me.
You probably thought I think it's a big deal. Of course. It drives me crazy, though.
I'd like to do something about it, but I'm just a yellow guy. I try not to let people know, but you know what I'd do? I'd probably go up to the guy and say "what do you think you're doing?" He'd probably say, calmly "Nothing wrong." And then I'd just stand there for about 100 hours until I just left. That's how it'd go, it really would. It's kinda weird.
I'd tend to think of these things I'd do if I had a girl. It'd never work out in real life, really wouldn't. It'd be stuff like in the movies. Stupid stuff, the movies. I really can't stand 'em. If there's one thing I hate, it's the movies. Don't even mention them to me. They're too phony. Really are.
It's a racket, this life stuff. Really. Sometimes I wanna just jump out the window too. I really would if there was someone there to cover me up. I wouldn't want a bunch of stupid rubbernecks to look at me while I was all gory. Of course I really wouldn't do that, I'm too much of a yellow guy.
Well I'd love to say good-by to you, I really would. But I hate good-bys. They're just so phony.
(Disclaimer: If you've never read anything by J.D. Salinger, kindly disregard the content of this post.)
Friday, February 17, 2006
And one day, you'll wake up next to a girl saying "Did you sleep well?" So goes the magical girlfriend.
From a conversation with Tom Mackey. We somehow ended up at a bowling alley in Fort, neither of us planning to meet up there. And we got on the topic of this magical girlfriend just showing up next to you one morning. Not even sure how. Tom's a good guy.
Today was kind of interesting. It started pretty late, considering I got to sleep in until about ten. Which was nice. Evan and I shoveled for a while, which is never fun, but it didn't take too long. We soon headed to Madison to help Lucas set up his drum set, and Phil was there too. That was kind of wild. I was standing there, with Phil playing guitar, and Lucas and Evan setting up the drums, doing nothing. I think I was pretty useless. Oh well. We went to the mall so they could eat lunch, and then hit up a music store.
Evan was wanting to try some cymbals to see which ones he would buy. Because he needs new cymbals I guess. So while he was talking to the drum guy, Phil and I kind of walked around and looked at guitars.
It's sort of strange being a bassist in a music store, because I can't tell the difference in sound from one to another. Although, I was thinking about getting an electric guitar and just spending a lot of time getting really good at it, but I don't have enough cash laying around to do so. I guess it's still fun to look around at the music store. I kind of wanted to try playing a Les Paul, and they did have quite a few of them, but I kept getting sidetracked. Oh well.
After Evan tried out cymbals, we dropped Lucas and Phil off at Lucas's and headed out to Jefferson to go to the "Baritone Party". When we got there, they were watching a movie, so Evan and I sort of grabbed some soda and caught the end of it. When the movie was over, we sat in the living room and talked.
It was kind of like Evan and I were the flint and steel, and everyone else was the wood. Evan and I started talking about something, and everyone would be laughing, but when we stopped talking, it was silence. I didn't want to be rude, but it started out as a "conversation with an audience". Luckily, the ice broke as the night went on, and everyone started to enjoy eachother's company. At least I think everyone did. I enjoyed it at least.
We went to Shopko, and bowling, but not in that order. Bowling was cool, and I did a lot better than usual. Scott and I went back and forth the whole game, and I was down 17 pins with one frame left for me to go, and Scott done. I hit 7 pins on my first roll, and I needed to pick up the spare to have a shot. I got the last 3 pins, and I needed another 7 to tie. I dropped 9 pins on my last roll, almost picking up a strike, and I won by 2. It was pretty exciting.
Our party of 6 went to Shopko, and almost stole a fake cardboard TV used to display furniture. We decided it would be too big though. It would have been really funny.
We went back, watched the Olympics, made fun of Bob Costas, and went home. It was super cold. Truly. Supposedly the wind chill was like -24. It pretty much felt like it.
"When you got down at the bottom of the hill, what were you thinking? OH MY GOSH!!"
Today was kind of interesting. It started pretty late, considering I got to sleep in until about ten. Which was nice. Evan and I shoveled for a while, which is never fun, but it didn't take too long. We soon headed to Madison to help Lucas set up his drum set, and Phil was there too. That was kind of wild. I was standing there, with Phil playing guitar, and Lucas and Evan setting up the drums, doing nothing. I think I was pretty useless. Oh well. We went to the mall so they could eat lunch, and then hit up a music store.
Evan was wanting to try some cymbals to see which ones he would buy. Because he needs new cymbals I guess. So while he was talking to the drum guy, Phil and I kind of walked around and looked at guitars.
It's sort of strange being a bassist in a music store, because I can't tell the difference in sound from one to another. Although, I was thinking about getting an electric guitar and just spending a lot of time getting really good at it, but I don't have enough cash laying around to do so. I guess it's still fun to look around at the music store. I kind of wanted to try playing a Les Paul, and they did have quite a few of them, but I kept getting sidetracked. Oh well.
After Evan tried out cymbals, we dropped Lucas and Phil off at Lucas's and headed out to Jefferson to go to the "Baritone Party". When we got there, they were watching a movie, so Evan and I sort of grabbed some soda and caught the end of it. When the movie was over, we sat in the living room and talked.
It was kind of like Evan and I were the flint and steel, and everyone else was the wood. Evan and I started talking about something, and everyone would be laughing, but when we stopped talking, it was silence. I didn't want to be rude, but it started out as a "conversation with an audience". Luckily, the ice broke as the night went on, and everyone started to enjoy eachother's company. At least I think everyone did. I enjoyed it at least.
We went to Shopko, and bowling, but not in that order. Bowling was cool, and I did a lot better than usual. Scott and I went back and forth the whole game, and I was down 17 pins with one frame left for me to go, and Scott done. I hit 7 pins on my first roll, and I needed to pick up the spare to have a shot. I got the last 3 pins, and I needed another 7 to tie. I dropped 9 pins on my last roll, almost picking up a strike, and I won by 2. It was pretty exciting.
Our party of 6 went to Shopko, and almost stole a fake cardboard TV used to display furniture. We decided it would be too big though. It would have been really funny.
We went back, watched the Olympics, made fun of Bob Costas, and went home. It was super cold. Truly. Supposedly the wind chill was like -24. It pretty much felt like it.
"When you got down at the bottom of the hill, what were you thinking? OH MY GOSH!!"
Monday, January 23, 2006
Jesus is our Anchorage of Hope
That was the t-shirt slogan for Crown of Glory - Anchorage, Alaska, my group's hypothetical chruch in religion class. We had to come up with witnessing opportunities and fund-raisers, and somehow most of our plans revolved around Elliott Kasprzak. Haha - I love Pastor Clark.
Over a month has gone by since my last post, including Christmas and New Year's, and I still can't think of much to write about. It's kind of like I've lost all my memory capabilities. Certain things stay on my mind for far longer than they should, but then I'll try to remember something that happened mere days ago, and I can't. If someone asked me for any one thing from this past Friday, I seriously am not sure I could think of one.
Although I do remember a little about Thursday. Hard to forget something like this. A little background - Our undefeated, 3rd-ranked boys basketball team had a home game against the single-loss, conference undefeated Marshall Cardinals, ranked 4th in D3. School pride was running high, and our plan was for a "white-out" in which all the Lakeside fans wore white to, I don't know, intimidate the other team or something.
(As it turned out, the white-out wasn't so well planned, because everyone was wearing jeans, so it looked like a mass of white and different shades of blue. I laughed at them)
I had pep-band before this game (and during half-time), and it was pretty exciting. The energy was high, and I would be playing "Dance, Dance" before my largest crowd yet. I even brought out a chair to jump around on. I came out in style with my $2.00 thrift-shop outdated Patriots Drew Bledsoe jersey, and we started playing. Eventually, we hit the National Anthem, and directly after, they started naming the Marshall players. The band thought it to be perfectly convenient to put away their stands and instruments. To do this, they had to cut inches away from me, considering I was set up so close to Evan on the drums. I figured it to be fine at first, but the Marshall player intros were winding down, and I had to play for ours, directly following. I was planning a cool jump off the chair to coincide perfectly with the music, but lo, the band members kept squeezing past me, and I had not room to execute the jump. Even after we started playing, people were bumping into me, and I messed up a lot. On such an easy song too.
I was really pissed. All these people inconsiderately knocking into me, while I was playing so loud and alone that everyone in the gym could hear easily when I messed up.
I cooled off a bit thanks to Evan and the good sir Jordan Hanke, and we headed back out for halftime pep band. That was pretty uneventful, so afterwards I took my bass and case and left the gym.
Now, because this was such a major event, the locker area was locked off, and I had, consequently, nowhere to put my bass. I entered the atrium (the snack bar/cafeteria area outside the gym, for those of you that don't attend Lakeside). I was a bit frustrated by the fact that I had nowhere to put my stuff, so I kind of dropped it on the floor by all the coats, and went to sit down with some of my friends. Right as I was dropping my stuff, some janitor came by, saw what I was doing, and essentially said "get out" and gave me the old "thumb pointing behind the head" gesture.
I could not believe it. I was putting my stuff where there were coats everywhere, and this guy just decides to toss me out of the game because of it. I suppose I can understand the high security because the tension of the rivarly was so high, but this was a pretty harmless deed.
But what could I do? I know I could have easily argued with the guy, but I just kind of said "alright", picked up my stuff, and left without incident.
I was fuming mad. Most of you have probably never seen me so mad. I've probably never seen me so mad. But rather than going off on someone who didn't deserve the brunt of my frustration (which unfortunately, I've done too often), I just got Evan and he took us home.
Of course, I didn't leave without placing my anger on the team. I put a curse on Lakeside, that we wouldn't win the World Series in the next 100 years (haha). And I guess it worked, because not only did we not win the World Series, we lost the game too.
On a serious note though, I'm not sure if I'm going to be coming back to pep band again, at least for a while. It was just too frustrating, and I don't need a catalyst for anger.
And to conclude the story, I did what I usually do to cool myself down - I played mindless video games and listened to music (in this incidence, it was college football - a practice as Kansas State against Morgan State, and Something Corporate's "Leaving Through the Window") and I have to say it worked pretty well.
Which takes us here. Meaning that I don't know how to end it. Oh, I think I should say something about all the Camp things I've been doing. The New Year's thing was pretty fun (even if I felt sick for pretty much the entire weekend...wow, so much dew), and so, of course, was the youth service at St. Mark's (Can't wait for the next one), and the staff party, which was really fun. Truly. I wish we could have more of them.
And here's a positive note to end on - Seattle's going to the Super Bowl. If you don't know why that makes me happy, I'm sure I could list them for you sometime. I like making lists.
...Sometimes.
Over a month has gone by since my last post, including Christmas and New Year's, and I still can't think of much to write about. It's kind of like I've lost all my memory capabilities. Certain things stay on my mind for far longer than they should, but then I'll try to remember something that happened mere days ago, and I can't. If someone asked me for any one thing from this past Friday, I seriously am not sure I could think of one.
Although I do remember a little about Thursday. Hard to forget something like this. A little background - Our undefeated, 3rd-ranked boys basketball team had a home game against the single-loss, conference undefeated Marshall Cardinals, ranked 4th in D3. School pride was running high, and our plan was for a "white-out" in which all the Lakeside fans wore white to, I don't know, intimidate the other team or something.
(As it turned out, the white-out wasn't so well planned, because everyone was wearing jeans, so it looked like a mass of white and different shades of blue. I laughed at them)
I had pep-band before this game (and during half-time), and it was pretty exciting. The energy was high, and I would be playing "Dance, Dance" before my largest crowd yet. I even brought out a chair to jump around on. I came out in style with my $2.00 thrift-shop outdated Patriots Drew Bledsoe jersey, and we started playing. Eventually, we hit the National Anthem, and directly after, they started naming the Marshall players. The band thought it to be perfectly convenient to put away their stands and instruments. To do this, they had to cut inches away from me, considering I was set up so close to Evan on the drums. I figured it to be fine at first, but the Marshall player intros were winding down, and I had to play for ours, directly following. I was planning a cool jump off the chair to coincide perfectly with the music, but lo, the band members kept squeezing past me, and I had not room to execute the jump. Even after we started playing, people were bumping into me, and I messed up a lot. On such an easy song too.
I was really pissed. All these people inconsiderately knocking into me, while I was playing so loud and alone that everyone in the gym could hear easily when I messed up.
I cooled off a bit thanks to Evan and the good sir Jordan Hanke, and we headed back out for halftime pep band. That was pretty uneventful, so afterwards I took my bass and case and left the gym.
Now, because this was such a major event, the locker area was locked off, and I had, consequently, nowhere to put my bass. I entered the atrium (the snack bar/cafeteria area outside the gym, for those of you that don't attend Lakeside). I was a bit frustrated by the fact that I had nowhere to put my stuff, so I kind of dropped it on the floor by all the coats, and went to sit down with some of my friends. Right as I was dropping my stuff, some janitor came by, saw what I was doing, and essentially said "get out" and gave me the old "thumb pointing behind the head" gesture.
I could not believe it. I was putting my stuff where there were coats everywhere, and this guy just decides to toss me out of the game because of it. I suppose I can understand the high security because the tension of the rivarly was so high, but this was a pretty harmless deed.
But what could I do? I know I could have easily argued with the guy, but I just kind of said "alright", picked up my stuff, and left without incident.
I was fuming mad. Most of you have probably never seen me so mad. I've probably never seen me so mad. But rather than going off on someone who didn't deserve the brunt of my frustration (which unfortunately, I've done too often), I just got Evan and he took us home.
Of course, I didn't leave without placing my anger on the team. I put a curse on Lakeside, that we wouldn't win the World Series in the next 100 years (haha). And I guess it worked, because not only did we not win the World Series, we lost the game too.
On a serious note though, I'm not sure if I'm going to be coming back to pep band again, at least for a while. It was just too frustrating, and I don't need a catalyst for anger.
And to conclude the story, I did what I usually do to cool myself down - I played mindless video games and listened to music (in this incidence, it was college football - a practice as Kansas State against Morgan State, and Something Corporate's "Leaving Through the Window") and I have to say it worked pretty well.
Which takes us here. Meaning that I don't know how to end it. Oh, I think I should say something about all the Camp things I've been doing. The New Year's thing was pretty fun (even if I felt sick for pretty much the entire weekend...wow, so much dew), and so, of course, was the youth service at St. Mark's (Can't wait for the next one), and the staff party, which was really fun. Truly. I wish we could have more of them.
And here's a positive note to end on - Seattle's going to the Super Bowl. If you don't know why that makes me happy, I'm sure I could list them for you sometime. I like making lists.
...Sometimes.
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