Physicality:

Nothing too new to report. Just a few quick thoughts.

Two things that do not mix in seminars- dramatic/energetic presentation and logical fallacies. Sometimes you can get away with presenting partial truths, as a comprehensive explanation would not be fitting to get the point across... however when stated in an excited fashion the partial is presented as an absolute truth. Doing such a thing irritates me to no end.

Volleyball is the chiznit. I find it really fun to play and quite enjoyable to learn. I believe, though, that it is too late for me to really get into it competitively so I will only play in the most casual of settings... unless an opportunity presents itself where I can truly commit to learn the sport (example: if there's a community or work league).

It's been a rather slow day on facebook. Not the sort of day I prefer.

I finished the third book of the Martin series. I gotta say, it's gotten too tedious and I don't think I want to read on. Mason, I can give you more thoughts and details if you want.

Messiah:

@ Messiah for the weekend. See ya'll later.

300:

Honestly, I'm trying to race my way to 400 posts. Not gonna lie.

Today I was watching the special features disc of 300 and was wondering whether any of the stunt men were scared. Of course, the fight scenes were choreographed and against the blue screen the motions look sluggish compared to what you see in the movie. But then again... there would be a large guy whose been working out 4 hours a day for 6 weeks straight charging at you with a stick. Sucks to be that guy.

On a different note, I'd like to mention my guilty pleasure #2: fantasy novels... of the knights and magic type stuff. I've started book three, the final book, of this series and once I finish it I might give a review of my thoughts. 'Might' because I still am embarrassed to show how much I take to these novels.

Choked:

As I was considering what to write here, I realized that I have not had any moments of nostalgia in a really long time. Perhaps I haven't had any due to the fact that I've become more worried about the future- trying to see where I'll be a few years ahead instead of subconsciously overlaying the past with the present.

Lately I've been immersed in conversation concerning money... and rightly so considering the drastic changes that will be happening in my life. I realize that I cannot/should not maintain the level of luxuries I've been able to enjoy this past week. Movies at the theater, eating out at expensive places, bars... parts will have to be cut out. While I won't have to worry about certain things that other people have to save for (ie. engagement rings, buying property and house for the family, wedding costs, etc.), I will have to make sure that I put aside enough so I can buy a nice European sports car aka chick-magnet. It's the only reasonable thing to do. A sports car and 24 inches of gold chain. Yeah that should do the trick.

Movies:

I want to buy 300 on blu-ray, but I haven't got a blu-ray player to watch it on.

Yesterday I went to a sushi buffet place that was really quite good for the price. The variety was very good and they didn't skimp on the good ingredients. Afterwards I watched the Bourne Ultimatum which was very fun to watch, despite being overly similar to the second movie. Before seeing it, I would recommend reviewing the very end of Supremacy.

That's all I've got for now.

Forward:

Things have indeed moved forward. By the end of this week I'll be receiving an offer from Pepco and they want me to make a decision and sign off on it by Tuesday. That doesn't give me a ton of time to think about it, but that's understandable since they don't want to wait for my other options to develop. Right now, the offer looks very attractive and I've had a positive feeling about it... thinking that there's a 94% chance that I'll probably take the offer and be working by August 20th.

I haven't fully weighted out what living and working would look like. I mean, there's the commute, work environment, post-work activities, financials all to consider with this new phase of life approaching. I haven't even talked to my parents about living in Baltimore yet. The whole thing seems daunting... exciting also, but still there is fear in me.

Anyway, there's still much I need to think through (is this the third time I've mentioned this?) so I'll keep ya'll posted on any developments.

Back:

Well, I'm back from the beach and life resumes. Thus far every single person I've come in contact with has commented on how tan I am and has pointed out that I will probably get skin cancer. Noobs.

New Jersey was a blast and relaxing. It was neat to live and spend time with people who make me laugh. For some reason, though, the whole trip felt like the end of an era- as if things are now meant to be different. Nothing is different around here. My circumstances have not changed at all. Perhaps that feeling is the motivation for me to move on, move forward. It sounds good in theory, but in reality I remain apprehensive. Recently, for every step forward I've taken two back. Progress has never been my forte and in the past it has always been easier for me to just let things lie where they lay instead of dealing with the issues at hand.

As of late I have been thinking about and tempted by the concept of a new slate. What would it be like if I found a job out in California? I could run away from all the good and bad things in my life and start over... meet new people, present myself however I cared to, discuss only choice parts of my past. Again, sounds great in theory but I know the reality of it can be very hard. Running away is, in most cases, the easier and less correct option. Anyway, there are many things here that I would not trade... even for a new start. While I've given up on many a dream here, I still have a few to chase.

Interviews:

Today everything sort of developed. I was running around doing laundry and trying to get some cash so that I could metro down to DC for my Pepco interview. However, around 10 am this guy calls me from the PTO to see if I want to do a 20 minute phone interview. I went ahead and answered his questions and found it to be good "practice" for later in the day. The phone interview was short and succinct, and the end of the conversation sounded positive. But, I was put a few minutes behind schedule so my decision making processes were rushed. I decided to not take my suit jacket. I got on the metro and everything was fine until the Bethesda stop when a couple of suits boarded the train. I immediately regretted not having a suit jacket. What if one of those guys was going to interview for the same position I was trying for? I would automatically be at a disadvantage. It took me a few minutes to rationalize things out. They had individually scheduled out an interviewing time for me so it was highly unlikely that they would be bringing in another candidate that day or even that week. Also, it turned out that I was not out-dressed by the interviewing panel which meant my attire was sufficient. But I've learned my lesson- always err on the side of fashionable... even when it is hot as butt outside.

Also I got an e-mail from booz today for an interviewing night next week, but I'll be out of town so I'm waiting to hear back from them on whether I can schedule something else.

The library books have all come in so I'll go pick them up tomorrow morning (Mason aka dreamboat).

The button on my shorts broke. Does anyone know how to sew a button on? Also, does anyone have a button they could lend me?

Schedule:

This week should be pretty cool since I've got things to do lined up. Here's what I'm doing, give me a call if you want in:

Tuesday- College Park for some, hang out with Schuch, birthday dinner at Cheesecake Factory
Wednesday- interview in DC, climbing at ET Rockville
Thursday- Harry Potter at night in DC
Friday- College Park, visit 1501 Lombard

and then away to the beach the next week!

Beer:

I want to go to one of those A&W restaurants. You know why? Because they got root beer on tap. Yeah buddy... root beer's the stuff.

Mozart:

Dear people who dislike classical music, this will probably be boring for you.

The other day I watched "Amadeus" which is a movie that portrays the rise and fall of Mozart the composer. You can IMDB it... I'm too lazy to put up the link for you. Anyway, I've seen this movie several times and I never get tired of it. The music, all composed by the man himself, is fantastic... pure genius. But what I love most about the movie is that it takes the music apart and analyzes it so that you can appreciate the beauty of the whole. Example- towards the end of the movie Mozart is dictating his composition to another man. He spells out each individual part separately (bass vocal, tenor, trumpet, strings, etc.) and you can hear the instrumental sound that he's imagining. Then all the parts are played in unison and the whole piece comes together in magnificent form.

Okay, I'm a nerd. I grew up on Mozart. The first play I ever saw was a take on the Magic Flute. His concertos are among my favorite. And the Requiem... man, don't mess with the Requiem. But see the movie if you think you can keep from being overly bored by it.

Update:

Hello friends. It has been quite some time since I've updated, but only because I haven't had much to post about. But here we go.

I was away on vacation last week on a cruise to Halifax, Nova Scotia. That's in Canada, by the way. It was fairly boring in terms as vacations go- with 3500 cruisers on board I would guess that 93% of them wore diapers and the average age was 68. I hope that I will not make it to the age of being crusty. On the plus side of the whole shebang, the food was pretty good.

In other news, my car was recovered. It was a pain getting it out of the impound, with the process of going to the police station and the MVA taking most of the day. Then there was the whole problem of it only going a few hundred yards before completely shutting down. As it turns out, there was a problem with the battery and the security system inhibiting the ignition. As of right now, the car has been fixed to working order and should be driving like new within the next week or so. Everything except for my backpack and my computer was left in the car, so now I can go climbing again with all my gear.

That's enough for now. I'll write more when my life isn't so boring.

Limbo:

Oh hey...

I almost forgot about this junks.

I don't take pictures, and I don't have any saved pictures since I don't have my own computer at the moment.

I am trying to focus on putting together interesting things to fill the time.

Facebook is probably the best way to find stuff out about what I'm doing.

Late:

The late night does funny things to your mind. Some say it plays tricks on you; others say it is a time of pure clairvoyance. It's current effects on me - I cannot discern right now.

Motives:

In high school literature classes, my teachers always emphasized the 'why'. They said to focus on why the author chose to write in certain rhythms or why the use of illustrative language or why the theme on liminality. I remember sometime this one teacher would just write in red pen 'why?' at the end of my papers.

I wonder why I do certain things. What are my motives? Before I can evaluate whether my motives are right and pure, I have to figure out what they are. Sometimes I feel like I have such built up, complex networks of emotion and doubts that I can't truly identify the reason behind my actions. Say something as simple as a laugh or giggle at something amusing makes me wonder why I thought it was so funny, or why I reacted with more animation instead of just smiling. Or for example why I would do someone a favor. Am I expecting something in return? Isn't it human and natural to expect something in return whether it is physical, spiritual, or emotional? Should I feel guilty if I want something back? Why am I helping or giving? I don't know. There are simple answers that make a lot of sense. You know, because I care, because I'm supposed to, because it is what Jesus desires of me, because it is good. There are also many simple answers that don't sound as good... because I want them to like me, because it gets me attention, because in the end I'll come out on top.
I've seem to stumble upon the fact that the question of why brings up so many 'because's and hence, makes the whole motives thing so complex. The added dimension of sorting these 'because's creates another layer of complexity. I hope to figure this motives thing out a little more in my head, and work hard to straigten out why I act as I do.

Strengths:

At any given job interview, they always ask what are your strengths and weaknesses. I always make something up... something that sounds good and fancy. Really, I'm not very good at a lot of things. But now that I think about it, I am pretty good at least a couple of things:

1. Sneaking. Because I am really light my footsteps don't make very much noise. I try my best to make use of shadows and if the person is walking I synchronize my step pattern with theirs. Plus I have a small frame so I can slip through small places like staircase guards or parking garage fences. I would make a decent spy, except I am relatively not non-descript and I also would probably get really nervous of being discovered.

2. Senses. I think my five senses are in pretty good shape. I have a good, musical ear which I haven't damaged since I haven't been to too many rock concerts (nor do I own an iPod to blast music with). I'm beginning to understand food better, which has allowed me to develop a stronger awareness of taste. I've always been fairly sensitive to touch, just in general. I think my smelling is about normal and my vision is slightly below normal. Not too bad all around.

I wonder how the interviewer would respond if I answered with these.

Shows:

To procrastinate from studying and as requested by Seye, I present to you- another post.

While poking around on YouTube, I came across this little nugget:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqMOEcCAj2o

Man, seeing this brings back so many fond memories.

Hey, why don't you leave a comment with a memory from one of these childhood TV shows and I'll see if I share it with you:
Mr. Rogers
Power Rangers
The Magic School Bus
Barney
Bill Nye

Psalmer:

To be honest, I either skim or skip whatever is posted if I know it's not just the author writing. You know- song lyrics, book excerpts, news articles, and Bible verses... they're so cliche. But I don't really care because my blogging medium has never been very entertaining in the first place so I have no standard to uphold.

David writes:
O Lord, I call to you;
come quickly to me.
Hear my voice when I call to you.
May my prayer be set before you like incense;
may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil,
to take part in wicked deeds
with men who are evildoers;
let me not eat of their delicacies.
Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil on my head.
My head will not refuse it.

And his words are fantastic... they reach into my soul.

Psalm:

David writes:

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

That, my friends, is gorgeous and is the prayer of my heart. I hope it can be of encouragement to you if you are experiencing some dryness.

Injustice:

This is absolutely ridiculous:
http://smallthingswithgreatlove.com/

Check it out and sign the petition.

I've typed a dozen different sentences here and keep erasing... I'm not sure how to spill these thoughts on respecting other cultures, yet standing up for the oppressed.

Shoes:

I used to only own a single pair of shoes. Sometime around junior or senior year of high school I purchased a pair of New Balance tennis shoes to be worn for almost all occasions. For dress shoes I would borrow a pair from my dad. However, now I might own more shoes than I have owned cumulatively throughout my life. Let's take a look.

First, I couldn't find a picture of my old NB shoes since they're ultra old. I tore half of the sole off playing racquetball last week so a replacement was in order.


I picked these babies up from Costco to be my running/ all-purpose athletic shoes. If you see me at any given moment I'll probably be wearing these (I don't expect the white to keep very long with how much use I think they'll be getting).


These were bought yesterday. They're quite beautiful and very stylish if I may say so myself. My dad got sick of me stealing his shoes so he took me out to get a pair of my own. After three different shoe shops we found a style I liked at a reasonable price. The soles are made of really hard leather so they don't really bend when I step. Hey, they only hurt a little when I walk... a price to pay for looking good.

These slip on loafers are for when I'm wearing khakis. Really, nothing else I have is business casual.

These were really cheap at REI... I couldn't help myself. I'll probably wear these whenever I go out on the town.

Also really cheap at REI. I field tested these on a short hike the other day and they were very comfortable and allowed me spectacular control on even sharp, slipery inclines. I can't wait to go camping and do some serious trails with these on.

I need sandals, obviously, if I'm going to be doing summer activities. I got these in Hawaii because I had a pair that hurt my feet. As an added feature they have a bottle opener on the sole for IBC cream soda beverages and the such.

On to climbing shoes. These are my pride and joy. I haven't fully broken them in yet, but I know that my performance has increased significantly when climbing with the Anasazis. They are a top notch, aggresive climbing shoe so I can no longer blame my performance on my lack of gear. Rock shoes just don't get better than these. I picked these up at full price since I couldn't do some of the more technical moves with the old junks I was sporting.

My first set of climbing shoes and a definite pair of workhorses. They're like the ones pictured except green and an older model. They are a great beginners shoe to comfortably learn foot placement with some edging and some toe grip. Unfortunately, they are flat bottomed so there's only so much pull you can get with them. Also, I started to tear a hole in the rubber so I've started to retire them.

Ryan picked these up for me because they were cheap, but they are just the tiniest bit too small. As a matter of fact, my left foot fits but the right just doesn't squeeze in. They are ultra aggressive and sweet looking, but I'll probably just put them up on ebay... unless anyone thinks they have smaller feet than me, then they can just take them.

And finally, I found a pair of these... used and smelly for only two dollars. They don't fit me at all, but if someone has slightly larger feet than me, they can have these.

That's all of the footwear I own. Too many pairs of shoes? I think so. I'm really just used to having no choices and wearing one pair all the time. Hopefully these last me a long time and I don't make anymore purchases for a while.

Talents:

You know those dumb ice breakers where you go around in a circle and say your name, year, major, and something interesting about yourself? I always draw a blank on the last one. Now I'm going to just say that my talent is Minesweeper, and that I'm pretty sick at it. Is that interesting enough for ya, punk?

Vegetable:

Not really feeling alive right now.

Retreat:

This new google log in system has made it such that I am much less inclined to update. I don't enjoy signing in and out just to switch accounts.

This weekend was my last IV retreat, excluding chapter camp. It's a strange feeling, thinking that after 8 times of going through the retreat routines, I'll probably never do anything quite like them again. The seminars this time were fairly interesting, small groups were eh, and the rest of the time kind of just went by in a blur. This week will be moderately busy with a few exams and homework assignments due, so I was trying to be a good student and study over the weekend. I guess I've become one of those boring retreat nerds. For the first time in my retreat career, we had snow... and a good dumping of it also. Late Saturday night we built a pretty sweet bonfire and then the white stuff started to fall. It was pretty magical. I should have used the spectacular setting to hit on someone and get them to marry me. Shucks, I guess I'll just have to resort to alternative methods like rufies. What? Who said that?

One of the last exercises was to write a letter to our future selves that we will receive in one year. I think that'll be pretty interesting to read a year from now. I'm excited about how things will be changing.

Stories:

Oh... that is really sad. I don't have any really funny old school stories. I'm very convinced that my childhood was a boring one filled with academics and classical music. Crap, I don't want my kids to be like that.

Puma The Suede kicks: $50 Merrell Mesa Ventilator II Trail shoes: $75

REI Polar Pod +20 degree sleeping bag: $69

Insulmat inflating sleeping pad: $28

Sierra Design Hyperlight AST 2-person tent: $220

Total price given these Amazon.com prices = $442

I got all of this at the REI sale for: 15+27+25+12+90 = $169 ... not bad

Corks:

It's not everyday that you get to go out to a nice restaurant. Thursday night I went to probably one of the nicest places I've ever been. Mr. Raine and I enjoyed a deightful meal in which I could simply summarize as exquisite. However, a summary would not do it justice.

The first thing we saw as we entered the restaurant was the kitchen. Right there we could see the work of the chef and his two sou chefs as they cooked and plated the food.

The meal started with wine. The place, as evident by its name, puts a strong emphasis on wine and how it can be complimented by food. I ordered a 2004 chardonnay since I was going to be having fish and Raine got an 2002 Shiraz to go with his beef. Both were excellent wines.

Raine's starter was a Yukon Gold potato soup. Yukon Gold potatos are a medium starch potato that are typically used for more tender potato preparation, but I guess it can be used for upscale soups.

I started with a grilled sweet onion salad. The grilled onion was truly the star of the dish, and I thought it should have been presented in a more prominent manner. The vinaegrette was quite good with a slight hint of salty parmesan. I wouldn't rank this as an extremely delicate starter, in terms of flavor, but I think it served pace the rest of the meal.

Raine's beef burgoisnon (sp?) over mashed potatos and field carrots. He said it melted in your mouth.

My pan seared escolar (snake mackeral) over a white truffle panacotta with baby colliflower. First the presentation is excellent. The car and precision put into making the little tadpoles and even foaming the sauce slightly to add texture to the plate just made this dish fun to eat. The escolar might have been the best fish I have ever tasted. It didn't flake in the same way as talapia or bass do. Instead it was just tender. The savoriness of the pan sear complimented the panacotta really well. I could tell the ingredients were well thought out and the concept in the chef's head was executed perfectly.

Raine finished with a traditional vanilla creme brulee. Absolutely smooth.

I finished with a ricotta pear cheesecake. I've never had a ricotta cheesecake before. It's an entirely different approach to cheesecake. Instead of the creamy, sit-in-your-mouth richness that typical cheesecakes have, this one instantly melted in your mouth because of the lightness and fluffiness of the cheese preparation. Delicious choice of pear, caramel, and walnut.

This all leaves me to wonder, will I ever eat any better than this in my life?

Conclusion:

I forget it too often. I need Jesus. I can't explain it in full... part of it is how I view myself, part of it is how I think others view me, part of it is how I see the world. Without Him I am nothing. Even to those who are close to me and value me dearly, I would be nothing to them if it were not for the work that He has been, is, and will be doing in my life. When I think about it, I wouldn't want the people around me to value anything else in me except for the way I live for Jesus. Let it be the testament of my life- I need Jesus.

Stolen:

I kind of stole this one, but I think it's fun:

If you got onto the Amazing Race, who would you choose to be your partner?

Haunted:

Have you ever been haunted by your dreams? I know some fears will manifest themselves in a recurring theme. But what about the dreams where amazingly good things happen and you wake up to find out that you haven't done anything except kick off your blankets? Those can haunt you too. So my mornings for this past week have been fairly torturous mentally and emotionally. I'll leave it at that.

Jerk:

I'm anti-Ibekwe... what a jerkface.

Zoom:

Lately I feel like my brains have been turned to mush. There aren't a ton of reasons for which I should be unable to meditate deeply or focus my thinking. Anyway, I've been challenged to stop dwelling in a world of theoreticals and instead try to refocus on the big picture. That's a completely loaded challenge, but I think it can be handled step by step. The first thing I will try to do is become a more rigorous observer. Though I can pick up on a decent set of things as is, I want to make more of an effort to take observations at face value and not make over assumptions in my head. I suppose that could be restated as me wanting to be more trusting of people. You said it, I believe it and will take it to heart. One step at a time...

Chill:

Crazy parties and late night outings are great, but nothing beats a chill night like this. The bars can be fun, but I wouldn't trade the face fatigue from all the laughing for anything. Oh and crepes make me a bit nostalgic.



Update: These are the days that I wouldn't trade for anything.

Sands:

Do you ever get the feeling that time is just slipping away?

Drinking:

This is rather lame and embarassing, but I figure it is worth documenting.

Tonight I probably had the most to drink while out on the town. A grand total of three beverages... maybe. I had two beers and a shooter which I'm not sure really had alcohol in it since I didn't taste anything and it didn't burn. Anyway, the exact amount of alcohol I consumed is irrelevant. In order to evaluate how intoxicated I was, I tried to think up of a way to mentally check my awareness levels and thought control. So, yes, I started doing simple math problems in my head. And I found out that I was still rather proficient, able to do a few three digit multiplications before I got bored and lost focus. I still have no idea what my limits are, except for the fact that three drinks only make me tired. That's all of the observations I was able to extract from this trial; additional experiments will be approached with added caution.

Finale:

Things I am looking forward to this last semester:

1. Slightly lighter school load = more free time
2. Volleyball!!! Even though I suck royally it should still be fun
3. Warming weather? Hopefully climbing season will kick back into full swing
4. Living in the house and riding with my boyz
5. Small group
6. Easter - it's a cool season
7. Chapter camp... always love it
8. Party - I would love to just host a random party
9. A camping trip would be really sweet... hopefully putting one together
10. Hanging out, obviously

Extraction:

No hitches yet. I switched from a general anesthesia procedure to a local anesthetic one. The surgeon shot me up good with novacaine and proceeded to do his work while I watched. I couldn't see much, thankfully, but I had a general idea of what was going on. Anyway, I couldn't feel my mouth until maybe 7 or 8 hours after the procedure which is a good thing. I've started my antibiotic and vicatin rotation, though I did extend this last vicatin break to see the effects. It has not been particularly pleasant and the last dose has taken a good half hour to kick in. Thus far I've been sticking to the applesauce. It goes down pretty easy, but I've gotta say that even three or four bowls isn't very satisfying. At the top of my priority list tomorrow- concocting a delicious soup.

I am supremely bored. Prescribed inactivity here is almost claustrophobic.

Wisdom:

Tomorrow I go under the knife for the second time in my life. At least, I think I will if that's what the procedure involves... I'm not wholly familiar. Anyway, I plan to be out of commission for a few days - staying in and probably sitting with my computer a lot... eating jello and applesauce. I'm not sure what kind of painkillers they're going to give me, though I've heard that they do give vicatin so I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing what that might feel like. I do hope I am aware enough from 8 pm to 10 pm tomorrow to watch the continuation of 24. Killing Jack Bauer doesn't make him dead. It makes him angry.

Sci-Fi:

I've been fairly unproductive today. No... I've been very unproductive, actually. I read the book "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card and also proceeded to watch a couple of the Star Wars movies. I sort of see the whole sequence as a homage to my older nerdy ways. I had never gotten around to reading "Ender's Game" even though I had heard a lot about it while I was in middle school since my brother was reading it. Back in those days I was really into reading Sci-Fi. I read through just about every Star Wars book (the good ones, not the silly young jedi series) that was available at the library at that time. I've always loved Star Wars the originals. Few people probably remember when they digitally remastered the original three movies and rereleased them in theaters with extra scenes. I stood out in line to watch them at the Uptown theater. All three of them... and it was awesome. I've played a fair amount of the video games released (Jedi Knight 1, 2, and 3, Jedi Academy, Episode 1 on PS, Pod-racer, X-Wing Alliance, Battlegrounds, KOTOR I and II... that's 10!!!) and also have a collection of toys that are lying around here somewhere. So obviously, the movies have had a pretty large influence in my nerdish upbringing.

The detail provided about this imaginary universe allowed for the formation of building blocks, those of which could allow the universe to be expanded on. Okay, for example... Bacta is mentioned only once briefly in the second movie. This is the name of the substance Luke is submerged in seen in the second movie. Why give a name to it? Because it let's you know that it's not water, but rather a rare substance that speeds up the healing process. That's all implied in the movie. And from there, bacta is found in almost every Star Wars franchise product as the medical commodity of the universe. It's the details that let the universe come alive and let your imagination indulge in fantasy. Han mentions the Kessel Run in a brief quip in the first movie. It's used a couple of times in the books and in at least one of the space flight video games, you get to race through the route to see if you beat Han Solo's time.

On another note, I absolutely love the musical score. I've played parts of it in an orchestra and I can confidently say that it is the best orchestral movie score ever written. Hands down. If you want to argue it, go somewhere else.

Thanks for letting me indulge in my nerdom.

Updates:

Just a few quick updates:

-I haven't been getting as much sleep as I'd like to
-Looks like I'll be getting my wisdom teeth removed sometime next week. I go in tomorrow to consult with the doctors.
-I wish I lived somewhere closer to Baltimore right now
-I realize that I need people who need me
-Hey, let's go and eat while I still can

Parties:

Okay, I'll admit it... I could use Sunday to recouperate. But hey, let's get the party back on by Monday.

Moses:

Did you know that Val Kilmer was the voice of Moses in The Prince of Egypt... and Michelle Pfeiffer was the voice of his wife? I didn't discover this until watching the end credits of the movie.

Urbana:

Made it home safely, had some fun, learned a few things.

ps. LISTEN to this guy.

Christmas:

This'll probably be my last post from Maryland in 2006, so I'd better make it a good one. Umm, it's past my bed time so it'll also be a quick one.

I'll definitely still be connected in Houston since all of my cousins are techies.

Anyway, merry Christmas. Thank you so much for the gift you gave to me. Don't you know? Your friendship and the relationship I have with you is something that I value over any type of possession. I hope my end of the deal is also worthwhile to you.

More scattered thoughts... Some things make me happy. Snowflakes, chilling, cooking, climbing, ridiculous movies, etc. They make me really happy... but in the grand scheme of things they don't bring me joy. I was thinking of the lines 'Joyful, joyful we adore thee' and 'giver of eternal gladness' today and was hit by the fact that in order to mean those words I must acknowledge the joy that Jesus gives to me. A lot of times I don't, and I try to fill that void with happy things. I wish I didn't. So during this Christmas season I'm going to try and focus in on that.

You know, all of the pretty decorations we put up and the beautiful songs that are sung in church... I think a lot of people do it for their own enjoyment. I sometimes see that attitude as wasteful. But anyway, I am learning to see things differently- where all the majesticness of the Christmas season is to reflect the majesty of God. Yes, Jesus was born in a dirty and lowly place... but what he was to do and what he is doing is majestic worthy of our decorating/vocal/artistic talents.

When I think of majesty (please pardon me for this reference) I think of the end of the third Lord of the Rings movie with the great ceremony and an entire city bowing down to a few short hobbits. Okay, I don't know where I was going with this... so that means it's time to go to bed. Goodnight.

Surrender:

I want to surrender all.

I'm not even at the point where I yearn for Him. My desire to follow and worship are lacking. I am only at the point where I want to yearn.

Self:

bleeeeeh... Mind vomit:

I feel inadequate. On one hand, I wish they would value me on a much more intimate level. On the other, I wish I weren't so gosh darn selfish about getting attention. I'm stuck because I desire vanity- I am only self assured through others. Saying that makes me feel gross and dirty, but that's what I am and admitting it is the first step to change.

Sorry about the lack of specifics. You know what I mean.

Beau:

Pictured: Beau, October of 2004.

I first met this fine young fellow outside of the North Campus Diner on September 15th, 2003 at around 5:50 PM I think. I'm not sure who started the conversation, but we were both early to the first small group and were looking for the leaders to show.

This picture is of Beau on our small group camping trip. He was kind enough to follow me from our freshman SG into our sophomore SG.


I guess he is one of the first persons I met here at college and someone who has always been around for me. I would consider Beau to be one of my most loyal friends, and for this I am thankful.









So as the end of this semester marks the end of an era, may a new one begin. Long live the adventures of the two people whose names always get mixed up even though they sound nothing alike.

Finals:

Well it's that time of year again. We're all pulling our hair out and trying to remain as disciplined as possible. With finals starting in about 7 hours, I'm a little unsure about how I feel about the next week. Honestly there is not a ton of studying that I need to do and I'm not very worried about my classes. Also, I have the first final slot and one in the almost last slot. So when looking at the density of stress/studying over the whole time period, it's actually very low.

But still, based solely on principle, I am forcing myself to not have any fun... which doesn't make any sense. I should be working hard and playing hard, not working hard and staring off into oblivion the rest of the time. So with that in mind, please call me up to do something fun and random.

Let's see other scattered thoughts:
- I want to try more ethnic foods
- Being around couples drains me
- I need to be around people, though
- I smell bad
- I over analyze things way too much
- It's about time I start getting my priorities in order
- Traveling over break will be really fun but sort of hard to deal with emotionally

Yikes:

I just realized that that was my last IV Christmas Ball. It was a great one for sure, but I'll miss them dearly.

Break:

You only live once and you only go to college once (hopefully). That's why I'm still up. I'm currently amidst a small break in between exams and I'm allowed to blow off some steam without worrying about school. So forget sleep; let's go do something ridiculous.

Christmas:

I'm ready for Christmas to come.

Po-po:

The law hasn't been so agreeable with me lately. A cop pulled me over for cutting off my friend. It wasn't even marginally agressive... I wasn't even speeding. He didn't even give me a warning because I didn't do anything wrong.

While a bunch of us where standing in a parking lot, another cop pulls up and asks us what we're doing. He then proceeds to tell us to "keep out of trouble". I wouldn't be surprised to see that there was another shooting on Knox Road tonight in the Diamondback on Monday.

Then I got a notice today that I got caught by a red light camera in DC. I swear that that light has the shortest yellow I've ever seen. I'm certain the intersection is rigged that way... I am sooo certain.

Right now it would take a lot for law enforcement to redeem itself in my eyes.

Help:

I have a really hard time admitting it, but I need help. I can't do much on my own and my efforts alone are not putting me where I want to be.

Thanksgiving:

Man... food. Two KO's and I'm down for the count. Details later... I've got an early morning tomorrow. In short, I'm super thankful for you if you're reading this. Peace.

Unexpected:

I feel like God has been answering prayers right and left. The funny thing is the results mostly come in unexpected ways, and therefore it is only in hindsight do I realize the providence of it all.

Slump:

I guess I haven't been blogging very much recently. Things have been pretty busy... and by that I mean there have been a lot of fun things to do and I've been doing them. School has been sort of pushed to the side, even though a bunch of midterms are coming up and things are going to start getting crazy. Whatever, I've been enjoying what time I have left here and I don't regret it.

Love:

In small group tonight we took a look at the love passage from 1 Corinthians. You know, the one they always read at weddings. Anyway, it was really easy to take a look at what love is and is not and think of how poorly we emulated those characteristics. It was a lot harder to pick out traits that we would consider we execute well. For me, I think I fail the most at being patient and not being proud. I also think I am pretty decent at always protecting. I would like to think that in the hypothetical situation of someone messing with someone I love, I would step in and lay the smackdown. Hopefully to the point where I get thrown out of whatever establishment this hypothetical situation takes place in. That would be pretty sweet.

Fool:

Some days I feel like such a fool.

If I was in a TV show, my character would be the one everyone yells at through the TV screen telling me to get my act together and do something with my life.

Morning:

I just wanted to note these late hours. I wonder what time I'll get up tomorrow.

Purity:

I desire faith like a child. Then I wouldn't worry so much about things- primarily what I'm doing with my life. When I think too much about it, I feel like I'm moving with no direction and wasting away. Other times, when I'm doing stuff I feel like I've accomplished nothing and wonder if my actions, words, and presence could be completely forgotten by the morning. I wonder a lot about whether or not I'll end up alone. But according to small group, the answer to all of this is to pray. Pray for faith, pray for patience, pray for peace. I can't do this on my own.

Leafless:

Just a rather artsy picture I want to share with you.

Markings:

3 years tomorrow.

Zombies:

This is all that is wrong with the Humans vs. Zombie game:

"I just shot a bastard in mid pursuit of one of our own, just outside of North Campus diner. I gave the undead fiend a taste of my Buzzbee tek-10."

"I shot one of the little wretches ealier today near the Symons building. She was dragging off a fresh kill, so I threw down my pack and ran her down with my Maverick. She paniced and started to flee. She ate warm, foaming dart in the back after a short chase. I refuse to become prey."

I like when people get excited about fun events and games. This is going a little too far.

Opposites:

I enjoy my opposites. When I'm walking with someone who's obnoxiously loud, my first reaction is to be embarassed. Then I realize that they're just living life with nothing holding them back.

For example, today Jayme got the one-eyes, one-horned, flying, purple people-eater song caught in her head and wouldn't stop singing it while we were walking to our cars. That sort of... childish exuberance (another way of saying craziness) just makes me smile, because something as simple as those moments today will challenge my pride. That's something I need desperately- my walls of pride need to be challenged, pushed, and broken.

Photos:

Create Your Own!

Update:

It's been a while since I've written anything here. I don't think I've had many deep thoughts recently, so maybe I'll just briefly go over my past week. That's what blogs are for anyway, right?

Monday, I don't have any classes so it's hard for me to remember things with no reference points to work with. I think Jayme dropped off the lawnmower in the afternoon. Then there was small group in the evening and we talked about praying. Huh, the whole day seems a little fuzzy when I try to think back on it.

Tuesday, I had classes all day and then I stopped by the climbing wall before heading to Large Group. Shane Claiborne spoke and I found what he had to say very provoking in that good sort of way. Afterwards we had a guacamole party at home and Johnny P taught us a few breakdancing moves.

Wednesday, I overslept and had to work extra hard in the morning to pound out my neuron paper. I spent the afternoon working on a take home exam, but quickly got tired of that and went to the Fe to grab wings with Jas & Jen and Ry & Jul. I stopped by the North Campus Diner, and then went home to waste away.

Thursday, I had classes all day again. After I finished and grabbed dinner, I had to drop my parents off at the airport. Upon my return to CP, I spent the evening at the CH eating creme brulee and sipping hot apple cider. Oh, and wretched people on TV deserve wretched things to happen to them.

Friday, I went to class for awhile and then waited around for Maryland Madness. I've gotta say that this years was one of the better ones I've experienced. The program was good and entertaining all around.

Saturday, I spent all morning and afternoon on campus doing homework and studying. Kurt's parents came down from NY and cooked us the most delicious dinner. There was steak, salmon, cod, asparagus, twice-baked potatoes (yum), salad, and a bread medley. Oh and dessert was ice cream with a banana foster over top.

Today, Kurt's parents cooked us eggs benedict before we left for churches. After church, I watched a little football and climbed for a bit. Then I went cell group and now I'm here.

I now realize that my life this week has been rather dull. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't read any of the above. I should probably start spending time with cooler people... that would help, I think.

Champion:

Don't get me wrong. I love being in College Park, but I wouldn't mind sitting out on the big rock listening to bull frogs for a bit. I feel less grown up there.

Take:

You can have anything of me. Won't you take it?

Jazz:

I finished Blue Like Jazz today, reading outside on the mall instead of actually getting work done. What a great book.

I don't think I have any more direction.
I don't think I am much wiser.
I don't think I've found too many answers.
All I've got are more questions.

Melancholy:

I'd think that word accurate describes me. Definition 2 from dictionary.com says: sober thoughtfulness; pensiveness. I would hope that most of the other definitions don't fit me. Maybe I take myself too seriously. Maybe that's why I surround myself with people who are good at not taking things seriously. I need them.

Whirlwind:

Party weekend.

Friday night was the U street excursion with Cheryl, Jonathan, and Farrell. Notes to self: DO bring hot dates to lovecafe because the cakes there are delicious. DON'T take hot dates to Ben's Chili Bowl unless they're into spicy foods and me dripping chili everywhere like a slob.

Saturday night was chilling with old people who actually have real lives and real jobs. It was neat to hear from some genuine persons. Oh and also the food was finger lickin' good.

Sunday night was a classic game of A's 2 A's and some wine tasting with the old crew. Everything about that night felt so familiar and very right.

Today was a pretty darn nice day. Since it was so nice out, I set out to play bocce ball with some peeps out on the mall. Then we lounged around for a bit and I think I picked up a tad bit of sun. Following that, I went to dinner where I unexpectedly received my awesome t-shirt blanket. It needs to get colder soon, or maybe we'll have another outdoor movie night. And finally, this whirlwind of a weekend wrapped up with my first time at a bar. I found a beer that I actually was fond of, which may be a good thing or a bad thing. Anyway, as I write this I can think of 50 more things I'd like to do on weekend nights before this year ends. Party on, dude.

Magic:

I just read this and it stood out to me so much that I thought it would be appropiate to share.

"The older you get, the harder it is to believe in magic. The older you get, the more you understand there is no Wizard of Oz, just a schmuck behind a curtain. I pictured my pastor as a salesman or a magician, trying to trick the congregation into believing Jesus could make us new. And, honestly, I felt as though he was trying to convince himself, as though he only half believed what he was saying. It's not that Christian spirituality seemed like a complete con, it's just that it had some of those elements.
"The message, however, was appealing to me. God said he would make me new. I can't pretend for a second I didn't want to be made new, that I didn't want to start again. I did."

- Donald Miller "Blue Like Jazz"

Aha:

Case in point. 50 stitches is a lot of stitches.

Home:

Some days just feel right. And I thank Jesus for them, because they make life worth living. I love the fact that I can spend an afternoon with a friend and not stop laughing the entire time. Also I find my core self being challenged constantly just from being around someone who lives life to the fullest.

That may just be it. I desire to be around people who will never let my life be boring.

Singing:

When I was a kid, I could sing better than those kids who sing with Jack Johnson on his Curious George album.

Likes:

When people ask me what I like to do in my spare time I usually answer, "rock climbing and hanging out with friends," but the words "hanging out" don't do it justice.

On the most superficial level, it's watching a couple of movies while snacking on scrumptuous brownies. On the next level it's the random people showing up and the constant friendly banter. Dig a little deeper and you'll find the constant hilariousness of strange, random, and inappropiate comments and actions. And then if you stay long enough, every little event becomes a commotion that inscribes you into the memory of the house. Most importantly, though, is the seeing and talking with those I love dearly, and just sitting together to share life with those I care for.

That's what hanging out really is. That's what I like to do.

Saved:

I'm like such like a Hillary-Faye.

Goodbyes:

People are moving on with their lives and it feels so strange.

Crazy House is as crazy as ever.

Today, my performance at the climbing wall was just embarassing.

I'm glad it's almost the weekend.

For the longest time, I used to say "for all intensive purposes"... my professor who has an English accent is the only person I know who says "for all intents and purposes" clearly.

Harmony:

Sing with me a new song.

Sunday:

I wrote some stuff about the volleyball tournament I watched today, but I lost it. So instead, here's a video of the tournament a few years back. My friend plays of the Hip Sing B team, FYI.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4141277950699485380&q=volleyball&hl=en

Thursday:

A potpourri of events today.

1. The professor for my 9:30 class didn't show. It's probably not a good thing to miss the first day of class, especially if you're teaching it.

2. Lunch in the Union, which is always nice... but I miss the South Campus Dining Hall lunches.

3. I watched the longest tennis match of my life. Agassi won, which is awesome, in a 5 set match. It was pretty ridic.

4. I now only know of two people who don't have cell phones. No, make that three since J Molinatto doesn't have one because he isn't allowed to have one at work.

5. I spent several hours of my evening trying to mod the software on my cellie, though if I'd read some forums I would have immediately known that Verizon blocks out all of the mods and that's why I was getting all these errors.

Somehow the day seemed almost wasted. Now I'm not sure if any of my Thursdays are going to be any fun.

Pogs:

Tonight we ressurected an old pastime. POGS. Sometime last year, Andy mentioned that he used to collect pogs, so when I happened to see some when I went home last year I couldn't help but pick them up. While shuffling through Andy's stuff, Ryan and I found the pogs and started a tournament. I don't think a full game of pogs has ever been played by college students. They were popular in like... 5th grade.

Maybe there's been some sort of trend going on, considering the amount of time and effort put into trying to do cat's cradle. Back in the day, we used to be entertained a piece of string or throwing a piece of plastic at a stack of cardboard circles. You could pick up a pog for a nickel (though the collectable ones were something like five bucks).

Afterwards, we found an online pog game and we played each other in that for a while.

Oh, and Andy ordered a lot of 1500 pogs off of Ebay. This trend is coming back, my friends.

Beginnings:

The beginning of the end. Maybe.

Either way, Seniors- here we go.

Truckin':

Whew. Three books down, two more to go.

Gypped:

Wow, what a weird looking word... gypped... I think that's how it's spelled anyway.

Today was a pretty neat day. I woke up lateish and read a little bit. Then in the afternoon I met up with Dede for lunch and a stroll around downtown Silver Sprung. I got home and finished my book (more on that later). Then I met up with Seye and Joel to stroll around the Washingtonian/Rio area which very much resembles downtown Silver Spring but has a lake and fountains and a nice boardwalk. From there we went to Jeff and Kristal's who had just finished up dinner with Jason and Jenn. A little bit later, we left the married couple to themselves and went to hang out at Esther's. All in all, a good day.

Now, about this book thing. There's a little bit of a confession mixed into here. As of last post, I had read two trilogies, where the second trilogy was the sequel to the first. I skipped the second book in the whole six book series, though, because I got impatient. From there I picked up the same author's earlier writings, two series of five books. More accurately, I am still waiting on the second five books. Anywho, today I finished the fifth book in this series and pages 363 and 364 were missing out of 372!!! What the heck. I had read through close to 2000 pages following this adventure and a couple of the pages that were supposed to give me closure were gone. Man that was upsetting at the time. Of course, I still have five more books in this second series that I'm waiting on so I guess I don't really need that much closure.

Maybe I've just been reading too much and nothing blog-worthy happens in my life so I document these things to make my life seem interesting.

Confession:

I just spent the last 14 hours reading, with a one hour break for dinner. Similar stories for the two days before yesterday. I've been in a different world this week.

Random:

50 out of 259 online on the buddy list. I wonder if that's a record for me.

Montgomery County Public Library System is awesome. I can search the catalog online and then reserve and renew books with a simple click. And if it's not at the Gaithersburg branch, I can request it and it'll be delivered from a different branch within a couple of days. Pretty sweet.

Monopoly:

Tonight was a Monopoly night. I, of course, came away as champion.

When things seemed grim and I was reduced to $1 and a few mortgaged properties, the dice finally rolled my way and people started to stop in at Park Place and Boardwalk. The fatal error of the game came when my sister accepted my offer of a free Baltic if she would let me buy Park Place if she landed on it. She took the deal, knowing that I already owned Boardwalk. Before long, no one could withstand the mighty Boardwalk empire.

Plus I went climbing earlier and I realize how out of shape I am.

Heat:

It was so hot out today, my sweat glands are sore.

Dream:

Oh man that was freaky. Surely my it was tainted due to recent events, but those details seem to be minor.

I was driving Roberto and Henry to some retreat and we wanted to see if Brian wanted to ride with us. So we stopped by his house, only to find him sitting with his family and sobbing. When he saw us, he composed himself and told us he couldn't go. Henry said some pretty funny things at this point in his usual semi-serious tone. As we drove off, the road right in front of me suddenly ended and I found myself driving down a grassy hill. It dropped off very quickly and we were flying really fast way out of control. Then the car flipped and stopped right in a little nook of a strange cliff. The cliff was 200 feet down to the ground and it wasn't made of rock. It jutted in and out in a random pattern, but the formations were completely geometric... every face was flat and every edge was straight. And the cliff wasn't rock. It had a strange mossy feel, similar maybe to artificial turf or maybe the padding found under carpet. How bizzarre. I remember it so well because I was holding onto a feature of the cliff for dear life, watching my car slowly tumble down the rest of the cliff below me. I guess I'm not the fondest of heights. Nor do I feel very comfortable on non-rock elements.

I certainly hope that one's not reoccuring.

Summertime:

You know, there are some things you can do in the summertime that are just so right, you don't even mind the heat.

Shower:

I've been thinking a lot about this. Which is better- taking a shower in the summer or taking a shower in the winter?

Sale:

Tomorrow is REI's Attic Sale. Used and returned items are marked down to some very reasonable prices. Anything you'd like me to look out for? I'd gladly pick it up if I can find it.

Hawaii4:

The last island we stopped at was Kuai. We spent all of Saturday kayaking up and down the Hanalei river. When we hit the ocean, we took some time to do some wave riding and snorkeling. This island is the really tropical one. They shot Jurrassic Park and the original King Kong on Kuai (along with a dozen other movies I can't remember). There was some pretty exotic flora and fauna, plus some incredible mountains. Since kayaking took all day and we were spent, we relaxed for the rest of the evening enjoying the hot tub and duck for dinner.

The next morning we woke up really early again... I think it was about 4 AM... to go see Waimea Canyon. It was basically a lot like the Grand Canyon except on some parts the canyon was covered with wildlife. Around noon, the boat set sail again as we cruised around the Napali Coast of Kuai. It was a nice coast line. I'm not sure how to describe it and I can't post pictures so...

The cruise ended the next day in Honolulu, where we did a little more shopping and did a lot of waiting at the airport. There were a bunch of fiascos on our return trip with the airlines being all screwy, but whatever. And that was basically my trip... pictures do it better justice.

Hawaii3:

I'm having troubles uploading pictures these days, so you'll just have to deal. Or I guess you can go to facebook and look at some of the pictures I put up there.

Maui. We woke up and did the "road to Hana" (pronounced like Hana Quon), which is a long 4 hour drive to a remote town in the middle of the island. The brochure said it was more about the journey than the destination. We stopped to hike a nice 2 mile trail and checked out some nice waterfalls. Round trip, the drive took the whole day so just crashing back at the ship was a welcomed relief.

Day two in Maui started out beautifully. We woke up around 4 AM to catch the sunrise at Halakalea crater. Basically we drove to the top of one of the tallest mountains on the island and watched the sun break on the clouds. The view was simply awesome- standing above the clouds with a few peaks breaking through the cotton floor, a giant crater rolling far down below you, the beaches and endless ocean behind... it was all there.

After staring at the sun for awhile, we headed back to ship for breakfast and then headed out to hit the beaches. This is when I had my incident, which you can read about in one of those previous posts. After surgery and dinner, we ended the night with a magic show on the boat.

The next morning we set anchor at Kona, which is on "the big island" but on the opposite side of Hilo. Kona is well known for it's coffee, so we went to Greenwell Coffee Farm. It was pretty awesome to learn about some incredible coffee. I'm not the biggest coffee fan, but I could tell this stuff was pretty good from the free samples. I hope the experience doesn't turn me into a coffee snob. So we bought some expensive coffee and did some shopping around town and then went back to the boat for dinner as usual. Also worth mentioning, one of the dishes I had was the ahi sashimi which was absolutely delicious. Maybe one of the best things I had eaten on the whole trip.

Phew... I'm tired and you're probably getting bored since there are no pictures so I'll pick it up from here next time.

Syracuse:

Just a quick insert inside of my slow coming Hawaii epic... I'll be heading out to Syracuse tomorrow morning for the weekend, so if you need me then try contacting me the way you normally would... I probably can't help you, but you can ask if you'd like. Peace out, bean sprouts.

Hawaii2:

We boarded the boat Monday afternoon. It took a little bit of time to get all registered in, but it was relatively painless. Upon boarding, we took a little bit of time to look around and familiarize ourselves with the fun things the boat had to offer. Then we had our first work out session followed by an excellent hot tub session.

Later in the evening we enjoyed tapas for dinner and called it a day.

The next morning we arrived at Hilo, which is on the big island (it's name is Hawaii... but so is the state so they just call it the big island). We met my recently wed cousin and her husband and they took us on a personal tour of Hilo since they lived on the island. We got to see some Volcanic craters and walked on some lava rocks. Then we went to a black sand beach that was only 10 years old. It was just like a beach, but the sand was actually black! How weird and cool.

(again, blogger isn't letting me insert pictures... yet)

From there we visited the Mauna Loa macadamia nut factory. The tour was closed so we just went the gift shop and got free samples. Yum! After getting back to the boat, we went for another hot tub run. At this point I invented a little game for us. We developed this method deemed "The Asian Clog" where the point was to be the final jaccuzzi occupants. It worked like this: first one or two of us would jump into a moderately occupied hot tub. Then a couple more of us would trickle in, making our family's presence in the hot tub more overwhelming. As the other parties surrendered and left due to our sheer presence, additional family members would be called in to fill in the spots until finally the hot tub was claimed as ours. By the end of the trip, we had succeeded 4 times and had never been defeated.

We set sail that night and stayed close to the shore so that we could see some active volcanos spewing out lava and forming new land. It was really pretty and neat; right in front of my eyes I was watching a new part of Hawaii being formed.

The next day we arrive in Maui, and that'll be our next chapter...

Hawaii1:

Let's see...

We flew into Honolulu, HI and crashed in our hotel since we arrived pretty late. The next few days we relaxed and took some time exploring Honolulu. It's a pretty cool city with a loooot of shopping and a lot of beach. We were right across the street from the famous Waikiki beach.

This is the view from my parent's room balcony.

It was a fun place, though as one would expect the waves attract a lot of young people and the beach becomes one giant version of "the show" around midday. Maybe it's just my conservative worldview.

We spent a day at Pearl Harbor and saw the museum and memorial there.


(It was more sunny there than it appears)

One afternoon we hiked up Diamond Head peak. It was a short, one mile trail but it had a lot of features like steep steps and tunnels. From the top you had a pretty good view of a lot of the island including our hotel, a neat light house, and the beaches.

Come Sunday we rode out to Hanauma Bay which was beautiful. It's considered one of the best places to snorkel. I didn't see any sea turtles, but I saw a whole bunch of different fishies. They were very tropical looking with bright colors and strange shapes. I saw this one fish that had a silver body and a long, bright red beak. I'm not sure what the fish is called, but it was absolutely beautiful. The rest of that day we spent riding along the North Shore visiting beaches and eating shrimp cooked in a vendor truck parked on the side of the road. It was an ultra local thing to do, which was refreshing because of all the touristy things we'd been doing. The next day we boarded the boat, so onto the next chapter...

PreHawaii:

While I'm still sorting through pics and stuff, I thought I should post about one Hawaiian experience because it had... should I say... repercussions.

Sometime in the middle of the cruise we visited the beaches of Maui. While kayaking and snorkeling in the Pacific, long story short, I had to debeach on some rocks. It was fine and safe and everything, but by the time everything was sorted out I felt like I had a small bruise on my right foot. Immediately, I disregarded it for the rest of the day. Finally when we got back to the boat and I was about to jump in the shower, I gathered enough sense to examine my foot. Much to my surprise, instead of a bruise there was a small black spot. It was a small piece of rock that was lodged in my foot.

I thought to myself, "no problem" and tried to pull it out with tweezers. It turned out to be a slippery little sucker so eventually my parents decided it best to give the ship doctors a try. They said "no problem" and tried to snatch it out with their fancy tweezers. But much to my dismay, after a half hour of picking and pulling at it, it looked like they were just pushing it in deeper. So they used a local anesthetic and took a scalpel to it. I've never gone under the knife before, but I wasn't worried or anything. I was more concerned with how long it was going to take them since dinner time was fast approaching and they were serving lobster that night. The doctors (that's right, three people tried using different tweezers and needles to push the rock out) called the procedure "coring" so you can use your imagination to figure out how they managed to get the little thing out.

The pain was and is mild, but I've just been hobbling around everywhere for the past week. So I won't be running any marathons these upcoming weeks, but anything else I am still up for! More Hawaii to come.

Travelling:

-Seven hours in the Honolulu airport (due to some baggage complication)
-A five hour flight into Phoenix, AZ
-Two hour layover
-Another five hour flight to BWI
-One hour spent looking for our lost luggage (eventually found)
-A one hour drive down to my brother-in-law's house
-One hour dinner
-One hour to drive back up here

In summary... I woke up at 6 AM Sunday morning, lost six hours and arrived home at 10 PM Tuesday night. I still haven't got my landlegs back yet.