So, it's kind of late, I have to go to CBC early, and I still havent done the Bible assignment on Ephesians. Whatever, I'm pro at Bible assignments as long as they arent skits...
So, this week was, interesting. Tuesday, pretty normal from what I remember. Ran a few miles that night that felt great, did some working out, and went to sleep.
Woke up at 3:30 that night, so sick. It was not pretty. I was in and out of sleep and a stomach ache the whole day Wednesday after a long night of throwing up. Not cool, at all. Luckily it only lasted 24 hours, but by then we had called off thanksgiving on thursday, so we made the thanksgiving meal that they had on Biggest Loser the night earlier. It was pretty tasty, and yes, I do watch the Biggest Loser. Dont hate on me, a DQ Blizzard and the Biggest Loser are a Tuesday made in heaven. Except this was a special on Wednesday...but oh well.
However, this sickness knocked out my metabolism, I didnt feel like eating even when I felt good on Wednesday. I lost five pounds on Tuesday and Wednesday, Ridiculous. Now, this wouldnt be a big deal but it reminded me of what its like after ACL surgery. Which is on Wednesday. Which got me all mad because I have to lie around for a week, will have less than the appetite that I desire for a few months, because I wont be as active til I can run again, although Ill still lift weights after a week and bike after 3 weeks. So, I will lose a lot of muscle, wont be able to eat as much during Christmas time, and I do very much enjoy my sweets, and generally wont feel as good because of my lack of exercise. I dont like any of this.
Notice I did not say gain fat. I might gain a tiny bit in the one week im just laying around, but I am thoroughly convinced I will never be fat. I do have a nice sweet tooth, so Travis tells me all the time I willl get fat, but the truth is when it's not good for me to eat, I dont eat. If I'm working out a lot, getting plenty of exercise, I will overeat occasionally because I know i will burn it off. When I'm not working out I just stop eating that much. I noticed this last time I tore my ACL, I would get full faster and really not have the room to overeat. It was really weird, I was just fine and then boom I'd get full. And any time I dont work out I am not very happy so I couldnt stand putting on fat. Ever. So, I realize that paragraph probably bored some of you to death, but I wanted to type it. So there, its my blog so Ill do what I want.
So Im working really hard to be joyful even when I dont feel like it, because I kind of feel screwed over right now. I'm really uncertain about the surgery, its gonna suck, and I dont know how it will turn out in a year. A lot of times the second ACL repair isnt great for going back into sports, but I really want to play sports. There isnt much research on how well people return to sport after a 2nd ACL tear. Obviously, people are doing it(Michael Redd and Robbie Hummel to name a few), but there is no real documentation about it.This makes me incredibly nervous and kind of sad about my future, but I know that's not what God wants. I know He has a plan for me but its hard to see it right now. I believe He will use me some awesome way because of what I've been through, but what if He doesnt? What if I get to being old, look back, and say, "yeah those two ACL tears in high school never really led to anything, they just sucked." See, there I go again worrying about what's going to happen in the future, but I know that's not in my control and I just have to trust God. I'll find out what was up when I get to heaven or maybe sooner. It's going to be interesting but I know all in all my life will be okay.
Because everything other than athletics seems to be alright for me. CBC finishes up next week, I only have a few class periods left and then some finals that I think will be easy. I am done with college applications, and spent a few hours today doing 4 more, to bring my total to 8. I dont like applications, especially when I dont have a desire to go to the school. Im quite sure I will be at Pacific or George Fox next year, but supposedly you can use other colleges scholarship offers as bargaining chips to bring down college cost. Like say Whitworth gives me an awesome scholarship, but I really dont want to go there, I can use it to say to George Fox hey I want to go to you guys but look what Whitworth is giving me? You wanna, you know, give me a little bit more off? eh?
So hopefully that works out like that because I dont want to go to Carrol, Whitworth, Linfield, and I dont know much about Corban but I dont have much desire to go there at all.
I am cool with Seattle Pacific, and quite okay with Westmont, since it is great academically and located in Santa Barbara. Yeah, I would not miss the snow at all. But its expensive and I didnt apply in time for early action, so I might not know anything more until like February to April.
Quick recap, I did have Thanksgiving Friday instead, it was delicious, but I didnt really eat a whole ton. Saturday I went to Travis house and had a pretty good time with more people than I want to type right now. Todays sermon was pretty much about what I already said I was worrying about. Trusting in God through storms. It also used Matthew 11:28-30, which if you dont know is the verse used for the song Come All Ye Weary by Thrice. I realize this is not the first time I have mentioned this song, but really, its so good and I like thrice a lot. Their music is so sick and they are basically what I would be like if I toured around the country. Totally chill, not party-ers, they just enjoy playing music for people. It's awesome. And if you have read victors most recent blog the song The Weight by Thrice has a lot of the same ideas, and its a cool sounding song too.
Alright, good night. Keep me and my crippled knee in your prayers please
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
ITS SNOWING!!!! m'kay...
Seriously, please stop posting about the snow, people. Why is it good when it snows??? I understand public school kids being excited, because its a 2 hour delay or whatever, but Liberty kids, we already have the week off...so basically the snow just makes the road slick for driving. And I have CBC anyway, so I have to go. Unless I decide to skip. And no, I'm not one of those people who takes their car out and does donuts, it's not really my deal. Basically, it's just freakin cold, and wet, and somewhat annoying to drive in, very annoying when you are stuck behind white knuckle drivers. So call me negative, but I dont get really excited when it snows.
Now, I am quite excited to have the week off. I could use the sleep, some extra time at the club, and hopefully some more time to hang out with friends.
I dont think people realize how committed I get to stuff. Not in a bad way though. For example, I attend two youth groups, intersect and new vintage youth church. I have had people from both groups happy to have me there, but also like "I'm kind of surprised you keep coming." I think this is because people see me just standing places, sort of dejected looking I guess, and think that is how my life sort of goes. Fact is, I am not good at small talk. Surprise. I feel so lame just going up to people without anything really to say. This is also why I dont text people a lot. Once I get talking its fine, it's not like I'm a totally boring person(I dont think), but starting conversations just seems weird. I usually end up making a couple of general statements back and forth and then it just gets awkwardly silent, like I'm supposed to say something but I really dont have a clue what to say that would be interesting to talk about. That's probably another problem, not wanting to make simple small talk. I like knowing people, I dont really like acquaintances.
anyway i got off track. When I go to something more than like twice, or if I sign up for something on my own, without being practically forced into it, I will probably keep coming. Projects are the same way. I'm either like, "this is stupid" or "this is pretty cool." This ties back to doing things 100% i think, I'm either in or I'm not. So that's enough learning about me today.
Yesterday I went to the Blazers Jazz game. I am not so pleased that the Jazz won, but it was the Blazers fault. They didnt guard CJ Miles, who was on fire. Seriously, get a hand in the shooters face please. But nicolas batum had one of the sickest reverse layups Ive seen, so that was nice.
Tonight Intersect had an all worship night, and I got to play guitar so that was a nice experience. However, my guitar tone sounded horrible, since I ran through the floor pod and my amp. Normally I just use the floor pod as a whammy and occasionally other effects, and just leave the tone for the amp, but that was not the case tonight. Oh well, it turned out alright anyway, even if we didnt play Come All Ye Weary, which I just want to do sometime for someone. Eh, it'll happen.
Showbread came out with a new album. Its free at comeandlive.com. It sounds so much different though and I'm not so sure I like it, but it might grow on me. I do love the song "Myth of a Christian Nation." And I like that they are staying purely Chistian even though they arent on tooth and nail records anymore. I hope the free tour they are putting on comes around here, and is after bball season.
I want to work out, I want to write music, and I want to read a lot of books even though I dont really enjoy reading because I like learning new stuff, especially stuff that helps me grow spiritually. Although I do also want to get through Stuff All Good Players Should Know too. I should be able to do some of all that stuff this week, which is good.
Then on December 1st I have ACL surgery. Please keep me in your prayers, pray for safe recovery and that the graft is good and holds up this time. The second repair generally has a lower success rate than the first one, but I am getting a new type of graft so hopefully it will do better. I would appreciate any prayer I can get. Thanks.
Now, I am quite excited to have the week off. I could use the sleep, some extra time at the club, and hopefully some more time to hang out with friends.
I dont think people realize how committed I get to stuff. Not in a bad way though. For example, I attend two youth groups, intersect and new vintage youth church. I have had people from both groups happy to have me there, but also like "I'm kind of surprised you keep coming." I think this is because people see me just standing places, sort of dejected looking I guess, and think that is how my life sort of goes. Fact is, I am not good at small talk. Surprise. I feel so lame just going up to people without anything really to say. This is also why I dont text people a lot. Once I get talking its fine, it's not like I'm a totally boring person(I dont think), but starting conversations just seems weird. I usually end up making a couple of general statements back and forth and then it just gets awkwardly silent, like I'm supposed to say something but I really dont have a clue what to say that would be interesting to talk about. That's probably another problem, not wanting to make simple small talk. I like knowing people, I dont really like acquaintances.
anyway i got off track. When I go to something more than like twice, or if I sign up for something on my own, without being practically forced into it, I will probably keep coming. Projects are the same way. I'm either like, "this is stupid" or "this is pretty cool." This ties back to doing things 100% i think, I'm either in or I'm not. So that's enough learning about me today.
Yesterday I went to the Blazers Jazz game. I am not so pleased that the Jazz won, but it was the Blazers fault. They didnt guard CJ Miles, who was on fire. Seriously, get a hand in the shooters face please. But nicolas batum had one of the sickest reverse layups Ive seen, so that was nice.
Tonight Intersect had an all worship night, and I got to play guitar so that was a nice experience. However, my guitar tone sounded horrible, since I ran through the floor pod and my amp. Normally I just use the floor pod as a whammy and occasionally other effects, and just leave the tone for the amp, but that was not the case tonight. Oh well, it turned out alright anyway, even if we didnt play Come All Ye Weary, which I just want to do sometime for someone. Eh, it'll happen.
Showbread came out with a new album. Its free at comeandlive.com. It sounds so much different though and I'm not so sure I like it, but it might grow on me. I do love the song "Myth of a Christian Nation." And I like that they are staying purely Chistian even though they arent on tooth and nail records anymore. I hope the free tour they are putting on comes around here, and is after bball season.
I want to work out, I want to write music, and I want to read a lot of books even though I dont really enjoy reading because I like learning new stuff, especially stuff that helps me grow spiritually. Although I do also want to get through Stuff All Good Players Should Know too. I should be able to do some of all that stuff this week, which is good.
Then on December 1st I have ACL surgery. Please keep me in your prayers, pray for safe recovery and that the graft is good and holds up this time. The second repair generally has a lower success rate than the first one, but I am getting a new type of graft so hopefully it will do better. I would appreciate any prayer I can get. Thanks.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
I Stay True
Basketball season has started!! except i'm not playing...Whatever I'm not going to sulk about it. I get the opportunity to help out with the team, I'm not sure what my official title is, basically I help out as an assistant. So when I see something wrong, I try to help out.
However, I'd like to personally improve at bball this season too, so during 5 and a halfs, I am doing ballhandling. Last time I tore my acl, i focused all on shooting. This time, while still doing shooting, I am adding in a ton of ballhandling. This has always been a struggle for me, since I really dont like taking the time to do these drills, so this is the perfect opportunity. So I am hopeful that it will work for my game.
So, we had a Physics lab at Washington Physical Therapy and the guy that led us around, Victor, was crazy. He was so freaking buff he could bench 135, with one hand, do two finger pullups, and maxed out at 465 on bench. Animal. So he recommended to do these negative lifts, where you just let a large amount of weight down slowly, and let me tell you, it burns like crazy. I hope doing this will help me put on a good amount of muscle, if you have any other sweet workout tips, tell me.
Once again, I am unhappy about being in class with old people for English. We get an extra credit debate on Tuesday, you get credit if you make a good point in the discussion. We could pick ANYTHING to debate about, and what gets chosen? Legalizing pot, Death with dignity, Drug testing for wellfare, and the death penalty. Why do you want to talk about this!!!!???? Why cant we talk about something that isnt so controversial and serious!!!??? Lebron vs kobe, pc vs mac, pepsi vs coke, cats vs dogs, who is worse nickelback or the jonas brothers. Come on! I dont want to talk about these things, I think most people in my class are more liberal than me, and have studied more about this stuff than me because they obviously want to talk about it. I dont understand, maybe it has something to do with the demographic of night classes, because I'm quite sure these arent the four topics the morning classes chose. Although pot is probably one of the topics, for various reasons.
If you didnt know, there was a concert on Tuesday featuring Silverline, Red, Disciple, and most importantly Brian "head" Welch, even though Red was headlining. Say what you will about Korn, but they know how to put on a show, and it showed when Head performed. 1. They looked creepy, which is a good thing when you are a metal band. 2. The bassist was ridiculously good. 3. Brian welch has a crazy good scream even though he was sick and didnt get to perform many songs. 4. Brian also has amazing stage presence, obviously from his years of performing for thousands with Korn. I feel like if more people were at the concert and he was healthy, Head would be even better. I didnt get to see Silverline, but Disciple and Red were both good, and good at performing, but nothing compared to Brian Welch. Emery probably has the most polished performance I have seen still, but this was impressive. I'm very pleased that I went, also because I got his CD Save Me From Myself, which I can never find in store even though it is sweet. It's basically Korn with a Christian message, and Brian isnt as broad with his voices as Jonathan Davis is, but he does a pretty darn good job.
Also, I pretty much just go to concerts for talented bands, so it has two affects on me. It's intimidating, because I know I'm not as good as they are, and I'm not sure if I ever will be. But on the flip side, its inspirational to see people doing what they have a passion for and it makes me want to play more and get better.
So throughout the years Ive seen various arguments about why certain religions are wrong, and I usually walk away thinking how people can believe that stuff. So I was like, "Look, if there are these things about other religions, I know there are ones about Christianity." I've spent some time looking at why other religions cant be right, because I want to know what I am talking about when confronted with them, so why not see what people say about Christianity?
So I looked it up on google and found some guys reason why Christianity couldnt be true. Surprise, I could counter almost everything he said. The one thing I didnt have an answer to at first read was the differing genealogies of Jesus, but there are explanations for it, the best being that one is marys line and the other josephs. This just took a bit of research, and I think it is good to sort through supposed holes in Christianity, or any religion in that case, to make sure what you believe really is the truth. So most of this guys problems were either taken out of doctrinal teaching, like denying the trinity, or misinformed, saying that Jesus only appeared to a handful of people after his resurrection(when I dont remember the passage, but it says he appeared to like 500 somewhere). He also claimed Jesus was schizophrenic, who just got other crazy people to follow him. Yeah, real creative explanation, obviously understanding of how teachers back in that day worked, picking disciples to follow them. He claimed that no Christian had been able to deny him yet, and I believe it, because some people are impossible to argue with. It is impossible to argue when your answer to almost everything is "that guy is crazy" or "that is exaggerated and/or misinterpreted." That has to be some kind of logical fallacy, I just dont know what to call it. I can say I went on a college trip last week, and say my eyewitnesses(say Mike Groth or that guy Allen at Pacific) wrote about what I did. Say I and my medical records disappear, someone could say, "oh he didnt actually have a torn ACL, that was just an exaggeration, or you misinterpreted what he said." See, it's the same thing. There is no way to win at that game. It's ridiculous.
In summation, no, my faith was not shaken by searching arguments about Christianity, and I cant help but be happy about that. God is good, and He wants us to know why we believe in Him, not just base our faith in some feeling, because feelings are fleeting, but God stays the same forever.
And one last, unspiritual note. The lead singer from disciple could sound like zach de la rocha if he wanted to, so I dont understand why he doesnt try that voice out more.
However, I'd like to personally improve at bball this season too, so during 5 and a halfs, I am doing ballhandling. Last time I tore my acl, i focused all on shooting. This time, while still doing shooting, I am adding in a ton of ballhandling. This has always been a struggle for me, since I really dont like taking the time to do these drills, so this is the perfect opportunity. So I am hopeful that it will work for my game.
So, we had a Physics lab at Washington Physical Therapy and the guy that led us around, Victor, was crazy. He was so freaking buff he could bench 135, with one hand, do two finger pullups, and maxed out at 465 on bench. Animal. So he recommended to do these negative lifts, where you just let a large amount of weight down slowly, and let me tell you, it burns like crazy. I hope doing this will help me put on a good amount of muscle, if you have any other sweet workout tips, tell me.
Once again, I am unhappy about being in class with old people for English. We get an extra credit debate on Tuesday, you get credit if you make a good point in the discussion. We could pick ANYTHING to debate about, and what gets chosen? Legalizing pot, Death with dignity, Drug testing for wellfare, and the death penalty. Why do you want to talk about this!!!!???? Why cant we talk about something that isnt so controversial and serious!!!??? Lebron vs kobe, pc vs mac, pepsi vs coke, cats vs dogs, who is worse nickelback or the jonas brothers. Come on! I dont want to talk about these things, I think most people in my class are more liberal than me, and have studied more about this stuff than me because they obviously want to talk about it. I dont understand, maybe it has something to do with the demographic of night classes, because I'm quite sure these arent the four topics the morning classes chose. Although pot is probably one of the topics, for various reasons.
If you didnt know, there was a concert on Tuesday featuring Silverline, Red, Disciple, and most importantly Brian "head" Welch, even though Red was headlining. Say what you will about Korn, but they know how to put on a show, and it showed when Head performed. 1. They looked creepy, which is a good thing when you are a metal band. 2. The bassist was ridiculously good. 3. Brian welch has a crazy good scream even though he was sick and didnt get to perform many songs. 4. Brian also has amazing stage presence, obviously from his years of performing for thousands with Korn. I feel like if more people were at the concert and he was healthy, Head would be even better. I didnt get to see Silverline, but Disciple and Red were both good, and good at performing, but nothing compared to Brian Welch. Emery probably has the most polished performance I have seen still, but this was impressive. I'm very pleased that I went, also because I got his CD Save Me From Myself, which I can never find in store even though it is sweet. It's basically Korn with a Christian message, and Brian isnt as broad with his voices as Jonathan Davis is, but he does a pretty darn good job.
Also, I pretty much just go to concerts for talented bands, so it has two affects on me. It's intimidating, because I know I'm not as good as they are, and I'm not sure if I ever will be. But on the flip side, its inspirational to see people doing what they have a passion for and it makes me want to play more and get better.
So throughout the years Ive seen various arguments about why certain religions are wrong, and I usually walk away thinking how people can believe that stuff. So I was like, "Look, if there are these things about other religions, I know there are ones about Christianity." I've spent some time looking at why other religions cant be right, because I want to know what I am talking about when confronted with them, so why not see what people say about Christianity?
So I looked it up on google and found some guys reason why Christianity couldnt be true. Surprise, I could counter almost everything he said. The one thing I didnt have an answer to at first read was the differing genealogies of Jesus, but there are explanations for it, the best being that one is marys line and the other josephs. This just took a bit of research, and I think it is good to sort through supposed holes in Christianity, or any religion in that case, to make sure what you believe really is the truth. So most of this guys problems were either taken out of doctrinal teaching, like denying the trinity, or misinformed, saying that Jesus only appeared to a handful of people after his resurrection(when I dont remember the passage, but it says he appeared to like 500 somewhere). He also claimed Jesus was schizophrenic, who just got other crazy people to follow him. Yeah, real creative explanation, obviously understanding of how teachers back in that day worked, picking disciples to follow them. He claimed that no Christian had been able to deny him yet, and I believe it, because some people are impossible to argue with. It is impossible to argue when your answer to almost everything is "that guy is crazy" or "that is exaggerated and/or misinterpreted." That has to be some kind of logical fallacy, I just dont know what to call it. I can say I went on a college trip last week, and say my eyewitnesses(say Mike Groth or that guy Allen at Pacific) wrote about what I did. Say I and my medical records disappear, someone could say, "oh he didnt actually have a torn ACL, that was just an exaggeration, or you misinterpreted what he said." See, it's the same thing. There is no way to win at that game. It's ridiculous.
In summation, no, my faith was not shaken by searching arguments about Christianity, and I cant help but be happy about that. God is good, and He wants us to know why we believe in Him, not just base our faith in some feeling, because feelings are fleeting, but God stays the same forever.
And one last, unspiritual note. The lead singer from disciple could sound like zach de la rocha if he wanted to, so I dont understand why he doesnt try that voice out more.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
How my college choice got flipped, turned upside down
Where to start, thats the real question. I guess I'll start with today, Sunday, since I went to church a few times, as usual, and I cleaned the office, as usual. However, I did have lunch at Olive Garden with Katie Ellis and Victor Krause. Soup, salad, and breadsticks are pretty delicious(although it was weird when my mom made pasta fagoli for dinner too...). I hadnt talked to Katie much, besides little bits at New Vintage, since graduation last year. I hadnt hung out with Victor in like 4 days, which isnt a huge deal. So it was good to catch up.
I also filled out college applications today. I know, exciting. Actually it was because I sent in 4 applications, and I'm about 95% sure I'll go to one of the colleges that I sent apps to today. So that was cool even though it took up all the time that I wanted to work out. Eh I have a lot of English to do that I didnt get to, so maybe working out wouldnt have happened either way.
My 4 day weekend was very good. I visited Pacific first. I spent the night in a dorm there. My host Allen was pretty cool, so basically we just chilled, ate, worked out, and while he did homework I watched a movie. So basically days at Pacific are what I do every day. Which is pretty sweet. We talked a lot about bball too, so that was cool. They didnt seem to really care about their sports teams much, their football program started this year, and they were winless. Which is what I am used to. I went to some classes in the morning, part of a biology lab and part of a politics class. I liked the small class sizes a lot, and the campus was very peaceful. Leaving, I felt pretty happy, quite sure that Pacific would be my college next year.
I then went to George Fox. The Bruin Preview was this weekend so it was a big event, unlike my little visit at Pacific. There were about 200 visitors. I went on a campus tour, like yeah this campus is pretty similar to Pacifics, but a little bigger. And they seemed more serious right off the bat about sports than Pacific. On the tour, I got to watch their Mens bball team shoot. They were obviously good, serious athletes in a routine, but I was not impressed by their shots very much. I dont want to brag, but I think my shot is prettier. It would take a lot of work, but I think if I recovered from surgery, buffed up, worked on ballhandling, and got back into shooting several hundred shots a day(all of which I am already planning on doing anyway), I could play for them.(same goes for Pacific but I didnt get to see enough of them playing to make a firm judgement.) I just figured since George Fox is better than Pacific, I could make a D3 squad at the schools I was looking at.
Anyway, the preview started in the auditorium, with a drama performance... I was like, yeah right, screw this school. Then I found out who my host was. It was a small black guy named Marquise, who came across as a very afeminite dude, minoring in some fashion degree. Yeah, I know. I was less than pleased. Following behind Marquise was a big black man named Chris, who also lead me around as sort of a host the next day. Right off the bat they were pretty loud, and I figured this was going to be a long night.
I was wrong. I felt like I was in a black comedy, except it was way funnier to be involved in it. Chris and Marquise ended up being really good guys, despite Marquise having the dorm watch the latest episode of glee(I hate that show so much), they had a very interesting group of guys in their dorm that I wont go into unless asked about it(I dont want to type that much), and they were really good at singing. So I went to a coffee shop for about an hour while they had choir practice, Chris was the director, surprise again. I got to talk to Michael and see some of a concert, so that was pretty tight. Then I went to basically a youth group. The choir sang, and Ill tell you, I have not felt that bad at singing in a while. A big black director belting out the gospel music while I happened to have a tone deaf person near me at all times, its not great for self confidence haha. But really, it was some good worship and the message afterwards was good. I had a great night hanging out with a bunch of guys in the dorm, but I wont totally go into it, this blog is already long and I have more to say.
I went to classes the next morning, two science classes, and they were pretty cool. Then a chapel, an athletic panel, an admissions visit, and I saw the Chemistry and Biology department overview. Here's the deal. When you get to George Fox, they hook you up with a professor who helps keep you on track with classes, helping you reach your goal. They will even help with entry in Pacifics school of Optometry down the road. And their acceptance into med schools is really high, since they have great academics.
So here is the difference between Fox and Pacific, as I weigh out where I want to go. George Fox, throughout the day, I noticed that people were friendlier than they were at Pacific, the sense of community at Pacific didnt compare to George Fox, probably because of the Christian foundation. They are both liberal arts colleges, but George Fox liberal arts has required Bible classes, Pacifics has about a full credits year of classes you have to take called focus groups, which range from options of how to reshape your thinking to sexuality studies. yeah. I will be getting a major in some kind of science field, so do i want to learn all this scientific stuff from an evolutionary standpoint, or from a Christian standpoint.
So I am leaning towards George Fox now for all those reasons and more. I have a slight drawback because I have gone to a Christian School my whole life, and I want to see my impact on others. At Pacific, it would be incredibly obvious that I was different. At George Fox, being different is normal. I dont know what to do with that info. I want to see my faith challenged, but I also want fellowship with his people(which I didnt see any of at Pacific, though I'm sure some exists), and the best education, which is what college is for... Anyway, Fox has some sweet mission trips Ive heard, so that would be cool, but I dont know if I'd be able to see a day to day impact. So George Fox sounds really great, Pacific is good, but I am leaning a lot towards Fox now. I have a lot to think and pray about, and I'd like to ask you guys to pray that God would make my decision clear.
Linfield was cool but too quiet, too formal, and their basketball was almost so bad that I wouldnt want to play for them. That's it.
A small music section to wrap it up. Victors cover of Garbage Truck is legit. It sounds so good, it makes me want to record. And I think I will once I get an FBV floorpedal and can change sounds quickly. I am liking the sound of my voice more and more as I sing more and more. I even recorded myself a bit today and was pleased with it and my songs, just not the lack of change in the guitar sound. Oh well, it will come. And I get to play for Intersect next week, possibly for about 8 songs, and I can request songs. Yes, I am pleased about all of this.
A Very Informative Week,
Aaron(Shy Ronnie, Ron, Ronicus, Shy, Saucy, Saucy Snak, Snake, Super Mario)
I also filled out college applications today. I know, exciting. Actually it was because I sent in 4 applications, and I'm about 95% sure I'll go to one of the colleges that I sent apps to today. So that was cool even though it took up all the time that I wanted to work out. Eh I have a lot of English to do that I didnt get to, so maybe working out wouldnt have happened either way.
My 4 day weekend was very good. I visited Pacific first. I spent the night in a dorm there. My host Allen was pretty cool, so basically we just chilled, ate, worked out, and while he did homework I watched a movie. So basically days at Pacific are what I do every day. Which is pretty sweet. We talked a lot about bball too, so that was cool. They didnt seem to really care about their sports teams much, their football program started this year, and they were winless. Which is what I am used to. I went to some classes in the morning, part of a biology lab and part of a politics class. I liked the small class sizes a lot, and the campus was very peaceful. Leaving, I felt pretty happy, quite sure that Pacific would be my college next year.
I then went to George Fox. The Bruin Preview was this weekend so it was a big event, unlike my little visit at Pacific. There were about 200 visitors. I went on a campus tour, like yeah this campus is pretty similar to Pacifics, but a little bigger. And they seemed more serious right off the bat about sports than Pacific. On the tour, I got to watch their Mens bball team shoot. They were obviously good, serious athletes in a routine, but I was not impressed by their shots very much. I dont want to brag, but I think my shot is prettier. It would take a lot of work, but I think if I recovered from surgery, buffed up, worked on ballhandling, and got back into shooting several hundred shots a day(all of which I am already planning on doing anyway), I could play for them.(same goes for Pacific but I didnt get to see enough of them playing to make a firm judgement.) I just figured since George Fox is better than Pacific, I could make a D3 squad at the schools I was looking at.
Anyway, the preview started in the auditorium, with a drama performance... I was like, yeah right, screw this school. Then I found out who my host was. It was a small black guy named Marquise, who came across as a very afeminite dude, minoring in some fashion degree. Yeah, I know. I was less than pleased. Following behind Marquise was a big black man named Chris, who also lead me around as sort of a host the next day. Right off the bat they were pretty loud, and I figured this was going to be a long night.
I was wrong. I felt like I was in a black comedy, except it was way funnier to be involved in it. Chris and Marquise ended up being really good guys, despite Marquise having the dorm watch the latest episode of glee(I hate that show so much), they had a very interesting group of guys in their dorm that I wont go into unless asked about it(I dont want to type that much), and they were really good at singing. So I went to a coffee shop for about an hour while they had choir practice, Chris was the director, surprise again. I got to talk to Michael and see some of a concert, so that was pretty tight. Then I went to basically a youth group. The choir sang, and Ill tell you, I have not felt that bad at singing in a while. A big black director belting out the gospel music while I happened to have a tone deaf person near me at all times, its not great for self confidence haha. But really, it was some good worship and the message afterwards was good. I had a great night hanging out with a bunch of guys in the dorm, but I wont totally go into it, this blog is already long and I have more to say.
I went to classes the next morning, two science classes, and they were pretty cool. Then a chapel, an athletic panel, an admissions visit, and I saw the Chemistry and Biology department overview. Here's the deal. When you get to George Fox, they hook you up with a professor who helps keep you on track with classes, helping you reach your goal. They will even help with entry in Pacifics school of Optometry down the road. And their acceptance into med schools is really high, since they have great academics.
So here is the difference between Fox and Pacific, as I weigh out where I want to go. George Fox, throughout the day, I noticed that people were friendlier than they were at Pacific, the sense of community at Pacific didnt compare to George Fox, probably because of the Christian foundation. They are both liberal arts colleges, but George Fox liberal arts has required Bible classes, Pacifics has about a full credits year of classes you have to take called focus groups, which range from options of how to reshape your thinking to sexuality studies. yeah. I will be getting a major in some kind of science field, so do i want to learn all this scientific stuff from an evolutionary standpoint, or from a Christian standpoint.
So I am leaning towards George Fox now for all those reasons and more. I have a slight drawback because I have gone to a Christian School my whole life, and I want to see my impact on others. At Pacific, it would be incredibly obvious that I was different. At George Fox, being different is normal. I dont know what to do with that info. I want to see my faith challenged, but I also want fellowship with his people(which I didnt see any of at Pacific, though I'm sure some exists), and the best education, which is what college is for... Anyway, Fox has some sweet mission trips Ive heard, so that would be cool, but I dont know if I'd be able to see a day to day impact. So George Fox sounds really great, Pacific is good, but I am leaning a lot towards Fox now. I have a lot to think and pray about, and I'd like to ask you guys to pray that God would make my decision clear.
Linfield was cool but too quiet, too formal, and their basketball was almost so bad that I wouldnt want to play for them. That's it.
A small music section to wrap it up. Victors cover of Garbage Truck is legit. It sounds so good, it makes me want to record. And I think I will once I get an FBV floorpedal and can change sounds quickly. I am liking the sound of my voice more and more as I sing more and more. I even recorded myself a bit today and was pleased with it and my songs, just not the lack of change in the guitar sound. Oh well, it will come. And I get to play for Intersect next week, possibly for about 8 songs, and I can request songs. Yes, I am pleased about all of this.
A Very Informative Week,
Aaron(Shy Ronnie, Ron, Ronicus, Shy, Saucy, Saucy Snak, Snake, Super Mario)
Monday, November 8, 2010
Yeah I'm just a little bit competitive
Should I probably be going to bed? Should I probably be writing an essay? Should I probably be taking a shower after running 3 miles today? Yes, yes, and yes, but I kind of felt like banging out this blog.
So as usual on Thursday I enjoyed my tv shows. I dont understand how people spend thursday evening NOT watching Community, 30 Rock, and the Office. I can understand how people dont watch Outsourced, it's good but not up to the other 3, and after an hour and a half I kind of feel like doing something else part way through the show.
Friday, hung out with some cool people, went to the tip of the universe with a van from Music City, and met some people I'd heard about but never actually seen. Although I felt incredibly quiet the whole night, even for me, but it was pretty good overall.
Saturday, cleaned my car up for senior pics(washed, buffed, it looks hot), went to New Vintage for a while, and then left to hang out with my boys, and Harmony, and Sarah, and I believe it was Carmine(not sure exactly if thats right). That was pretty sweet just hanging out, playing games, even though we pretty much sucked at all the games we played. Except pool, of course, since I am pro. I will come back to several points for Saturday, just let me finish my weekend synopsis.
Sunday was church, senior pics, and Intersect. Senior pics went well I think, I will get the pics back in a while, and will post them then, but for now you can be excited that my one outfit, my car, and my guitar all looked very attractive.
Music: Nothing except that UnderOaths album comes out tomorrow and I'm stoked as soon as I can go by the bank to get the money to buy it.
Basketball. Still helping out with middle school, I have the desire to shoot 200 shots a day but I just dont have the time right now. Steph Curry is a beast dropping 34.
Now, Saturday. I remembered while playing foosball and pool at Harmony's just how ridiculously competitive I am. For some reason I had forgotten this a bit. I found myself rather displeased(not angry because I'm not dumb, its just a game) that I lost at these games. During the games I was quite intense, even though I was doing trbl.
And that's it. I hate losing. If I do something, I want to do it 100%, and I want to be the best at it. It bothers me if I lose. Obviously this doesnt apply to every aspect of life, but it comes up in quite a few, especially anything that remotely involves winning somehow. Call it a drive for perfection or something, but it has its ups and downs. 1. It's not so good when playing board games(which I also suck at) 2. It doesnt really work at school(I'm not too driven to"win" in that category, I'm well aware I cannot beat Trav on the SAT). But, 3. It is great for work ethic, striving for a goal. Whether it is academic(personally, like getting a good gpa), athletic(working hard on improvement), or professional(getting the job done the best way possible).
Now, New Vintage. For the time I was there Matt ended up talking to me, Polvi, and this guy Conner about being men of faith. He mentioned how we often dont have true men of faith in our lives to model. The main example was not seeing Godly manliness(dont question my wording) in our earthly fathers. I wont go into anything else said, it was all good stuff, praying that we can become the men God wants us to be and such, and I dont know Michael or Connor's backgrounds, but I want to focus on that one point in my life.
I am so thankful for my dad. The example that he has set for me is ridiculous. I really cant think of what to say to express this point. He lives his faith day by day, and sets a standard in his spiritual life, at his workplace, and in our home that I can only pray to God that I will be able to live up to in my future. I have truly been blessed to grow up with my fathers godly wisdom and guidance ready whenever I ask. So thanks Dad, keep doing what your doing.
That's all folks.
So as usual on Thursday I enjoyed my tv shows. I dont understand how people spend thursday evening NOT watching Community, 30 Rock, and the Office. I can understand how people dont watch Outsourced, it's good but not up to the other 3, and after an hour and a half I kind of feel like doing something else part way through the show.
Friday, hung out with some cool people, went to the tip of the universe with a van from Music City, and met some people I'd heard about but never actually seen. Although I felt incredibly quiet the whole night, even for me, but it was pretty good overall.
Saturday, cleaned my car up for senior pics(washed, buffed, it looks hot), went to New Vintage for a while, and then left to hang out with my boys, and Harmony, and Sarah, and I believe it was Carmine(not sure exactly if thats right). That was pretty sweet just hanging out, playing games, even though we pretty much sucked at all the games we played. Except pool, of course, since I am pro. I will come back to several points for Saturday, just let me finish my weekend synopsis.
Sunday was church, senior pics, and Intersect. Senior pics went well I think, I will get the pics back in a while, and will post them then, but for now you can be excited that my one outfit, my car, and my guitar all looked very attractive.
Music: Nothing except that UnderOaths album comes out tomorrow and I'm stoked as soon as I can go by the bank to get the money to buy it.
Basketball. Still helping out with middle school, I have the desire to shoot 200 shots a day but I just dont have the time right now. Steph Curry is a beast dropping 34.
Now, Saturday. I remembered while playing foosball and pool at Harmony's just how ridiculously competitive I am. For some reason I had forgotten this a bit. I found myself rather displeased(not angry because I'm not dumb, its just a game) that I lost at these games. During the games I was quite intense, even though I was doing trbl.
And that's it. I hate losing. If I do something, I want to do it 100%, and I want to be the best at it. It bothers me if I lose. Obviously this doesnt apply to every aspect of life, but it comes up in quite a few, especially anything that remotely involves winning somehow. Call it a drive for perfection or something, but it has its ups and downs. 1. It's not so good when playing board games(which I also suck at) 2. It doesnt really work at school(I'm not too driven to"win" in that category, I'm well aware I cannot beat Trav on the SAT). But, 3. It is great for work ethic, striving for a goal. Whether it is academic(personally, like getting a good gpa), athletic(working hard on improvement), or professional(getting the job done the best way possible).
Now, New Vintage. For the time I was there Matt ended up talking to me, Polvi, and this guy Conner about being men of faith. He mentioned how we often dont have true men of faith in our lives to model. The main example was not seeing Godly manliness(dont question my wording) in our earthly fathers. I wont go into anything else said, it was all good stuff, praying that we can become the men God wants us to be and such, and I dont know Michael or Connor's backgrounds, but I want to focus on that one point in my life.
I am so thankful for my dad. The example that he has set for me is ridiculous. I really cant think of what to say to express this point. He lives his faith day by day, and sets a standard in his spiritual life, at his workplace, and in our home that I can only pray to God that I will be able to live up to in my future. I have truly been blessed to grow up with my fathers godly wisdom and guidance ready whenever I ask. So thanks Dad, keep doing what your doing.
That's all folks.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Point Guards, Pastors, and Plans
I'm sick of Rajon Rondo. He is not the best pg. Either Chris Paul or Deron Williams is the best point guard. You better get a lot of assists when you have three allstars on your team and the defenders back six feet off of you because your shot is more garbage than a few of my middle schoolers. Okay maybe the middles schoolers was a little bit of an exaggeration, but I stand by the rest of it. Chris Paul is a better shooter, better overall scorer, better passer, and in the past cp3 has been a better defender(I need more proof from this season to argue Paul being better than Rondo). Deron is the best shooter of the three, is the most explosive, also ridiculous at passing, is one of the best anklebreakers in the game, but the worst defender of the three. So I give chris paul number 1, deron 2, and rondo less than that. (Steve Nash is three, there are a few guys like derrick rose, russel westbrook, john wall, tony parker, and stephen curry who will have to prove their spots).
Anyway, thats enough of basketball, except that middle school basketball is hard to coach. It's not how to fix what they do wrong that's the problem, it's getting them to do it right after you have told them 5 times.
I liked the Communion panel today, where Pastor Dave Bechtel, Pastor Dave Parker, and Senor Koopman talked about their beliefs about Communion. It was good to see different denominations coming together and talking about what they thought, without getting defensive or bashing another denomination. Which, I think is ridiculous since we all belong to the body of Christ. It was good to see that great Christian unity, but I'm glad that I go to Bethel, because I like Bechtels personal anecdotes to prove his point more than the ancient Christian traditions with giant words. Again, everybody has their own preferences, and thats part of why we have denominations in the first place.
I'm thankful that I only have to go to CBC tomorrow, I think I will work out and maybe do some college stuff. I am pretty excited for my college visits coming up next week. First, I spend wednesday night at Pacific University, go to a class and chill with some current students. Then I go to George fox for a night for some big Bruin Preview, and then I will visit Linfield in the morning on saturday. It should be a pretty sweet trip, and it will definitely be informative.
Anyway, I believe I have a handful of songs that if I worked on them I could be fairly pleased with, I read over the lyrics i've written over a bit and decided that I still liked them, but they need work instrumentally for me to be happy. I dont know when I will find the time for it, but I think it will happen eventually.
Lastly, it was my brothers birthday today, as well as marques harriers(even though i didnt know this til after I had seen him for two hours), so I had some tony romas and some carrot cake. Delicious.
Thats all for tonight,
Shy
P.S. The new Shy Ronnie skit, Ronnie and Clyde, I thought it was pretty funny, but I cant really recommend it because it was quite innapropriate. Therefore, the first one is still better in my opinion.
Anyway, thats enough of basketball, except that middle school basketball is hard to coach. It's not how to fix what they do wrong that's the problem, it's getting them to do it right after you have told them 5 times.
I liked the Communion panel today, where Pastor Dave Bechtel, Pastor Dave Parker, and Senor Koopman talked about their beliefs about Communion. It was good to see different denominations coming together and talking about what they thought, without getting defensive or bashing another denomination. Which, I think is ridiculous since we all belong to the body of Christ. It was good to see that great Christian unity, but I'm glad that I go to Bethel, because I like Bechtels personal anecdotes to prove his point more than the ancient Christian traditions with giant words. Again, everybody has their own preferences, and thats part of why we have denominations in the first place.
I'm thankful that I only have to go to CBC tomorrow, I think I will work out and maybe do some college stuff. I am pretty excited for my college visits coming up next week. First, I spend wednesday night at Pacific University, go to a class and chill with some current students. Then I go to George fox for a night for some big Bruin Preview, and then I will visit Linfield in the morning on saturday. It should be a pretty sweet trip, and it will definitely be informative.
Anyway, I believe I have a handful of songs that if I worked on them I could be fairly pleased with, I read over the lyrics i've written over a bit and decided that I still liked them, but they need work instrumentally for me to be happy. I dont know when I will find the time for it, but I think it will happen eventually.
Lastly, it was my brothers birthday today, as well as marques harriers(even though i didnt know this til after I had seen him for two hours), so I had some tony romas and some carrot cake. Delicious.
Thats all for tonight,
Shy
P.S. The new Shy Ronnie skit, Ronnie and Clyde, I thought it was pretty funny, but I cant really recommend it because it was quite innapropriate. Therefore, the first one is still better in my opinion.
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