Buenas Dias!
(that's Spanish -- the language I am still working hard on learning...espanol es muy dificil.)
I think this time I am going to begin with the most recent events and work my way backwards through time. That said, I hope you will forgive the diminishing factual integrity as the blog goes on... in other words, I have a hard time remembering all that's gone on in a week, but I'll try my best to keep you all in the loop.
I'll start with this morning. Church, as usual, was excellent, but probably better than ever. I really like this pastor (Wayde Wilson is his name). The focus of the service was on the Holy Spirit, and though I feel as if I have heard many-a-sermon on the Holy Spirit, this one was probably the most enlightening. I was really eager to hear what he had to say, seeing as this church (Christian Life Assembly) essentially has its roots in the Pentacostal denomination. I half-expected a passionate and emotional appeal to all of us to burst from our pews and fill the sanctuary with cries of praise in a hundred unknown tongues. His focus for the message, however, was a Biblical look at the gifts of the Spirit.
Acknowledging that gifts of healing, prophecy, and tongues are controversial subjects, he said up front that anyone who reads 1 Corinthians 12 cannot accept gifts of knowledge or faith as valid and reject tongues and prophesying -- they are all listed together. That said, however, he spent much of the sermon focusing on the importance of discernment, including instances where he has had to awkwardly confront people to say they are not really hearing from God so much as themselves. He also spent a while stressing the importance of what Paul claims to be "orderly worship" in 1 Corinthians 14. Speaking in tongues is a gift, the Bible says, that should only be used to instruct or encourage the Church.
Anyways, I could go on for a while talking about all of that, but I will say that when he closed the service with an opportunity for all of us to just call out on our own to have the Spirit fill us, I felt a much clearer understanding of what we were really asking for -- not to be filled so we could become the resident religious radical on campus that people could seek out to find healing, but to be simply open to the Lord working through us in any and every way, whether that be a momentary glimpse of holy wisdom, or an encouraging word from the Spirit to a friend.
Alright, now I think I will juggle time a little here and jump back to Friday and let the tape roll forward. I had a big Psychology test on Friday that I think I did pretty well on, but we'll see. Weekends are peculiar around here. Come Friday, the place is alive with excitement and energy as people are all around making plans and just taking it easy, but come Friday night, the busy-bodies and chatty Cathy's are all gone. Normally there are a lot of people around still, but the crowds seem somewhat elusive. Usually, that's fine by me; there's just that much more for my friends and I to busy ourselves with. This weekend, however, a bunch of my closer friends all left on Friday for home or tournaments (including Austin). But that wasn't really a big deal, except my entire floor went camping on Friday night, but I couldn't go. So that forced me to call up some acquaintances and make them... better acquaintances.
The reason I couldn't go camping was because of our much-anticipated swim meet on Saturday. I slept 10 hours (happy, mom?) on Friday night to be well rested for our meet against Elizabethtown. Long story short, it was a fun day, everybody swam really well even though the pool was pretty crummy, and we came out on top!! That's right, first win in Messiah Swimming history, brought to you by our little inaugural, motley crew of a team. Go Messiah! (Oh and that reminds me, visit www.gomessiah.com for results.) I cut 5 seconds on my 200 freestyle and 1.5 seconds on my 100 freestyle!
Saturday night I returned to campus ready to party. A bunch of guys on the floor, however, had left for the new James Bond movie, so I called up one of my friends (Brian) to see what he was up to and guess where he was going? James Bond! Thinking quickly, I snagged a seat in the car and had a great night with Brian, his girlfriend, and my other friend Chris. We got pretty lost and ended up at WalMart at 1 AM, but I'm always up for a good adventure! The movie, if you haven't seen it, was only decent in my books. It was James Bond, so obviously it was entertaining, but I just thought the plot was sort of weak.
Hmm.. where to next? How about just an overall summary of Monday through Thursday... sound good? Overall, this week was pretty uneventful. Lots of swimming, a pretty decent amount of work, a decent amount of sleep, copious amounts of food to supplement all the swimming, and... hmm.. let's see. OH! I got one.
Monday night I went to an alternate chapel Honors Congress event thingamajig with Dr. Christine Rosen. Who is she, you might be wondering? Well, basically she is just this really smart lady who writes a lot of books and does a lot of speaking about one of the most controversial (and yet largely ignored) issues in modern society -- eugenics. Eugenics, and I can thank my English teacher, Mr. Collins, for my knowledge of this, is the study of improving human genes. The discussion covered everything from 'designer babies' to abortion. I left that talk fearful of the future of our society, but glad that I was equipped with new knowledge.
For those who might be wondering what all the kafuffle is about, pretty much all I can say is that almost all doctors now expect that if a fetus tests positive for any genetic disorder (i.e. Tay-Sachs, Downs), the mother will abort it for the "sake of society." It has gotten to the point, however, where we can test for genetic 'defects' in a baby that might lead to them developing colon cancer in their late 50s. Should the mother be held responsible for bringing a person into the world that could potentially suffer later in life, or should we just kill any infant that could ever suffer or not fully contribute to society? Those are the terrible questions people are asking these days. And there are other issues that seem much more trivial, but are problematic on other levels. For instance, a woman wanting a child can now go to any sperm bank and practically 'design her baby' -- gender, eye colour, physical attributes -- and the methods are getting more accurate every year.
So, enough of all this depressing stuff. I am very excited for Thanksgiving Break. Work has been picking up a lot and it just feels like the break will be very much deserved. BUT, it's been good times as usual. I'm excited for another week. I have a big Psych. assignment due that is based on an interview I have to conduct, a persuasive speech to prepare for Communications (about eugenics), and a paper due for my Amish seminar. We have another meet coming up this Saturday, and even though I don't think we'll be as successful as a team, I'm looking forward to shaving some more time off my personal records.
So I think that's all for now. I guess this has been a little more brief than my previous entries, but I've got a bunch to do this afternoon. The Men's Swim Team meets every Sunday night for devotions and it's my turn to share my testimony. So that'll be fun. I'm also growing a massive beard. Well.. it's not really massive, but I do think it's longer than it's ever been. Why? No-Shave-November, that's why.
Alright, once again I love you all. Feel free to contact me if you want any additional info or just want to talk!
J.m.B
p.s. I think you'll find a few errors in this one, Mom.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Chaos
Dear World,
What a week. It was busy, productive, eventful, exciting, and, of course, fun. What could have caused such a plethora of experiences, you might ask? Well, let me tell you.
There was a lot going on around here this week with the election and different convention-type things (including the Missions Awareness Emphasis this week), so that made things really exciting. Monday was greeaatt. It was actually the perfect way to start off the week. I went to Spanish, finished early and wandered around the mission organizations area. There were some really interesting things there, but it is sort of hard to plan missions trips when you're in college. But Messiah has a lot of really great opportunities for missions through the school for people interested (myself included). Anyways, from there I went to check my mail, and was thrilled to find a wonderful package from Katrina, including a package of encouragement cards from people at church. If you are one of the people that wrote me a card, thank you soo much. It was really moving to realize that so many people are still thinking about me and praying for me back home.
Continuing with Monday, I visited the annual Career Expo that afternoon. They basically just fill one of the gyms with booths from all sorts of employers (big and small) and graduate schools from all over. It's an excellent opportunity for juniors and seniors, but I figured I would check it out anyway. Nothing leapt out at me. From there I headed to my advising session for Spring semester. I had a few ideas of courses I wanted to take, and my advisor basically just said they were good choices. I have to wait a while before I'm allowed to register, so if I can get into what I want, I'm basically just going to take more General Education courses.
Tuesday? hmm.. Tuesday was an exciting day, alright. Election Day in America, for one, but also the day of my job interview! I went to classes, filled out the application form, and then headed over to the main office building (which I've never really explored) for my interview. They call the building Old Main, and rightly so. It's nice inside, but also very old. Up on the third floor, you can actually feel the floor drooping to one side as your walking down the hall. Oh well. If that building is as old as the school, it will be 100 years old in a few months.
Anyways. The interview went smashingly! It was long -- almost an hour -- but I felt really confident, and the lady was really nice. We talked about her, we talked about me, we talked about the Student Impact Fund, we talked about Messiah in general, we talked about things that could go wrong during a call, we talked about how I handle stress and rejection, we talked about how nice it is to be paid $10/hr, and finally she told me I could start as soon as possible! That was actually really nice of her, because the min. number of hours Phonathon callers have to work in a week is 10, but she said I could start with however many hours I could fit into my schedule; if that was 0 until the Spring, she said that's fine too. So that was really exciting! I had just been offered a position on the spot with the highest paying student job on campus!
From there, it was too late to go to swimming, so I headed up to the church just off campus and cast my ballot for the ill-fated Republicans. Oh well. They tried their best. A lot of people around here were pretty upset when Obama won (and a lot were really excited). Whatever. He seems like a nice enough guy, and there's no point getting all upset about it now. Haha, but it was funny how a bunch of my friends were saying to me, "We're moving to Canada." I then informed them that if they are really trying to flee raised taxes, universal health care, pro-gay marriage, and pro-abortion legislation, they might want to look elsewhere.
Wednesday was a long, work-filled day. I had four classes, a presentation on anxiety disorders in Psychology (that actually went really well), and two big assignments due for Thursday. Not very much happened that day aside from a lot of work. Oh, but it was mine and Katrina's big one-year, nine months! Woohoo! Ha.. but I spent probably over three hours preparing for a five minute speech on Wednesday. I could have (and should have) picked a topic much smaller than 100 years of musical history, but hey, it was very informative and I learned a lot in the process of preparing it. I worked until 12:00 that night, and then woke up five hours later for swim practice.
Exhausted, I delivered my speech in Comm (and it went really well), ate, and then ran back to the room. I also had a 1000 word book review due for 1:20. So lots of reading and 995 words later, I clicked "print" at 1:10 and ran to class. But I was really happy with the final product (and it was only the editing that I finished before class, Mom, don't worry. I'm not slipping into procrastinating ways just yet...). After class, I came back, played guitar for a little, and then took a solid three hour nap. Oh man, it was nice. Other Thursday highlights included: late dinner, a really great Powerhouse (thursday night worship service), and watching a scary movie with Austin before bed (BAD idea).
Friday was nice as well. We had two really interesting visitors to our Psych. class. Tying in with our chapter on Psychological disorders, one of these guys had schitzophrenia, and the other had been abused as a child and had bad hallucinations and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They were both really articulate and extremely interesting to hear. So that was really neat. Then I enjoyed a nice, relaxing afternoon, went to dinner down the street at my Professor's house (the Amish seminar one). Then I ran back to campus and helped out with ticket swiping for the big Conor Oberst concert. Woohoo! Long story short, it was an incredible show with really energetic performances and TONS of people. We sold around 1300 tickets, and probably 1000 of them were kids from off-campus. What a night!
Yesterday, I had a nice, light Sat. morning swimming practice, then off to a service project at a local nature reservation with the team. That was definitely a great bonding experience that really made me glad I'm on the swim team. I might have to drag myself to practice sometimes, but there are a ton of bonuses to being on the team too. Austin's dad was here yesterday so later last night we threw a surprise B-day party for him... he loved it. Basically, my dinner yesterday consisted of two slices of ice cream cake, some pecan pie, brownies, and some oatmeal cookies to round out the meal. Then we all went to the regional soccer championship game, and, of course, Messiah Men won 7-0. NCAA here we come!
I was really tired last night, and even though I really wanted to go to church, I ended up sleeping in until 11:30. Oh well, it was much needed rest. I've got team bible study later tonight and I'm really looking forward to that.
Yup. So that is that. As you can see, a LOT happened this week, and I didn't even include all the alternate chapels and various other things I got to do this week. This has taken almost an hour and a half to write, so I should get on to studying for my Spanish test tomorrow. You are all very important to me, and if you want to know anything else, or you just want to contact me personally, I'd love to hear from you.
Love you all,
Josh
p.s. I didn't get a chance to read over this again, so please pardon the blaring errors.
What a week. It was busy, productive, eventful, exciting, and, of course, fun. What could have caused such a plethora of experiences, you might ask? Well, let me tell you.
There was a lot going on around here this week with the election and different convention-type things (including the Missions Awareness Emphasis this week), so that made things really exciting. Monday was greeaatt. It was actually the perfect way to start off the week. I went to Spanish, finished early and wandered around the mission organizations area. There were some really interesting things there, but it is sort of hard to plan missions trips when you're in college. But Messiah has a lot of really great opportunities for missions through the school for people interested (myself included). Anyways, from there I went to check my mail, and was thrilled to find a wonderful package from Katrina, including a package of encouragement cards from people at church. If you are one of the people that wrote me a card, thank you soo much. It was really moving to realize that so many people are still thinking about me and praying for me back home.
Continuing with Monday, I visited the annual Career Expo that afternoon. They basically just fill one of the gyms with booths from all sorts of employers (big and small) and graduate schools from all over. It's an excellent opportunity for juniors and seniors, but I figured I would check it out anyway. Nothing leapt out at me. From there I headed to my advising session for Spring semester. I had a few ideas of courses I wanted to take, and my advisor basically just said they were good choices. I have to wait a while before I'm allowed to register, so if I can get into what I want, I'm basically just going to take more General Education courses.
Tuesday? hmm.. Tuesday was an exciting day, alright. Election Day in America, for one, but also the day of my job interview! I went to classes, filled out the application form, and then headed over to the main office building (which I've never really explored) for my interview. They call the building Old Main, and rightly so. It's nice inside, but also very old. Up on the third floor, you can actually feel the floor drooping to one side as your walking down the hall. Oh well. If that building is as old as the school, it will be 100 years old in a few months.
Anyways. The interview went smashingly! It was long -- almost an hour -- but I felt really confident, and the lady was really nice. We talked about her, we talked about me, we talked about the Student Impact Fund, we talked about Messiah in general, we talked about things that could go wrong during a call, we talked about how I handle stress and rejection, we talked about how nice it is to be paid $10/hr, and finally she told me I could start as soon as possible! That was actually really nice of her, because the min. number of hours Phonathon callers have to work in a week is 10, but she said I could start with however many hours I could fit into my schedule; if that was 0 until the Spring, she said that's fine too. So that was really exciting! I had just been offered a position on the spot with the highest paying student job on campus!
From there, it was too late to go to swimming, so I headed up to the church just off campus and cast my ballot for the ill-fated Republicans. Oh well. They tried their best. A lot of people around here were pretty upset when Obama won (and a lot were really excited). Whatever. He seems like a nice enough guy, and there's no point getting all upset about it now. Haha, but it was funny how a bunch of my friends were saying to me, "We're moving to Canada." I then informed them that if they are really trying to flee raised taxes, universal health care, pro-gay marriage, and pro-abortion legislation, they might want to look elsewhere.
Wednesday was a long, work-filled day. I had four classes, a presentation on anxiety disorders in Psychology (that actually went really well), and two big assignments due for Thursday. Not very much happened that day aside from a lot of work. Oh, but it was mine and Katrina's big one-year, nine months! Woohoo! Ha.. but I spent probably over three hours preparing for a five minute speech on Wednesday. I could have (and should have) picked a topic much smaller than 100 years of musical history, but hey, it was very informative and I learned a lot in the process of preparing it. I worked until 12:00 that night, and then woke up five hours later for swim practice.
Exhausted, I delivered my speech in Comm (and it went really well), ate, and then ran back to the room. I also had a 1000 word book review due for 1:20. So lots of reading and 995 words later, I clicked "print" at 1:10 and ran to class. But I was really happy with the final product (and it was only the editing that I finished before class, Mom, don't worry. I'm not slipping into procrastinating ways just yet...). After class, I came back, played guitar for a little, and then took a solid three hour nap. Oh man, it was nice. Other Thursday highlights included: late dinner, a really great Powerhouse (thursday night worship service), and watching a scary movie with Austin before bed (BAD idea).
Friday was nice as well. We had two really interesting visitors to our Psych. class. Tying in with our chapter on Psychological disorders, one of these guys had schitzophrenia, and the other had been abused as a child and had bad hallucinations and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They were both really articulate and extremely interesting to hear. So that was really neat. Then I enjoyed a nice, relaxing afternoon, went to dinner down the street at my Professor's house (the Amish seminar one). Then I ran back to campus and helped out with ticket swiping for the big Conor Oberst concert. Woohoo! Long story short, it was an incredible show with really energetic performances and TONS of people. We sold around 1300 tickets, and probably 1000 of them were kids from off-campus. What a night!
Yesterday, I had a nice, light Sat. morning swimming practice, then off to a service project at a local nature reservation with the team. That was definitely a great bonding experience that really made me glad I'm on the swim team. I might have to drag myself to practice sometimes, but there are a ton of bonuses to being on the team too. Austin's dad was here yesterday so later last night we threw a surprise B-day party for him... he loved it. Basically, my dinner yesterday consisted of two slices of ice cream cake, some pecan pie, brownies, and some oatmeal cookies to round out the meal. Then we all went to the regional soccer championship game, and, of course, Messiah Men won 7-0. NCAA here we come!
I was really tired last night, and even though I really wanted to go to church, I ended up sleeping in until 11:30. Oh well, it was much needed rest. I've got team bible study later tonight and I'm really looking forward to that.
Yup. So that is that. As you can see, a LOT happened this week, and I didn't even include all the alternate chapels and various other things I got to do this week. This has taken almost an hour and a half to write, so I should get on to studying for my Spanish test tomorrow. You are all very important to me, and if you want to know anything else, or you just want to contact me personally, I'd love to hear from you.
Love you all,
Josh
p.s. I didn't get a chance to read over this again, so please pardon the blaring errors.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
It won't be long
Hola!
A week just does not seem complete without another blog entry. Thus begins another attempt at extracting a few special gems from a whirlwind of a routine...
Presently, my mind is occupied with a few significant thoughts/concerns. Tomorrow, I have my first-ever appointment with my academic advisor. I will enter the 15-30 minute meeting with a truckload of questions, and hope to depart with a substantially lighter load. Her job is to advise my course selection for the spring and hopefully help me map out my path for the next four years. There are two problems, however. One: I'm supposed to arrive with a list of courses I want to take in the spring. Two: I have no idea what courses I want to (or should) take in the spring. But I'm sure these advisors are used to helpless freshmen knocking on their doors, so I really hope she's ready for me. I have thought a lot about it, though, and here are a few courses I really want to take (whether these are the best choices right now, I will soon find out):
- American History to 1865 (this ought to cure my ignorance)
- Spanish 102 (while it's still fresh..)
- Problem Solving with Computers (get my math credit... and finally learn how to use Excel)
- Mass Media and Society (which one is to blame?)
- Created and Called for Community (a required course for all spring-semester freshmen)
- Problems in Philosophy (... still not sure about this one)
So I'm looking forward to figuring all of that out; it'll be nice to have some direction and start to plan how I'm going to do the whole study abroad thing. I also have a job interview on Tuesday afternoon. Yes, that's right, a job interview. Apparently I was recommended by someone, because I received an email from the lady who coordinates Annual Giving asking if I'd be interested in working for the Phonathon. Essentially, it's a telemarketing job, but everyone I've heard from says that it's one of the best jobs around campus. The pay starts at minimum wage but goes up each semester, and there are lots of bonuses for callers who do well. Basically, I'd be working ten-hours a week calling alum around the country asking them for updated information or important news and then asking if they could sponsor the Student Impact Fund (a fund that aids in scholarships and study abroad programs for students). To many of you, such an occupation might not sound too glamorous, but when you see most of the other jobs for students around here... let's just say I'm pretty excited. The plan is that I'll start in February (at the end of the swimming season).
Speaking of swimming, Messiah College hosted its first ever swim meet (against Gettysburg College) on Saturday. Over 200 people showed up to watch and cheer us on as we made history... and got utterly defeated in the process. Ha.. but it was fine. I, along with a lot of other people, beat personal records, and pretty much everybody that swam got to set some sort of school record. After that, we all went over to the Men's Soccer game against Elizabethtown. Some sort of bizarre school tradition dictates that everybody throw marshmallows whenever anything exciting happens. So after dodging sticky balls of sugar as Messiah defeated E-town 3-0, we went to a concert at the Union and heard this band from Maine that was actually really good! Check out The Wrecking if you're interested.
So that was Saturday. What about the rest of the week, you might be wondering? Umm.. well I watched a few too many scary movies, went out for dinner with Lauren's dad and the 'gang', swam a lot, did a bunch of homework, and planned some course stuff. I'm looking forward to two cancelled classes this week (back-to-back, no less), my two forementioned meetings, and Friday night. Only, the problem with Friday night is that I have a serious conflict between my obligations to the Concert Committee and the Conor Oberst concert on Friday and the swim team and our fourth meet at the same time. I'd rather help out with the concert .. and we do have 8 meets throughout the season... but I don't know. I'll let you know how this turns out.
Right now, I need to get on with some work. I also have a Men's Swimming devotional with the team later tonight. And I should probably start exercising some self-control with all this candy floating around everywhere. Thanks again for all your prayers. There is a lot to plan for right now with the Spring Semester and J-Term approaching.
Love you all and all my lovin',
Josh
p.s. I apologize for grammar errors, and thanks to those who help me spot them.
A week just does not seem complete without another blog entry. Thus begins another attempt at extracting a few special gems from a whirlwind of a routine...
Presently, my mind is occupied with a few significant thoughts/concerns. Tomorrow, I have my first-ever appointment with my academic advisor. I will enter the 15-30 minute meeting with a truckload of questions, and hope to depart with a substantially lighter load. Her job is to advise my course selection for the spring and hopefully help me map out my path for the next four years. There are two problems, however. One: I'm supposed to arrive with a list of courses I want to take in the spring. Two: I have no idea what courses I want to (or should) take in the spring. But I'm sure these advisors are used to helpless freshmen knocking on their doors, so I really hope she's ready for me. I have thought a lot about it, though, and here are a few courses I really want to take (whether these are the best choices right now, I will soon find out):
- American History to 1865 (this ought to cure my ignorance)
- Spanish 102 (while it's still fresh..)
- Problem Solving with Computers (get my math credit... and finally learn how to use Excel)
- Mass Media and Society (which one is to blame?)
- Created and Called for Community (a required course for all spring-semester freshmen)
- Problems in Philosophy (... still not sure about this one)
So I'm looking forward to figuring all of that out; it'll be nice to have some direction and start to plan how I'm going to do the whole study abroad thing. I also have a job interview on Tuesday afternoon. Yes, that's right, a job interview. Apparently I was recommended by someone, because I received an email from the lady who coordinates Annual Giving asking if I'd be interested in working for the Phonathon. Essentially, it's a telemarketing job, but everyone I've heard from says that it's one of the best jobs around campus. The pay starts at minimum wage but goes up each semester, and there are lots of bonuses for callers who do well. Basically, I'd be working ten-hours a week calling alum around the country asking them for updated information or important news and then asking if they could sponsor the Student Impact Fund (a fund that aids in scholarships and study abroad programs for students). To many of you, such an occupation might not sound too glamorous, but when you see most of the other jobs for students around here... let's just say I'm pretty excited. The plan is that I'll start in February (at the end of the swimming season).
Speaking of swimming, Messiah College hosted its first ever swim meet (against Gettysburg College) on Saturday. Over 200 people showed up to watch and cheer us on as we made history... and got utterly defeated in the process. Ha.. but it was fine. I, along with a lot of other people, beat personal records, and pretty much everybody that swam got to set some sort of school record. After that, we all went over to the Men's Soccer game against Elizabethtown. Some sort of bizarre school tradition dictates that everybody throw marshmallows whenever anything exciting happens. So after dodging sticky balls of sugar as Messiah defeated E-town 3-0, we went to a concert at the Union and heard this band from Maine that was actually really good! Check out The Wrecking if you're interested.
So that was Saturday. What about the rest of the week, you might be wondering? Umm.. well I watched a few too many scary movies, went out for dinner with Lauren's dad and the 'gang', swam a lot, did a bunch of homework, and planned some course stuff. I'm looking forward to two cancelled classes this week (back-to-back, no less), my two forementioned meetings, and Friday night. Only, the problem with Friday night is that I have a serious conflict between my obligations to the Concert Committee and the Conor Oberst concert on Friday and the swim team and our fourth meet at the same time. I'd rather help out with the concert .. and we do have 8 meets throughout the season... but I don't know. I'll let you know how this turns out.
Right now, I need to get on with some work. I also have a Men's Swimming devotional with the team later tonight. And I should probably start exercising some self-control with all this candy floating around everywhere. Thanks again for all your prayers. There is a lot to plan for right now with the Spring Semester and J-Term approaching.
Love you all and all my lovin',
Josh
p.s. I apologize for grammar errors, and thanks to those who help me spot them.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
You Are My Sunshine
hello all,
First off, the weather today is mighty fine. About 64 degrees (er... 17 Celsius) and sunny. The leaves are rustling in the cool Autumn breeze, Fall Fest is in full swing down at the student union, and I am in my room... sort of doing homework, mostly writing in this blog. I seem to have designated Sunday afternoon as my "write to friends, call home, update blog" time. However, there is always a small sting of homesickness that accompanies such times, so I apologize in advance if any of my writing is subtly melancholic. :]
Hmmm.. one thing I would like to say is that it is very difficult to put pictures up here, so if you have a facebook and can access my profile, please feel free to browse the gallery. However, if you do not, and you would like to see some pictures, please just send me an email and I can easily send some your way. (joshboden@rogers.com)
So I went to Philadelphia for the first time on Friday! In the evening, after classes and everything, a group of friends and I hopped in my friend's car (Chris) and drove two hours to downtown Philly to see that Copeland concert I mentioned before. It. Was. Amazing. ahah I was really shocked when we got there because the venue was literally a church basement. Just a big room with about 400 people and one of the greatest bands of all time. Their performance was one of the best I've ever seen, and the opening acts were excellent as well. It was a late night, but totally worth it.
Speaking of Philly, there's this little contest called the "world .. series" or something like that. Anyways, it's kind of a big deal and I must admit that I am, for the first time in recent years, actually getting pretty excited rooting for a team. To cheer for the Rays would be suicide, so I've joined this entire state in the charge: Go Phillies!! There was a Philadelphia Eagles game on after lunch, the Pittsburg Steelers game is on right now, and then the 4th World Series game starts in a few hours. Let me just say that the sports craze around here is a little contagious.
Classes are going really well. My workload has been very manageable recently. I had a few papers due this week, but just short ones. Also a couple tests, but they all went really well. Oh and I delivered an informative speech on Thursday morning about being Canadian. Basically, I took it upon myself to disillusion my peers in Communications class on the myths surrounding Canada. Ha ha it was a blast to deliver, and the class seemed to like it a lot too. One guy said, "You should be a Communications major or something." Well, seeing as I am a Communications major, I found that pretty affirming.
I played in the last of the first-year chapels on Thursday morning, as well. Now I'm just another member of the worship community, so it might be a while before I get to play again, but that's alright. I can wait.
In the meantime, I've been trying really hard to prioritize things. I am not unbearably busy, but there are lots of things (mainly keeping in touch with people back home) that can get neglected. So I'm determined to do that and also to work harder at doing regular and in-depth devotions. I'm going to join a small group on Monday nights and try to find a time in the week to join an outreach project. There are tons going on, so the onus is on me to find something that works.
I have a swim meet on Tuesday and another one on the weekend. So those will be fun, but truth be told, I've pretty much decided that this will be my only year on the swim team. While the exercise and visible improvement is a definite bonus, I can't help but feel like there are lots of other things I could be doing with more time .. maybe things that are more signficant. BUT, I'm not sure because being on an NCAA college sports team is pretty awesome.
Last thing: I really want to see High School Musical 3 this week. .. just had to get that out.
Alright, well, I've been at this for a while. Once again, thanks for reading. Please feel free to send me mail (electronic or not). I love you all. And those of you who are praying for me, thank you soo much. I would love to hear what is new with you, so please post comments or send me emails.
Thanks for everything,
Josh
First off, the weather today is mighty fine. About 64 degrees (er... 17 Celsius) and sunny. The leaves are rustling in the cool Autumn breeze, Fall Fest is in full swing down at the student union, and I am in my room... sort of doing homework, mostly writing in this blog. I seem to have designated Sunday afternoon as my "write to friends, call home, update blog" time. However, there is always a small sting of homesickness that accompanies such times, so I apologize in advance if any of my writing is subtly melancholic. :]
Hmmm.. one thing I would like to say is that it is very difficult to put pictures up here, so if you have a facebook and can access my profile, please feel free to browse the gallery. However, if you do not, and you would like to see some pictures, please just send me an email and I can easily send some your way. (joshboden@rogers.com)
So I went to Philadelphia for the first time on Friday! In the evening, after classes and everything, a group of friends and I hopped in my friend's car (Chris) and drove two hours to downtown Philly to see that Copeland concert I mentioned before. It. Was. Amazing. ahah I was really shocked when we got there because the venue was literally a church basement. Just a big room with about 400 people and one of the greatest bands of all time. Their performance was one of the best I've ever seen, and the opening acts were excellent as well. It was a late night, but totally worth it.
Speaking of Philly, there's this little contest called the "world .. series" or something like that. Anyways, it's kind of a big deal and I must admit that I am, for the first time in recent years, actually getting pretty excited rooting for a team. To cheer for the Rays would be suicide, so I've joined this entire state in the charge: Go Phillies!! There was a Philadelphia Eagles game on after lunch, the Pittsburg Steelers game is on right now, and then the 4th World Series game starts in a few hours. Let me just say that the sports craze around here is a little contagious.
Classes are going really well. My workload has been very manageable recently. I had a few papers due this week, but just short ones. Also a couple tests, but they all went really well. Oh and I delivered an informative speech on Thursday morning about being Canadian. Basically, I took it upon myself to disillusion my peers in Communications class on the myths surrounding Canada. Ha ha it was a blast to deliver, and the class seemed to like it a lot too. One guy said, "You should be a Communications major or something." Well, seeing as I am a Communications major, I found that pretty affirming.
I played in the last of the first-year chapels on Thursday morning, as well. Now I'm just another member of the worship community, so it might be a while before I get to play again, but that's alright. I can wait.
In the meantime, I've been trying really hard to prioritize things. I am not unbearably busy, but there are lots of things (mainly keeping in touch with people back home) that can get neglected. So I'm determined to do that and also to work harder at doing regular and in-depth devotions. I'm going to join a small group on Monday nights and try to find a time in the week to join an outreach project. There are tons going on, so the onus is on me to find something that works.
I have a swim meet on Tuesday and another one on the weekend. So those will be fun, but truth be told, I've pretty much decided that this will be my only year on the swim team. While the exercise and visible improvement is a definite bonus, I can't help but feel like there are lots of other things I could be doing with more time .. maybe things that are more signficant. BUT, I'm not sure because being on an NCAA college sports team is pretty awesome.
Last thing: I really want to see High School Musical 3 this week. .. just had to get that out.
Alright, well, I've been at this for a while. Once again, thanks for reading. Please feel free to send me mail (electronic or not). I love you all. And those of you who are praying for me, thank you soo much. I would love to hear what is new with you, so please post comments or send me emails.
Thanks for everything,
Josh
Sunday, October 19, 2008
What Do I Know?
Hello World,
I write to you today at the conclusion of another wonderful week. Returning on Monday, I re-entered this familiar time-warp called college. Fall break feels like it was ages ago, and although I do miss it, I've enjoyed getting back into things here.
The week was relatively uneventful.. and I say 'relatively' because even an uneventful week around here is still filled with quite a plethora of events. There was lots of swimming and fun and work and fun and a few meetings and practices. Hmm.. maybe I'll just go through day-to-day activities. Monday was the day I finally got back to campus. I retold my story many times, and I'm already looking forward to the day I can tell my children about 'that time I was stranded in New York City alone.' haha.
Tuesday was terrific. I woke up early and hopped in a van headed to Lancaster County, PA. I sat in the passenger's seat and talked to my professor the whole time, which was pretty cool. He's the head of the Biblical and Religious Studies department, so I feel like I've got in with a Messiah big-shot now. Anyways, we visited an older man at his farm where his sons (all 6 of them) work the fields and he runs a window-well business. It was actually really cool to be talking to this people who, for us, have only been 'textbook objects' for a while. It was also really cool to see how, even though they don't use electricity, the Amish are incredibly technologically advanced. This man uses hydraulics and air-pressure to control a bunch of high-tech tools that make really high-quality products. We also visited a produce auction and a family that prepared lunch for us. The woman and her children then sang a few songs for us and answered some questions. She said something interesting after we all sang 'Amazing Grace' together about how we'd all be singing together like that in heaven -- people from all backgrounds united in praising God. That sort of surprised me because you'd think a group as 'radically conservative' as the Amish would never expect to find the post-modern, iPod-carrying evangelicals with them for eternity. But that just goes to show how humble and non-judgmental they actually are. Oh and the food was amazing.
Wednesday was wonderful. It's my busy class day, with four classes all spread out. And, seeing as it was my first full day of classes since the Tuesday a week earlier, I felt like there was a lot to catch up on. But catch up I did. I swam that afternoon, right after classes until six. Then I ate dinner, then I went back to the room to study for a make-up Communications quiz I had missed. Then I went to my friend's room and ate pie and pizza (in that order). Then went to a girls' rec-soccer game to cheer. It was fun. Then I went back to the room and basically went to bed by 10. Woohoo sleep!
Thursday was thrilling. 5:30 AM practice. Comm make-up test. Comm class right after. We're doing informative speeches in that class right now, and mine is this upcoming Thursday. I am going to inform my tragically ignorant class about what I assumed I know more about than any of them -- Canada. ha so I'm actually really looking forward to that speech. It'll be fun to write and fun to deliver. Umm.. so then I had lunch and then class again -- my Amish seminar. It was interesting. I handed in a (VERY rough) draft of a paper. Had a nice, relaxing afternoon swimming-free. Listened to a brand new Copeland CD. Copeland is a band and the CD is amazing. Dinner. Men's Ensemble practice. Back to room to do homework. Off to a meeting at 9 for Concert Committee, during which we discussed upcoming dates and what bands the school could get in for concerts. Then I went on a nice date with my lovely girlfriend ... over the phone, of course, but no less wonderful.
Friday was .. frightening..ly great! Homecoming weekend had begun. Classes were great. Afternoon was nice. I played guitar for a little bit and slept through the first bit of practice.. my bad. Homecoming dance was Friday night.. and although I didn't really want to go at first because a lot of my friends weren't going and I sort of wanted to go to bed early before my Saturday swim meet, I changed my mind last minute. And, boy, am I glad I did! Homecoming was a blast. There were still a lot of people there I knew, and thankfully not very many couples, so it was fun just all hanging out as a group. Probably the highlight was when Avril Lavigne's 'Girlfriend' came on, and the whole place sang every single word and went nuts, giving me a true sense of Canadian pride. Finally, around 11:30, I dragged my sore legs away from the dance and back to bed.
Saturday was stupendous. First Messiah College swim meet ever! It was just the Men's team, so it was really fun traveling as a group and getting to know the guys better. Truth be told, we didn't do very well, but it was just really exciting to be there at 'the start of something new' .. ahem. I swam some pretty tough races, but I made it through and felt better than I ever have at a swim meet. I broke 25 seconds for my 50m-freestyle, which is like 3 seconds better than anything last year. So even if we didn't win and I am still 4 seconds from a winning time, that was really exciting for me.
Right after we came back, I went to a jazz concert put on by Messiah's jazz band. It. Was. Phenomenal. Actually one of the best big-band jazz performances I have ever seen. There were a few soloists that were outstanding, but it was just the band as a whole and how tight they all were during really complicated songs that blew me away. Score 1 for my sense of Messiah pride. After that, I went to the Homecoming coffeehouse in the Union and just spent a long time chatting with people before heading off to bed.
This morning we went to CLA again, and I really liked it .. again. BUT I also really need to get work done. I've been at this for an hour, believe it or not.. with some distractions. Right now I'm also really excited because I just bought tickets for a Copeland concert in Philadelphia this Friday. My friend is getting his van for the weekend, so a bunch of us are driving down to Philly on Friday night to go to the concert. Whether that causes you to feel any sort of excitement or not, I am sooooooooooo excited. But more on that later.
Thanks again for reading. The detail might have been a little excessive, but I figured it would satisfy anybody with questions like 'so what do you actually do? So there you have it. I'm gonna try and get some pictures from Homecoming up. Oh and if there's anything else you want to know from this blog (details about various things) send me an email or leave a comment and I would be happy to oblige.
Love love love,
Josh
I write to you today at the conclusion of another wonderful week. Returning on Monday, I re-entered this familiar time-warp called college. Fall break feels like it was ages ago, and although I do miss it, I've enjoyed getting back into things here.
The week was relatively uneventful.. and I say 'relatively' because even an uneventful week around here is still filled with quite a plethora of events. There was lots of swimming and fun and work and fun and a few meetings and practices. Hmm.. maybe I'll just go through day-to-day activities. Monday was the day I finally got back to campus. I retold my story many times, and I'm already looking forward to the day I can tell my children about 'that time I was stranded in New York City alone.' haha.
Tuesday was terrific. I woke up early and hopped in a van headed to Lancaster County, PA. I sat in the passenger's seat and talked to my professor the whole time, which was pretty cool. He's the head of the Biblical and Religious Studies department, so I feel like I've got in with a Messiah big-shot now. Anyways, we visited an older man at his farm where his sons (all 6 of them) work the fields and he runs a window-well business. It was actually really cool to be talking to this people who, for us, have only been 'textbook objects' for a while. It was also really cool to see how, even though they don't use electricity, the Amish are incredibly technologically advanced. This man uses hydraulics and air-pressure to control a bunch of high-tech tools that make really high-quality products. We also visited a produce auction and a family that prepared lunch for us. The woman and her children then sang a few songs for us and answered some questions. She said something interesting after we all sang 'Amazing Grace' together about how we'd all be singing together like that in heaven -- people from all backgrounds united in praising God. That sort of surprised me because you'd think a group as 'radically conservative' as the Amish would never expect to find the post-modern, iPod-carrying evangelicals with them for eternity. But that just goes to show how humble and non-judgmental they actually are. Oh and the food was amazing.
Wednesday was wonderful. It's my busy class day, with four classes all spread out. And, seeing as it was my first full day of classes since the Tuesday a week earlier, I felt like there was a lot to catch up on. But catch up I did. I swam that afternoon, right after classes until six. Then I ate dinner, then I went back to the room to study for a make-up Communications quiz I had missed. Then I went to my friend's room and ate pie and pizza (in that order). Then went to a girls' rec-soccer game to cheer. It was fun. Then I went back to the room and basically went to bed by 10. Woohoo sleep!
Thursday was thrilling. 5:30 AM practice. Comm make-up test. Comm class right after. We're doing informative speeches in that class right now, and mine is this upcoming Thursday. I am going to inform my tragically ignorant class about what I assumed I know more about than any of them -- Canada. ha so I'm actually really looking forward to that speech. It'll be fun to write and fun to deliver. Umm.. so then I had lunch and then class again -- my Amish seminar. It was interesting. I handed in a (VERY rough) draft of a paper. Had a nice, relaxing afternoon swimming-free. Listened to a brand new Copeland CD. Copeland is a band and the CD is amazing. Dinner. Men's Ensemble practice. Back to room to do homework. Off to a meeting at 9 for Concert Committee, during which we discussed upcoming dates and what bands the school could get in for concerts. Then I went on a nice date with my lovely girlfriend ... over the phone, of course, but no less wonderful.
Friday was .. frightening..ly great! Homecoming weekend had begun. Classes were great. Afternoon was nice. I played guitar for a little bit and slept through the first bit of practice.. my bad. Homecoming dance was Friday night.. and although I didn't really want to go at first because a lot of my friends weren't going and I sort of wanted to go to bed early before my Saturday swim meet, I changed my mind last minute. And, boy, am I glad I did! Homecoming was a blast. There were still a lot of people there I knew, and thankfully not very many couples, so it was fun just all hanging out as a group. Probably the highlight was when Avril Lavigne's 'Girlfriend' came on, and the whole place sang every single word and went nuts, giving me a true sense of Canadian pride. Finally, around 11:30, I dragged my sore legs away from the dance and back to bed.
Saturday was stupendous. First Messiah College swim meet ever! It was just the Men's team, so it was really fun traveling as a group and getting to know the guys better. Truth be told, we didn't do very well, but it was just really exciting to be there at 'the start of something new' .. ahem. I swam some pretty tough races, but I made it through and felt better than I ever have at a swim meet. I broke 25 seconds for my 50m-freestyle, which is like 3 seconds better than anything last year. So even if we didn't win and I am still 4 seconds from a winning time, that was really exciting for me.
Right after we came back, I went to a jazz concert put on by Messiah's jazz band. It. Was. Phenomenal. Actually one of the best big-band jazz performances I have ever seen. There were a few soloists that were outstanding, but it was just the band as a whole and how tight they all were during really complicated songs that blew me away. Score 1 for my sense of Messiah pride. After that, I went to the Homecoming coffeehouse in the Union and just spent a long time chatting with people before heading off to bed.
This morning we went to CLA again, and I really liked it .. again. BUT I also really need to get work done. I've been at this for an hour, believe it or not.. with some distractions. Right now I'm also really excited because I just bought tickets for a Copeland concert in Philadelphia this Friday. My friend is getting his van for the weekend, so a bunch of us are driving down to Philly on Friday night to go to the concert. Whether that causes you to feel any sort of excitement or not, I am sooooooooooo excited. But more on that later.
Thanks again for reading. The detail might have been a little excessive, but I figured it would satisfy anybody with questions like 'so what do you actually do? So there you have it. I'm gonna try and get some pictures from Homecoming up. Oh and if there's anything else you want to know from this blog (details about various things) send me an email or leave a comment and I would be happy to oblige.
Love love love,
Josh
Monday, October 13, 2008
Where is Home?
I just spent a wonderful weekend at home. And after two days of stressful travel I am finally home again. It's funny, actually, how people around here already refer to Messiah as 'home'. But I suppose it also makes sense. I, however, do not feel like I can really label either place as being home right now (after all, can someone have more than one home?) Hmmm.. i suppose this is sort of a trivial concern. The way I see it, I prefer to always find myself at home.
Anyways, three days at my Canadian home were wonderful this past weekend! I got to spend lots of time catching up with the famjam.. and many wonderful hours spent with Katrina. It was really nice to come home, and actually while I was there it almost felt like I had never left. BUT, leave again I did, and sad again I am. (i just felt like talking like Yoda..) However, even though when I left this time I knew it would be longer 'til I returned, I felt much more confident going into it.
I was really excited to get back to campus and having experience with all the long-distance relationships (not only with Katrina, but also with friends and family) helped me out a lot. Canadian thanksgiving with the family was excellent, I got to go to York for a day with Katrina, spent an evening with the family downtown, and had some good food with Emily and Sam. I felt really busy, and didn't even get to do everything I wanted, but it was a good 'first-attempt' at making the most of my visits home. Right now, I have a lot of work to catch up on, and I'm missing Katrina... BUT there are other matters to discuss:
SO, the plan for returning to Messiah was to catch a bus to Buffalo, then to Binghamton, NY, then to Harrisburg. Well, of course things did not go quite as planned. Actually, forget the 'quite' part. Things got totally screwed up. My first bus broke down outside Niagara Falls, so it was an hour and a half almost before we got another one. By the time I got to Buffalo, I hopped on a later bus that was going to New York City with instructions from the driver to get off in Binghamton. So I did. However, when I inquired about a bus to Harrisburg, the guy at the desk merely shook his head with a sad smile on his face (not exactly what you want to see when you are already confused and way behind schedule).
From there my only option was apparently to wait the night in Binghamton (the dumpiest city ever) or get on the next bus to New York City and go from there to Harrisburg. So, like thousands before me, I set off to test my luck in the Big Apple. Upon arrival, I was told that the next bus to Harrisburg did not leave until 3:15 am (who goes to Harrisburg at 3 in the morning!?). So that was when I did what all hopeless adventurers do: I called my mom. And thank God I did. Right before my cell-phone battery died, and with some incredible help from the home front, I got a room for the night (with a king-size bed and a view of the Empire State Building). Then I grabbed some food and went to bed, waking up at 8:30 to find the bus terminal I had been at the night before and look for a bus to Harrisburg. Well, I found one and made it back around 2:30 this afternoon. Yup, that's right. I left Toronto at 6:30 AM on Sunday and arrived on campus at 3:00 PM on Monday. Goooood times.
It's amazing the kind of wild (and stressful) adventures you can sum up in just a few sentences. Ha ha.. amidst all the anxiety of these past two days, however, I was thinking about how that night I spent alone in New York City will be a good story for years (and for my blog.) Grandpa Boden, if you are reading this, thank you SO much for that NYC trip this past summer. I would have been lost out of my mind if I hadn't been to the city before. And for all of you who have prayed for me at any point, it definitely helped last night!
So, now that both my home trip and trip home have come to an end, I am at the start of another busy week at Messiah. There will be a lot on my mind these next few days, but there is a LOT to do in the meantime. Here's a little glimpse at what will most likely happen before I get a chance to update the blog:
- field trip to Lancaster County to visit some nice Amishfolk tomorrow
- lots of homework, including writing a paper, a test, and a speech.
- Homecoming weekend (dance on Friday night, game on Saturday.. festivities throughout)
- First swim meet (yikes!!) on Saturday afternoon
And I'm sure there will be more. And speaking of swimming, I just got my 'gear' for the season (cap, warm-up track suit, new speedo, AND a massive winter parka that says MESSIAH SWIMMING on the back). So that's fun. I guess i should start going to practices then.. haha.
Okay, I need to get on with some of this work.
If you read all of this, I love you very much.
If you only skimmed it, I love you much.
Josh
Anyways, three days at my Canadian home were wonderful this past weekend! I got to spend lots of time catching up with the famjam.. and many wonderful hours spent with Katrina. It was really nice to come home, and actually while I was there it almost felt like I had never left. BUT, leave again I did, and sad again I am. (i just felt like talking like Yoda..) However, even though when I left this time I knew it would be longer 'til I returned, I felt much more confident going into it.
I was really excited to get back to campus and having experience with all the long-distance relationships (not only with Katrina, but also with friends and family) helped me out a lot. Canadian thanksgiving with the family was excellent, I got to go to York for a day with Katrina, spent an evening with the family downtown, and had some good food with Emily and Sam. I felt really busy, and didn't even get to do everything I wanted, but it was a good 'first-attempt' at making the most of my visits home. Right now, I have a lot of work to catch up on, and I'm missing Katrina... BUT there are other matters to discuss:
SO, the plan for returning to Messiah was to catch a bus to Buffalo, then to Binghamton, NY, then to Harrisburg. Well, of course things did not go quite as planned. Actually, forget the 'quite' part. Things got totally screwed up. My first bus broke down outside Niagara Falls, so it was an hour and a half almost before we got another one. By the time I got to Buffalo, I hopped on a later bus that was going to New York City with instructions from the driver to get off in Binghamton. So I did. However, when I inquired about a bus to Harrisburg, the guy at the desk merely shook his head with a sad smile on his face (not exactly what you want to see when you are already confused and way behind schedule).
From there my only option was apparently to wait the night in Binghamton (the dumpiest city ever) or get on the next bus to New York City and go from there to Harrisburg. So, like thousands before me, I set off to test my luck in the Big Apple. Upon arrival, I was told that the next bus to Harrisburg did not leave until 3:15 am (who goes to Harrisburg at 3 in the morning!?). So that was when I did what all hopeless adventurers do: I called my mom. And thank God I did. Right before my cell-phone battery died, and with some incredible help from the home front, I got a room for the night (with a king-size bed and a view of the Empire State Building). Then I grabbed some food and went to bed, waking up at 8:30 to find the bus terminal I had been at the night before and look for a bus to Harrisburg. Well, I found one and made it back around 2:30 this afternoon. Yup, that's right. I left Toronto at 6:30 AM on Sunday and arrived on campus at 3:00 PM on Monday. Goooood times.
It's amazing the kind of wild (and stressful) adventures you can sum up in just a few sentences. Ha ha.. amidst all the anxiety of these past two days, however, I was thinking about how that night I spent alone in New York City will be a good story for years (and for my blog.) Grandpa Boden, if you are reading this, thank you SO much for that NYC trip this past summer. I would have been lost out of my mind if I hadn't been to the city before. And for all of you who have prayed for me at any point, it definitely helped last night!
So, now that both my home trip and trip home have come to an end, I am at the start of another busy week at Messiah. There will be a lot on my mind these next few days, but there is a LOT to do in the meantime. Here's a little glimpse at what will most likely happen before I get a chance to update the blog:
- field trip to Lancaster County to visit some nice Amishfolk tomorrow
- lots of homework, including writing a paper, a test, and a speech.
- Homecoming weekend (dance on Friday night, game on Saturday.. festivities throughout)
- First swim meet (yikes!!) on Saturday afternoon
And I'm sure there will be more. And speaking of swimming, I just got my 'gear' for the season (cap, warm-up track suit, new speedo, AND a massive winter parka that says MESSIAH SWIMMING on the back). So that's fun. I guess i should start going to practices then.. haha.
Okay, I need to get on with some of this work.
If you read all of this, I love you very much.
If you only skimmed it, I love you much.
Josh
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
The distance is what you make it..
Just in case you were wondering, most of my blog titles are lines from songs...
To put it simply, I've been having a blast. Whoever invented this whole college thing deserves some major props... Friends are great, classes are (fairly) easy right now, weather is beautiful, stomachs are full, music is playing. Yup. Goood times.
A group of us spent this past weekend at my friend's sister's house in Frederick, Maryland. (The friend is Lauren and the sister's name is Jess.) It was sooo fun. On top of all the fun and frollicking, probably what made it the best was just the fact that it was a weekend OFF-campus. I mean, Messiah is pretty and everything, but the change of scenery was very welcomed. We sat around and relaxed a bunch (watching T.V., playing ridiculous games, throwing frisbees, watching movies, playing Nintendo 64) and ate A TONNE... literally. It was soo nice to get homecooked meals and desserts and eat beyond our heart's content.
Here are some pictures:
(Just so you know, the group consisted of me, Austin, our friend Isaac, and Lauren, Jess, Elise, and Cierra)
So there you go.. if you can access my facebook account, there you will find more pictures along with videos... including an impromptu song about jenga.
Currently I am just sitting at my computer, but as soon as I finish, I am going to run off to swim practice (last one this week, and we have our first meet next saturday!!), and then I'm off to Lottie for a quick bite, back to the room to change, heading to Men's Ensemble from 7-8, and then a group of us (probably the same group) are going out for dinner somewhere.. sort of as a final celebration before our long separation (.. nice rhyme). Because tomorrow marks the start of FALL BREAK!!
That's right, folks. Tomorrow I will meet my lovely family here on campus, give them a tour of my life these days, and then we are heading back North where I will frantically make the most of my only three days at home from August to December. I hope to see as many people as I can, but I still need to have a talk with that guy who invented college... some longer breaks would be nice.
Alright, maybe I should pack or something...
All My Lovin'
Josh
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