The Wonder Years

23 10 2009

Over a year ago I promised a follow-up to my ages 12 and up blog, one that recalled random yet vibrant memories from my childhood. It’s 1 o’clock in the morning and what better way to procrastinate and ward off such valuable sleep than to blog? Here are the random memories from middle school, a period in all of our lives…full of pimples, puberty, and pure pain.

6th grade: word spreading around my new school that I was a boy because I could dribble the basketball between my legs; playing POGS at recess and winning someone’s spider slammer; running for student council and trying to bribe my classmates with lollipops

7th grade: wearing my hair down in public–for a school photo–for the first time in…I can’t remember; getting a turtle off the side of the road in TX and bringing him home to CO as a pet; getting de-pants’d by the guy I had a crush on and wishing I never owned those granny panties

8th grade: almost choking to death on a wad of gum too big to chew just so I could look cool like the big league sports players; having never played volleyball before, joining the team just because I could jump high and block at the net; running the Indian Fartlek intervals with my fellow track team and cracking up because it sounded like “Indian fart lick”

Your turn…your vivid middle school memories. Go.





Mozart and Me

18 10 2008

A homework assignment required I attend a Colorado Symphony Orchestra performance. And like a good school girl I did. Mozart’s Symphony No. 38. Here are some of my non-snooty observations from the night.

  1. the concert hall was probably 45% filled but my ticket stub had me sit flush up against another couple. i nudged her leg with my shoe a couple of times. she bruises easily.
  2. the elderly lady on my left smelled like milk brought to a rolling boil on the stove. or potentially microwaved milk in a mug. the whole night…warm milk in my nose. not a fan of warm-milk-smell.
  3. i witnessed about 5 1/2 kids under the age of 10 1/2 sit perfectly still through a 2 hour performance. and sponge bob was nowhere to be seen. some of the kids even had itchy stockings on but managed to be well-mannered. now that’s high class, high society.
  4. very few members of the orchestra tapped their feet to the beat. i counted 3. maybe 3 1/2.
  5. the CSO is brilliant. go see them. that’s all i have to say about that.




Please rate the following…

8 10 2008

…I was bored and I was at the height of my Midterm procrastination.

So I scanned my face. 

When it turned out I couldn’t decide if I was terrified by it, mesmerized by it, proud of my efforts at artistry, or what.

Please give me your opinion. Is it:

a.) a la Halloween/X-files/Fringe/What-Lies-Beneath creepy movie

b.) artsy fartsy

c.) serene, romantic and picturesque as my nose breaks the plane of the waterfall

d.) none of the above (should you choose “d”, please give an alternate opinion)





Over and Out.

12 07 2008

I’m heading out for Ethiopia this afternoon and I must say I’m pumped, giddy, excited, rollin’ on the floor happy. I believe it’s going to shake so many people’s lives, including my own. I’m expecting to see God’s power move in, through, and around us. Please pray for the lives we encounter and that LASTING fruit will be a result. Please pray for the spiritual atmosphere as well as the practical, logistical side of things (transportation, luggage, health, etc). All in all, we need your prayer!

Thank you to all my friends and family for the incredible support you’ve given with this spur-of-the-moment trip. I’m loving you and missing you. Can’t wait to share some pictures and stories.

Until then, here’s one I just took that properly displays my enthusiasm right now…

 

Peace. Out.





Tonight at IHOP

3 07 2008
  • was pleased to finally see Josh at a post-Wednesday grub gathering
  • ate 3 bites of leftover garlic bread and one cold french fry
  • laughed a lot: classy, the lobster guy, b’9, royal canadian kilted yaksmen (see below), non-cheesy piece, and Sean’s pizza hut story
  • almost fell asleep at the table
  • and to top it all off…got Rod Smith’s John Hancock for my dad. I didn’t know famous people dined at IHOP.
Here’s to Mark and Dustin…




today’s events

1 07 2008
in no particular order…
  • got my polio and hepatitis b shots for the missions trip to ethiopia (less than 2 weeks away)
  • ate leftover dutch baby pancakes from the pancake house for breakfast
  • ate leftover pizza from blackjacks for lunch
  • forgot to eat dinner
  • took some bc powder for a honkin’ headache. man does that stuff work wonders. 
  • mouthed-off to a ref at an indoor soccer game
  • got a 2 minute penalty at an indoor soccer game
  • played rock band drums at catalyst for an hour after work
  • played the literal drums at catalyst for two hours following the rock band hour
  • played my guitar for an hour following those three hours. worked on new songs.
  • received a total of $200 in sponsorship for ethiopia. yay!!!!!
  • found out my car is a bit broken and needs fixin’
  • finally finished a big project at work
  • felt the presence of God in my car and thanked Him for a rekindled fire
  • blogged
You? Eventful day yesterday?




line of sight

17 06 2008

just a little personal activity on perspectives in life’s snapshot moments

i am currently surrounded by:

  • 1 political world map, 1 satellite world map, & 2 globes. map freak.
  • a quote by a.w. tozer (pulled from 1 of pastor sarah’s realchurch msgs when i first moved back 3.792 years ago): what would a violin solo sound like if the strings on the instrument were hanging loose, not stretched tight, not “disciplined”? 
  • pictures & souvenirs from countries i’ve visited. i need more pictures.
  • a largely outdated to-do list on bright orange paper
  • a finding nemo mouse pad with an expensive mouse on it i rarely use. wasteful.
  • four partially drunk arrowhead water bottles. again, wasteful.
  • a room that needs to be tidied
  • library stuff: books (persuasion, italian verbs, italian grammar), dvds (cinema paradiso, the life of david gale, the simpsons movie), and an audio book (memo to the president elect)
  • goggles & a wet beach towel from a midnight swim. i boldly hopped the fence. 
  • a black oscillating fan on low. whirrrrrr.
  • a clock that reads 2:36 am. it tells no lies.
what defines your environment right now, explaining a piece of you?

 





i took my own advice

8 05 2008

so after writing “…too afraid” the other day, i’ve decided to branch out in my actions. anytime i suggest to myself not to do something because i’ll look stupid, sound stupid, or just be stupid i’m going to rethink the situation. even if it would only be a little loss i’ll reconsider. 

i’m sitting in my car passing time (and not kidney stones) as i wait for my next class to start. i found a little roadside spot by a park. thank heavens i’m in the shade. i can only handle one bodily freakout at the time and heatstroke is not the one on the list right now. nor is dehydration. the one on the list is stomach knots after eating wendy’s fries and a frosty. oof.

i noticed this is the ‘rough’ part of the du campus: a pair of charcoal and ash nike tennis shoes hang from the telephone line above; the playground is only 2 short stories tall and not one mother watching her kid is wearing diamond studs; a hole-in-the-wall chinese restaurant looms nearby, a sure sign of the ghetto. my eyes dart back and forth assuring my safety from the gangs of du.

back to my point. i took my advice about not missing out on opportunities (as a matter of fact, one of these days i am going to run into a face painting booth and get my face painted camouflage). and back to the cause of the stomach ache. wendy’s. i sat here in the car and stuffed every fry into my mouth and chased them with the creamy goodness of a frosty. by the way, wendy’s now have vanilla frosties. bull crap. frosties are chocolate and that’s all i have to say about that. rename your vanilla frosty because it isn’t one. call it coldy or chilly or snowy but NOT frosty. seriously, that’s the worst marketing blunder of all time.

and back to the point. for years now i’ve had one constant irritation with wendy’s. for people with small mouths and pencil lips like me, their spoons are just too frickin’ big! they’re extra deep and extra long. sure it’s a bonus for us fast food americans that want to heap as much product into our mouths at once before our gag reflexes sound the digestive alarm. but for those of us with wee mouths, it’s a nuisance. my main problem with the spoon is that i’m used to other utensils that allow me to drag my lips across it as i remove it from my mouth, guaranteeing no speck of food remains. clean and shiny. wendy’s spoons, you don’t allow me to do that. if i attempt to drag my lips across your deep spoon belly, i get frosty on the corners of my mouth. and who can spare one drop of wasted frosty? nay. not i. 

while i continued to enjoy my frosty and simultaneously loathe the spoon, i caught a glimpse of redemption. wendy’s customer satisfaction hotline was written on the bag. 1-888-624-8140. “talk to us,” it read. years of being peeved at their spoon and i wanted to let them know exactly what i thought. i hesitated. i’d sound stupid for merely calling to let them know about the depth of their spoon and its incompatibility with little mouthed people. i almost passed the opportunity by. 

needless to say i did it. i left a 20 second recording on their comments and suggestions hot line. i told them bluntly: their spoon was too deep and too big (i eased the severity of the comment by letting them know i loved wendy’s – although my stomach cramp tells me i flat out lied).

i like this new sense of adventure however simplistic it may be. i suggest you try some variation of it, depending on who you are and what your personal and self-imposed limitations are. if you agree with me about the vanilla frosty thing maybe we could join fast food forces and make a change in this world by suggesting they change the name. it’s vital that we do so. 





Directions: Bottom Up, Right to Left

7 05 2008

.eno evael uoy dluohs ,tnemmoc ruoy ni ti yrT .gnicreoc deen yeht semitemoS .sevlesmeht esrever ot yldnik meht ksa dna neercs eht no srettel eht ot yltneg dna ylteews klat ot evah uoY .skool ti naht redrah si sihT .deloof eb t’noD .esuaceb tsuJ. tib a pu elyts ym gnihctiws ma I ereh os dnA .tfel ot thgir cibarA gnitirw nam nainarI na fo yltnecer oediv a dehctaw I .esuoherots ym fo tuo aedi eht teg ot tpecxe siht gniod rof nosaer on s’erehT .thginot daeh ym ot emac aedi modnar A