Not quite an ode, but hip-hip-horray for moms!
It's almost the end of day 4, but from what I hear, my mom is missing us terribly already. :-) That California sun can't quite compare to the chilly, cold, overcast, and drizzly days that Western PA has!
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Today started slowly, with a little bit of work and then going to see Zorro with my dad. As my dad drove, I was asking him what he did and that started me recalling the long hours he would put in during heavy work periods. Dad would stop work very late, start very early, and that was without us to help and none of the jigs he's developed to help him get things done faster. Knowing now how much my dad likes to get a full nights sleep (we have similar needs in that area), it must have been very hard. As I was listening to a country song, I remembered this afternoon's conversation, and I hope when I get weary and the work gets tiring that I'll be like my dad and that I'll will keep pushing through with patience and courage until I'm through the tough spots.
I went ahead and put the lyrics below, but they don't give a complete story of what I was thinking at the time; so I'll translate my own version right now. :-) Here goes! "I said I wouldn't seek out or make trouble, but sometimes hard times come. So I'll keep fighting through the hard times, because I do remember what you taught me.
The actual lyrics:
I promised you, papa,
I walk away from trouble when I can.
Now please don’t think I’m weak,
I didn’t turn the other cheek,
And papa, I sure hope you understand:
Sometimes you gotta fight when you’re a man.
I went ahead and put the lyrics below, but they don't give a complete story of what I was thinking at the time; so I'll translate my own version right now. :-) Here goes! "I said I wouldn't seek out or make trouble, but sometimes hard times come. So I'll keep fighting through the hard times, because I do remember what you taught me.
The actual lyrics:
I promised you, papa,
I walk away from trouble when I can.
Now please don’t think I’m weak,
I didn’t turn the other cheek,
And papa, I sure hope you understand:
Sometimes you gotta fight when you’re a man.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
I love reading the news!
As I read the news and listen to the news, it seems as though the world and it's governments no longer make sense... nothing new under the sun... I can't say that the news has ever made much sense, but war has tended to clarify things for the last few years. After all, if a nation is willing to openly declare war and proceeds to do so, things get clear really fast. In the case of the US, nations align themselves on one side of the issue or the other and walking a middle line becomes wishy-washy and a sign of weakness instead of a sign of temperance...
There were some bright spots in the news. Yesterday, in the Wall Street Journal, there were some very interesting articles on the attitudes blacks and whites have adopted. (It is the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks' refusal to leaver her bus seat.) My favorite article was one Mr.Steele laments the weakness that blacks and whites have chosen so that no one need feel ashamed.
The bottom line of the article: blacks know that the fault of poverty has been the widespread oppression of generations and it is up to the old oppressors to set things right or things can never be set right;Whites have taken the easy way out and have chosen to eradicate racism on their side and to take responsibility for black poverty as their payment for past sins. The problem with these stances is that blacks have become so integrated into the US system for so long with so comparatively little racism still left that we can no longer blame racism for keeping blacks in poverty - at this point, it is the failure of blacks as a whole to take responsibility that has left them in their current condition - and it is the fault of whites for helping prolonging that position and not holding themselves and others to a high standard of responsibility. As a white, to say blacks have not been responsible for the past one or two decades is to commit racism,and to say that poverty is no longer the fault of whites raises the same cry: "Racist!"
The article and my explanation of it is a little blunt, but I recalled when Bill Crosby was speaking to a group of parents... and kids (I'll have to look that up). He told the group he was speaking to that blacks had to take responsibility, and that they were failing to take responsibility at the moment for their children's education. Oh! For about a week, there was a small uproar, and Bill Crosby was blatantly called racist, insensitive, and ignorant of black's true plight. I kept seeing news blurbs on that topic for almost a month. On the flip side,try arguing that the government doesn't owe inner city students better education, more vouchers, more funding.... try arguing instead that it is up to the parents and students to get a good education. The same cry rings out: racist, insensitive, and ignorant of who are the most poorly educated. "It would hurt inner city schools", "City students don't have transportation" - with the sad assumption that "inner city" means blacks incapable of helping themselves, and that whites must lend money and other help.
Fortunately, It is true that I have some great friends who would argue for personal responsibility on everybody with little emphasis on what the government can do for "me me me", but outside a small circle - To argue that blacks and not the government should stop black poverty is to commit political hari-kari. Imagine that getting played over the TV networks and the outcry! By saying the government must take care of poverty (almost always intended to be 'black' poverty) is to degrade blacks into permanent second class dependent citizens, and to put on the pedestal all of the years of horrendous failings of the government( whether we intend to or not, viewed as the elite of the white culture). And all those failings accomplish us not feeling ashamed of our role toward the other race: blacks don't need to feel responsible for their own failings/poverty ("because it's not their fault" ), and whites don't have to feel responsible for their abysmal failings ("We're throwing money at the problem. We're doing all we can").
The problems that personal responsibility for everyone would bring to the surface are numerous, but America has chosen to live with far more problems when they choose the easy way out because it is comfortable and we are used to it.
Final thought on the article... there was a lot of rhetoric, without much proof of his point... I'm not sure I was convinced that black poverty can mostly be explained by a whole group of people abdicating responsibility. It doesn't seem to leave room for the "one person can make a difference" idea (which I agree with). The main point of the article is the part I already agreed with, that government can't lift people out of poverty (black or white) unless the people themselves make an effort. An effort is no guarantee of success, but it puts the odds more in your favor.
In other news, the Sunnis have decided to participate more in elections(apparently not participating hurt their political representation. :-) )
In other news, Saddam Hussein's lawyers have boycotted until the get better protection. They have 10 demands before they come back. Most of them seem reasonable - especially the better protection so they don't die - but 15 bodyguards per lawyer? It seems a little much.
There were some bright spots in the news. Yesterday, in the Wall Street Journal, there were some very interesting articles on the attitudes blacks and whites have adopted. (It is the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks' refusal to leaver her bus seat.) My favorite article was one Mr.Steele laments the weakness that blacks and whites have chosen so that no one need feel ashamed.
The bottom line of the article: blacks know that the fault of poverty has been the widespread oppression of generations and it is up to the old oppressors to set things right or things can never be set right;Whites have taken the easy way out and have chosen to eradicate racism on their side and to take responsibility for black poverty as their payment for past sins. The problem with these stances is that blacks have become so integrated into the US system for so long with so comparatively little racism still left that we can no longer blame racism for keeping blacks in poverty - at this point, it is the failure of blacks as a whole to take responsibility that has left them in their current condition - and it is the fault of whites for helping prolonging that position and not holding themselves and others to a high standard of responsibility. As a white, to say blacks have not been responsible for the past one or two decades is to commit racism,and to say that poverty is no longer the fault of whites raises the same cry: "Racist!"
The article and my explanation of it is a little blunt, but I recalled when Bill Crosby was speaking to a group of parents... and kids (I'll have to look that up). He told the group he was speaking to that blacks had to take responsibility, and that they were failing to take responsibility at the moment for their children's education. Oh! For about a week, there was a small uproar, and Bill Crosby was blatantly called racist, insensitive, and ignorant of black's true plight. I kept seeing news blurbs on that topic for almost a month. On the flip side,try arguing that the government doesn't owe inner city students better education, more vouchers, more funding.... try arguing instead that it is up to the parents and students to get a good education. The same cry rings out: racist, insensitive, and ignorant of who are the most poorly educated. "It would hurt inner city schools", "City students don't have transportation" - with the sad assumption that "inner city" means blacks incapable of helping themselves, and that whites must lend money and other help.
Fortunately, It is true that I have some great friends who would argue for personal responsibility on everybody with little emphasis on what the government can do for "me me me", but outside a small circle - To argue that blacks and not the government should stop black poverty is to commit political hari-kari. Imagine that getting played over the TV networks and the outcry! By saying the government must take care of poverty (almost always intended to be 'black' poverty) is to degrade blacks into permanent second class dependent citizens, and to put on the pedestal all of the years of horrendous failings of the government( whether we intend to or not, viewed as the elite of the white culture). And all those failings accomplish us not feeling ashamed of our role toward the other race: blacks don't need to feel responsible for their own failings/poverty ("because it's not their fault" ), and whites don't have to feel responsible for their abysmal failings ("We're throwing money at the problem. We're doing all we can").
The problems that personal responsibility for everyone would bring to the surface are numerous, but America has chosen to live with far more problems when they choose the easy way out because it is comfortable and we are used to it.
Final thought on the article... there was a lot of rhetoric, without much proof of his point... I'm not sure I was convinced that black poverty can mostly be explained by a whole group of people abdicating responsibility. It doesn't seem to leave room for the "one person can make a difference" idea (which I agree with). The main point of the article is the part I already agreed with, that government can't lift people out of poverty (black or white) unless the people themselves make an effort. An effort is no guarantee of success, but it puts the odds more in your favor.
In other news, the Sunnis have decided to participate more in elections(apparently not participating hurt their political representation. :-) )
In other news, Saddam Hussein's lawyers have boycotted until the get better protection. They have 10 demands before they come back. Most of them seem reasonable - especially the better protection so they don't die - but 15 bodyguards per lawyer? It seems a little much.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Aches and pains
I guess this is what it means to be OLD. As soon as you turn 21, it's all downhill and I've got a headstart!
I think I need to make a chiropractor appointment. I think it's all my sitting time while programming that making my lumbar hurt so much. When I was helping my dad this summer, I would always be standing, bending, moving, and doing something active that was not sitting down. Now that I'm doing a lot of sitting, my poor posture is coming back to haunt me. The last 4 years or so of high school, I did a lot of ABeka video classes, and everytime the teacher would tell a student to sit up straight, I would smile to myself and be just a bit smug about the fact that I didn't have to sit up and was in a very comfortable chair or glider. A sore lower back takes away some of the smugness, but not much. :-)
I have the weekend free, and I'm trying to think of something special to do Sunday. I was thinking rapelling, but it's not too much fun by myself... I could stay at the house and clean up ALL day like last Sunday (Which was great)... or I coudl get out "In His Steps" and read it again. I'm leaning towards staying home and cleaning up. It was a lot of fun to help my mom putsy around the house and straighten everything up and rearrange rooms, but I'll probably be sent outside to have fun weedeating! "In His Steps" is a good option, but I read that one one... or two months ago and I may wait a little longer before re-reading it. Rapelling just isn't fun by mytself... hmmmm.... or I could make a few calls. See what I turn up? :-) I know Jacqueline would love to come if there isn't schoolwork still to do, and so would Courtney, Dan, Mark, Steve,... but everyone else is busy I think. It's worth a try! It's time to pull a Holly!
Parting note to brother Jesse: 1152x864 - nice screen resolution. You didn't tell me how nice it was when I was visiting! You also might want to put a little more security on what cookies can be put one your computer. ::evil grin::
I think I need to make a chiropractor appointment. I think it's all my sitting time while programming that making my lumbar hurt so much. When I was helping my dad this summer, I would always be standing, bending, moving, and doing something active that was not sitting down. Now that I'm doing a lot of sitting, my poor posture is coming back to haunt me. The last 4 years or so of high school, I did a lot of ABeka video classes, and everytime the teacher would tell a student to sit up straight, I would smile to myself and be just a bit smug about the fact that I didn't have to sit up and was in a very comfortable chair or glider. A sore lower back takes away some of the smugness, but not much. :-)
I have the weekend free, and I'm trying to think of something special to do Sunday. I was thinking rapelling, but it's not too much fun by myself... I could stay at the house and clean up ALL day like last Sunday (Which was great)... or I coudl get out "In His Steps" and read it again. I'm leaning towards staying home and cleaning up. It was a lot of fun to help my mom putsy around the house and straighten everything up and rearrange rooms, but I'll probably be sent outside to have fun weedeating! "In His Steps" is a good option, but I read that one one... or two months ago and I may wait a little longer before re-reading it. Rapelling just isn't fun by mytself... hmmmm.... or I could make a few calls. See what I turn up? :-) I know Jacqueline would love to come if there isn't schoolwork still to do, and so would Courtney, Dan, Mark, Steve,... but everyone else is busy I think. It's worth a try! It's time to pull a Holly!
Parting note to brother Jesse: 1152x864 - nice screen resolution. You didn't tell me how nice it was when I was visiting! You also might want to put a little more security on what cookies can be put one your computer. ::evil grin::
Monday, October 17, 2005
Travelling Tale
I got online, checked mail, organized that mail, prepared to send some mail, and by the time I'm finished it's too late to post a lengthy blog. :-(
Not that there is too much to say. On the speech and debater front, GCC broke a few students at the recent tournament, so we know some more people will be going to nationals. I got to judge 4 rounds. I didn't feel too confident until the last round, finals of impromptu! That one was rather easy to judge because I've competed and watched so many others do it.
My new computer is up and working now. I finally managed to transfer a few of my E-mails and programs to my new computer so I hope to fully transfer everything by the end of this week.
Tomorrow morning, my mom leaves yet again for Michigan. She made one trip last week to breed one of my sister's dogs, and she's going tomorrow to pick up the dog. My sister has/will go along on both trips, but she has the added traveling of going to see my brother and nephew this weekend - a six hour drive one way. Both she, my mom, and my dad are ready to stay home for a while.
That's it for now. I can tell I've been programming to much when I start to end sentences with a ';'.
Not that there is too much to say. On the speech and debater front, GCC broke a few students at the recent tournament, so we know some more people will be going to nationals. I got to judge 4 rounds. I didn't feel too confident until the last round, finals of impromptu! That one was rather easy to judge because I've competed and watched so many others do it.
My new computer is up and working now. I finally managed to transfer a few of my E-mails and programs to my new computer so I hope to fully transfer everything by the end of this week.
Tomorrow morning, my mom leaves yet again for Michigan. She made one trip last week to breed one of my sister's dogs, and she's going tomorrow to pick up the dog. My sister has/will go along on both trips, but she has the added traveling of going to see my brother and nephew this weekend - a six hour drive one way. Both she, my mom, and my dad are ready to stay home for a while.
That's it for now. I can tell I've been programming to much when I start to end sentences with a ';'.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Another blog from a motel
Again, I sit in the dark, typing my blog, alone... while everyone else in my room sleeps. Although if I were to be completely honest, the light has been dimmed, and my mom and dad aren't quite asleep yet, but it sounds so much more... dramatic - if I'm left alone... in the dark... reaching out to connect to the world in the only method left to me - the World Wide Web. It's not accurate, but it adds a small flair to an otherwise unassuming blog.
How boring you ask?
Work is progressing slowly - it's just that I only had 2 days to get 40 hours of work done. Fortunately, my boss is fairly lenient and lets me do work on the weekends so I'm hoping to get the rest of the week's work done, but I am unsure how I should order my week. I know that I am ordering this week so that I am working on the Sabath, but should I? It's something to take to the Lord in prayer.
I must, before I go too far afield in my ramblings, give my regrets to the debate group. I didn't get the debate plans looked over and critiqued, but don't worry! Before I show up next week, I'll get the debate plans back to you.
Now for the rambling part:
I'm starting the process of looking for apartments. I'm trying to find possible housing starting December or January, so I'll be closer to work. My parents made a wonderful effort in raising me and managed to get me to all sorts of activities (gymnastics and piano being my favorite: I can still do a giant, but I don't have ANY music memorized), but now that I'm left to my own devices, without quick access to activities at college, I've floundered in the interesting hobbies category. At the moment, I wouldn't blame anyone who said my life was 'boring'! :-) Now that I'm moving to a slightly larger town, I hope to get involved in some more activities. (dance partner anyone?)
The move is still up in the air and of has a dubious probability, but I think the time has come. I just pray that God would give me the wisdom to listen to him through all of this, in good times, and in the hard time where it is hard to stay connected to friends and family.
How boring you ask?
Work is progressing slowly - it's just that I only had 2 days to get 40 hours of work done. Fortunately, my boss is fairly lenient and lets me do work on the weekends so I'm hoping to get the rest of the week's work done, but I am unsure how I should order my week. I know that I am ordering this week so that I am working on the Sabath, but should I? It's something to take to the Lord in prayer.
I must, before I go too far afield in my ramblings, give my regrets to the debate group. I didn't get the debate plans looked over and critiqued, but don't worry! Before I show up next week, I'll get the debate plans back to you.
Now for the rambling part:
I'm starting the process of looking for apartments. I'm trying to find possible housing starting December or January, so I'll be closer to work. My parents made a wonderful effort in raising me and managed to get me to all sorts of activities (gymnastics and piano being my favorite: I can still do a giant, but I don't have ANY music memorized), but now that I'm left to my own devices, without quick access to activities at college, I've floundered in the interesting hobbies category. At the moment, I wouldn't blame anyone who said my life was 'boring'! :-) Now that I'm moving to a slightly larger town, I hope to get involved in some more activities. (dance partner anyone?)
The move is still up in the air and of has a dubious probability, but I think the time has come. I just pray that God would give me the wisdom to listen to him through all of this, in good times, and in the hard time where it is hard to stay connected to friends and family.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
A cute visitor
Here the promised post of pictures when Jesse and Jeremiah visited!
Awww.
In this picture, Jeremiah is teaching my dad how to play guitar. :-)
What better to do on a bright, sunny day than ride a horse!
"Aunt Margaret's pretty good, but wait until I'm alone. I'll show her how fast Runner can run!"
Awww.
In this picture, Jeremiah is teaching my dad how to play guitar. :-)
What better to do on a bright, sunny day than ride a horse!"Aunt Margaret's pretty good, but wait until I'm alone. I'll show her how fast Runner can run!"
"Oh no! What will I do??"
"Look Ma! I'm winning!"
Jeremiah enjoyed the tractor until it started up. I think the noise scared him. As soon as he jumped off, he wanted to get back on. Once he was on, he looked scared again. Go figure!Wednesday, September 28, 2005
A successful day
What makes a day a good day?
Is it the amount of work that I do? No. I can get a lot of work done, jobs finished, but still consider the day a bad day.
Is it the people I get to spend the day with? That's part of it, but even with the greatest of people, bad days happen.
Is it my mindset? This is closer. At the end of a day, I can look back and say it was a good day.
The last point is the best answer I think. Our attitude towards life, our satisfaction from living does not come from what we have, but from Who we have.
"but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night."
The next blog will have some cute pictures from when Jeremiah and Jesse visited. I was looking over some old folders on my desktop, and I realized I had inadvertantly copied the pictures to my computer. Jeremiah's so cute!
Is it the amount of work that I do? No. I can get a lot of work done, jobs finished, but still consider the day a bad day.
Is it the people I get to spend the day with? That's part of it, but even with the greatest of people, bad days happen.
Is it my mindset? This is closer. At the end of a day, I can look back and say it was a good day.
The last point is the best answer I think. Our attitude towards life, our satisfaction from living does not come from what we have, but from Who we have.
"but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night."
The next blog will have some cute pictures from when Jeremiah and Jesse visited. I was looking over some old folders on my desktop, and I realized I had inadvertantly copied the pictures to my computer. Jeremiah's so cute!
Monday, September 26, 2005
Time to sit, relax, and sleep - for a bit
My first week where I've put in a lot of programming time is finished. Tomorrow, I start on week two. Fortunately for me, it's still new, exciting, interesting, and I hope it will stay that way for a long time - so cheers! To an interesting life! (Although I will admit programming isn't edge-of-your-seat exciting).
The third and final week of Yankee Peddler has passed. After a wet teardown of our booth, a long drive home, and a good subway stop, I got home about 3:15, sat down and spent 45 minutes just reading the Wall Street Journal. I didn't check E-mail, turn on my laptop, vaccuum, or do anything else other than read. After all, with the electric out from the heavy storm Sunday night/Monday morning, there wasn't much else to do!
The third and final week of Yankee Peddler has passed. After a wet teardown of our booth, a long drive home, and a good subway stop, I got home about 3:15, sat down and spent 45 minutes just reading the Wall Street Journal. I didn't check E-mail, turn on my laptop, vaccuum, or do anything else other than read. After all, with the electric out from the heavy storm Sunday night/Monday morning, there wasn't much else to do!
Thursday, September 15, 2005
So much excitement!
Whahoooo! Tonight was the first GCC speech meeting I've attended since graduating. I got to see my old teammates and see a lot of potential new competitors. It look like it will be a very good year for the speech team. The team advisors are heavily involved and trying to make the team a success, and the captains of the speech categories are the cream of the crop - it's going to be a great year! But that's only 1/4 of my excitement!
But as exciting as that is there is still another 1/4 of excitement about to be announced....... I have a job! A fairly serious job from what I understand. I'm programming for a company in Florida, upgrading their system from dos and C to MFC and c++. It look like it will be a very long, involved job. At the moment, I'm the first person hired to start the job, and it looks like I'll be working alone by myself for a few weeks, or even a month or two! I know someone is slated to start in December, so I'll have a teammate then, but I'll be the head programmer for a new branch office in Grove City.
I am in the enviable position of choosing my own working hours, working from home, having a free hand in how I do what I'm supposed to do, and possibly managing a large project.
I will have to admit though, that most of this is only because the Florida business hasn't opened up a business or hired other programmers. When a new office opens up and other workers come, I won't work from home, I'll have less freedom, and be more constrained in my working hours - but what do you expect - usually only high powered programmers have the freedom I have - if only for a month!
Can you tell I'm excited! I get to do what I want (though limited) and still have a job that is just what I've been looking for!
Oops. It's gotten late on me. The other 1/2 of my excitement? Having a family to support me as I grow through life and friends I can trust during my journey! Praise the Lord for all four fourths of happiness he has given me!
But as exciting as that is there is still another 1/4 of excitement about to be announced....... I have a job! A fairly serious job from what I understand. I'm programming for a company in Florida, upgrading their system from dos and C to MFC and c++. It look like it will be a very long, involved job. At the moment, I'm the first person hired to start the job, and it looks like I'll be working alone by myself for a few weeks, or even a month or two! I know someone is slated to start in December, so I'll have a teammate then, but I'll be the head programmer for a new branch office in Grove City.
I am in the enviable position of choosing my own working hours, working from home, having a free hand in how I do what I'm supposed to do, and possibly managing a large project.
I will have to admit though, that most of this is only because the Florida business hasn't opened up a business or hired other programmers. When a new office opens up and other workers come, I won't work from home, I'll have less freedom, and be more constrained in my working hours - but what do you expect - usually only high powered programmers have the freedom I have - if only for a month!
Can you tell I'm excited! I get to do what I want (though limited) and still have a job that is just what I've been looking for!
Oops. It's gotten late on me. The other 1/2 of my excitement? Having a family to support me as I grow through life and friends I can trust during my journey! Praise the Lord for all four fourths of happiness he has given me!
Friday, September 09, 2005
Home sweet home
Home is where you can find rest. I've spent a lot of my evenings this week in motel rooms or driving, and yet I find that I'm still rested and relaxed. A new environment never seems to be the same as home, but because I'm spending a lot of time with my dad I find it's been a good week.
At college, I'm occassionally invited to play games with some friends. Tonight is one of those nights and I'm sorry to miss visiting friends, but as I look at my mom and dad sleeping, I realize I have some very good friends right here.
Have a great weekend y'all.
At college, I'm occassionally invited to play games with some friends. Tonight is one of those nights and I'm sorry to miss visiting friends, but as I look at my mom and dad sleeping, I realize I have some very good friends right here.
Have a great weekend y'all.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Today was yet another good day while Jesse and Jeremiah are visiting. It started off with an early morning when Jesse, Margaret, and Jeremiah all made a little bit of noise... that and I had kicked the covers off so I was freezing! I've reinforced the covers so the mere weight should make it difficult to kick the covers off - but back to today's visit. When we went to church, everything went pretty well. Jeremiah was quiet, the sermon was nice, and the songs were moving. One thing that was slightly different is that the preacher had everyone move into the left row of pews. It was more crowded that way, but it let the congregation know they should listen.
After we got home, Jesse prepared food for the Memorial Day gathering at our relatives house. Jesse and Jeremiah went to the fishing competition before hand, and guess what! Jeremiah caught three fish by himself. Not quite 3 years old and he reeled them into shore (Although Jesse helped when it got really close to the pond edge). After that, my dad and I went to our relative's house and started eating and talking. They have a trampoline, and it was neat to see all of the children bouncing up and down doing slam dunks on a rim that was set up. After dinner, we did the traditional volleyball games, but we made a switch this year. We played some whiffleball beforehand. The final score was 8-7, we won!
Two of of three games of volleyball: 2-0. We lost! Quite badley too. Quickly moving on....or not. I just saw the time! It's past my bedtime.
After we got home, Jesse prepared food for the Memorial Day gathering at our relatives house. Jesse and Jeremiah went to the fishing competition before hand, and guess what! Jeremiah caught three fish by himself. Not quite 3 years old and he reeled them into shore (Although Jesse helped when it got really close to the pond edge). After that, my dad and I went to our relative's house and started eating and talking. They have a trampoline, and it was neat to see all of the children bouncing up and down doing slam dunks on a rim that was set up. After dinner, we did the traditional volleyball games, but we made a switch this year. We played some whiffleball beforehand. The final score was 8-7, we won!
Two of of three games of volleyball: 2-0. We lost! Quite badley too. Quickly moving on....or not. I just saw the time! It's past my bedtime.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Time to Rumble!
The question I must ask myself is: How many times to do I have to retype this blog!? I've been doing some seasonal maintenance on my computer. I removed old programs, erased old files, and just rethought what I wanted to keep on my computer. This time something went wrong. Very wrong. My browsers, Firefox and explorer, kept forgetting to stay open. But not this time.... There will be no pause, no retreat, no discussion of compromise until this blog is completed and the programs correctly working. No stone shall be left unturned, no food shall be consumed, and no sleep shall be taken.... Nevermind. I value a good nights sleep more than that!
Yesterday I had a pretty good day visiting college friends. I spent over 12 hours at GCC - talking to professors, visiting with commuters, bowling, playing racquetball, talking, going to the organizational fair, playing games with students, and watching a movie during intervis. A very successful and eye-opening day.
But after taking it so easy yesterday, I wanted to make up for lost time today. I cleaned the house, I stayed moderately busy working on papers, and I made sure to spend time blogging, but most of all, I enjoyed visiting my nephew. My brother came up and brought Jeremiah with him! It's been a while since I've had a good visit with either of them and I'm already expecting a very good weekend.
Hurricane Katrina has brought up some major weaknesses in the oil industry. I had the opportunity to work at a company that was somewhat involved in the oil business, and I learned from them and extemp research that the US is operating at full capacity: even if we shipped in more oil we wouldn't have the refining capability to handle the new resources. I keep an open eye out for sudden gasoline price changes, and soon afterwards, I usually read that a oil refinery somewhere in the US stopped or started working again. Few people seem to know how closely the price of oil is linked to our refining capability. When I heard that Katrina had stopped 10 refineries from refining oil, I knew a severe price rise was coming. When my sister got home from working two nights later, she told me prices has jumped almost a dollar. I'm just glad that raising gas prices seem to have little effect on the economy - not that it helps when I'm pumping gas as seeing the prices shoot up!
I still want to do a little more research into MFC... I need to stay current if I'm to get a good job.
Yesterday I had a pretty good day visiting college friends. I spent over 12 hours at GCC - talking to professors, visiting with commuters, bowling, playing racquetball, talking, going to the organizational fair, playing games with students, and watching a movie during intervis. A very successful and eye-opening day.
But after taking it so easy yesterday, I wanted to make up for lost time today. I cleaned the house, I stayed moderately busy working on papers, and I made sure to spend time blogging, but most of all, I enjoyed visiting my nephew. My brother came up and brought Jeremiah with him! It's been a while since I've had a good visit with either of them and I'm already expecting a very good weekend.
Hurricane Katrina has brought up some major weaknesses in the oil industry. I had the opportunity to work at a company that was somewhat involved in the oil business, and I learned from them and extemp research that the US is operating at full capacity: even if we shipped in more oil we wouldn't have the refining capability to handle the new resources. I keep an open eye out for sudden gasoline price changes, and soon afterwards, I usually read that a oil refinery somewhere in the US stopped or started working again. Few people seem to know how closely the price of oil is linked to our refining capability. When I heard that Katrina had stopped 10 refineries from refining oil, I knew a severe price rise was coming. When my sister got home from working two nights later, she told me prices has jumped almost a dollar. I'm just glad that raising gas prices seem to have little effect on the economy - not that it helps when I'm pumping gas as seeing the prices shoot up!
I still want to do a little more research into MFC... I need to stay current if I'm to get a good job.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Rain... rain... rain...
Cooler, wet weather is quite unusual for this time of the year. If the rain keeps up, I may have to mow the lawn a few more times this year. Usually, by the time September rolls around, the grass is usually too scortched from the August sun to do much growing. This year, I heard some techniques for mowing that keeps the grass from getting scortched as much. That, added with the rain means the growing season will be a little longer. At least my dad's flowers are doing well. He usually has to water them every few days, and it looks like this week he will be getting a break!
After I ran some errands yesterday, I went to the library and checked out a few books. I've always been interested in Aikido, Judo, and Chi because they seem... cool looking, especially when I'm not the one being thrown over a shoulder. Whatever the reason, I've grabbed a beginners book on Tai-Chi and should be a grand master by this time tomorrow.
Wherever I go, I can now safely say, "Evildoers beware!"
After I ran some errands yesterday, I went to the library and checked out a few books. I've always been interested in Aikido, Judo, and Chi because they seem... cool looking, especially when I'm not the one being thrown over a shoulder. Whatever the reason, I've grabbed a beginners book on Tai-Chi and should be a grand master by this time tomorrow.
Wherever I go, I can now safely say, "Evildoers beware!"
Sunday, August 28, 2005
'Tis Well
Things are on the up and up... I've been slightly put out the last few days and it was just me depressing myself. Talking with friends, family, getting a little attitude ajustment and a good church service (reverse the order) - and the world looks much brighter!
Another reason the world looks bright is that job offers are slowly accumulating (and I do mean slowly!). That - along with some discussions of where I'll be staying and what I'll do is moving the whole idea of entering the workforce close to the forefront of my brain.
And as a parting note - I don't spill check my clogs. I think mistypins and bad spiling add charcter to a blcg. But mistyping in a title is terrible etiquette! :-P
Another reason the world looks bright is that job offers are slowly accumulating (and I do mean slowly!). That - along with some discussions of where I'll be staying and what I'll do is moving the whole idea of entering the workforce close to the forefront of my brain.
And as a parting note - I don't spill check my clogs. I think mistypins and bad spiling add charcter to a blcg. But mistyping in a title is terrible etiquette! :-P
Friday, August 26, 2005
Here I go again
I've decided that there is little that is as disappointing as writing a blog and then losing it. Here's the layout: Wednesday evening; alone at the computer; happily typing a blog for the last half hour. All of a sudden I realize "Shazzammm! I've just written a great blog!!!". Faster than lightning I move my mouse to "Publish", I hit the left mouse button, and then wait an eternity for the screen to pop up and say, "Error 404. Web's can not be found". I take out a shotgun, aim it at the computer... Maybe not - but that is what I was thinking.
Life will move on I guess, and for me, the last two days have been very exciting. Apparently, the end of the week and the beginning of next week is going to be very exciting for quite a few people. ;-)
Getting back on track, I went to Erie Thursday and Friday and visited with my Uncle Gary. He took us fishing Friday morning and we trilled for a few hours, saw a few whoppers, got a few nibbles, and headed back to shore - it was great!! I always enjoyed the ocean. After that, I got to go golf 18 holes. All I can say about that is I only lost 4 or 5 balls into water hazards. If you want any more information you must ask me personally and awaken horrible memories of an unapproachable island, surrounded by dark water, packed with weeks, and doubtlessly holding countless golf balls hostage. It was a BLAST!! I never knew golfing could be so much fun.
Best of luck to everyone. Hope the move goes well. :-)
Life will move on I guess, and for me, the last two days have been very exciting. Apparently, the end of the week and the beginning of next week is going to be very exciting for quite a few people. ;-)
Getting back on track, I went to Erie Thursday and Friday and visited with my Uncle Gary. He took us fishing Friday morning and we trilled for a few hours, saw a few whoppers, got a few nibbles, and headed back to shore - it was great!! I always enjoyed the ocean. After that, I got to go golf 18 holes. All I can say about that is I only lost 4 or 5 balls into water hazards. If you want any more information you must ask me personally and awaken horrible memories of an unapproachable island, surrounded by dark water, packed with weeks, and doubtlessly holding countless golf balls hostage. It was a BLAST!! I never knew golfing could be so much fun.
Best of luck to everyone. Hope the move goes well. :-)
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Trial by Fire
AFF: Crushing defeat is all the options available to those who attempt to deny my win!
NEG: The empirical evidence doesn't support that claim... in fact... it show just the opp...
AFF: Hold on! This is MY Cross-X time... no need to start rambling.
Maybe I'm no pro at affirmative, but I still enjoy doing debate research. That's what I should be doing at the moment, but I thought, "I've been doing this 20 minutes already, time for a 'brief' break." I spent the first few minutes alternately laughing and being scared at the freshmen GCC pictures, before I thought to move on to something more worthwhile like blogging.
So tallyho! My break has gone on long enough. I need to get back to research. I'm one of 4 people doing an exhibition debate Monday and I want to put my best foot forward. Which means little time for blogging or E-mailing. Don't worry though, the E-mail shall get through (eventually) and my blogs, though short, shall keep on coming!
NEG: The empirical evidence doesn't support that claim... in fact... it show just the opp...
AFF: Hold on! This is MY Cross-X time... no need to start rambling.
Maybe I'm no pro at affirmative, but I still enjoy doing debate research. That's what I should be doing at the moment, but I thought, "I've been doing this 20 minutes already, time for a 'brief' break." I spent the first few minutes alternately laughing and being scared at the freshmen GCC pictures, before I thought to move on to something more worthwhile like blogging.
So tallyho! My break has gone on long enough. I need to get back to research. I'm one of 4 people doing an exhibition debate Monday and I want to put my best foot forward. Which means little time for blogging or E-mailing. Don't worry though, the E-mail shall get through (eventually) and my blogs, though short, shall keep on coming!
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Should I upgrade my software?
I've been having serious questions about upgrading my mom's computer. Should I take the chance of losing old data and will I get better functionality? I don't know...
Fortunately, when my brother was in college, he found a clear and consice lists of the PROS AND CONS OF SOFTWARE UPGRADING. Scan the list and tell me what you think.
On other fronts, I wanted to finish up a blog on Ireland and get an E-mail finished. After the teasing I subjected some people to, two blogs back, I feel I should have gotten some E-mails out but procrastination strikes again. It's not quite that bad actually, I spent most of the day in town doing errands and preparing for the debate Monday and when I got back I started the procrastination.
If people have been trying to contact me by IM, I apologize for failing to be on IM a lot. I must say I was pretty happy when I got online a few days ago and some people IM'ed me, even people I haven't IM'ed before (The "Biker" strikes again. Thanks for the info. :-) )
I did manage to contact some people I should have contacted just before August. It was quite a pick up to talk. Thanks!
Fortunately, when my brother was in college, he found a clear and consice lists of the PROS AND CONS OF SOFTWARE UPGRADING. Scan the list and tell me what you think.
On other fronts, I wanted to finish up a blog on Ireland and get an E-mail finished. After the teasing I subjected some people to, two blogs back, I feel I should have gotten some E-mails out but procrastination strikes again. It's not quite that bad actually, I spent most of the day in town doing errands and preparing for the debate Monday and when I got back I started the procrastination.
If people have been trying to contact me by IM, I apologize for failing to be on IM a lot. I must say I was pretty happy when I got online a few days ago and some people IM'ed me, even people I haven't IM'ed before (The "Biker" strikes again. Thanks for the info. :-) )
I did manage to contact some people I should have contacted just before August. It was quite a pick up to talk. Thanks!
Thursday, August 18, 2005
I'm back! :-D
Can you blame me for being happy! As much as I love Ireland, it really doesn't compare to Pennsylvania and the people I find here (and elsewhere). ::Sniffle:: I have great friends ::sniffle:: OK. Emotional moment over. :-)
Actually, I've been back since Sunday night, but I've been busy (and procrastinating), that I put off blogging. Can you forgive me? If you want to know a lot of the nitty-gritty details, you can go look at Jesse's blog. He put a lot of detail. I did almost everything he did and all the pictures he puts up are pictures I snapped. There is one thing that I did a lot of that Jesse missed - shopping. I've put in more shopping time in Ireland than I have the rest of my life. To be fair, I was chauffeuring 7 young ladies around Killarny for several days and I mostly stood outside of shops and watched, but I still count that as shopping. In those 20-30 hours of shopping (that's not walking time, that is time actually spent in stores (or outside as the case was for me)) I came home with only two souveniers, the most expensive of which is a 4 euro songbook of Irish songs. They are all about a young boy going off to war or a lady pining away for a lost love - almost all of them are depressing.
What should I say, there is still so much more, but hold on for the next installment with "David's Ireland - the lost continent". The next installment includes David's infamous pub-hopping stories.
Actually, I've been back since Sunday night, but I've been busy (and procrastinating), that I put off blogging. Can you forgive me? If you want to know a lot of the nitty-gritty details, you can go look at Jesse's blog. He put a lot of detail. I did almost everything he did and all the pictures he puts up are pictures I snapped. There is one thing that I did a lot of that Jesse missed - shopping. I've put in more shopping time in Ireland than I have the rest of my life. To be fair, I was chauffeuring 7 young ladies around Killarny for several days and I mostly stood outside of shops and watched, but I still count that as shopping. In those 20-30 hours of shopping (that's not walking time, that is time actually spent in stores (or outside as the case was for me)) I came home with only two souveniers, the most expensive of which is a 4 euro songbook of Irish songs. They are all about a young boy going off to war or a lady pining away for a lost love - almost all of them are depressing.
What should I say, there is still so much more, but hold on for the next installment with "David's Ireland - the lost continent". The next installment includes David's infamous pub-hopping stories.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Hello from the Kingdom of Kerry
I have internet access! the caps lock is hard to hit, so I won't be able to capitalize much, and the keyboard is slightly different, so don't look to hard at misspellings. I'm also typing fast since I have to pay for internet access, but I planned what to type beforehand so I shouldn't take to long.
At the moment I am in Ireland! Day... 5 or 6... or 4... of the trip. I'm on Irish time and don't keep track of time and the passage of days well. The weather has been great this whole trip. After leaving 80-100 degree weather, this 60 degree weather is nice. The people who were running the Irish clogging workshop said this was warm, but the dancers from VA said it was great and they loved getting out of 100 degree weather (current temp in VA). The sun does occassionaly peek out, although rare. It's only rained twice so far for a few hours each so that's been nice too.
At the moment, I'm a big Kerry fan, the Kingdom of kerry, in Souther Ireland. I can't help but enjoy everything and everyone walking by. It is a big tourist attraction and there are a lot of shops to chauffeur (sp) people in and out of. (A new record for me! I managed to end a sentence with 3 prepositions!) Today, I'm only in charge of chauffeuring two people: Katie and my sister Katie. There are three people on this trip named Katie. It is a little hard getting in contact with home, and the days are long and busy, so I am already looking forward to getting home and just relaxing. Helping my dad is only a full day... it doesn't start very early and end at 11:00 like it does here.
That is about all my time for now... I'm need to get off so I don't kick into the next level of internet use and the next payment scheme. To everyone who I haven't been keeping in contact with - sorry, and I'll try to do extra when I get home. For those who haven't been keeping in contact with me (You know who you are), make sure to E-mail!
At the moment I am in Ireland! Day... 5 or 6... or 4... of the trip. I'm on Irish time and don't keep track of time and the passage of days well. The weather has been great this whole trip. After leaving 80-100 degree weather, this 60 degree weather is nice. The people who were running the Irish clogging workshop said this was warm, but the dancers from VA said it was great and they loved getting out of 100 degree weather (current temp in VA). The sun does occassionaly peek out, although rare. It's only rained twice so far for a few hours each so that's been nice too.
At the moment, I'm a big Kerry fan, the Kingdom of kerry, in Souther Ireland. I can't help but enjoy everything and everyone walking by. It is a big tourist attraction and there are a lot of shops to chauffeur (sp) people in and out of. (A new record for me! I managed to end a sentence with 3 prepositions!) Today, I'm only in charge of chauffeuring two people: Katie and my sister Katie. There are three people on this trip named Katie. It is a little hard getting in contact with home, and the days are long and busy, so I am already looking forward to getting home and just relaxing. Helping my dad is only a full day... it doesn't start very early and end at 11:00 like it does here.
That is about all my time for now... I'm need to get off so I don't kick into the next level of internet use and the next payment scheme. To everyone who I haven't been keeping in contact with - sorry, and I'll try to do extra when I get home. For those who haven't been keeping in contact with me (You know who you are), make sure to E-mail!
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