accomplished plenty

well. i had a good bit of work to do tonight, and now it's all behind me. i am such a happy boy. what did i have to do, you may ask. well, i'll tell you.

• a 4 page spanish paper. it was the epitome of discomfort.
• a current event paper for spanish on panama
• a current event paper for biology on fish...or something.
• a paper on persecuted christians from a country of my choice for western civilization II
• a paper on william carey's life for western civilization II

i've been working since 6:30. it is now nearly 10. a good 3 and a half hours of solid work. now that's what i call a good student. haha. just kidding. but not really.

umm, well, we have a soccer game tomorrow. and i really don't feel like playing. why? my ankle hurts. and this weird spot on my back hurts. and i was sick a couple of days ago, and i feel it coming back. but i guess i'll have to play. it's an away game - shannon forest in greenville. some of our players are only playing for 15-20 minutes, because we have a game against St. Joseph's on saturday, and they don't need to get worn out...or something. i doubt that i'll be one of the ones that only have to play 15 minutes, because...just take my word for it. haha. and tomorrow's game is rather late. it starts at 7. but we leave school at 2:40 because middle school has a game, and we all ride on the same bus. so i guess we'll go eat or something before our game. we'll see.

we'll be getting back late tomorrow night, so i think i'll be spending the night at stephen's house, because saturday morning we leave for st. joseph's at 12. and that's going to be such an intense game. i have a bad feeling about it. but that's all i'll say.

um. ok.

[listening to: 'you know how i do' - taking back sunday]

[mood: accomplished&a tad sleepy]

praying for health

i plan to go to school tomorrow. i'm not quite sure what my status will be in the morning, however. it would be great if i felt better.

tomorrow is the 'this bright pilgrimage' thing at calvary. in case you didn't know, i'm playing with a group of people from church in a little..group. nothing too serious, i don't think. but it's fun to get together. we play worship songs arranged for a more acousticey folk sound. somewhat. sarah dean and kelly mccravy are playing cellos/violin, george schwab is playing piano, tim keeler, myself, dillon robertson, and john michael cooper are playing guitars (yes, alot). we're playing at 7 at calvary chapel. come out, if you'd like.

i almost bidded on a handful of things on ebay tonight, but decided that i need to save money for anything larger that i may need later in the year. or at least until i get that job. which will hopefully be in october. which is like...now. almost.

well. here's to the night.

and health.

and wealth.

and happiness.



a final thought: if we all pitched in, i think we could bring the sunnyblunder boards back to life. it's worth a shot, i think. who's in?

my eyes hurt

i'm home from school today, sick. last night i set my alarm clock hoping that i'd feel like a new person when i awoke. my hoping was in vain. i felt the same, if not worse. i don't particularly enjoy staying home from school. of course, you get to take it easy, get extra sleep, read, and not do school. but i think i'd rather be around people, interacting. anyhow, that's that. i feel awful.

i'm listening to counting crows, and memories of the philippines are flooding back into my mind. it's amazing the things that music can do to you.


[listening to: counting crows - 'sullivan street' - august and everything after]
[mood: ill&contemplative]

pictures!

caleb..


my beautiful bedsheets.




november, the emo-hippo


my messy closet.


my messy room.


some friends.



well, i hope everyone has enjoyed this picture-filled post. it will be a rare thing when it happens, but every now and then i am inspired to do so. again, if they are too large, i apologize.

wee.

a good night

i had a good time at the concert tonight. i enjoyed it much more than i expected. andrew peterson opened for caedmon's call, and he was excellent. i don't remember hearing a song that i didn't like. and caedmon's call were good too. they have 7 people in their band, and are all quite talented people.

we went to eat afterwards. i had an interesting meal sitting with haley, rachel, sarah, and amber (that was her name, correct?). we had a enormous gathering of people in the parking lot for hackey sack after we ate. and we were all awful. but sarah's hackey sack is beautiful, and made up for our lack of hackeysackingness.

*end*

almost rested

i awoke this morning at 6:40, and forgot that it was saturday. i went to my computer, and sat in a confused stupor for at least 20 seconds, wondering why i hadn't set my alarm, and how i'd be ready to leave in 15 or so minutes. that's when it dawned on me that it was saturday, and that i could go back to bed. what an amazing feeling it was. i've always wanted to wake up early thinking i had to go to school, and not have to stay awake, but crawl back under the covers and drift away in the cold darkness of the room. and that's just what i did. why did i wake up at such an awful hour? i'm not sure. but after i wake up at a certain time consistently for awhile, i automatically get up that early. it's peculiar. but i'm glad that i did, because it felt good to go back to sleep.

i slept until 10 or so, which is when my dad woke me up to cut the grass. and i did so, but only the back yard, seeing as that's the only part that needed cutting. i'm going to try to get my hands on a firewire card, so that i can use my ipod on this computer. which would be convenient. i got a program yesterday that enables me to move the music from my ipod to my computer...instead of getting all of the files from the other computer. and it would be nice if it worked.

in about 15 minutes, i'm taking a shower, then leaving for gcs..or calvary chapel, whatever you want to refer to it as, to practice with tim keeler, sarah dean, kelly mccravy, and that group of people for the wednesday night thing. after that, we're supposed to be going to some concert, caedmon's call, i think? i haven't really listened to much of them, but i guess they're good? we'll see.

yesterday at the soccer game, justin (he was there) asked me if i wanted to stay out at the lake with him tonight, and i'd like to. so i might do that. it all depends on what my parents say though. so we'll see. hopefully this will be a laid back saturday. i haven't had one in quite some time, and so far it's going beautifully.


[listening to: sleeping at last - "say"]
[mood: relaxed]

the weekend comes to the rescue.

if i had another day of school to suffer through, i do believe i'd go into a coma. the beginning of this week was wretched, and i'm pleased to say that it slowly improved up until the peak of the week (that rhymed), friday, today.

today was MS/HS Field Day at my school. i originally thought that it would be a disasterous event, but it turned out much better than expected. i participated in 4 events, and i plan on describing a few, if not all, in the following paragraph(s).

first event = the wheelbarrow race. i just completely butchered the spelling of that word, but i'm too tired to find out how to really spell it. or maybe i spelled it right, but i'm so tired that it looks wrong. either way, i'm tired. RIGHT, so, i was originally paired up with fle, but i switched to be brandon stanford's partner, and fle was shurden's partner, because they are both smaller than either of us..so..it would be easier. brandon and i went last. and when it was our turn to go, we rocketed from the starting line to the cone, and flew around it and made our return to the line. that's when i realized that brandon's legs were myseriously slippery and hard to hold on to. this was about the time that brandon decided that we were going too fast, and wanted to let his hands fall limply to the ground and faceplant himself into the grass. and then i let go of his legs, due to the amount of difficulty i was having in holding onto his legs while trying to push his face across the ground, seeing as he had stopped "wheelbarrowing". once i let go, my momentum enabled me to continue moving forward, and over brandon, doing a twist in the air before making contact with the ground. how exhilerating that was, but we obviously did not win.

second event = volleyball i'll make this quick and just say that we beat the freshmen, juniors, and seniors, and took first. we worked it.

third event = tug of war er. we killed the freshmen in the first round...then went against the seniors and lost bitterly, but recieved 2nd place. humiliatingly, the juniors lost to the freshmen (!), and recieved fourth.

fourth event = egg toss this was a very interesting event, to say the least. it seemed absolutely ridiculous when they were explaining to us what we were meant to do, but it turned out slightly more humane than expected. each class were to make a vertical line down the field, each person in about 10 foot gaps between the next person. the first person in line took hold of his/her egg, and launched it backwards to the next person. the next person would frantically dance in circles trying to catch the egg without it breaking it, or dropping it. the catch: everyone throwing the eggs would for some reason throw them 50 feet into the air, hoping that it might make it easier for the person catching the egg. i was amazed at the lack of reasoning. what was funny however, is that some of the eggs were dropped at least 100 times without breaking. i was close to accusing the other groups of hard-boiling them, but by that time, the suspect egg had broken in some fashion or another. after the eggs had been sucessfully passed down the line of 15 people without dropping, we were meant to go all the way back. well, our group made it to the end, and were on the way back when it was my turn to catch. alison was throwing to me, by the way, and i noticed that she looked at the egg questioningly for a moment before throwing it. i thought nothing of it, and prepared myself to catch an egg from 50 feet in the air without breaking it. to make a long story short, it broke. and she knew it was cracked when she through it. and i ended up with egg all over my hands, which was quite an unpleasant ordeal, so i wiped my hands on tyler's shirt, and he was happy to be a help.

after the whole field day thing, us varsity guys left for our game in greenville against Pleasant Grove, we beat them 5-1, and i played better than usual, so hurray.

we ate at arby's on the way home, and had a heck of a time. and now i'm here, with my newly installed windows xp, and new chip with more RAM. this makes me chuckle with delight. and i'm EXTREMELY tired, so i believe i'll be going.


[listening to: oasis - stop crying your heart out]
[mood: dazed]

a taste of our own medicine

we were brutally defeated by st. joseph's today. and now we know how it feels to lose. it's not pleasant, especially in this case, because in terms of skill level, we were almost even with this team, i believe. and if we had stuck with it throughout the entire game, and played more intensely, we may have done better. oh well. next time. we do get to play them again, and our plans are to beat them then.

oh boy. it's 10:25. i'm getting to bed late tonight. i have an awful taste in my mouth, and i don't know why. and i also don't know why mr. harrell played me at right half today. because i didn't know what i was doing.

i hope the rest of this week soars. i could use it.

this is going to be a week

things that will be happening of importance this week.

1. somehow finishing my homework tomorrow before 3rd block.
2. game against st. joseph's on tuesday.
3. fyock test tuesday.
4. *insert event here*
5. *insert event here*

more to come!

whoops.

hmm. the pictures are incredibly large, and i apologize, but seeing as i really don't know how to adjust the size, i'll keep them like that. until i find out how to fix it, of course.

okay.

observations

i've noticed 2 things after looking through some pictures taken in the philippines.

1) I'm not photogenic WHATSOEVER.
2) I am prone to having severe red-eye.

- me and nathan at grad.


- me and steven and micah at grad.


zach, jonathan, and one of the twins at my house.


- a group of people at my house.


wee.

hahahaha

YES SIR.

my father is a genius, and has healed the network. and i am ever in debted to him.

on a darker note - i think the world is coming to an end. the wind is blowing fiercely outside, and i'm afraid a tree is going to fall on the house. it's not raining, but i'm sure it's on its way.

luxurious.

game against newberry

today we played newberry in a rousing game of soccer. this was our second time playing them. and we beat them again, one point higher than we did last time. 9-0. Our team played awful first half, and slowly improved during second. Personally, I think I played considerably better than I have in the past, as far as handling the ball. I need to learn how to slide tackle, however, because it could have come in handy today.

and i mean really come in handy.

[listening to: nothing]
[situation: avoiding math homework]
[things distracting me: blogging, working on the network, my guitar, and my soccer ball]

nothing is fitting

tonight represents something significant. i am falling in love with deathcab for cutie all over again. and what a wonderful thing it is.

at a loss for words

obviously, if i were really at a loss for words, i wouldn't attempt to post anything. the truth is, i have plenty of things to say. i just wish that i didn't, because it would make things easier.

i think that i'm in one of those situations where the only thing you can do is sit back and watch God work. and this is a place i have been in so many instances before. i've come down to my last couple years of highschool, after which i will further pursue less generalized education in college. as many of you know, my family has been in the Philippines as missionaries for the past 8 years, only returning on occasion for the summer, and my 6th grade year for a year. now i am a sophomore, and we are back again. my parents have come to the conclusion that they have fulfilled the vision that God instilled in them before going to the Philippines. They also feel that now is a time that they need to be here in the United States, for my grandparents, since they may need assistance in coming days.

What this means: My family will not be returning to the Philippines. My parents may at times return for part time ministry, but our family as a whole will no longer reside there.

What this means for me: I don't know. I've known about this news for quite some time, but haven't taken the time to think it through until recent days. I've realized that time isn't going to slow down and wait for me to make decisions about my future. And that thought is overwhelming. I could just stay here, and accept the fact that my time in the Philippines is over. Except for the fact that my best friends in the world are on the other side of the world. It's a selfish thought, but I crave the friendship that I have with them. Don't get me wrong, some of my best friends are here in South Carolina as well. That's why I'm in such a difficult position. I could also try to return to Faith my senior year to graduate with my friends, but that leaves my family, sunnyblunder, and friends, back here.

Conclusion: I was talking to my Dad tonight about it, and he recommended that I wait. If I wait for God's timing, He'll reveal the right thing to do. Until then, I must make the most of what I have, where I am... which is possibly one of the hardest things I've ever had to done, in this situation. But God has provided in the past, and I have not the slightest doubt that He won't provide again.

er.

yeah. blue.

wonder

i'm really not sure why i titled this post "wonder". but i did. there might even be a reason, but i don't know what it is. i guess we'll see.

today my household welcomed a new member of the family - cable internet. after being so plagued by the strains of dialup, we've finally reaped the fruits of our labors. it is so incredibly fast and wonderful and non-confrontational. haha. yes indeed. soon, i'll have it in my room, thanks to wireless networking. at the moment, i'm trying to get my hands on the Windows 98 Second Edition disc. If anyone has a copy, I'd be forever in your debt. Or...maybe not forever. More like 2 or 3 weeks. I'll make it worth your while though. Hmm. I'll let you interpret that however you wish.

i felt awful this morning. i didn't want to go to school at all. of course, no one ever really wants to go to school, but this morning was just off. i felt sick. and i was tired. better worded: i felt sick and tired. hahah. but by 3rd block, i was doing better.

soccer practice was unbelievably unproductive. we scrimmaged the whole time, and coach watched the middle school game. wee. jimmy stepped on my foot, and now i think something's broken. of course it probably won't be, but it hurts like...something...bad. and believe me, anything involving the bottom of cleats and a part of your body usually results in pain.

tomorrow is See You at the Pole, or as I like to call it SYATP. In fact, I believe I'm the only person that calls it that. Especially seeing as I made up the acronym 25 seconds ago. But hey, maybe there's another deep thinker like me out there who came up with the same thing. If so...er...good job, buddy.

riiiight. so, this SYATP thing. It's basically where the whole school, or high school, gathers around the flagpole early in the morning, and prays. And there's a worship service thing too. So i'm playing bass. This means I must be at GCS at 7:15. Entirely too early, if you ask me. But I don't think anyone did..

I got my progress report today. My average is 4.2. Which is good, I'm thinking. I have all A's, except a B in Biology, which I think I mentioned earlier. And Biology is a class that I'm quite sure can be brought up. We'll see, I guess.

anyhow. i have some things to do.

[listening to: lovedrug - pretend you're alive]
[mood: hanging in there]
[person of the day: brandon stanford]

comments

just so you know, i THINK anyone can comment now, not just registered Blogger.com members. So um, comment. It should work. If not... just let me know.

what a game

today we had a soccer game vs. a team out of Columbia called Glenforest. The name sounds as if they'd be good. Maybe it's just me, but some names give the impression that the team is good, and Glenforest is one of them. I don't know about GCS Hawks. Maybe that's just because I'm on the team. Anyways, the game was meant to start at 4. And it didn't. We were all ready, but the team didn't show up. Then we found out that they thought it started at 5... so.. that happened.

The entire day, it looked as if it were about to start pouring rain, but never really did until the second half of the game. Right, so the game. It was out of control. We won, and, er, the score was 13-0. I felt a bit bad, but, a few of the guys on the other team were playing...dirtily, so that pretty much did it with any sympathy that i may have began to feel towards them. I played okay. I think I'm starting to get better... slightly more comfortable with the ball, at least. I need to remember to take my time. Anyways, I started, and played for the first 20 minutes or so of the first half. Then I started the second half, and went out about 15 minutes into that half. I was satisfied.

Andy lent a cd to me by a band called Lovedrug. I like it alot, though I'm really not sure how to classify the music. If anyone is interested, try downloading "down towards the healing" or "pretend you're alive", the latter being one of my personal favorites.

GCS, my school, has a clever little system worked out so I can check my grades and such online. It's incredibly convenient. I just checked them, and I'm not doing too shabbily. I have an A- in History, an A in Algebra, a B in Biology (many many reasons for that), and I believe an A in Spanish, but it didn't have the cumulative grade. doubt that i spelt that correctly.

I don't know if I ever posted this or not, but my Biology teacher, Mrs. McGee, has resigned. When I heard this news, I was overjoyed. I mean, I know it's awful, but I believe she was happier leaving as well. And this way, I believe I can pull my grade up to an A, which would be excellent. Right now, good ol' Mr. Wiles is subbing. And he, my friends, is the man.

If anyone was wondering, my font is large for a reason. For some reason, this computer doesn't show the font editing options for when I post, so...i don't really get to choose. Hopefully this problem will be taken care of soon, for the sake of your eyes, and the aesthetics of the page.

that's all for now. enjoy the day.

aching teeth

i went to the dentist today, and hated every minute of it.

there really is nothing pleasant about it. the dental hygenist asked me after polishing my teeth and all if they felt cleaner. i lied and said yes, when they really felt the same. i'm sure it made her day. dentists also create very awkward situations (sorry audrey, there was no other word i could use and it get the point across). i mean, you're laying there with your mouth open, and somebody leaning over you poking little metal rods down your throat. what if you sneeze? seriously, that would be an absolute disaster. not only would you give the dentist a heart attack, he'd probably drop the tools into your mouth. and that would be an awfully interesting scene.

and i really hate opening my eyes whenever they are....operating (for lack of a better word). i did it today while the lady was cleaning my teeth. and we just sorta looked at each other for a second. then i closed my eyes again, because i knew she felt uncomfortable with me keeping my eyes open. as did i.

i also was told some discouraging news. i have to go back in to have at least one cavity filled. there may be another. that's what i get for not flossing. shame. on an even more discouraging note, i may get braces. and that wouldn't be a pretty sight.


i'm tired. time to sleep.

tired and uninspired

a long day is coming to an end. i hope to be in bed in the next hour or so. i'm still sick. it's the most frustrating illness ever, because there is so much work to be done, though, i can't seem to be efficient because of my discomfort. i'll be surprised if i make it through tomorrow. hah. or even tonight for that matter.

i just finished writing an outline for a 5+ paper that i have to write for fyock tomorrow. now i have to study for my biology quiz, then create a model of a dna or something stupid like that. it's so incredibly tedious. and pointless. and. bleh.

we have an away game tomorrow. in newberry. i'm looking forward to that. we leave school early. i get to leave mrs. mcgee's classroom before school is out. that will make my day. patrick is supposed to be bringing a stereo so that the team can get crunk before the game, en route to newberry. we'll probably go out to eat on the way home. oh, and by the way, we've gained 3 new players. ashby, andrew (a new kid from ohio...he's cool), and tim stumbo. all three of them are better than i...which is good. in fact, most of the team is better than me. and it's all good. i like to learn.

we're supposed to be moving this weekend. yes. i can hardly wait.

kelly mccravy is selling a violin to me. for $23. it's a steal, though i haven't quite scraped the money together yet. i also don't play violin. but with a price like that, i will soon.

i don't like people who are shallow, i've come to realize. and i'm surrounded by them. but i guess i filter them out... or something. because i am just beginning to notice it. i mean, it's human nature of course...to judge by outward appearance. everyone does it. i do too, regrettably. but there are some people who just make a point of being obsessed with appearance. i like to be around people who are really comfortable with themselves and don't feel like they need to do anything to gain respect in the crowd. though i'm sure everyone, at some point or another, is guilty of these things. and i guess i'm just ranting. i've noticed i'm beginning to rant more and more as time progresses. maybe it's contagious when you blog. there will be more, i assure you.

er yeah. i guess i'll go do the school stuff. then i'll eat something. then go to bed.

[listening to: our lady peace]
[mood: ready for the weekend]
[noise of the day: the birdcall]
[phrase: "hit me"]

post-gameday

yes, today is the day after the much anticipated first soccer game. and to be perfectly honest, it was something of a disappointment. it wasn't as big a deal as my mind made it seem. i didn't start, which was probably for several reasons.
1. i'm sick
2. i've never played before
3. i'm no good

all of these, especially 3, could very well be the causes. but i'll let you be the one(s) to decide. anyhow, the team we played, spartanburg day, were awful. there were seriously 2 people on the team that were skillfull, and they scored two lucky goals off of corner kicks in the first ten minutes of the game. they didn't deserve it. we ended up being behind like 5 to 3 in the last 11 minutes of the game, and caught up to tie the game at 5-5. we should have won. they were a weak team, and got lucky. that's all i have to say about that. there was one player in particular, however, who i believe intentionally aggravated me. first, for some reason, my beating him whilst sprinting for the ball upset him, so he decided to grab me by the collar and spin me around, while saying "what the f--- are you doing?!". violations galore. i proceeded to stare him down for the rest of the game. he was a cheap player. if you want to play soccer, play soccer, but don't play dirty, and don't be a sore sport if someone is faster than you.

we have another game on friday, which is an away game in newberry. hopefully we'll have better luck.

i still am maintaining this awful sickness, which consists of sore throat, sniffles, coughles, and feeling fatigued and feverish. it isn't pleasant, and school certainly doesn't improve circumstances.

i'd really like to have my restricted license riiiiiiiiight now.


[listening to: counting crows - august and everything after]
[mood: bleh]