Does It Come In Green?

At this point I've been sitting here for about five minutes trying to think about what to write, or at least how to start it. I was just thinking about the party I went to last night. It was the TCL reunion. It was really cool seeing all those people again. I mean, it's kind of weird. They walk in the door, you see them, and then all these memories start flooding into your head. You get this feeling like, "You are real. You aren't just from some distant dream. I really did work with you for three weeks." They are memories made manifest. You see their faces; faces that are familiar, and yet not. You recognize them, but their faces seem new to you.
I'm at a bit of a loss for words right now. I'm thinking too much. Too much that I can't blog about right now. I don't know what I'm going to do for the next few days of winter break. I have some ideas, but no definite plans. I guess I'll see what happens. Laters.

The "Perfect Gift" Conundrum

Have you ever had one of those gifts that you really wanted to get for someone but you couldn't, for the life of ya', find it? I mean, it's the perfect gift. You know that they will love it more than most other things that they could get for Christmas. And, yet, for some reason, no matter where you look you can't find it.
Soon you get the idea that it's been outlawed; banned from the country.
Ah, but you've seen them before in the house of someone you know. So they must be in the country somewhere.
But still, they must have been banished from this county. And with that ban comes the added line of:

Only one store in each town within this county is allowed to hold these things. But none of those stores are allowed to carry those items with this specific description. (see appendix D for specifications on the permissible objects, see appendix G to find out how your store may file an application for a carrying permit for this item)

So what happens is you look in every store in your town that might have what you're looking for. However, only one store has the kind of thing you want, and it doesn't fit the specifications you are looking for.
Then you go to the next town over--same story. The one place that has what you are looking for doesn't have the exact one you are looking for.
This is my conspiracy theory. So what do you do? I mean, what do you do if you aren't able to order it online?

'Tis The Season To Lozenge

There is this illness going around that attacks the throat and the head. It gives you a headache, makes you feel woozy, and makes all your muscles ache. It also does something to the back of your throat. This illness has struck my house. Just about everyone here has had it now. I got it yesterday. My mom got it today. My little brother had it a few days ago. I don't know if my dad contracted it at some time (he didn't tell us if he did).
Right now I'm pretty much over the head and muscle aches. The only trouble I have left is in the throat. You can't really tell that anything is wrong with it until you swallow. That's when it feels like your throat has been shredded up.
I had to perform at the Grotto last night. I stood up on that stage for almost an hour with my head killing me, my muscles just wanting to fall out from under me, and my throat yelling "What do you think you're doing? Can't you tell I need a break?" It was in this state that I had to sing and play my trumpet. Somehow I was able to sing clearly and well. My trumpet playing wasn't too bad either. I lost all feeling in my toes just from standing up there for so long.
Why is it that my least favorite performances are at the Grotto? The first year I sang there I got so light headed that I had to leave the stage for the rest of the performance. The next year the same thing happened, only I was able to return to the performance after a little while. The next two years weren't nearly as bad, but each time I feared that I would end up having to leave the stage again. This year I didn't faint and I didn't have to leave the stage, but I almost wished that I did.
Oh well, the Christmas performance season is over: my last one for high school. After this it will be college Christmas season performances. I don't know if I'll ever get the opportunity to perform at the Grotto again.

Here A Word. There A Word....

How is it that I am capable of writing the things that a have placed in the blog that I call my "Home Page". If you knew me--some of you might--you would know that, though I may be a real talker at times, I am usually very reserved. And I hardly ever, in person, talk about the serious kinds of things that I post. How do I do this? Why is it that words come out so much easier when they are typed on a computer than when they are spoken to a friend.
There might be some comfort in the physical distance between myself and you, the readers. I can say all I want without having to see your expressions as you find these things out about me. I don't have to worry about a particular set of ears receiving this news. It's just easier.
Perhaps there is something in the writing process that brings it out. I know that as words pour from my mind onto paper--or in this case onto a computer screen--my mind is able to get a better grasp on them and put multiple ideas together. There is something about the writing process that helps me think about ideas in a greater perspective. Most of the 'deep' things that I write come to me as I am writing. I step up to the key board with no idea what I am going to write about, and before I know it I have a novel of contemplation. The ideas and thoughts come to me as I write out my thoughts. Usually the biggest realizations start with the smallest thoughts. "I am tired. Why am I tired? blah bla bla blah blah blah..." And out comes some big long thing about where I am in my tired state. Writing gets my brain moving.
I know that I don't usually get these kind of ideas and thoughts while I'm talking with people. In fact, usually when I come to someone with the intent of talking about something important I have been planning what I am going to say for the last few days...maybe weeks...sometimes months. Yet, for some reason, when I actually get to talk with them I find myself lacking in the vocalization department. I come with lots to say, and leave having explained it in a few simple words.
Hmmm. I see a pattern. When I come to blog: I come with nothing in mind to write, and end up writing large amounts of information and thought.
When I come to talk: I come with large amounts of information and thoughts to say, but end up saying very little.
I can just see the wheels spinning in Robbie's head right now. There might be something about expectation in here somewhere.
I come in with high expectation, I leave with a low yield.
I come in with low expectation, I leave with a high yield.
The yield is inversely proportionate to the expectation.
Well, whatever it is, I'm here to stay, folks. So, enjoy. Laters.

Wasn't It On A Tuesday?

You want posting? I'll show you posting! I'll post like I've never posted before! Have I ever posted before? Hmmm...I might have to think about that...
What was I saying?
Oh, Yeah! As I was about to say. It doesn't matter how long you sit next to the conveyor belt, it will always rotate at the same rate. That is assuming that no prankster gets into the wiring and hot-wires the belt for hyper-velocity rotation.
To day as a bunch of us were descending the staircase from the youth room at my church someone asked, "Why is it so cold up here?"
Seeing my cue I piped in with, "Well, you see..." and then waited to see if any of my friends would pick up on the fact that I was about to go into a bunch of scientific mumbo-jumbo. I really did try to think about it so that I could explain how the temperature control worked, but my brain was to tired to actually think of anything.
Anyway, it took about five seconds or so while descending that staircase before any of my friends tried to shut me down. I hadn't even said anything for five seconds and they still responded with, "No Kin. No scientific talk." or something like that. I can't remember the exact words. I don't know if Anna said anything. I know Stephanie did, but my brain has already created two scenarios in which Anna is and isn't saying anything in response to my comment.
My brain does that a lot. I have many different memories of one instance. And each memory depicts different character's involvement, and different reactions. Basically I don't know how things really went down because I have created a false reality in which things happened a little bit differently. This is why I claim to have faulty memory. I can remember something, but that doesn't mean that that's really what happened.
Don't get me wrong, I can remember a lot of things. But there are some things that aren't quite there. Like, there was that one time when...no, that wasn't it...let me think for a moment...
What was I talking about? Oh well. Laters.

Going Up?

So, I was thinking. I was reading something about elevators. I don't care what makes them go up and down. It'd be cool if they had one that went side to side for really big buildings. What I want to know is:

What do elevators do in their time off?

What do they do when no one is pushing their buttons? Do they just go up and down? Do they stay on the last floor they visited? Do they stay at the bottom floor? Do they prefer the pent house level? What do they do?
Just a thought for you to chew on.

Are We There Yet?

Do you see it? It's right there. You mean you can't see it? It's not two feet in front of you. Oh! There it goes! Ah, you missed it. It was pretty cool. You don't get to see something like that every day. And apparently you don't ever get to see anything like that. I told you to look, but no. You couldn't see it. Oh well. Better luck next time.

So I've been thinking lately. I don't know that I can pin-point one thought though. I've been thinking about Christmas. I've been thinking about relationships. My sister is coming out to this Podunk-vill every week now to help out with my youth group. I've been thinking about college. I've been thinking about this town. Did you know that I can walk from one end of this town to the other and back in under an hour? It's true. I've done it. I love this town. I've been thinking about the fact that I'm going to have to leave this town for a time in order to go to college. I've been thinking about how I'm going to have to leave my relationships for a time to go to college. I've been thinking about all the new relationships I will develop at college. I've been thinking about having a British accent at college (hehe). I probably won't though. I'm too honest. That and I don't have a smooth British accent.
I've been thinking about a lot. I don't know how it will all work out, but would I really want to know?
It's kind of like this thing that three guys were debating about at camp (myself being one of them). We were arguing whether or not it would be good to know what girls are thinking about us. I was on the side of it probably being a dangerous thing to know. I mean, sure there are times when you may really want to know something of what they are thinking, but I know that I really don't want to know. Cause if I were to find out what they were thinking--no matter good or bad--it would bug me somehow. There are lots of other reasons. If it's really something important then you might as well ask. Otherwise, it's just a burden no matter what the info is.
Anyway, I guess my point is, there are just some things that are better left to temporary ignorance. If we knew what was going to happen to us, would that make us happy, or would it only freak out, and depress us or turn us into intolerable snobs. The future is scary enough when we don't know what is going to happen. Why would we want to then take the fun of suprises away just to find out that we die by slipping in the bathroom, hitting out head on the tub, falling into comma, waking up in a hospital two weeks later, and being squeezed literally do death by our cousin, Rupert.
We don't know what is going to happen. But that is what makes life exciting and interesting. It also keeps us from loosing out desire to go on. No life is perfect. If you knew all the bad things that were going to happen to you before you were ready for them, you probably wouldn't want to give yourself the chance to get to them.
But that is where the great part comes. It's true that everyone goes through tough things in their life. But we grow as we go through those times. Ten years from now you might be faced with something that would put you into shock if it were to occur now, but between now and then there are smaller things that happen, or maybe bigger things that you know how to handle. We learn from our experiences. We grow toward the goal. Why would we want to see what is going to happen later? We have things to deal with now.
I've been doing a lot of thinking. So I'm ready for a break. Laters.

Only The Beginning

It's Thursday. School was canceled on Wednesday due to 'extreme weather conditions'. There was a little ice on the roads. So, after turning in my paper I had to wait two whole days to get it back with all the marks and grades on it. Have I ever told you about my writing problem? It seems that I am extremely good at writing A- papers. Seriously, I write A- papers. Never do I write B papers. But I haven't been able to reach the level that is 'A'. No matter how hard I try, it is always just beyond my reach.
So anyway, about that paper--the one that was written, lost, supposedly found, and then found to be lost again, and then written again, and turned in on Tuesday--I got it back today just before 5th period had started. I looked at it, studied the score to see what it was lacking, looked at the score again, looked through the paper to see what he had marked, and looked at the score again. Finally I pulled out my handy-dandy calculator and punch in the numbers. 142.5/150 . That equals 95%. 95% is the exact changing point between A- and 'A'. I had in my hands an 'A' paper. An 'A' paper that I had written. An 'A' paper that had been written, lost, supposedly found, found to be lost again, written again, and turned in on Tuesday almost one week after the due date. God had given me an 'A' paper. I have no idea what I would have gotten had I been able to turn in the other paper. I have not guaranty that it would have been worse than this one. However, what had been given me was something that had been kept from me for so long. Until this paper God had not given me the capacity to produce such work. Now, though it may have taken a little more work and a lot of perseverance, He produced, through me, something I have never been capable of.
Call it luck. Call it talent (I call it that too, but the talent was given to me). I prefer to call it the work of God. Some people say "If the God of the Bible is the true God, why don't we see miracles like He performs in the Old Testament?" To this I would say 'We do.' We see the miracles of God every day. We see him providing for the needs of everyone daily. We see him working in miraculous ways through people. Not only does He do his work, He does it in perfect time. Some may say that He could have waited a day to let my floppy disc fry. I say that it happened at precisely the write time. If it had been taken from me the day previous I would have had to cram an entire paper into one day of work before the deadline. As it was there was no such option. The teacher knew that I had a paper just that day, so my story was all the more plausible. I don't know all that He is doing through messing up the disc before the paper was turned in. But I do know a few things that have come of it.
He has tested me, and I have, through His grace, persevered.
There is so much more I could say. However, I'll leave it for another time. Laters.

What Do You See?

I did not know whether I was ready to write about this or not. I figured I would wait until the whole thing had been worked out before telling very many people about it. However, upon further thought I realized that this could be a great opportunity to publicly display the works of God in my life. I mean, that's one of the reasons I have this blog anyway.

Last week for my AP English class I had an assignment due. Wednesday I was to turn in a ten-page research paper. I wasn't too thrilled with the assignment from the beginning. I was dreading it long before we were even given the specific assignment. I have never in my entire life written ten pages for one paper. The research papers I have written in the past were terribly under par because I never really knew how to research; where do I begin, where do I look, what am I looking for? Suffice it to say that I was thinking this whole thing would be a bust.
I started looking. My topic: Birth order psychology. I had read a couple books on the subject prior to the assignment. I did some online research and found a few interesting articles on the subject. Finally I began to put my knowledge on the paper (well, on the computer at least). I started, and it kept coming. I wrote it out in chunks. One chunk this day, a bigger chunk the next, a smaller chunk the next day. Slowly it began to come together.
Monday night, two days before the due date, I had all ten pages written out. All I had to do then was to go over it and revise it to perfection. I still had to put my works cited page together, but that didn't take long at all.
Tuesday I took the floppy disc with the paper on it to school. I got my teacher to help me make sure the works cited page was written out correctly. Everything was looking great. I was going to get home from school and go strait to work on editing the paper.
I got home, put the disc in the computer, started to open up the file to the disc. Nothing happened. I checked the properties of the disc. It said that it couldn't read the disc at all. This was my only copy of the entire paper. I had the first four pages saved to my hard drive. Other than that I had nothing. The floppy wouldn't work. Nothing could be done. It was due the next day. There was no time to re-write the entire paper.
Long story short (too late for that) I turned my disc into the school tech-guy. He's been working on it over the weekend. There is a chance that he can restore the disc, but at this point nothing is certain.

So, what is my point in all this? Sure, it's a great way to document this most obnoxious occasion. I'll never be able to forget it now. But that isn't my reason for writing this here. I know that there are some who read my blog who already know that God is working in everyone's life, and to those this post has a different message. But it is not to those that I write this particular post. It is to the people that do not yet realize the magnitude of God's work in the lives of his believers.
You might say, "Oh, Yeah, what a great God. He wipes your home work out and you expect me to think this guy is on your side?" To that I would answer yes. The point is not that the home work was lost. There are actually two points.
The first is something that has already happened and that I already told you about. I have never written a paper the likes of this one before. I have no experience. I didn't even know what I was doing. It was God that gave me the paper I had. Just after finishing it I was ecstatic because God had provided for me yet again. Without His help there would have been no paper to loose. The last month has been really hectic for me. Unless God's hand had been orchestrating every little piece of my life I wouldn't have even had the time to write the paper. God provided. He is on my side...because I am on his side.
The second part is something that has yet to unfold. It is true that my paper has disappeared. And for a while after learning of its vanishing I was in shock and generally not happy. For a moment I was going to start asking God why He would do that to me? But for the last year I have seen God's faithfulness through the most seemingly chaotic times. God has never failed to provide for me precisely what I needed. So, before I began to question Him I decided to trust him. With his promise to provide for my needs and the kind words of a friend (you know who you are, thank you) God was able to put my mind at peace. I do not hold it against Him. In fact I now feel more blessed than when I had finished the paper.
Now I only look forward to seeing what God is going to do in this. The story is not yet complete. That is why I write this now. I believe that God is going to do something great with this, and I wanted to write about it before his work was complete so that you all could see with me the great work of God.

Swish List

Every year at around Christmas time and my birthday I have the same problem. I will have this list of things that pop into my head for a moment and I'll think, "Yeah! I need one of those." But when the parentals come around asking what I would like for my birthday my mind goes blank. It looks kind of like this:

.............................................................uh...
.................................................hmmm.............
..................................................................
..seems..like..there..was..supposed..to..be..something..here......
..................................................................
.................................still..thinking..................
..................................................................
........................darn!..where..did.it..go?.................
..................................................................
..................................................................
Can I get back to you on that?

Anyway, this year I had a brilliant idea. I'll post my wish list. As I think of more things to put on it I'll just edit this post. Keep a close watch on this post. It could get pretty big. (Yeah right):

#1: Gloves...warm gloves...NOT one-size-fits-all-so-it-will-cut-off-the-circulation-of-anyone-with-big-hands gloves...warm gloves.
#2: Guitar strings (preferably new ones)
#3: New music (preferably in CD form and of Christian band(s))
#4: Knitting materials (my world dominations scheme is running low on funds)
#5: New long black socks. (the dryer ate most of my others)
#6: Warm slippers. (Preferably with hard soles that they won't absorb every puddle in my house while I'm walking around.) (I have a size 10.5 foot)
#7: Neck ties. (nothing dominantly connected to red. (eg. red, purple, orange.) these are not acceptable colors. Well, I guess as a gift I would have to accept it...oh well.)
#8: Hoodie. Meduim or large (err on the side of large). (preferably some kind of green.)

A Lovely Night

Have you ever had one of those days when you just wanted it all to be over; All the responsibilities, all the work, all the never ending...stuff? That's what kind of a week I have just been through. That's what kind of a month I have just endured. But this week has been the worst of it all. With play practice at 7 every night and the performances from Wednesday to Saturday (I'm not done with this week yet) I have been way beyond my limits of duration. I should be lying on the floor right now twitching from the lack of sleep and all the work. On top of all the play stuff I have had to keep up with my academic studies, as well as my social life. I've been placing college applications at 12 o'clock at night, writing papers on stuff that I don't know much about, and trying to stay connected with my friends.
All this to say, I'm tired.
I'm so tired I'm not even going to put an exclamation mark after that statement to accent it. I'm too tired to place accents.
We did a matinee for the grade-schoolers on Wednesday. It was a half day for all the schools in the state, so we didn't have any classes that day. After that point the school week should have ended...but it didn't. My brain was in stand-by mode waiting for the weekend and I kept on having to re-boot it for my classes. I would be in math class (I'm usually a genius at math) and my brain would just stop registering any input. "Quadratic whats!?"
I have one more time to present this play. Cinderella--it has been a lot of fun putting it together, and even performing it. But I am very ready for it to be over. I need to get back to the rest of my life.
I'll probably never forget this play. While we were still pulling it together there were struggles and difficulties, and there were many--oh, so many--moments (more like entire minutes) of laughter. I learned to waltz.
I don't know what to say. I can tell you this. In all this time of weakness, despair, and fear, God has been with me all the way. Many were the times that a situation would arise from which there seemed to be no hope of success, and many were the times that I said to myself "God will work it out; God loves me." Just ask my friends, they have heard it multiple times in the last month. "I'm worried about this, but it's ok, God loves me." I have seen him do so much for me and all I can do is praise him. And I will continue to seek a life that is in him so that my joy may be made complete.

G'Day Gov

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to ride giant bunny rabbits? Or better yet, what would it be like if we all wore our shoe laces so that they tie on the other end of the shoe?
No, I'm not on any drugs, and I'm not drunk. It's just that some times these random ideas and images pop into my head. Like this last Sunday.
I was at my church sitting in the worship service when I started thinking about English accents. Maybe I should try talking with one. But if I do that now all the people that know me will just think I'm being stupid and they'll tell me to quit. Where would I be that people wouldn't already know that I don't talk with an English accent. Hmm.... COLLEGE! That's it! I could have an English accent for my first year of college. No one that I know will be there. People will just think that that's the way I talk. It would certainly be something else. But then how could I do it? I might be able to pull off a first introduction, but after that I'd probably slip up sometime. I would have to start practicing using an English accent all the time before college started. I could start this summer. But then I'll be around all the people I know this summer and they'll tell me to "stop talking with that ridiculous accent." They wouldn't say that to a real Englishman. Hmmm....This could be difficult. Then, assuming I do manage to pull it off, what will I do my second year of college? Should I continue with my new found voice? Or should I freak out all the people that I've met at college with my Oregonian drawl? Hmmm....Perplexing.
You can understand how difficult it must be to be me. It's something I have to deal with every day. (Sigh)
But seriously now, I do think of the weirdest things at the most random times. My friends always look at me with these faces that say "I'm not sure I heard you quite right. Did you say what I think you just said? How in the world did you come to this thought? I can't even come to it after you said it. You're weird." I picture is worth a thousand words. A live face is worth a million. But I can't read that fast, so this is all I can tell you from their faces.

!!!ERROR!!!

It has been over a week since I last posted. I don't know how to explain this phenomenon. There have been many contributors to my slackeritus. This ailment is caused by the virus known as Bloggerus-slackerus. But then there was a hint of Busyus-scheduleus. I've been going to play practice after school every day for the last week, and I will have these practices after school for the next two weeks. When I do get home from school I usually have either an evening engagement to attend or a lot of home work. This last week I'd been spending as much time as I could preparing for the SAT test. I won't have to worry about that any more, having taken it yesterday. Don't ask how I did. I really don't know. It will be a few weeks before I know anything about it. Tuesday I have a paper due on Frankenstein. I'm just not looking forward to this week. And on top of all this I'm getting excessively behind on my laundry duties. I'm pretty sure that at any moment my family could come charging into my room with torches and pitch-forks ready to run me out.

On a positive note. I'm doing much better. Not at anything in particular, I'm just better in general and in all areas. I've taken up another knitting project. Hehe, I already put into action my plan to take over the world. The plan was initialized a few months ago, but a few weeks ago I put the knitting into action. This, I believe will give me the tactical edge that will be needed to succeed in my conquest. I am still not ready at this time to divulge the specifics of my plan--if other knew they could act it out quicker than I am ready to, there by steeling my victory from me. I do ,however, promise that when all the world is in my possession I will relate the secret that I now hold--the secret that will give me the world. I don't know how long this conquest will take. What I do know is that it will take a while--two, perhaps five years. But when I have succeeded you won't want to miss what I have to say about the secret to world domination. It's a good one. So stick around. My plans are already showing effects towards my ultimate goal.

On a slightly more sane note, it is my privilege to announce to you that the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of all once-in-a-lifetime opportunities has finally come to the location of (SYNTAX ERROR!). It will only be there until (SYNTAX ERROR!). So don't miss it.

The New Improved "Paper Cut"

I am saddened. I wrote an entire post--a good post. But in that post I included some combinations of punctuation that the all-intelligent compy saw as useless HTML stuff, I guess. Any way. It took the liberty of deleting half of the post. The other half was there. But it was incomplete. So I broke the rule.
That's right, I broke the blogger's rule: No deleting blog material. If it's not finished you can save it as a draft to alter later. But after posting there is no un-posting. I broke this rule. I deleted that piece. I ask that all my fellow bloggers might find in their hearts the capacity to forgive me of this tremendous crime.
For the most part I'm just worried that some people actually read it before I was able to delete it. It probably wasn't that bad, but I'm sure a lot of it didn't make any sense.

I got an A on my chemistry test. Actually I got an A+. 85 out of 81--I'm pretty sure that's an A+. Extra credit questions are way cool (when you know the answer).

I'm tired, so, I think I'll leave you with this quote.
It happened while Mr Christiansen was reading out loud in AP English on Wednesday. Sarah (I don't know what she was doing) knocked some stuff off of her desk. The noise stole the attention of the entire class. Mr. Christiansen just looked over at her and said

"Watch out for the gravity over there."

and went back to reading.

Wouldn't Ya Think So?

You might find my posts to be a little thought provoking for a little while. In my English class we are studying non-fiction essays. Things like Emerson works, some of Annie Dillard's essays. Really weird and thought provoking stuff; slightly abstract thoughts. Kind of like while I was reading Hamlet all my stuff was poetic and oddly worded. And when I was studying existentialism and absurdism, all my thoughts were in existential and absurd form. If we were to go into a poetry unit, you guys would get an ear full of the most beautiful poetry (all of it by yours truly, of course). Lucky you, we aren't going to have a poetry unit...this tri-mester.
I was talking with a friend today (big shocker) when she said that she was a "gift from God." To those of you who don't know what this means I will explain. In saying this she was not saying that she was the best thing ever. In fact there was, I'm sure, no pleasure taken in saying this thing. This phrase, "a gift from God" is a term that my youth pastor used in a sermon once for "big church". He was talking about dealing with difficult people (everyone). If you are around people you are going to be frustrated and annoyed. That's just the way it is. So the idea that he presented was that these people in our lives that are particularly difficult to live with are "gifts from God". God has placed them in our lives to teach us things like patience. This is why my friend called herself a "gift from God".
Anyway, I started thinking about it. Who are the "gifts from God" in my life? Who am I a "gift from God" to? How do I deal with those people who are "gifts from God"? (I'll stop using the quotation marks really soon. Just hold on a little longer) In what way am I a "gift from God" to others? Am I obnoxious? I know I'm not perfect. Lord knows I try hard to not annoy people. But I don't sacrifice my identity for that goal, and my identity has some weird quirks. I've only ever met a few people who just didn't like me. You know the kind of person I'm talking about. It doesn't have anything to do with what you do or say, they just don't like you. No reason. They loath you for the sake of loathing. But, generally speaking, most people like me.
Still, do I come off as obnoxious sometimes? I'm sure I do. I know I find myself obnoxious at times. Then I wonder why my friends are still sticking around.
Here is a question that you regular readers would know the answer to. Do I ever sound arrogant? I can assure you that I don't have any real self-perceptions of grandeur. Usually when I make such comments, they are completely in jest. I like to act as though I think I'm great sometimes. Mostly cause I know that I'm so far from it.
There are two kinds of jokes. The kind that are funny because there is at least a hint of truth to them, and the kind that are funny because they are so far from the truth that there is no way they could be true. Like me saying that, as a senior in high school, I think I'll go beat up some freshman and take his lunch money. Some of you might think this to be no laughing matter. But to those people who actually know me and my non-violent personality, this could actually sound pretty funny coming from me. Usually after saying something like that I'd go into the details of how I would do it. Of course it's the biggest fish tale you ever heard, but that's the point.
I had an odd experience today. I was sitting at my computer talking online with my friend when I decided that I wanted a drink. Always having my water bottle close at hand, so I was able to simply reach forward and snatch my bottle from the desk just as soon as the thought came to me. As I was bringing my water bottle closer I started to stretch my arms above my head. Now, at this point the lid was still on the bottle. So, I decided "why waste time? I'll just open the bottle while I'm stretching." I'm sure some of you are thinking this story will have a wet ending. Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm still dry.
It was simply the fact that I opened the bottle over my head. I had opened the bottle many times: in front of me, away from me, to the side of me. Never, however, had I opened the bottle OVER me. This may not seem very significant. "Kin's finally lost it. Laughed one too many times and flipped a breaker or something." I assure you that I have not lost my sanity, and I'm not under the influence of any substances. I have simply experienced something from a different perspective.
I know people talk about this kind of thing all the time. "It's a whole new experience seeing things from a different perspective." And it's true. Some times the normal perspective just becomes so common that we take it for granted. "Sure I can open the water bottle without spilling it everywhere. I do it all the time. I don't even have to think about it. it just happens. I can even open it with a little style if I want to. No problem. Open. Closed. Open. Closed." But when I took the bottle to a new perspective I had to think about how to open it. I had to focus on how to make sure it didn't spill (especially considering it was right over my head). It was like learning to walk all over again, except that I already knew a lot about how to do it. It was like experiencing something for the first time. This thing that I had been doing for months was now something entirely new.
I'm going to try something different with this post. I know that people actually read this. I usually only write for my sake. This time I would like to challenge the readers of this rather odd blog. The challenge I give to you is this: Take the bottle, stretch your arms above your head, and open the bottle. I don't know what the bottle is for you. It could be anything that you do all the time without really thinking about it (please don't take this as an opportunity to drive while sitting upside down.) All you have to do is take this thing that has become something mediocre to you and try it differently. You will notice that there is an important step to my challenge--stretch. You must stretch. The whole point is that it is not the way you usually do things. There has to be some stretching involved. It may be a little stretch. Perhaps it will be a big stretch.
Again, I don't know what this means for you. I am merely asking that you look to the things that were once so magnificent and see once again how greatly blessed you are.

Trails Of Existence

I'm in a weird place right now. It seems strangely comfortable, and yet it is not the normal residency of my existence. I'm not talking about my physical position on this planet. The place I refer to is the mental, social, and spiritual places that I'm at. I have never lived this way before. This school year is unlike my entire prior existence up to this point in time. It's not a bad place. Sometimes it's not the most pleasant place to be. Mostly it's just different. I live in a state of existence that seems so paradoxical to the way I believed my existence would become. In my universe there were rules that I would never over come; barriers that would keep me from the way of life that was sought by many. There have always been, in my mind, the perplexing conundrums that would forever be beyond my grasp to explain. I was not even average. I didn't want to be average. I saw the way "average" people lived, and that was something I never wanted to become. This only left two other positions that I might attain: above average, and below average.
Above average was something that, though acceptable, was beyond my ability and will power to grasp. I had heard the stories of the trials and training that lined the road to "above average". I knew that I didn't care enough to even get close to making it. I was on the road to "below average".
Now I am in a place where all that I once thought to be, never really existed. All the rules and principles that I once believed governed the universe were all just figments of my imagination. There is no average. And, because there is no average, there is nothing above or below average. This is not a universe that is governed by numbers. How can averages be determined by this universe? Averages are simply the labeling of numbers. There are no roads; none that come to be better or worse for us. In fact, there are many roads. For each person there is one road. From that road there are the trails of decision. But none of this makes one road any easier or any more difficult than another. I saw the successes of others as something that could only be gained by traveling the same road as they had traveled. However, this is quite impossible. My road is before me. It is no one else's road. Even to those whom we walk through life with the road is very different.
I have but one road. At this time my road has brought me to a place that is unlike anything that I have previously traveled. It is better; it is more difficult; it is simply different. And yet, I feel as though it is just the kind of path that I am meant to walk. I am comfortable here. It is a thing that I would have always thought would be awkward, but it has become for me just the way I was meant to live.
(I say this with reservation, because I know that not all of my life is as it should be. There is still much for me to learn, as well as to change.)
A few years ago I wrote a poem that related to this subject.

The Eternal Trial
by Kin Butler

The long trail, never ending, swaying along before me, fading away behind.
Never moving, but forever changing.

Unable to see what is ahead I can only think of where I am coming from,
and where I believe I am going.

I realize that everything I left behind is nothing,
and yet, to me, it is the world.

I know I should loath and despise it,
and yet I miss it.

I do my best to keep my mind on the trail ahead,
and it goes on.

How Does This Work Again?

Quick thought could be the solution to the plague of quick mouths. I suppose it really is true that often times when people speak a little too quickly it's because there mouth acted quicker than their mind. Thus, the solution to foot-in-mouth disease is to use your brain.
I have no idea where all this came from. I'm a little tired right now. But I know that I need to get to work on my Hamlet project if I'm going to have it done by this afternoon. The only reason I am writing on here at this moment rather than writing for my Hamlet project is so that my brain will be warmed up to just write. That, and I wanted to let you guys know how I'm doing.
The school year is one sixth of the way over. If you think about it, that is a big chunk. This has been a crazy-go-nutz week: Lots of homework every day, play practice after school, things to do in the evenings. It's just crazy. Then comes this weekend and all the homework I have is a little reading and perhaps getting started on a paper that is due Friday. That's it. I'm not complaining. I'm fine with not having much work.
I spent some time with Robbie yesterday. We talked about different things, and come to find out I'm not the only one who is surprised by the way other people think. After yesterday I'm a little confused about a few things. There are things that I know to be true, but the thing I'm struggling with is 'why are they true?' I mean. There are things that I should be doing, but why should I be doing them? For a while now I've been using the wrong motive. I've been spinning the yarn so that I could sheer the sheep.
I think I'll get going now. Laters.

Today, Or Not Toda...That's Enough Of That

What in the world happened?!?! It's been an entire week since I last blogged. It probably has something to do with my Hamlet project. You want to know what I hate the most about that project? Well, too bad, cause I'm going to tell you anyway. The thing I hate the most is the fact that my teacher was right about it. He said that it was the project that students hate the most, but enjoy putting together the most. I wouldn't mind so much if he were only partly right. I would have been fine with it if I had loved the project entirely. And it wouldn't be so bad if I just hated the whole thing. But he was right. I don't like that. Not that I'm against teachers being right. I'm just against teachers being right about projects that I hate doing. That's all. It's like "If you are wrong, will you completely discount the necessity of this project?" That would be a fun wager. If I lost, then I had a great time with the project anyway. If I won, it wouldn't matter how well I did the project. Why don't I think of these things before the project is due?
Well, I started this post on Friday morning. Now it is Saturday afternoon. Within that span of time a lot has happened.
Yesterday I went to get my senior pictures taken. A lot of people think that you have to go to a professional to get good pictures. Not me. I have a friend who loves taking pictures and does a great job at it. So yesterday a couple of friends and I went to an undisclosed location to take my picture...over...and over....and over. My photographer friend also took several pictures of really cool things around us, but all in all she took 200+ pictures. Again, not all of them were me, but the majority were. That is a lot of smiling. That's ok by me. I smile all the time anyway. Seriously, in situations where most people would be complaining after a little while of smiling I can keep going for hours. I have that much practice. It's just natural.
We had so much fun. I was a complete goof ball the entire time. But that just keeps things exciting.
Today. Ah, today.
Today was a great day. It is the birthday of friend of mine. In honor of the occasion a few friends got together and kidnapped her for the day. I was among those people doing the kidnapping. (Yes, her parents knew that we were going to do it.) We took her to the mall and got her ears pierced. Then we just hung out for a few hours. It was great.
Now, I must return to my Hamlet project. Laters.

"...Fine. How are you?"

Currently in a state of un-understood turmultueous pleasure I find myself very confused as to the manner of my life and the matters of it.
Now for a sentence that makes sense:
This past week I have found that every time I go to lunch, after my fourth period class, I am not in a state of happiness. Nor do I find my life to be filled with sorrow. I believe the way I described it to my friends is this: I have no reason to be sad, grumpy, or displeased in anyway. But I wish that I did.
Explanation: I have no reason for sadness. In fact I have much reason for celebration and enjoyment of life. I am not displeased with my current situation. God has blessed me greatly this year. I can think of no reason not to celebrate and to be joyful...And I think that is what I grow tired of.
I continue to be blessed and I continue live my life as I always do. It is this norm that has come to be a burden to me. I think back to last year and my complete lack of all these things I have now. At the time it all seemed like a curse. Now I see it as one of the greatest blessings I had yet received, and I do wish that God would put me in that place again.
Now I am burdened with so many responsibilities, and yet I feel more relaxed than I ever have. I have become a social butterfly, finding myself capable of stepping away from my bubble quite a bit. I am finding myself to be something I am afraid of. Not because it is a dangerous thing that I am becoming. Rather, it is that I am becoming much more than I ever thought myself capable. If only I had to worry about the basics and specifics, would my life be easier? Would I be busied and tormented by all these responsibilities and varied focuses? I know I have already written on the expansion of my "zone". Now I divulge why.
I see futility. In all the things I am doing I see the redundancy of all things past, and the incessancy of all things that are to come. Some times I say to myself "Just wait. In a few weeks you will be done with this project, and these things. Then you will have time to work on the things that you have wanted to do for so long." I have been telling myself this lie longer than I can remember. I know that it is not entirely true. I know that once I complete one task another will arise in its place, and the second task is often more complex and time consuming than the first. Yet I continue to tell myself this lie for two reasons:
One: It gives me some hope to hold onto.
Two: That hope is the soul truth behind the lie, and that is that there will be peace in the end. After this life is done I will have all the time I need to do the very thing I long to do. I shall worship and serve my Lord forever. When this life ends--in my final breath I will find the freedom I have searched so long for. I do not seek my own death. I say this to mean that the freedom I have been seeking in life will be the very freedom I will find in my passing from this world. No more will I be taxed by the weariness of this body. Pain, hunger, fear, and worry will no longer be a part of my life. The only comfort I find is that of knowing I serve for a purpose. That purpose is not my own, and at times I do not understand it, but I can know that I serve for the benefit of others and myself.
If God should so chose to curse me with these blessings, then may He also help me to use this curse to bless others. That would be a true blessing.

Class Of Two-Thousand ME!

I've been thinking about college a lot lately. It has finally hit me. Up until this last week I have never really thought that I might go to college. I didn't even ever really want to. Sure, I did everything I could last year to get as much education as I could so that I could go to college, but that was for my parent's sake. It never really was in my mind that I would actually go. This school year I kept on thinking that I needed to start looking into it, colleges and scholarships. The bug didn't really bite until after the senior college and scholarship meeting on Wednesday this week.
I went home that night and went online. I didn't know what I was looking for. I didn't even know where to start. So I started with the only thing I had.
In the last three months I received some info from Corban college because that's where they held summer seminary, and my info happened to slip into their hands. Anyway, the point is they sent me some info. So I decided--not having anywhere else to look--to start with Corban.
I went to their website and looked around. I checked everything from their offered majors to their staff roster to their doctrinal statement. The more I looked at it the more I liked the idea of actually studying there. (If my mother and/or father are reading this, don't get any ideas. I'll take care of this, thank you)
With the rest of the week I looked into what I would have to do to get anywhere. I signed up for the SAT test. I picked up scholarship applications. I looked at other colleges on line. But the more I looked at other colleges and other possible majors the more I liked the idea of Corban.
It's a nice size: small. It's a nice location, and I don't mean what they are advertising: "one hour to the coast, and one hour to Portland." I mean I've been there and it's really not too far from where I want to be. It could be much farther. It's also, in my opinion, a nice campus. The whole place is within tree cover. It might be thin and scattered tree cover, but it's trees none-the-less. I like trees. It makes me feel more at home. And it's easier on the eyes. Who wants to look at a bunch of buildings every day. There may be some people out there who do, but not me. I like trees. (did I already say that?)
It's strange. The more I think about it--college and all--the more I can actually see myself going. Really the only thing I wouldn't like about it would be that I would have to leave all my friends. I have no doubt that I would make new friends. I seem to have that effect. I don't find myself being alone in a crowd for very long. And if I were to spend four years at college, I would definitely have friends by then. I went to high school for one year and came out with a large group of friends. Most of my friends I could be okay with leaving. It would be sad, but it wouldn't be heart breaking. My closest friends, however, would be a bit more difficult to leave. I'm sure I could do it, but I know I would miss them greatly.
These last two summers at summer seminary when the Corban people gave their sales pitch I kept thinking "Yeah, yeah. You keep going. You won't be seeing me coming here in this lifetime." I never thought much of colleges. Just a bunch of people trying to make themselves look good so that they can get your money. That's what they were in my mind. A plague that was necessary in order to become anything big in the worlds eyes. I never wanted to be big in the worlds eyes, so in my eyes college wasn't very pertinent.
Now the more I look into different colleges and different majors the more Corban looks like it's exactly what I want. Okay, maybe not exactly. But it's pretty darn close. I don't know what exactly I want. But I don't think I want to live on a campus with thousands of students, and hundreds of teachers who don't have time to focus on individuals at all, and large campuses that almost require a car just to get from one class to the next in a reasonable time. I also can't think of anything else that I would rather study than God. I mean, there are a lot of things that interest me, and I do enjoy learning all kinds of stuff. But God is one of the most fascinating topics to study and discuss. I would just love to spend entire nights talking with other students, and entire classes talking with professors, about the greatest love of my life. There is so much to learn. I don't want to have to wait 'till I get to heaven to learn it all. I want to know some of it now.
I continue to pray on the matter. May God's will be done. If he should so choose, I shall go to Community college.
Laters.

How Much Wood Could A Wood-Chuck Chuck?

One day there were three cowboys sittin' around a campfire, eatin' their beans and drinkin' their coffee. Frank says "Joe, tell us a story." So Joe began.
"One day there were three cowboys sittin' around a campfire, eatin' their beans and drinkin' their coffee. Frank says 'Joe, tell us a story.' So Joe began.
'One day there were three cowboys sittin' around a campfire, eatin' their beans and drinkin' their coffee...'"

I love that one. My friend told it to me maybe three or four years ago. It's always a nice one just in case someone asks you to tell a story. Start right into that one and before long they'll learn not to ask such silly requests.
I've been pretty busy lately. I would like to blog every day, but the time flies by so quickly that I come to the end of the day only to find the same post that was there three days ago labeled as the "latest post".
I auditioned for the musical that my school is putting on. I have been in a school musical before. It was The Music Man that we did two years ago. I was the bass in the quartet. Those were good times. This year we are doing the Rodgers and Hammerstein version of Cinderella. What fabulous part did I receive, you ask? I, me dear readers, received the part of...get this...Herald.
That's right, I am the herald. This means that my big line is "Here ye, here ye, here ye all!" There is more to it, but you'll just have to come watch the play to find out what grand news I bring. I'm not really disappointed by the part they cast me as. It isn't a tiny part. I could have ended up as one of the "townspeople". Not to say that being a townsperson is a bad thing, just to say that I do have a good sized part. I even have a solo. It's a good one too. But, again, you will have to come see it to know what it is.
November 17th--19th. Don't miss it. Laters.

Pedestrian Stop-Lights

As the two figures walk down the avenue there conversation becomes a little more than audible to any passers by. Neither one gives much thought to the fact that their useless banter can be heard by the general public. They continue with not so much as a thought to what they are saying. In fact neither one really thinks much at all.
"I don't see how such a thing can even come to pass."
"Well, it's true enough. Regardless of the plausibility of the matter it did happen."
"What will this mean for the rest of them?"
"I'm not really sure. And for that matter what will it mean for us? I hadn't even thought about it."
"Do you suppose there is anything that can be done?"
"I'm certain there are many things that CAN be done. Whether or not it will make any difference I couldn't say."
"So there is no hope."
"No hope in deed."
"What should we do now?"
"I suppose we just keep walking until we come to our destination."
"But where is that?"
"At the place we stop, of course."
"I wonder if the rest of them know what happened."
"If they haven't figured it out by now, they will soon enough."
"Do you suppose any of them saw it coming?"
"Nothing can be certain. I'm sure it's possible. Who knows?"

SEE!?!? This is what happens when you take AP English in high school. You read things such as "Waiting For Godot" and next thing you know, most of your abstract thoughts are in absurd form. "What are we doing?" "Nothing" "What for?" "That's what we do". Absurdism--it's a roller coaster of obnoxious, entertaining, random, vague, pointless, (and many other things) thought. I don't know why I wrote it. It's just the kind of thing that has been waiting to be written for over a week now. I thought it would be fun to write such a thing. True, this is a weak piece. I wasn't trying very hard. I wasn't even trying to write such a piece. That's just what happened when I let my mind loose.
I am going to have to write a paper this weekend. Another one. I mean, what was wrong with the one I wrote last week? Was that not enough to last you a little while? You have to have another one within two weeks of the last.
It's due Tuesday. So long as I have something tomorrow I will be doing well. Once I have an idea and some words to work with I don't have much trouble writing the whole paper. We'll just see how long this one takes. This should be fun. Laters.

*Nerd Alert!*

Have you ever had one of those days that just didn't exist? Not that it didn't happen, just that it was kind of like it happened while you weren't really in it. Not that you ceased to exist for a day, just that your consciousness was, at the very least, dulled to the world to the point that you wonder if you were even conscious at the time. I know that there are some of you who know what I mean. Well, lately my life has been a lot like that almost everyday. Not that I'm not conscious to the world around me, and not to say that my life has been boring. In fact, if anything, this feeling has been brought about by the constant action, excitement, and all around good times I've been having for the last month. My life isn't dull, I am becoming dull to the excitement of life. All the great things that have been happening in my life have become the norm. It's just the way life works now.
I realize this is something that won't last for too long, and soon I will be wondering if there is any point to life other than going to school and being a hermit in my room. This is why I am not taking these weeks for granted. It may not seem like it's a big deal any more, but I know that it is. So when people ask that oh, so classic line, "How are you?", I respond quite quickly and with honest excitement "I am doing excellently." I don't know if that is even a proper sentence, but I'm not trying to give them an essay on my life. It gets the point across.
It's crazy, I even have fun in school. I would rather not have to go to school, but so long as I'm there I'm going to make the best of it. And I'm having a grand time.
Well, dinner calls. Laters.

Photo Opp!

Today was a half day. I got out of school at around 11:25-ish. Before I managed my escape, however, I had to get through my 5th period class...AP English. I wasn't worried at all. I actually enjoy the class (please don't faint at such remarks. It's true, I do enjoy many of my classes. And no, I'm not sick.) Today is Wednesday. Wednesday means practice AP exam in English class. I'm still not worried. After finishing the test I had a few minutes before our time was up. Well, I decided to use this opportunity to "take care of some business." I went and asked Mr. Christiansen if I could step out of the room for a little while, to which he responded in the affirmative. All of this is fine and well, but his next words made a circus act of my entire day. He said "Take something with you" as he pointed to a few pictures on a shelf next to his desk. I didn't quite follow what he was saying. I got the idea that he meant to take something as a hall pass, but he was pointing at pictures of what I believe to be his family.
"You want me to just take a picture of your family right off your desk?" Was the thought that screamed in my mind. Not only was I to take one of the pictures, I also had to pick which one. I didn't want to start playing favorites. Luckily, just as I was reaching for the cheapest frame that I saw C.J. walked into the room, and his next line was so cool. His words were "Here. This is a good one." as he handed me a slightly more manageable picture of two kids.
It took me a little while to get over the shock of the whole situation. Looking back on it I still get goosbumps. It was quite a moral dilemma. I'm not the kind of person who just walks off with peoples stuff. Sure I was to bring it back, but it was still something I was just not ready to do.
Well, the whole issue being resolved I went about my business for the rest of the day, and now you find me here.

"Help You, I can."

I was looking through some old digital film when I found this beauty. The story; my brother and I (the weird one) were kind of board. So we decided to take a few pictures. That was fun. You may see more in the future. Laters.

Prepare For The Big One!!!

It is my observation that many people don't even realize the absurdity by which they live. I realize this is not a new discovery, however, it is quite applicable to understanding the misunderstanding. It's kind of like what Eric said in his comment about my last post. Though nihilism and Christianity don't exactly work together there is a certain aspect of Christianity that would seem, to the outsider, to be nihilistic. To the person who does not see there being anything after this life could look at Christians and say "What is up with you? Don't you even care about all the stuff that is going on around you? You better start movin' or you're going to be left with nothing." I mean, that's kind of what it looks like. Here the rest of the world is going around, every one doing what they think best to be in the best position possible for themselves. I know some people might say that there are those out there who, without any Christian influence, are totally focused on helping others. To that I would say they find it easier to live with themselves. It's a conscience pleaser. It's what they do to get themselves off their backs.
But then people like that look at Christians and what do they see. "That can't be very fun. Why not just put that down for a little while and come have some fun. You only live once, you know." It looks like we don't even care very much about anything.
The reality of the matter is not that we don't care about life, rather we don't look at the same aspects of life as being important. Cars, cash, and power just don't seem that appealing.
The funny thing is that while others may see me as being apathetic to life I feel as though my life couldn't be any more grand or exciting without going over board. I don't mean to say that I have a low tolerance for movement in life. Just that God knows my limits and he is keeping within my operating zone. And it's a BIG zone.
Sometimes I wonder if maybe the zone He has me filling is a bit big for me. "How am I supposed to be all the way over there one second and then all the way at the other end the next second? I mean really!" The only thing that helps my sanity is knowing that I'm not the one that is supposed to fill the zone. I suppose you could say "God is in the zone." I just work here. He works through me. I don't have to be big at all. That's His job.

I don't remember what this post was about. It kind of rabbit trailed all over the place. But that's ok. If that's the way my thoughts are working then that's what I'm going to write and how I'm going to write it. Ummmm...... Laters.

cPonEfuAsCioEn

If but to dream, then I shall dream no more.
For loss in life be alike to gain wherever phantoms are concerned.
No need is there for deep despair when all of now is lost to time.
'Tis but a dream in all its glory. Never more. Never more.
What is the place to the eye of change? Dust and soot, the blankets of time.
I see no more of the self I sought to be. The dead skin empty on the floor.
Where is the portrait of the child who's eyes once peered into the soul?
No longer do I fear the losses of the game that plagues the mind.
What more need come to the hearts of sound calling?

However,
peace be found amidst the storm of confusion.
Sight given to those among the blind.
Understanding comes though few may know it.
Fear evades me as I seek new life.
Freedom found,
And far from a dream.

C Kin Butler 2005

(Insert Really Catchy Title Here. I'm Too Busy To Do It Myself.)

I would just like to say, first of all, that I am not dead. Yes. I know I said that I would now be able to post more often, but I hardly expected my life to become this chaotic. My English teacher even told us on the one occasion that he didn't give us any homework for the evening that it wouldn't happen ever again. So I am expecting to be at least a little busy for the duration of the school year. All accept second trimester. I don't have English that term. I would just like to apologize right now for the lack of blogging that will occur this school year. I assure you it has nothing to do with a lack of desire to blog, a lack of material to blog, or an extreme dislike of my "fan base". Honest, I really do want to blog. I just get really busy, and before I know it it's time for bed.
That said I am afraid I must bid you all fare well once again. I have homework yet to be done. Laters.

Bone-appetite

I would like to start off this post with this statement for anyone considering going into a ministerial position that involves preaching in front of any kind of masses.

If you are going to give a serious sermon, I would advise that you refrain from making any really comical comments in the middle of said sermon.

I say this because of a situation that occurred yesterday. I will not mention the parties in question. However, I do believe I can tell the story. (The names have been changed to protect the guilty. And I'll be really vague.)
So I was sitting in church yesterday with a few of my friends, and the sermon was on the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel. Somewhere near the middle of the sermon Pastor "Bill" made a comment about it not being a situation where "the foot bone is connected to the shin bone. The shin bone is connected to the thy bone." Rather it was more like "Here a bone. There a bone. Everywhere a bone." I found this to be quite amusing and permitted myself a short laugh and a few snickers after the fact. The real trouble, however, was what happened to the two friends on my right. They couldn't stop laughing. And to make it worse, whenever they had finally calmed down "Bill" would say the word "bone" again and they ruptured into another round of laughter.
Now, to be perfectly honest they weren't laughing that loud. I mean, it wasn't like "HAHAHAHA!!!" It was more like " phhhhhht!". They were trying really hard to hold it in. But then "bone" and . We found out later that "Bill" had noticed the situation and had tried really hard the entire sermon to not look over in our direction. It was a great sermon.
Anyway, later that day I was really hungry (this has absolutely nothing to do with the previous story) so I started looking around the house for some kind of food to eat. I found some bread and peanut butter. I thought to myself, "that sounds good, peanut butter bread." So I started to lather the peanut butter on the bread and thought "this needs something". Going to the cupboard I found some old marshmallows. They were a little hard and stale, but I figured I could melt them and then maybe pour it onto to peanut butter bread. I was going to just put the marshmallows in the microwave to melt them. However, on further consideration I decided to melt them the way I usually melt chocolate.
While I was melting these marshmallows I decided to peruse the rest of the kitchen to see if I could find anything else to add to the mixture. I found baking cocoa and powder sugar (two materials with which I have done may things in the past). This gave me an idea. I pulled out the milk and started to mix the cocoa and sugar. When the marshmallows had melted I through all of it in a pot and got it boiling. When I poured it out into a pan I quickly stuck it in the freezer for half an hour.
Upon extracting it from the freezer later I found that what I created was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Okay, maybe it looked exactly like chocolate pudding. But it tasted more like fudge. MMMmmmm, fuuuuuudge. I call it, "fudge pudding". Catchy title, eh? We'll just see how well it sells. I could make millions....or just really happy friends.
Hmm...what should I concoct next? "Wanted: Food taster. Willing to work for peanuts, and whatever else I happen to use in my mixtures."
Laters.

Ta da!

I have yet to tell anything of my first week of school. This a little disconcerting considering it is Friday and I haven't blogged since Tuesday. So I've had Much opportunity for just such a thing.
I guess there isn't a whole lot to say. I'm doing very well in all my classes. I have choir and band first period (they alternate every other day.), drafting 2nd, chemistry third period (how would you plural the word "chemistry"? Like, "I have many classes of chemistri." Or "{I don't have a good sample sentence to go with this} chemistries." just a thought), Advanced algebra 4th (don't let the name fool you. It's just regular algebra.), and last, but certainly not least, AP English fifth period (We'll just see how this one turns out).
I'm really excited about this school year. A lot is happening, and I know that it is only the beginning.

Strings, Straps,...How About Bailing Wire?

"If wishes were horses... we would have a lot of drowned horses in those wishing wells." --Kin
I have been really busy these last couple days. First I went to Guitar center on Saturday after helping a friends brother move all his stuff into a moving van. Guitar center is a pretty cool place. I bought a couple sets of guitar strings. I've had my guitar for two and a half years now and I had never purchased a single set of strings myself. Whenever my strings were getting old a friend would offer to give me a set from his/her massive surplus of guitar strings. (I don't know why my friends always get guitar strings in bulk. It's like they shop at the Costco/guitar center). So this was the first time I have purchased my own guitar strings. Remember that shed I painted? I didn't exactly do it for free. So I had some funds, and now I have new guitar strings. (How many more times do you think I can say the words "guitar strings" in this post?)
I also got a new neck strap. My old one is starting to fall apart. And by "starting" I mean "has been since a year ago", and by "fall apart" I mean "the thread is coming out and I could fix it if I had the time, patience, and enough black thread." So I got a new one.
It's amazing all the different kinds of guitar straps they had there. They had one for the goth (clips, chains, and lots of other metal stuff, all on black leather.) They had one that was made out of a seat belt. It even had the buckle on it so that when you wanted to take the strap off you could just undo the seat buckle. I thought it was pretty cool. I would have even got that one had it not been for the fact that the buckle was made out of a lot of heavy metal that would have dingged up my guitar pretty good.
That was a fun trip. I even saw John Ross and Tim Lopez (I don't think he is related to J Lo, so don't ask). Tim was looking for a new guitar and he brought John along to help him out. They are both friends of mine from Summer Seminary. It was good to see them again.
Well, that should do for today. School started so I'll be locked in this room a lot during the weeks. I should be able to post regularly now. Laters.

Wowzer!

I was thinking about some things yesterday. (I know, it's dangerous to participate in such activities) And I started thinking about some stuff that had bothered me not half a year ago. I was thinking about it and trying to explain it to my friend as though it was something that I still thought was true in m own mind. Trouble was, though I had explained it other people before and I knew exactly what it was, I wasn't able to explain it yesterday. I was still trying to explain it when I finally figured it out.
It doesn't bother me any more. After this year, with all that has happened, I have no doubt about this thing that I was so unsure of only six or seven months ago. It had to do with my relationship with God and it possibly lacking something. Now I know that it doesn't, and that it will continue to grow.
Because I have no doubt on the subject now I wasn't able to even describe the way a felt only a year ago. I've moved beyond it. And God is continuing to remove any doubts that might remain in my mind.
I keep thinking about all that God did in my life last year, and thinking "What is he going to do this year?" I mean, it doesn't seem like there is any more that he can do. But I know that he will do great things this year. It's really exciting.
Keep an eye on this blog. It only gets better from here. Laters.

No Officer. I'm Not Color Blind.

Well, we don't have to worry about the water heater. Dad took care of it really quickly. I only had to live without hot water for one night. Now that you know that I'm sure you will all sleep well.
I realize it has been a while since I have blogged. Like...one...day. Okay, maybe that isn't so long for some of you. But it seems like forever to me. I mean, I've been really busy these last two weeks. That's probably a good thing too. I managed to pick up a little cash with that shed painting job. I finished it today. That shed is looking really spiffy. And I got free high-lights in my hair. People usually pay a lot of money for that stuff. I got paid for it. The white actually looks real nice, if I do say so myself. Sometimes it looks like dandruf though. That's what happens when you don't have it done professionally. (Note: just in case you didn't get it, I didn't really get high-lights done to my hair. It's paint that got in my hair while I was painting ;-)
I've been talking with my friends a lot lately. Mostly on AIM. I would just like to thank all those that have been supporting me in all that's been going on in my life these days. You all know who you are. I'd list you all off by name, but I'm not going to...for security reasons. See, I got your backs, guys. They won't get me to squeal. Your secrets are safe with me.
I'll just take this space right here to mention, in one line a piece, all the weird stuff that I have thought about lately:

Paranoid parents.
4 trip projects.
Paint spills.
Walking routes.
Papers on the internet.
Past experiences -> Future possibilities.
Best case scenarios.
Green apple smoothes.

Thank you. I would again like to thank all those who have contributed to this list. I couldn't have done it without you. Laters.

I think I've seen this part of the movie before.

I don't know exactly what God is trying to do right now. It seems like He is working almost every angle possible. One moment he is blessing me, and the next it seems like he is trying to make life difficult.
One of the things that makes me so unique from a lot of people is that I find pleasure in the little things. Today I was painting that shed that I mentioned before. I had noticed in the morning that the clouds hadn't left yet. The reason I hadn't painted yesterday was that it was raining. It was looking like the same would happen today. However, God was gracious enough to not only hold back the rain, he also got rid of the clouds so that it was sunny. I was thrilled to say the least.
Then I came home and was quickly reminded why it was that I shouldn't leave my family at home alone for very long. Our water heater busted.
I don't know about you, but I like hot water. I think that hot water is a great thing. Cold water is good too, but hot water is just as important.
Anyway, my dad is going to have to replace the water heater. That means I'm going to have some work to do for the next couple days, if not weeks. It may be a bit bothersome, but there are worse things that could happen. (Note: some people would knock on wood after saying such a thing. I, however, enjoy challenging the forces of karma and luck, because they don't exist. And even if they did, I'm to busy being distracted by the simple pleasures in life that I wouldn't notice too much if things were going wrong. Mua hahahaa. It is too easy, being me.)

Future vs. Past

I was just at a potluck at my friends house. It was pretty cool. Food, friends, and I even got to play the card game that I invented when I went camping with the Mayers at the beginning of the summer. Ben and I played horse shoes. You know, that game where you throw the horse shoe and try to get it around the metal stake. We didn't start out so good. We would throw the shoes and they would hit the ground somewhere near the stake, but then they would keep on rolling way past the stake. It was great.
By the end of the day we had improved so much that I was able to get closest to the stake most of the time. Ben even managed to make four ringers. I was impressed.
On the other side of the time spectrum, seeing as it is more of a futuristic thing and horse shoes has been around for a long time, we saw a hover craft. One of the guys that was invited to the potluck brought a little more than a casserole. He was also towing a real, live, working hover craft. Apparently he deigned it himself. It was pretty cool. Like one of those things that you know exist somewhere, but you know you will never see one unless it's on a TV screen. Shows how much I know.
While I'm on the topic of futuristic things I think I'll mention what happened to me yesterday. I went to go do some work for a guy who calls me whenever he needs some odd job done. This time I was to paint his new shed. But first I had to have paints and brushes. So we went for a little drive down to the True value in town. This drive was made in his new hybrid car.
I had never been in a hybrid before in my life. I always thought they were a bit obsessive towards saving the planet, and potentially really expensive. I'll admit now that I was wrong. I was quite impressed by the technology involved and all the things that had been put into consideration. That thing could get 52 miles to the gallon. It only has a ten gallon tank, but that's enough to get you 520 miles. Now that's spiffy. The coolest feature, in my opinion, was that while driving whenever you put your foot on the break it takes the energy created by the friction of the breaks and puts that energy into the battery. I know, I'm a nerd. I liked physics, and I not only thought it was cool, I understood it.
It was kind of weird sitting in it though (the car, not physics class). The only thing on the dash board that I recognized was the stereo. Everything else was digital. The mileage, speed, climate control: all of it was on the electronic touch display. It looked futuristic.
Live long and prosper. Laters.

ZZzzzzzzzz...*Snort* Whaaa?!?

Ok, first of all I would like to clear up a little misconception. When I said that I didn't know what to write, what I meant was, "I could come up with something, but I'm getting a bit A.D.D. just sitting here and I need to take care of some things. Oh, and I need to give some kind of weird bulletin to distract you all from my name." To be perfectly honest I could probably, given the proper amount of time, come up with something. Come to think of it, I did come up with something. In fact I thought that what I wrote was pretty ingenious. I don't know what all your problem is. I didn't have bloggers block. I did blog, and that, as they say, is that. Ha!
Anyway, I have been slightly disturbed by my sleeping patterns as of late. So what if it has only been two nights now that this has happened? I don't care. For me that is enough to cause some concern.
The night before last I decided to go to bed really early, 9:30. It seemed like a good idea. I have been getting minimal amounts of sleep ever since I started school last year. And I was going to go do some work for a guy the next day and thought that a good nights sleep was in order. So I went to bed around half past 9. It took a long time just to start dozing off. And even that was continually interrupted by phone calls and people walking in the room.
Eventually I did fall asleep. It was at that time that I had the longest dream I have ever experienced. I have no idea at this time what it was, but I do remember that a lot happened in it. Well, I later woke up, at a very disappointing point in the dream of course. It was still dark so I looked over at my clock. It was only 11 something...PM. I was really disappointed. I was dreamed out for the night. And yet, I had to go back to sleep. My brother hadn't even gone to bed yet, so my music was still playing. That was the first weird sleep experience of the week.
The second was this morning. I didn't go to bed early last night, but for some reason I woke up at 5 this morning. That was no problem, I just went back to sleep. However, the weird part came when I woke 20 minutes later. I still thought it was no big deal. "I'll just roll over and go back to sleep." Trouble was, I was still tired, I would close my eyes and let my thoughts run around in my head, which usually leads to a dream state, but this time, no such state of dreaminess occurred. My thoughts just kept going: Things I was going to do this next week, how I was going to schedule it all, what conflicts had arisen, how my work would get done on time. So many thoughts, and all so fast. Not the kind of stuff I had been thinking about the day before. I just lay there for 20 minutes thinking and trying to sleep. I finally realized that sleep was not going to come to me. And so, at 5:40 AM I got up. I don't know what to think about it. I only got 20 minutes less sleep than I would have.
Well, that is possibly the longest post I have ever written. Laters.

Psych!

Hey guys! I don't know whether you know this or not, but my name is not really Kin. It's actually M--- We interrupt this very important piece of information with this slightly less urgent news. I don't know what to blog about. We'll fill you in on the details as more information comes our way. Thank you, and good night.

*Sniff Sniff* Ahhhhh!

I suppose I could actually tell you all what I actually did on TCL. Not that I didn't learn how to knit, just that knitting wasn't what I was there for.
This last week was actually very eventful, aside from the knitting. It started off with digging in the sewage on Monday.
I was on facilities this week. Facilities just means that we do all the odd jobs around the camp. It just so happens that before that week end the sewage pipe broke, and last weeks facilities team had to dig the dirt out around the pipe. By the time Monday came around they were ready to fix the pipe, but all the "liquid" that had leaked out had to be bailed out of the hole. Let's just say that there was a certain aroma to the job. Good times.
Actually, I was probably the one person who didn't mind the smell so much. True, there are things that my nose is sensitive to, but I guess sewage just isn't one of them. It helped a lot that we were working out doors. The odors weren't too condensed and potent.

On Thursday all the TCL'ers went to Calamity Jane's. That was a tasty treat. That night I ended up leading worship for the campers at chapel. Then I had the honor of being sent to start a fire for the horse camp. I couldn't start a fire to save my life. Thank heavens they sent someone with me. So I supervised. It was a beautiful fire.

Friday one of the counselors had to leave, so I was the replacement. From the moment I finished with breakfast dishes at 10:00 'till free time at 3:30 I was counseling.

Saturday all of TCL and summer staff were cleaning the entire camp. I'm pretty sure I got one of the best jobs ever. I was on litter patrol. But that wasn't the good part. It was litter patrol on the trails up in the woods. I love walking in the woods. It's my element. Like I said, the best job ever.
That evening, for the banquet all the TCL guys wore ties. The reason for this, as Trevor put it, "'Cause we got class."

I think that's all for that week. Yeah, Laters.

Psychotic Ranting

I don't really know how much I really want to blog right now, so I am going to hurry it along, say what I need to say, and move on.
I was walking along the other day talking with one of my friends when out of the tired brilliance of my thoughts came a magnificent realization. And it went something like this:
I have heard it said that imitation is the highest form of flattery. I guess that's why pleather makes real leather so much cooler.
Think about it. Pleather is "imitation" leather. I don't know about you, but I definitely prefer the real thing over that fake plastic stuff. Suffice it to say, pleather flatters leather through it's imitation. You wouldn't, because of pleather, think that leather was better if pleather were imitation mink fur. In that case you would think that the real mink would be better. All of this most definitely proves that imitation is a very high form of flattery.
That was the deep discovery I made the other day. Who knows what I'll figure out next. No doubt, it will be another discovery that will change the world. And by "another" I mean "the first". And by "change the world" I mean "will do absolutely nothing for our little planet or the people on it."
Laters.

Pit Stop #... Just Kidding

I'M BACK! MUA HAHAHAA!
Hey everyone, I should be posting a little more regularly now that I'm home for good.
Ok, get this. No. I'm not crazy, and don't laugh. This week...I...Learned...To knit. Now, I know what you're thinking:
#1) Why would he even want to try to learn to knit?
#2) Why would he admit it to the entire world, or even just the eight or so people that read his blog?
#3) Haha!
Hey! I told you not to laugh. Some of you may think that I'm a Little bit weird, or, shall I say, "fruity" for learning such a thing. However, let me assure you that, though I cannot divulge my diabolical plan at this time anyone who laughs at me will regret it in the future. I mean, it's so obvious I don't know why everyone hasn't learned to knit yet. I could practically rule the world now. Or at least a large island in the Bahamas or somewhere cool like that. I might fill you in on my great scheme some time in the future. But not until after I have had control of half of south America for at least..eh...we'll say...four months.
On a different note, I have now seen The Phantom Of The Opera. I saw it last night with a couple of friends. I can see now why I didn't score high as the phantom when I took that online test. He's a bit nutz. It was a pretty good movie. I've never seen or read any other rendition of it so I wouldn't know how it was compared to how it is "supposed to be". The singers were good. I heard a lot of shwooping. That's where you go for a note, hit right below it, and then rise up to the note. You shwoop. Yeah, there was a lot of that. And I heard the Phantom almost yodel a couple of times. But hey, no shame. He's a bass. Basses do that,... if they're cool. I'm a cool bass.
Well, it's good to be home. I'll be here writing quite a bit now, and I'm looking forward to it.
Laters.

Pit Stop #5 (Last one for the summer)

This week I would like to point out the lack of surplus in the area of the portion of the serving in the likeness of the kind of... What's that Mom?
Sorry, what was I talking about? I can't remember.
Anyway, I got back from camp today. I leave again tomorrow, and when I return the next week I will return for the last time this summer... at least... from camp... this summer... yeah... th-that camp thing... the one I've been at for two weeks...right.
This last week was full of weird occurrences. I saw all kinds of people that I never would have thought I would run into at camp. I'll just give a short list.

Tyrell: I know him from Summer Seminary.
Elliot: TCL last year.
Jessie Rickert: Church and school.
Magumi: Summer Staff last year.
Bobby and Laura Sylva: TCL leaders last year.

It was just a sweet week. I've really been breaking out of my shell a lot lately. So, to all my friends out there, don't be suprized if I come back slightly weirder than usual. Mua hahahaa.
Laters.

Uh...Hi!

I was just thinking. I don't really know what I was thinking about. I'm going to have to write two papers when I get back from camp in two weeks. I kind of know what one of the papers is going to be about. The other one is a bit more mysterious.
While reading the book "Jane Eyre" I noticed that it referred to God a lot. It didn't even put a bad light on him either. The main character, Jane, talks about how she knows that good things are blessings from God, and that bad things are just discipline from God to train her. Someone else reading it might not take much note of it.
It's kind of sad really. People can read stuff like that and not pick up on those little things that mean so much. I wish I could write my paper on something to do with the recurring theme of God's work throughout the book. I don't know how I would fit it into the criteria for the essay I have to write though.
We'll just see. I have two weeks still. And God always makes things work.

Pit Stop #4 (that's a lot of pits)

First week of TCL is over. Yay!
This year is totaly easier than last year. We have a great crew of kids, in which I am the second oldest. We get those bathrooms, shower houses, and cabins cleaned faster than any TCL group that I have ever heard of. The consiquence to that being that we have quite a bit more free time than last year.
Someone brought the techno song "Fine Night Tonight". That was pretty much our theme song last year. It's a great song. And it's hard to find the version with the seaguls in the background. Bobby has been looking for it all year and found a few other versions, but no seaguls. It's a sweet song.
There was some worries that, due to the lack of there being Bobby and Laura (our TCL leaders last year), this year might be less fun than last year. Luckly I didn't end up trying to make Trever and Nikki (our TCL leaders this year) fill shoes that weren't theirs. I started off comparing the two groups. However, I let go of it and let this year be this year. I'll leave last year in it's own memory box.
There are 13 kids on Omega TCL this year. The girls are: Anna, Bethany, Emily, Linda, Megan, Jamie, and Kaleene. The guys are: Trever, Joe, Jared, Luke, Daniel, and Kin (me).
And as if it wasn't hard enough learning all these names at once, Jared and Luke are twins. So right there is the added difficulty of figuring out which one is which and then remembering the names for them. I think I found a way to recognize them. It's all in the hair line. They have exactly the same hair cut. However, the way their hair grows in the front makes them identifieable. Jared's hair is a little bit more jagged in the front than Lukes.
We watched the Newsies last night. That was a good movie. I've heard a lot about it, but I had never seen it 'till last night.
I'm looking forward to these next two weeks. It will deffinitly be a great experiance.
Laters

Pit Stop #3 (Peace Is Over. Time For Action.)

Hey everybody!
I returned from the beach yesterday. It was a very needed vacation. It was just my father and myself, as I mentioned before. We had a fairly routine week.
7:00-8:30 : Wake up
9:00-3:30 : Read
3:30-4:30 : Walk on beach
4:30-5:30 : Kill time
5:30-6:30 : Dinner
6:30-8:30 : Guitar (I was a pickin' and Daddy was a grinin')
8:30-11:00: Watch some TV (At the very least one episode of "All Creatures Great and Small" every night)

The schedule varied a little every day. But that was the basic gist of the week.
Most of the time was spent reading. I was able to finish three different books in four days. I don't have any more reading to do for the summer assignment. Now all I have to do is write two papers.
But first. Today at 8:00PM I leave for TCL. I'll be gone for three weeks, only coming home from 1:00 Sat-3:30 Sun on the weekends. This is going to be a great year.

It's A Doozy

Today I was getting ready for the beach. For those of you who didn't know, I'm going to the beach this week for a "vacation". (I guess that's what they call it. I don't know much about them.) Tomorrow my Dad and I head out to Rockaway. The rest of the family will come out on Wednesday. It will be a great time to have peace and quiet. I can finish the last book for my summer assignment.
Anyway, today was prep-day. Most people might prep for the beach by getting things together: Towel, sun-screen, umbrella, etc. I however went about it a bit differently. See I've been doing this whole packing thing so much these last couple months, I could probably do it in my sleep. So you want to know how I preped for the beach, today? Ok. Here's the big secret. I did laundry. Can't go anywhere without clean clothes.
I played a lot of guitar, sat at the compy for more than a few hours total, and even went for a walk. Since I mentioned it, (and since it's what I wanted to write about anyway) I'll explain what happened on said "walk".
I had been playing my guitar, and seeing that it was really sunny outside I decided to go for a walk around town, as I often do just before leaving from or returning to town. It didn't really matter what time it was, I just wanted to go for a walk. The dryer had a couple hours to go, so I was free to leave.
After walking around for a little while I remebered that the high schoolers from my church were coming back from camp today. I didn't know when they were supposed to arrive so I B-curved it to the church. (No. I did not mean b-lined, 'cause I didn't go in a strait line. I took the more indirect rout. The B-curve.)
When I got to the church, sure enough, they had just gotten back. I walked over, greeted everyone (Joy, Brian, and Carina), and proceeded to ask questions about their week while answering to inquiries about my own.
The reason I wanted to write about this was not because it was some big deal. And it wasn't to kill time, or to fill in a post for the day. Talking with all these people from my church was kind of weird. Like I had been gone for a long time or something. Almost like it wasn't natural for me to be talking with these people. It was like talking with a friend that you haven't seen for years. The connection is there, but you don't know what to say or talk about.
One might wonder, "Why such feelings and thoughts about friends from ones own church when they have only been gone a week?" Well, there is that week that they've been gone. And the three weeks prior when I was absent. Still, that hardly seems reason for such thoughts. The real reason for all of it is this. I have recently (this week) changed churches.
I had been thinking about making such a change for a while. Around six months to be exact. The only reason I stayed as long as I did was that I thought God hadn't finished using me where I was. At summer seminary I was able to figure out what it was that I needed that I wasn't getting from the church I was at. It's not that there is necessarily anything wrong with the church. It just isn't right for me at this time.
So basically I am mentally detached from that church. And, even though it has practically been like a second home to me for the last few years, I felt like I was in a place that was only part of my ancient past. I was talking with old friends. It all seemed so distant.
I'm really confused right now. And a bit tired from doing all that laundry. I'll be gone for a week. I might post on Saturday. Laters.

Not Such Wise Teeth Now, Are You?

I Don't Have Any New Cavities!!!
(As I mentioned once before, you can tell I'm really excited because I used more than one of these '!')
I went to the dentist yesterday. They said I had good teeth, and no cavities. I'm very glad because I really don't like getting fillings. All the needles, and the grinding, and the "uyah!". So I am very happy.
However, a great shadow was placed over me while I was in that dental office. They took a couple scans and discovered my lower wisdom teeth aren't coming in so good. In fact they are on a collision course for my molars. It didn't look pretty. It actually looked like it should be hurting right now. But it's not.
Anyway, they told me to let them know if I start to feel pressure and/or pain in my molars. They'll want to take them out before you know it.
The things I dislike about the whole "teeth removal" thing the most are the incisions and the pills. That and I'm worried that laughing gas could make it a bit difficult for the docs to do their work. I laugh enough as it is.
Ok, so let's go over this.
Dislikes:
#1: Surgery: Never had one. Never want one. Ouch! 'Nuf said
#2: Pills: I have never in my life taken a prescription drug. I don't have anything against them or people who take them. Just so long as that person taking them isn't me. I pride myself on a clean record. And I don't think it fair to intoxicate my body after all it's done for me. 'Nuf said.
So this raises the question, "What was God thinking when he gave us wisdom teeth?" He of all people should have known our mouths weren't that big. Oh well. His good and perfect plan will just have to involve some surgery, stitches, and pill poppin'.
On with the show!

Drama...?

We would like to interrupt this regularly scheduled programming to give you an update on the following situation.
Earlier this week the White House received a threat from some alleged "teenager" that the White House was going to be T.P.'d this coming Saturday. Upon receiving the phone call the White House operator was greatly disturbed. She promptly delivered the news to White House security.
Preparations are being made at this very moment to prevent such an anarchical event from happening. There have been guards posted at all areas of the perimeter. They have activated the anti-aircraft missiles. And the outdoor sprinkler system has been shut down.
Stay tuned. We will keep you posted through the rest of the week on the T.P. crisis. Thank you for listening.

Ranch Goes With Everything

How about another installment of "what in the world I've been doing these last few weeks." Maybe I should start with getting an inventory of everything I've been doing and everything I've covered already.

Camping trip with the Mayers: Check.

Summer seminary (Veritas): Umm...Somewhat check.

Counseling at eagle fern: kind of, not really check.

This last week: no check.

Ok looks like I have a lot to cover. Seeing as I kind of went over the summer seminary thing I guess I'll move on to my counseling experience.
I actually left to go counsel the day after I got back from Veritas. I only found out the day before that I had to be there at 8:00 in the morning. That kind of messed up my plans to go to church that day. Oh well.
So I got there, went through the much needed training. Or was it needed? I don't know that I used much of it. However, I did feel more confidant knowing that I knew all the stuff.
The week started rather slow. I thought it would never end. I had started to lose my voice. Cause I had some kind of cold thing, and was always yelling to keep the kids together.
I had eight boys in my cabin. Most of them were Christians. The majority of them were 9 years old, and all the rest were 8. One of the kids had his birthday that week.
I don't really know what else to say. I thank God for all the patience he gave me, as well as the perseverance. If God hadn't been working in my life that week, it could have gotten ugly. But he was, so it wasn't.
Hopefully he will continue to bless me with such patience as I am still around people. 'Cause let's face it, people are difficult to be around. Even the good ones can get to be a bit frustrating. I even frustrate myself. I don't know what God was thinking when he made people, but I do know that he has a sense of humor. So I shall laugh, and bid thee all farewell.
Ha! Laters.