Currently Listening Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Will and Elizabeth see related

Long overdue updates! (edit)

So, after some pressure from friends (namely Becky and Karis) and a nagging feeling that I have been slacking (which drives me nuts) I decided I need to just sit down and do a good update before I depart for Biola on Friday morning. So we’ll go back in time a bit to the end of finals week at Biola, and go from there.

After running the gauntlet that is finals week at Biola, I was totally ready to just go home and relax a bit. By Wednesday night of finals week, I was all done, except a speech to be given in the morning commemorating BMW for my speech class final. I had already packed up most of my clothes, toiletries, and other things I was taking home. All that needed to be done was load up the Jeep Thursday night, and then begin the 1,035 mile, 16 hour journey back home at 5AM Friday morning. Being my 6^th time making the drive, I am used to it, and all it entails. Yet, this trip was special. My wonderful girlfriend Becky flew all the way down to Los Angeles from her home state of Washington to join me. She is truly amazing to want to come with me on that drive! I largely enjoy it as a challenge, but other then that, it’s still a long, boring drive until you reach the majestic mountains of Colorado for the final four hours before you get to my house. We managed to make the trip without any problems, and arrived at my house a bit after midnight Colorado time. We then spent the next couple days resting and spending time with my family and Ron. Then came the great Christmas Blizzard of 2006. On Wednesday, we got about 25 inches of snow dumped on us, and then the winds whipped it into drifts 3-5 feet high in some areas. It was bad enough to bring most of Colorado (including Denver International Airport) to a halt until late Friday. Thankfully Becky was able to safely fly back home to Washington on Saturday afternoon despite the chaos that enveloped the airport as thousands of stranded travelers were still camped out, trying desperately to get home. I was very sad she had to leave, but we had a wonderful time during our week together, and hopefully will be able to see each other again soon! 

Christmas was a bit boring this year, which is odd for my family. Usually we always have a great morning opening gifts, and then we end up playing with all our new stuff most of the day, and late into the night. This time it was much quieter, laid back, and even somewhat melancholy. We did dinner together, and then everyone else decided to watch "Return of the Pink Panther". I watched a few minutes and then left and decided to go drive around the countryside for awhile before returning home. Christmas soon passed, and a couple days later, we got slammed with Blizzard #2. It only dropped about 14 inches of snow, but since most of the snow from a week earlier was still on the ground, this really made a mess of things.

 Right after New Years, I returned to work at Micro Motion for about a week, filling in for a friend who was out on vacation. It was great to come back and see all my friends again, and so many of the people I had worked with, from 2002 until I came out to Biola in 2006. I wish I could have stayed longer, but it didn’t work out that way. Since then, I have been doing IT work for Ron, and a buddy who owns a small recruiting firm in Louisville. They both have had enough work that I have been working 12-13 hour days for the last two weeks. The good thing is I am doing stuff I love, and I need all the money I can earn before returning to Biola on the 26^th to see me through the semester.

            Speaking of Spring semester, I am leaving for Biola on Friday the 26^th at about 5AM, and if all goes well, I should arrive back at Biola around 9-10PM Pacific time. If anyone gets bored on Friday, feel free to give me a call. I'm sure I'll be a bit bored myself, and would love to catch up. So once back, I’ll have the weekend, and then classes start on Monday, the 29^th.

           I never thought I’d say this, but, I am done with all this snow and cold. Normally,  I love winter in Colorado. There is nothing like a proper winter of snow and below freezing temperatures for awhile, but this is just too much. We’ve had 58 inches of snow since I came home, the temperatures have only been above freezing for a few of those days, and the low temperatures have plunged as low as 8 degrees below 0 at night. I was enjoying this for the first two weeks, but this is getting old now. It’s bad when you should have 4 wheel drive to get around on residential streets around here because they are still covered under a 6 inch layer of ice and snow. Or maybe it’s the black ice everywhere you have to be careful of when walking. Anyway, I think I can get used to So Cal again for a few months despite its smog, traffic and insane numbers of people packed in such a small area.

Currently Listening Fresh Aire Christmas By Mannheim Steamroller Carol of the Bells see related

Merry Christmas!

To all my friends around the world, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas

Currently Listening Metallica By Metallica Nothing Else Matters see related

Nothing Else Matters…

It’s hard to believe the school year is now half over. I feel like the past 3 months have just flown by. I remember when I first arrived back at Biola in August and thought about how far off Christmas was, and how it was going to be an eternity before I’d ever see the majestic mountains of Colorado again, and would be free of the crushing pressure of academic work which I abhor so passionately. Now as I sit here writing a paper, I realize I will be home in less then twelve days. Not only will I be home, but it will be the week before Christmas, which is my favorite time of the year, and I’ll be spending it with the ones I love the most. Can I ask for anything better? Hrmmmm…Not really. 

Until then however, I am still lost in a hurricane of papers, tests and late nights. But it’ll be worth it. I’ve been listening to Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” a lot lately, and for those of you who don’t hang around Seth or I much, here are the lyrics:

So close no matter how far
Couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I dont just say
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

So close no matter how far
Couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don’t just say
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I know

So close no matter how far
Couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No nothing else matters