Ian's Life: Stuff Happens...

Beavers vs UofA 29 to 27

2010-10-09T22:30:00.000-07:00

Killer game today. OSU pulled a win against U of A to make us 2-0 in the Pac-10. Tonight the band is having an impromptu rally at the south endzone of Reser and in front of Valley to welcome back the team. Quoting one commentator, "Oregon State is the best 2-3 team in the nation."

Other than watching the game I pulled a couple of loads of laundry and have been working on homework. Perhaps I'll get around to talking about my senior project soon.

Tomorrow I have church, my cousin's wedding, and a bunch of homework to finish up. So glad I got to sleep in today. This next week is going to be a full one.

Lastly, I haven't seen Tyler in 48 hours. He must have a girlfriend or something. Still waiting for it to be FB official.

23 years +1 day and counting

2010-10-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

Turned 23 yesterday. Woot. Twenty-three has always sounded like a good year to be alive. I'll be spending it finishing up school, getting a job, and whatever else that might loom on the horizon.

Right now I'm in a really boring oomputer lab. TGIF, it couldn't come sooner.

First Day

2010-09-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

I was going to update my facebook status but a blog just seemed so much better. Though I couldn't update my facebook if I wanted to at the moment. I'm sitting in Arnold Dining and the wifi doesn't seem to be set up yet in here.

Today was the first day of the 10-11 school year. So far I'm very excited and feeling good about it. I was a little worried about taking 20 credits (quater system) but I'm feeling pretty good at the moment about it.

Today hasn't been too stressful with 3 hours work and 2 hours of lecture. Tomorrow will be the true test as I have a full day of classes from 8:30am to 6pm and KKPsi (my band fraternity) at 9pm.

All in all, here are some things I'm looking forward to this fall:

· Classes--Most all my classes seem super interesting and are about things I care about for my major.

· Senior Project--This week I bid for the project I want and there are some really cool ones that I want in on. (Wish me luck!!!)

· Band Bible Study--We found dinner on Monday works great. Now to see how things go.

· KKPsi--I'm the historian this year. I'm going to IE it I think.

· Civil War--Lets beat those ducks!

More to come on my senior project...

New Place in North Corvallis

2010-09-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

Moved today. Still not done. Place isn't too bad but smaller than my last apartment. That should be fine though since we are now down to 3 instead of 4 amigos. Happy we have a dish washer. Still trying to find out the laundry options.

I'm happy this move is helping force me to get rid of things I don't need. Working on lowering my number of personal possessions. Getting better at giving away or throwing things out.

Tomorrow is Saturday. I'll finish getting the last of my stuff over from where I've been staying. My parents will also be up and I'll get to see them and trade back vehicles. It has been handy having my dad's truck today.

Time Machine Theology

2010-09-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

I would love to have a time machine. And yes, I would go back and fix mistakes--or at least a couple. Don't give me that crap about the mistakes being valuable and therefore I should leave well enough alone.

Okay, I will strongly agree that mistakes are really important but that doesn't mean I can't learn from them and then change the past. My time machine would allow me to retain my memory from alternate time lines. The ability of one's memory to remain unaltered in an altered space-time isn't unheard of.

EXAMPLE CASE 1: Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray

Bill Murray plays a weatherman named Phil who is caught in a time loop. Every day is a repeat of the last. Phil is able to remember each prior day and those before it while also being able to change his decisions.

EXAMPLE CASE 2: Stargate SG-1: Window of Opportunity (406)

Jack O'Neill and Teal'c get stuck in a time loop caused by a time machine on P4X-639. Pretty much the same concept as Groundhog Day.

Netflix, Farscape, and Dr. Who

2010-09-07T02:11:00.000-07:00

So I finally decided to get the free 1-month trial that Netflix is always advertising. And so far I've enjoyed the subscription. I'm thinking I'm going to keep it.

For my trial I've taken advantage of the live-streaming to watch two shows I have yet to ever get into: Farscape and Dr. Who. Partly sparked by their fame and also Netfix guessing I'd give them a 4.5 star rating, I've given them both a chance.

Dr. Who I've only gotten 3 episodes into the first season of the modern series. So far I'd only give it 3 stars. I'm hoping it gets better as it goes on. I haven't yet gotten the gumption to continue.

Farscape I've gotten a little further into. Right now I'm on episode 7 of season 1. Still I'd only give it 3 stars. Maybe 3.5 because I like puppets. I'm still watching episodes, so we'll see if it begins to grow on me as it goes on.

Generally, I love most anything in the Scifi (do I have to spell it Syfy now?) genre. These two shows have been good but not yet really great in my mind. Am I missing something?

OSU Budget Committee

2010-08-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

Who you know can be a great thing sometimes. Today I was approached by the 2010-11 ASOSU President, Andrew Struthers. I had applied to be the financial officer of Struther's cabinet but wasn't chosen for the position but apparently still kept in mind.

Andrew told me that he was looking for a student to recommend for the University Budget Committee and was interested in passing my name along. If chosen, I would be the lone student representative to the committee--populated by a group of whose-who's at OSU.

I'm excited to see how things develop.

Last night was a great night

2010-06-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

Last night was the OSU spring band concert. The concert band, symphonic band, and the symphonic wind ensemble all played yesterday evening. I, myself, played in the symphonic band. (I play the euphonium for those who don't know.)

Everyone sounded amazing. The music was powerful. The wind ensemble, especially, is the best I have ever heard them play. They left few with dry eyes by the end of the night. I have been to few concerts as good as this one was.

My hope is to try and get a recording of it.

Yum Meat

2010-05-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

Didn't know what to write today but I've been needed to put up another blog since I haven't done too many this year. Guess I can share the highlight of my day:

Today the school of agriculture put on a fair in the middle of the memorial union quad. The best part was that one group was selling tri-tip for lunch. I got a BIG tri-tip sandwich, a salad, a bowl of chili, and a pepsi for $6! It was delicious and the meat was perfect. I wish I could have had it for dinner, too!

Open Office

2010-04-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Apparently Open Office has been downloaded over 300,000,000 times and 100,000,000 times since the release of version 3.0.

I was talking to my coworkers and all of us average about 3-6 downloads of the software package. Lets assume that that is consistant with most other average users (lets also assume and average of 4 downloads). Then that would mean there are roughly 25,000,000 users of the product.

States Days Weekend, in brief.

2010-02-22T20:32:00.000-08:00

Made it through week 7 hell.
Ran to my apartment.
Remembered I had a meeting.
Ran back to campus.
Tried to read like James Earl Jones.
Ran back to my apartment.
Made brownies and rice.
Ran back to campus.
Ate a potluck meal and watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
Finished a dating website
Ran speed dating.
Met some cool people from Washington.
Brought 3 people from Washington back to my apartment.
Crashed.
Woke up.
Made 3 double shot mochas.
Drank 1.
Went to Jamba Juice.
Went to Trader Joe's for humus.
Went to a basketball game at Legendary Gill Coliseum.
Ran to my apartment.
Ran to Pita Pit for lunch.
Put on a formal fraternal event for KKPsi.
Cleaned up after the formal event.
Went to Qdoba for dinner.
Met some more cool Washington people.
Ran to my apartment.
Changed clothes.
Rant to campus.
Watched a talent show.
Laughed.
Performed the human pretzel in the talent show.
Got my picture taken.
Played hacky-sack.
Got 4 hacks.
Ran home.
Watched the olympics.
Played Cupid.
Crashed.
Woke up at 8am.
Took a shower.
Made homemade syrup.
Chauffeured people to a pancake breakfast.
Played matchmaker.
Ate blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes.
Sat on top of 10 people.
Chauffeured people back to their car.
Took 20 minutes of me time.
Went to WinCo.
Went to BiMart.
Went to Trader Joe's for more humus.
Had my little come over to work on homework and education.
Read my textbook.
Helped find the area of a pyramid using an integral.
Memorized KKPsi awards with Rachel.
Started a brisket on the bbq.
Memorized more with Rachel.
Ate some brisket.
Quibbled with room mates in front of Rachel.
Worked on Matt's present.
Worked on homework.
Cursed at my homework.
Called Angie.
Crashed.

What was new today?

2010-02-07T21:15:00.000-08:00

Slept in too late. Bummed that I missed church.
Enjoyed the sun that came out.
Started making something I've never made before. ;)
Got to go climbing with David.
Wrote in another blog.
Talked to a friend I haven't seen for a long time.
Got 2 large pizzas for $8.
Talked to my sister.
IM'd with an old friend. I miss them a lot.
Got to see photos of my pregnant sister. Can't believe my eyes.
Saints won, Colts lost. Good game.
Started my laundry--still not done.
Thought deep thoughts.
Worked on school.
Wrote this blog.

Using my engineering for band

2010-01-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

So I haven't been blogging for a while. I might have died down in part to having my laptop stolen last winter in Chicago. Well I'm typing this on a new netbook I just got and that may change. It is pretty easy to take with me and might warrant more posts in the future.

Anyways, I am really happy and excited today. I just found out that my proposal was accepted for doing a term project that will also be a service project to the band. This is a really fantastic opportunity and I am really looking forward to learning in my class in this manner.

I'm taking IE 366 or Work Engineering. It is class that focuses on designing processes and facilities to best serve a worker. It is so far an exciting class as we getting to put a lot of what we learn into practice.

The project is to help streamline and create a better environment for all the music preparation that happens in the band office--especially for the marching band season. This is usually a task that takes lots off people and time. Music has to be inventoried, copied, trimmed, sorted, and disbursed.

One highlight about doing this project is that our professor is excited about it as well since he is a trombone player.

I can't wait to get going on the project!

Craigslist

2009-11-16T11:48:00.000-08:00

I found this golden nugget on craigslist:

Cryptozoological/Paranormal Research (Corvallis)
Date: 2009-11-01, 3:33PM PST
Reply to: comm-9wgys-1447204087@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

Sometimes we run into things that we can't explain. These glimpses into the unknown show us enough to let us know that there is more out there, but often leave us with more questions than answers.

I am putting together a group of like minded people to research the unknown. I have experienced many supernatural things in my life and am ready to find more answers. For a few years now I have been doing amateur research on my own, and have had some results, but nothing that I can say is absolutely conclusive, although I've come very close and am proud of what I have found. After winning a battle against cancer this year I am ready to take action and start putting the knowledge I've acquired to use, and for this kind of thing the more people involved the more of a chance for success. If you are interested in the paranormal, including hauntings, sasquatch, UFO's, holy grail research, or anything that may still be unknown to mankind at this time than please e-mail me and tell me about yourself, your interests, and any way that you could contribute. There are any number of different things that this research may include from simply gathering information from sources, to outdoor expeditions, to using electronic devices to find evidence, so if you are interested at all please do not hesitate to e-mail me, collaboration is the key to success in this field.

If you are not interested in participating but have stories or information pertaining to any of these subjects I would love to take the time to hear from you also.

* Location: Corvallis
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 1447204087

Winco & Mini Pizzas

2009-10-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made mini-pizzas for dinner. You can get little crusts and pizza sauce packets for pretty cheap at Winco. Just had to smear the sauce on, add some cheese and pepperoni, and bake it for 5 minutes. Fairly tasty, too! Costs about $1.50 or maybe a little less for the final product.

Acheivement and Human Error

2009-10-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

In life there are things we can control and things that we can't. Sometimes learning to accept what we cannot control is the moral that we need to learn. Other times, such as for me right now, it is learning to deal with what we can control. Self control many times is a rough road to stay on.

Often I get really frustrated with myself when I allow that which I do have control over to run awry. Simple things really: doing poorly on a test when I could have studied but procrastinated; getting a ticket because I didn't keep an eye on my speed; or even getting out of shape by not finding time to exercise.

Many times these things happen because I'm lazy or don't have the motivation to do it when it needs to get done. Sometimes it is because I don't have time in the day but even that is usually because I put things off.

Its frustrating when you know you are perfectly capable of achieving far more that you currently are. I don't expect everything to go my way when I do everything right. I just expect more than when I'm being habitually lazy.

I need to get better at productivity. Productivity isn't necessarily about being able to cram more into your day. It is about doing what you already do except more efficiently and with better quality.

This takes self control. Self control is HARD! Freaking HARD! Probably the hardest thing you can learn to make your life simpler and easier. It doesn't change what you have to deal with but it does change how you deal with it and the possible consequences that come from that.

Hard is good. How do I keep that in mind? I watch Brad Stine. (I'll add a video of his later). Hard builds character. Hard refines us into better people. Great achievements are always hard.

Come with me

2009-10-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

My soul is restless as aches for a chance to be free
Free from this oppression which surrounds you and me

Let us run from this place and journey down the less worn path
There we might find a better refuge from the sting of wrath

Do not look back for only destruction and despair is left behind
Where we are going is something far better to find

Time and destiny, hand in hand
Come with me to a distant land

Back from Aussieland and a new schoolyear

2009-09-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

So I've been back from Australia about 2 1/2 weeks now. It was a great trip and I wrote about it at aussieproject09.blogspot.com.

I've been working full time for UHDS Maintenance renovating Cauthorn hall. We've been working on moving in furniture and its left me pretty tired most days.

This Saturday is our first football game at OSU and I'm pretty excited.

Aussie Blog

2009-05-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

So I have a blog for going to Australia. This can be checked out here.
I might end up posting there more than here for a little while.

Beaver Baseball vs USC

2009-04-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

OSU baseball is playing USC today at 5pm. I'm going and super excited. So far we are undefeated at home and 13th in the nation. It was raining this morning but the sun has come out and it has turned into a beautiful day for baseball. Things are looking up for the beavers this year!

Ibuprofen is Awesome

2009-04-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

So Ibuprofen is my best friend right now.

My cold started with a tickle in my throat last Friday and has been fluctuating up and down. Right now its got me a little more down. Luckily I found out yesterday that Ibuprofen really helps a lot. I just need to be careful not to hurt my throat more while I have my pain receptors high on 2-(4-isobutylphenyl)propanoic acid.

So far I've gotten a little sick week 2 of each term this year. Usually I only get sick once or twice the entire year. I guess I need to eat more apples.

Heading to Australia

2009-04-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

So I've been accepted to go on summer project in Australia this summer. I'm really excited for the trip. Its going to just over five weeks of working to strengthen the college ministry at the university in Newcastle. The trip is scheduled to go from July 14th to August 19th.

Now that I've been accepted I need to start raising support for the trip. The total amount required for the trip is going to be $4500. The good part is that this figure encompasses all our expenses--including getting there. It is a lot of money but I have faith that I will be able to raise it despite our recent economic conditions. I'm going to be sending out letters very soon and trying to find people who would like to join in being part of this trip through prayer and possibly monetary support.

Please pray for the entire team that is working to make this mission trip a reality.

Opportunity Knocks

2009-03-31T15:25:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was pretty good. Classes were new, work went well, OSU beat UTEP (which was an amazing basketball game), and I had fun celebrating Matt's birthday. Additionally I got a summer job lead out of the blue.

One of my family's friends sent me a facebook message out of the blue that she knew of a summer job that I might be interested in. She gave me the number of a person who is looking for a summer councilor that is into high adventure stuff for a christian camp. I'm still waiting for a call back from the person but what I've already heard sounds really good.

From what I understand it would be 3 weeks/weekends (June through July) being a councilor of sorts and doing lots of high adventure stuff. Being an eagle scout this is right up my alley. I've also applied to help with a college ministry in Australia next summer. This would work out well if I do that because they don't conflict time wise.

Again, all these details are pretty ambiguous at this time but seem to be coming together.

I've got to run to class but I'm hoping to write on spring break soon...till next post. Audios.

First Day 1/2 Birthday

2009-03-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

So its the first day of Spring term 2009. The sun is shining, birds are singing, and the groans of students can be heard as they return to class. So far I've worked and been to my first class. I have one class left today and the championship basketball game tonight against UTEP. (I took special care not to wear the UTEP sweatshirt I got at the Sun Bowl.)

Today is also my friend Matt's birthday as well as being my half birthday. I can now say I'm on the closer side of turning 22. The passage of time never ceases to amaze me.

You Are My Hope

2009-03-28T00:38:00.001-07:00

I keep playing this song over and over.

----
You Are My Hope by Skillet:

Times are hard
Times have changed
Don't you say
But I keep holding on to you
It's hard to keep the faith alive day to day
Leaning on the strength I've found in you
You're the hope of all the Earth

You are my hope
You are my strength
You're everything
Everything I need
You are my hope
You are my life
You are my hope
You are my hope

Far beyond what I can see or comprehend
Etching your eternity in me
Nations stream and angels sing, "Jesus reigns"
And every knee bows down
You're the hope of all the Earth

You are my hope
You are my strength
You're everything
Everything I need
You are my hope
You are my life
You are my hope
You are my hope

Carry on and I sing of how
You love and I love you now
All the times that I start to sink
You come and you rescue me
You are my hope
You are my hope

Spring Break 09

2009-03-27T02:21:00.000-07:00

So I've been failing at keeping this blog updated. Especially since this the first post of the 2009 year and it is already the end of March. A big part of this was due to the busyness that was winter term. Though blogging has not made it to the top of the list of things to do in past months, it's something I wish I can get going on again. I have the time to do it but I just need to be more intentional about it.

I will try in another post to write more about this week but for now I'm just going to summarize. Friday afternoon I headed out on a Campus Ambassadors retreat/project trip entitled "Finding Your Calcutta." This trip lasted through Wednesday and was absolutely phenomenal. We did lots of service projects, heard from many great speakers, and forged friendships with one another. I even got to reconnect with a friend from doing Kiss Me Kate in high school.

Today (which I'm still counting as Wednesday since I haven't gone to bed yet) I got to hang out with my extended family and also went geocaching with Mike at the beach. A great day in summation.

Thats all I want to tell for now but more to come--especially on the Finding Your Calcutta trip.

Winter break in Indiana

2008-12-13T22:03:00.000-08:00

So its winter break finally! Yesterday I flew into Chicago to visit my sister and brother in law, Kari & Will. While I flew into Chicago, they actually live about 2 hours away in Goshen, Indiana. Already a lot has happened for me to tell. Most all of it has been an exciting adventure except for one mishap.

I got in late last night when I got picked up from the airport. My brother and sister planned ahead and got some friends of theirs to let us spend the night in their christian co-op. It was a really good arrangement as I got my own guest room to sleep in as did Kari & Will.

In the morning we met up with some more friend's of Will's and headed to a bakery. I ended up getting a bear claw that was really delicious. After that we headed to downtown Chicago and got to walk around a little.

Our main destination was a Boarders that has a raffle for discount tickets to Wicked every two hours before a show. Kari was extremely lucky and was the second person drawn! She won 2 tickets in the front row. We headed over to the theatre and bought one more so the 3 of us could go.

While we waited for the show time we went to lunch and got authentic Chicago pizza with Will's friends. It was absolutely amazing and some of the best I've ever had. We were just able to finish eating it before we had to rush back to the theatre.

Wicked, for those who don't know, is a musical based off a same titled book that follows the story of the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. It was an amazing show and absolutely stunning. (The front row seats made it even better, too). The theatre we watched it in, Ford Theatre, is a spectacular piece of architecture as well. Every surface was filled with gilded design and all types of adornment.

After the show we grabbed some drinks and headed for the car to drive home. Sadly, this brings me to the one unfortunate event for the day. We found that the care wasn't completely locked. Everything seemed in place (we were also in a somewhat secure parking structure) and we headed to Will and Kari's House. Unfortunately, when we arrived and went to the trunk to bring in our bags, I found my backpack open and my laptop missing. Fortunately, nothing else was stolen even though I had my camera in the same bag as the laptop.

Even though the laptop got stolen, I'm still having a really good trip. Getting to spend time with my sister and Will is better than any possession I could have. I plan on enjoying the rest of my time here in Indiana and making memories with family.

That's all for me right now. Goodnight.

Its a Thursday

2008-11-20T15:41:00.000-08:00

So its a thursday and week 8 of term. Deadlines are reaching their due dates, club activities are still in full swing, thanksgiving is right around the corner, dead week is looming in the distance, and I'm right smack dab in the middle of it.

Right now I'm in the Memorial Union trying to scarf down my #3 (Western) from Carl's Jr while I try and type this before I need to run off and work on some Relay for Life, ECSLC, and homework stuff. Its really busy for me right now but I'm not over my head. Which is a good thing.

Anyhow thats my life right now.

2008-11-16T14:12:00.000-08:00

So Its just over one and a half months since I posted anything to this blog. (I had such a good run going this summer, too.) Anyhow I'm about to start week 8 of fall term and thought I put up an update. So much has happened though since my last post that I may end up leaving out lots of details. However I'll do my best to break it up and cover it cliff notes style.

My Birthday!

I turned 21 this year on the second day of school. Mike pulled a surprise birthday party on me and filled our very small apartment with lots of friends. I had no clue it was happening and was pretty taken aback. Lauren made some fantastic cupcakes and I had a blast. My friend Jodi even came down from WOU.

That weekend Mike took me bar hopping for the first time. I had a fun time but I've decided I'm probably going to be a very big drinker.

Marching Band

I'm the section leader for the baritone section this year. I'm the only vet with three rookies: Matt, Noel, and Kelly. (Yes there are only 4 of us.) I'm hoping these guys will stick around so the section can start growing. All of them are really nice people and seem to enjoy marching season.

As of yesterday we've done 4 different shows: A John Williams show ; a latin show with a guest percussion group name samba ja; a guitar hero show; and last Saturday (for Dad's day) an Elvis Presley show. My favorite so far has been the guitar hero one even though I was originally skeptical before hearing the music.

The football after a couple bummer preseason games has been doing very well. With only a tragic loss to Stanford we have been able to win all our other conference games. This includes another amazing upset against USC. Also, after yesterdays win against Cal we are set to go to a good bowl game. Our next two games against Arizona and Oregon will decide if we get to go to what will probably be either the Sun Bowl, Holiday Bowl, or hopefully the Rose Bowl!

On another note, being section leader this year it has meant that I was in charge of the section t-shirts. The section was saying I should make a Jesus is my homeboy t-shirt but with "Ian is my homeboy" and my picture. I didn't really want to be on my own t-shirt so I used Todd our band operations manager instead. After posting it on facebook the rest of the band found it and people went crazy about it. John from the color guard ended up collecting money and actually getting t-shirts made. Apparently I get a free one for designing it. As for the baritone t-shirt we went with a bright orange shirt that has the section in siloette and our horns in white. The caption says bar iTones and OSUMB 2008.

Classes

Classes have been going pretty well this term. I have my two hardest with Bryant who is a roomate to my friend Tyler who is a clarinet in marching band. (Its funny how connected we all are at times). Its really nice to have someone with a very similar schedule who you can study with.

Clubs

I'm busy with clubs again this term. Relay for Life is trying to get a good committee together this term before winter term hits. I'm going to share the online position this year and then probably help with logistics as well. I've got the website set up already and am getting us re-registered as a student organization right now too. We also have a new staff person who I think will do a very good job.

Bryant who I mentioned just before this got me to help him start a new dancing club. The East Coast Swing & Lindy Hop Club (ECSLC). I'm going to be the treasurer and have been working alot on the tech aspect of things. I'm soon going to start on the website so we can have an online presence other that facebook.

With marching band going late on Wednesdays this year I haven't been able to go to Cru at all so instead I've been attending Campus Ambassadors or CA on Thursdays. I've really like this group and have gotten to know a lot of cool new people. When winter term starts I'm hoping to have the time to do both groups.

I've also started my own bible study this term. Its focus is to be more study oriented and focused on growth for those who want deeper maturity in there faith. Currently we are going through Hebrews and I am having a blast leading it.

Work

I started working at COSINe this term which is the tech support for the college of science and math and a few other odd groups on campus. I love the work and have been learning a lot. I have good coworkers which is a blessing and enjoy the atmosphere. So far I'm only working about 10 hrs a week but that is all I've really wanted being busy with so many other things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So with even all that there is still a lot I have left out about the term. I hope I can find more time to give more updates but I think I gave the main gist of everything. Life is busy but God is good. Anyway I've got to go since I have about 13 things on my todo list without even trying to think of things I need to get done for this next week.

school

2008-09-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

School starts tomorrow. A new year and a new term. I have really high hopes for it. I think it could perhaps be my best year of college yet.

I really want to have a well structured year. First so I can accomplish things sooner and second to find time to try new activities. I really want to go to the gym more and rock climb as well as join a new club. (I've been eying the solar car team).

So I'm off to bed. Here's to a new term and start of the year resolutions.

Fit Body, Fit Mind

2008-09-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

So the 08-09 school year is about to start for me and its my favorite time to make new years resolutions. I don't make them on Jan 1st because I'm already halfway through what I consider a "year".

This time around I'm going to see if I can start working out at least 3 times a week. But unlike many, my goal will be to gain weight. For those that don't know I'm 5' 8" and 125 lbs. Pretty much I'm skinny.

I'm an active person who bikes, plays Frisbee, and does things like marching band and ballroom dance. I'm mostly dissatisfied that I don't have a very strong upper body.

So I'm going to be hitting the weights and hopefully I find someone to come with. I will probably end up doing rock climbing, swimming, racket ball, etc... too cause I like to be active in fun ways.

The plan is to try and get to Dixon rec center in either the mornings or early afternoons. I'd like to be able to do it before a meal too so I can get protein in my system right after a work out.

So we'll see what happens.

Ramblings of Thought

2008-09-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

It rings true to my soul. Its impact still resonates in my heart. My focus is undivided and its reality becomes my own. I am so close to being part of it that all else is forgotten and pushed to the furthermost recesses of my mind. Obsession and infatuation become my chains. I am driven to find conclusion while always hoping for more.

I am still. Time moves around me but I am unaware. I am in a different time for now. Whether it is faster or slower I can never tell. Events begin to merge together. Memories remain specific but order is forgotten.

Tearing myself away is harder each time. When I do it is like a cold pale water being upturned over my head. After the shock there is disorientation. I have to readjust. I slowly come back into phase. However from where I just was still manages to linger on the edges of darkness and light. There I am just able to discover it for another time.

Each time the process is different but the same. If only it and I could become one, I wish. For in that place I am immortal even if I die.

My future...

2008-09-03T01:39:00.000-07:00

So I've been thinking about where I really want to be headed with my life. It's not that original of a thought--especially being a college student. Where do I want to be headed?

I feel like I'm at point where I have plenty of opportunity but not a lot of direction. There are a lot of things I think I'd like to try but nothing that truly captivates me and makes me want to gravitate toward it. I'm in search to find a dream.

I do have dreams, inclinations, expectations, wants, etc.. But I don't have much in terms of specific long term goals. In no certain order I want to:

Be happy. create
Find something fulfilling.
Have an outlet for my creativity to design and pioneer.
Glorify God.
Find success.
Work with dynamic individuals.
Not necessarily be rich but be without need.
Have the motivation to work hard.
Help people.

I feel like I might be able to find lots of those things in many different areas. I picked my current major because it can be applied in many different ways and focuses on the design and creativity aspect from my list.

I don't feel like I'm doing as well in college as I would if I had a more definite career plan to shoot for. I need a mission to set my sights on. Something specific and non ambiguous.

a poem

2008-08-21T03:17:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I try my hand at poetry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why is moving foward
So troublesome and hard?

I’m not who I’ve been
And not yet who I’ll be.
But who I am now
I’m still struggling to see.

By the time I figure it out
Its in the past and too late.
Will I ever get it right
Or will failure be my fate?

I realize that by myself
I can’t make things right.
Its Him from above that comes strength
And will ultimately win the fight.

But patience for His will runs low
And I try to adapt alone.
My actions are marked by hazard
The consequence I should have known.

Why is moving forward
So troublesome and hard?

The Beach & What to do now?

2008-08-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally done with my summer courses as of last Thursday. In celebration I ended up going to the beach in Florence with Jan and Robby--friends from Eugene.

We headed out Saturday afternoon with almost 100 degree heat. By the time we reached the coast that number had dropped by about 30. It was also really foggy when we got out on the beach that afternoon. Visibility was around 100 feet and kind of creepy. It was really cool though. Minuscule water droplets started catching on all our hair like tiny diamonds. I'll have to get the pictures from Jan.

We found a campsite just a few miles north and had fun trying to figure out which country our neighbors were from. I'm still guessing Romanian. That night we just missed the huge thunderstorm that went over us and hitting the valley.

Over all it made for a really nice trip and I'm hoping to be able to go camping a few more times this summer.

Now the weekend is over I have to figure out what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my summer break. I still have almost a full month before I have to start doing marching band stuff.

I've redoubled my efforts in finding a job. I applied at Coldstone the day after they put a craigslist post up and am waiting to hear back. I've also checked in with other places I've applied already and looked for new openings. I'm pretty much guessing I'm going to end up getting a lot of phone calls when school is about to start up again and employers start to hire again.

If I can't find anything I may just end up heading down to Klamath to start doing work for my parents. They've been resurfacing their ceilings and would appreciate the help.

Stages of Grief

2008-08-07T17:12:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend, Tani, broke up with me yesterday. I've never been through a breakup before but I can now truthfully say it hurts like hell. I've had almost relationships happen to me but this was the first long-term relationship I have ever had. We lasted over a year too and long-distance no less.

I'm not going to divulge the reasons why or all those other nitty gritty details you'd get from watching Desperate Housewives. I'm not blogging to put out my dirty laundry but I thought it might be therapeutic to recap our five favorite stages of grief.

For educational purposes I've added the video below.

1. DENIAL

This is the stage I figure I'm still in. It's our disbelief of the situation at hand and our hope that the problem will go away if we pretend it never existed. Sometimes this includes withdrawing from our usual social contacts and can last from mere moments to extended periods.

2. ANGER

This stage is pretty self-explanatory. Anger is often directed at whomever the person grieving blames for the cause of the grief. This often includes themselves as well.

3. BARGAINING

For this stage the individual often tries to make a deal with God that goes along the lines of "if I do this, will you take away the loss?" I also think this can take the form of people taking on impossibly hard tasks. "If I work hard enough or I'll be able to make it all better."

4. DEPRESSION

I think of this stage as the hitting rock bottom part. Often one feels numb although the feelings of anger and sadness often remain underneath.

5. ACCEPTANCE

As time passes the the feelings of anger and sadness finally taper off. The person is finally able to accept what has happened and resume their life normally.

Right now the breakup really hurts but I truly believe that I'm a better person from the last year. I learned and grew a lot from being with Tani and it has challenged me in many new ways. I still love her as much as I ever did and don't know quite what to do with that yet. I'll eventually make it to acceptance but its going to take me a while.

Waldo Weekend

2008-08-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

So this last weekend finally came and past. I got to go camping with one of my best friends Steven. Steven is on the end of his leave before he has to head back to Japan and then Iraq for the marines.

We went to Waldo lake which is right in between Klamath Falls and Corvallis on the north side of the Willamette pass. I was able to get out of town by noon on Friday and headed up to meet Steven and his dad.

I ended up falling asleep in my truck waiting for Steven and woke up over an hour after they were supposed to arrive. It was one of those instances where you wake up completely alert, see the clock, and start to panic. Apparently they had passed me on the way up and didn't realize I was driving the truck. Steven's Dad later said he had seen it and started wondering about it after they hadn't found me. Luckily I found them in a half hour after waking up and they had been busy setting up the trailer more than trying to find me.

The rest of the camp out was pretty much a lot of fishing, exploring, eating, and swapping stories. Pretty much a fantastic time.

Saturday night Steve (not Steven) and Katie his fiance came up too. They were able to bring up a raft as well which we took out Sunday on a smaller lake right next to Waldo.

Over all I couldn't have asked for a better time. (Although fewer mosquitoes would have been nice.)

Plague Maker

2008-07-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

I'm in the middle of reading the book "Plague Maker". So far I'm about a third into it. It is about a FBI agent who is investigating a murder because they found fleas at the crime scene which could be part of an effort of biological terrorism. He ends up being contacted by a oriental man in his 80's who claims it is the work of a Japanese scientist who he has been tracking for over 60 years since WWII. After the war he disappeared into Russia and then later to the middle east where he has allied with terrorists. Because of the location the agent has had to work with his ex-wife who is the foremost expert on the middle eastern ideology.

The author writes not only from the protagonist but the antagonists as well, queuing us into the events on either side. The book has good imagery and the plot flows nicely. The characters are well developed and aren't too cliche. Most the dialogue is really good although there are a few places it seems slightly over the top. But that just might be me.

Rafting

2008-07-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

I went rafting this afternoon down the north santiam river. Right now the water is a little low making many of the rapids a lot different. It was a little overcast when we started but the sun ended up coming out and making it a beautiful day to be out on the water. I miss being able to go out on the water as often as I used to when I was in crew.

Next weekend I'm going camping over at Waldo lake with Buckalew. The lake has amazing water to go out on and I'm hoping to figure out a boat I could get up there. Even if its just a small rubber raft it would be great.

Be strong and courageous

2008-07-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

In response to my last post I'm feeling better now.

This morning I woke up still feeling pretty depressed and headed to class. Afterward I went over to the MU to do my devotions. Today I read from Joshua 1. Reading verse 6 it says to "be strong and courageous".

For whatever reason those are just the words I needed to hear. Simple words of encouragement. Once I saw them I just had to stop reading. It was one of those moments where you get goose pimples from God's word impacting your heart.

Be strong and courageous. Simple but great words that God repeats over and over to Joshua and his people. They were getting ready to go take there promised land but I wonder what other dark clouds they might have had hanging over them?

Sigh....

2008-07-23T20:49:00.000-07:00

Why so downcast oh my soul?

So I'm feeling a little depressed today. I had a lot planned out to do today but didn't really get much done at all. I still need to get my homework for stats done as well as some for econ. I might just go to bed soon enough and get up early. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be feeling a little better. I don't know why I'm so down right now. Grr... It's probably just a mood swing mixed with missing Tani and it being kinda a lonely day.

In any case i started a pot of beanless chile. yum.

Bucks Back

2008-07-20T15:13:00.001-07:00

So my best friend, Steven, got into Klamath Falls at 3:00am today. He's home on leave for 3 weeks before he heads off to Iraq in mid-August.

The problem is that I'm in Corvallis doing a couple summer classes. To solve it we planning on going to Waldo Lake on the Willamette pass in 2 weekends. I'm also starting to consider going to Klamath next week as well.

If I remember correctly, Waldo lake is one of the biggest and most pure in Oregon. Its also close to about four other lakes that give you a variety of places to fish. It should be a fantastic place for a great weekend.

Into the wild...

2008-07-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

So I got up this morning to find that someone had broken into the apartment. Well...no that not really the truth but it caught your attention right? Actually I got up at 7:30ish to find someone had kidnapped my room mate. Well...not kidnapped. Mike, my room mate, didn't get in from work until 8. He's been working about 80 hours week recently. He's making bank but he's also pretty cranky. I'll be happy when he brings it back down to 40.

Today though after I got up I headed out to Silver Falls State Park. Its about 30 miles east of Salem. With me were a couple guys I know from crew: Luke and Brandon. Luke I met at the beginning of the school year and Brandon I only really knew by face but was good to know better (He's also a ME major).

Silver falls has many miles of trails but we took the 10 falls trail which is around 8 miles in length. I'll try to have pictures up soon of all the waterfalls. It ended up taking us about 3 hours total to finish it (The signs said 5).

I think my favorite part of the silver falls park is getting to go behind many of them. The larger ones are in the hundreds of feet high and often have the rock eroded far back behind them in the gorge.

Stargate Atlantis Season 5!

2008-07-11T01:01:00.000-07:00

I'm uber excited! Season 5 of Stargate Atlantis starts tomorrow!

I hope the writers came up with some great material during their strike. I'm afraid that if they don't ... well they might go to greener pastures.

Yay for scifi!

2008-07-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

So I'm hanging out in the OSU computer lab about to log out and possibly grab a cinnamon roll over at the library cafe. I really didn't come down here to do any schoolwork but to start planning where I'd like to take a hiking trip soon. Well, and to facebook some too (happy b-day paul).

I'd like to do some short day hikes around Corvallis and perhaps find some places to mountain bike too (I need to fix my breaks first though). But I'd also like to try and find a mountain to go up as well.

Luckily I have 2 great friends to help me out: oregonhiking.com and goolge earth. Oregon hiking shows plenty of great places to go through0ut every region of Oregon. It breaks Oregon up into its five different regions as well as multiple recreation types. Google earth helps give an idea of the area especially with its topographic feature.

Currently I'm looking at the coastal and central regions although might make a few peeks at the northern region as well. So far these are what have popped out at me.

Little North Fork of the Santiam River
Timpanogas Lake
Saddle Mountain
Black Crater
Cone Peak
The Little North Santiam
Mathieu Lakes Loop
South Sister

New Roomie

2008-07-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

So I've got a new room mate and he's moved in finally.

The last two years I've lived with Sean who has decided to take some time off from college and do some soul searching. Luckily I was able to Mike who agreed to be my next house mate and I was able to stay in the same place for another year.

So here's hoping to good year with Mike!

Summer is here

2008-06-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

So I've made it to summer. I'm home for a week and then I'll be back up in Corvallis. I'm going to be taking 3 summer courses and trying to work part time. Hopefully I'll have the weekends pretty open to do some camping and hiking. I've got a fishing license thats been itching to get used as well. I'll finally have a car too which will definitely make small trips a lot easier but the gas is getting pretty high.

Tani left this morning to go on her mission trip to Mexico. It was good to have 4 & 1/2 days with her although I would have loved more. Being long-distance we don't usually get to see each other much. Usually its about 2 days every month. Anyways she is going down to some village I can't pronounce to help out a pair of missionaries for a little over a month.

Today I think I'm going to grab Steven and finish a mocumentary we started 2 days ago and finish editing the film. He's been back this week as well from doing research up at George Fox. I might also be taking him back up when I go as well on Saturday.

Thats all for now I think I'll mow the lawn for my parents.

What is your motivation?

2008-06-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

So what is your purpose? Do you know or at least think you do? If not then what is the point? From where do you draw your motivation to get up every day?

I'm finding myself to be severely under motivated when it comes to doing things just for myself. For others its no problem. I find it easy to work hard when its to benefit someone else but lately its been really hard to take positive steps for myself. It makes me wonder where my mentality is at and what my personal purpose is.

Lately, or at least kinda the last two years have been turbulent. I done a lot of great things and matured as an adult. However I've been battling to keep up. I've been struggling with loneliness, doubt, exhaustion, dread, and unfulfilled expectations. As a result my will to overcome decreases with each attack. Am I losing my hope and joy?

The only way I see to make things better is to go back to the the source of my hope and the source of my joy. For me these flow directly from having a purpose. Have I lost my purpose? Or here is a though, maybe I've lost my identity. The two seem to come from each other. Lose one lose the other? Or a least lose part of one and the other.

As a Christian I feel secure in the grander scheme of things but what about the specifics? I think my indecisiveness might be a big contributer. Career paths, relationships, or whatever I over analyze. I need something I can jump into fully committed and with all my heart. Whats stopping me?

Rockin to my Tunes

2008-04-12T00:37:00.000-07:00

So its been well over a month since I last wrote anything. My biggest news for right now is that I finally caved and bought an mp3 player. I was able to get a 2-Gig Sansa Clip for fifty bucks at newegg.com last week. I was really excited for the ups guy--especially since I missed him on wednesday and had to reschedule due to classes and when hes at my spot in town.

And the verdict is....

My mp3 player is AMAZING! Small and simple but stuffed to the gills with features. I am extremely pleased with the features. Its the size of a car key remote, has mp3, radio, and recording support, and syncs easily with winamp and media player.

I took it out for a walk with my friend mike who was doing security for campus safety tonight. Some things I noticed were:

It really improves my mood
I like to sing along
I like to move to the music (don't be surprised if I pull an iPOD commercial)
It's almost like having background music for the movie of life sometimes

Sure I had a disc man in high school but it became a hassle to carry around and I usually only used it trips. The mp3 player is something I sure I will be getting a lot of use from.

Tempting....

2008-03-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

So I'm tempted to add google add-sense to my blog. Apparently I can get money for every click on my blog if I do that? The question is how annoying it would be and how much would I make off of it. I really don't get a lot of readers so I might be able to pull a dollar over a course of the year. Or maybe this will motivate me to write a bunch of outlandish things that will become uber popular and get thousands coming to my blog each day.

Maybe....

Uggg

2008-03-02T20:26:00.000-08:00

So this Sunday has just been totally.....uggg.

I got up and went to church and then went to quizno's with my grandma. Then I came back to the appartment and fell asleep till about 7:30pm. Headtrip! And I totally got like 7-8 hours last night too. Part of it might be that I was feeling kinda sick earlier. Nothing intense but just kind of "off" all over. Just a feeling of uneasiness.

Well know I need to get some homework done. Got strengths and chemistry. Hopefully they won't take me too long and I'll be able to get back on a normal sleep schedule.

Wish me luck!

The Students Plea

2008-02-26T00:25:00.000-08:00

Tell me clearly what you expect of me.
Give me the opportunity and resources to perform.
Let me know how I am getting on.
Provide me with guidance, support, and training when I need it.
Grade me according to what I was taught.

The Worker's Plea

2008-02-25T21:42:00.000-08:00

Tell me clearly what you expect of me.
Give me the opportunity and resources to perform.
Let me know how I am getting on.
Provide me with guidance, support, and training when I need it.
Reward me according to the contribution I make to the business.

Carabean Christmas 2

2008-02-14T22:54:00.001-08:00

So I'm finally getting around to telling more about my family's trip to the Dominican Republic. I really should be doing homework but tough...

So last blog I pretty much got up to the point of finally getting to our destination and going to the Velez's house. I'll try and give a brief overview and then get some pictures up. (fingers crossed).

.....Continued....

So the day we arrived was was Christmas Eve. In the D.R. this is the day that everyone parties hard and then uses Christmas day as a time of rest and relaxation. So anyways that night people from all relation of the Velez family had come to celebrate Christmas. (This trip pretty much ended up being a really big family reunion.) Not only had people gathered from all around the island but also family from Florida and New York. Over all there were about 56 people. We ended up having an amazing dinner that night and I just about had my brain explode from my immersion into Spanish.

Christmas Day we pretty much spent a the beach and relaxed. I never knew the ocean could actually be warm unlike what we get in Oregon.

The next couple days we traveled to up to the north shore of the Island and actually spent a night in one of the really nice hotels. Once you payed for your room you'd get a blue wristband and then you could pretty much get anything for free with it from dinner to waterfront gear.

We then traveled back down to Santa Domingo taking a alternate route through the mountains and got to see some of the amazing hill scape of the island.

I'm pretty sure the next day we just took it easy and played games with the family.

The day after we got to go to the markets and then back to the southern beach. I was able to get some neat souvenirs and got to practice my bartering skills.

Going to church on Sunday was a pretty neat experience as well. I didn't understand one word but I enjoyed it a lot. The people there are very passionate about what they believe and it was very inspiring.

On our last day in the country we got to go to a baseball game. Boy do Dominicans love their baseball! Many of our major league players come from there and were playing on the teams we watched for the winter.

When we left to go home I was exhausted and ready but there was still a lot to go see and do that we never got to.

.....

Well I kept that pretty brief but if you'd like to hear more talk to me. I see if I can get some pictures up now but thats it for my trip to the Dominican Republic!

....
Blogger is being funny, I'll try pics again later but you can check them out at http://picasaweb.google.com/ianhunn

Life can be gritty

2008-01-30T14:04:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not updating stuff about my trip yet...

Today I got a call from Tani because she found out her grandfather died last night. Shes pretty torn up about it and is trying to find a way home ASAP. She wants to get out tonight because there is supposed to be a huge snow storm coming in tomorrow but she also needs to get time off from work to come.

Prayers for this situation would be appreciated.

Back Home, New Year

2008-01-01T00:20:00.000-08:00

So I just got back tonight from the D.R. (A little earlier than expected even!) Due to unreliable internet I wasn't able to work on blogging all that happened but hope to catch up on it in the next couple of days. That will also give me time to add some photos from the trip as well.

Happy New Year!

Carabean Christmas Part 1

2007-12-27T18:26:00.000-08:00

Whew, Its been one heck of a week. We're half-way through our vacation to the Dominican Republic and it has been absolutely fantastic! Power here is kind of ify so I'll try and write down most of whats happened as fast as I can while I try and have a conversation with my girlfriend over gmail.

{hopefully I'll be able to put pictures up soon to go with}

Saturday we left Klamath to spend the night at my uncles in Portland. It snowed pretty bad and it took us a while to get over the pass. We even ended up helping a young couple get there care unstuck after it went off the road. (They had figured they didn't need chains and apparently didn't see the giant sign saying they were required).

After a night at my uncle's place we went to the airport for our flight to Austin? From Texas we flew to Ft. Lauderdale, FL and from there to Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic. We left 12:00pm Sunday and after a four hour time change and a 7 hour layover in Florida we arrived in the D.R. 10:00am Monday.

After getting through customs (which wasn't very hard at all) we got picked up and headed to Will's family's house which was 20 minutes away. Traffic was FREAKING CRAZY. Pretty much everyone drives as fast as they can and there are as many lanes as you can fit cars. Many times we would pass people by forcing our way inbetween lanes. Lastly we went through a lot of dirt backroads to get to the Velez's home.

Will's family has this great house. It like most other homes are made out of concrete to keep cool. It has lots of nicely tiled floors and great woodwork. They have a nice cherry tree in the backyard and a flat roof you can go up on to see the stars at night.

hmm.. I'm going to have to go right now but I'll write more later.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2007-12-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

I'm headed off to the Dominican Republic for Christmas in the next few minutes. I'm really excited and can't wait.

Hopefully next time everyone sees me I'll have a bunch of great stories and an awesome tan!

More to come on the trip,
Happy Holidays!

Cameras and Jazz

2007-12-08T22:27:00.000-08:00

Today was my first full day back in KF for winter vacation. I slept in, hung around the house, and pretty much took it easy.

After lunch I did some looking around at digital cameras (something I have been researching for a while now). I've been wanting to get one for when my family goes to the Dominican Republic in two weeks. My research led to get the Canon Powershot 750. It is the best reviewed camera in its class and I was able to get a good deal on it at newegg.com. I am super excited for it to arrive in "3 business days".

This evening I went to see the Esquire Jazz Orchestra. Its a group led by Ken White (Ku's retired director of bands and also taught a semester of my Jr. High band). Its comprised mostly of different music educators around the basin, some other local musicians, and 3 of Klamath's best high school musicians. They were absolutely FANTASTIC! I had a really great time and hope to see them next year.

Prodigal Bike Returns!!!

2007-12-07T11:45:00.000-08:00

So last Thursday/Friday my bike ran away. I know this because when I went to take it on a run to class Friday morning it wasn't were I'd left it and neither was my roommates bike. Bummer! Both of us were pretty angry and ready to bust some heads and take names

After reporting it stolen and having to hoof it to class all week I was just about ready to get a new one. I live about 1...2...7...9... yes 9 blocks from the corner of campus. Walking isn't that horrible at all but biking is sure dang easier and quicker too.

So last night Sean is packing to head home. He decides to come back in from taking stuff out to his van through the back porch. I hear him suddenly bang on the door and I go thinking he just wants in. I open the door and magically our two bikes are back where we left them a week ago!

Sean and I got talking to our neighbor Nelson who thinks it was some college kids in the neighborhood who just got drunk Thursday night and decided to go for a joy ride. My registration sticker had been scraped off but I wonder if them knowing it was registered kept it from being hawked. Who knows. I'm just glad my bike ended up being borrowed and not stolen.

Morals of this story:

Always lock your bike even if you think its safe
Never give up hope
Don't put stock in things that thieves can steel
If you borrow something ask

Tues Study Break

2007-12-04T23:52:00.000-08:00

Today was good.

Got up, said goodbye to my roommate (he's headed home and is just coming back briefly on Thursday for his last final), and goofed around for half the day.

Stumble Upon why do you take so much of my time?!!

Anyways, after that I got a little bored and cleaned up the apartment some and made coffee cake. Yeah, I know, I'm quite the homemaker.

Then this evening I finally got out of the house and went over to Brent's (one of the leaders for Cru) for the study break/game night he and his wife were having. I ended up playing settlers for the first time in my life and really enjoyed it. Pretty much the point of the game is to establish settlements connected by roads on a map that changes every game with different locations and allotments of raw materials. And there is a basic point system in which you try to get to ten to win.

Over all I really enjoyed getting to actually go to some Cru activity beyond the general meeting. Pretty much I'm always involved in something or too busy to go to something beyond the general meetings. Thus I actually don't know a lot of people in Cru but have been trying to change that. Hopefully since I'm not doing rowing this year and marching band is over, next term I will have more chances to make friends.

Speaking of friends, Mike finally revealed what he and I are in competition in. He's started his own website using google's page-maker after I showed him the one I played around with a few months ago. He's trying to make one better than mine so I'm tempted to work on it again even though I've pretty much abandoned it for now. I don't know--time will tell.

Finals Week and Football

2007-12-03T18:10:00.000-08:00

Well I've made through Monday of finals week. Today I had the pleasure of taking tests for physics and engineering programing. Now I'm crossing my fingers that those two went well (I'm not that great at testing by the way) and biding my time till my last final on Thursday for statics.

Winter vacation is just about upon me and I have a lot going on during this month off. Right now I'm trying to get in touch with my work to see if they want me for the first two weeks of vacation. After that my family and I are off to spend Christmas in the Dominican Republic with my sister's new in-laws. And finally I'll probably be staying up in Corvallis when I get back so I can spend a few days with Tani. Unfortunately I'll be unable to go with the band this year to the Emerald bowl. Which brings up this last Saturday...

Saturday was the 111th Civil War. In the first quarter we took a commanding lead but the ducks battled back to tie it at the half. In the second half the ducks scored and the beavs answered to tie it again. In the final seconds of the second half the ducks ran down the clock and rushed a kick but it was no good and we went into over time. Beavers chose to go defense first and the ducks ended up getting a field goal. However we ended up answering again with one of our own and we went into second over time. This time we we held of the ducks and scored to win the first 'away 'civil war in more than a decade.

So here is the good and the bad from this football season.

The Good:

We beat the ducks (at their home field no less)
Finished 3rd in the Pac-10 conference
Going to a bowl game
A whole second year of bragging rights

The Bad:

Sunday we got shafted 3 times on bowl games
Supposed to go to Holiday Bowl but Arizona didn't want to go to fiesta bowl in hometown
Supposed to go to Sun Bowl but we did that last year and can't repeat
Supposed to go to Vegas Bowl but they just decided to hate and give it to UCLA

Oh well, I'm hoping for the Rose Bowl next year. Bowl Carma and all that. The band should still have a fantastic time in SanFran. Too bad I'll be in the D.R. (I'm not sweating it though).

Thanksgiving Eve

2007-11-21T12:20:00.000-08:00

So its the day before thanksgiving and I'm about done packing to head home. Its been a while since I last posted anything and just felt like writing a quick update.

In a couple hours my friend Curtis, who goes to Multnomah in Portland, is going to pick me up and we'll both put our sights on getting to Klamath Falls for the holiday. Hopefully weather should be pretty good going over the Willamette Pass and we'll roll into town somewhere between 6 to 7 this evening. Tripcheck says the weather is pretty good albeit it is a little cold (31 degrees at 12:30).

I'm looking forward to seeing friends and eating some turkey tomorrow. However I still need to decide when to head back up. I can either head up with my parents Friday night, go with Tani Saturday, or go back with Curt on Sunday. We'll see I guess.

I'm hoping to be able to catch Buckalew on his vonage, too, this holiday but its kinda hard to reach a guy in Korea even in a technological age.

Happy Turkey Day, I think I'm going to try and write more often.

Politics is frustrating

2007-11-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

I've been cruising the net for about an hour and a half looking at party and presidential polls, fund raising reports, and news articles. And a pressing question has popped into my mind:

Have we, the American people, let ourselves become sheep who are being led with the absence of self thought?

For what reasons are people truly voting for their next President of the United States?! Because the don't bother me, I don't have time, I'll vote for whoever seems popular in the media mindset seems to becoming far too prevalent. It also irks me that a majority of people will vote for the party and not the man.

Another thing I don't totally understand is the publics response to Ron Paul. Online he's on fire! Three days ago he set an online fund raising record. Check almost any online run straw poll and he's most likely on top as well. However if you take a "reputable" paper like the NY Times and he's lucky to pull 4%.

Speaking of polls and a certain democrat poll leader. I'm just going to say it: I do not want Hillary as our next President. I'm not against a female president and nor that she is married to Bill. I just find her policies and the way she pursues them as totally opposite of what I believe. Also because of what Bush has done to grab power for the position, I think she would be too tempted to use it to bring about her agendas.

Back to Ron Paul, I support his candidacy because he doesn't want the power. He wants to limit it and give us back some of the freedoms we've lost . However when election day comes the country might not come to the same conclusion as me and we will have some other leader. Whoever that leader is though, I hope America chose them for honest and transparent reasons rather than to follow the flow.

Job Description

2007-11-05T00:29:00.000-08:00

"I, (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and I will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Is Bush really doing that second part of his oath. Can you think of something he has done recently to preserve, protect, or defend the constitution?

All that I can think of right now are things like the Patriot Act or making government workers like NASA employees "voluntarily" sign away their rights or be fired.

I, you, we, need to hold our President accountable to his promise. We need to show him that our rights must remain a top priority.

I hope over the next year from now people will see how important this is for a president and that they will wisely choose the next leader of our country. We need a [fill in the blank] '08 that will seriously uphold the oath of President.

Band Tripping

2007-10-11T02:53:00.000-07:00

So its super late Wednesday night slash early Thursday. I should really be sleeping right now but I'm wide awake. I figured in light of my insomnia I'd try and get in a post.

Early Friday morning I'm going to be leaving with a portion of the marching band to go down for the Cal game. We should get back really early Sunday. From what I hear its an 11 hour ride one way. However band trips usually are good at breaking up the tedium of endless miles on the interstate.

Going to Cal is really exciting since the trip had originally had been canceled due to budget concerns. Because of some coverage in the Gazette Times and even the AP, we've gotten many donors to help fund trips to away games. Today Doc announced that due to numerous donations that we'd be taking another away trip to Washington State as well. He's going to be trying to take people that couldn't go on this trip. However I'm hoping that I can get into that group as well so I can get up to Pullman to see Tani. (Sometimes it pays off to play a low brass instrument. ;-)

In other news I've been trying to find out how I'm going to be involved in Campus Crusade. The last few weeks I've been helping set up and take down as well as doing sound. I've also been looking into a small group. From what I understand there is a off-campus one (which I'd fit into that category) but I might perhaps go to the one at the McNary triplex again.

This year it seems Cru is trying to rebuild its leadership structure and find a focus in two main ways. The first is getting more students to take on the responsibilities that staffers are having to fill. The second is finding ways to help students become proactive in their faith and equip them to reach out to OSU. Last year didn't seem to have as much trouble with the former but when I think about did have some troubles with the latter.

Thinking about this brings some questions about it to myself:

What can I do to make this happen? I'm ready, willing, and want it.
How much time can I give this? Engineering keeps me busy (along w/ other things)
What am I equipped to do and what do I need training in?
How can I encourage others to do the same? (Am I a contagious influence?)

Well I'll keep chewing on those thoughts and its time for bed.~Ciao

My "Trip" to Wal-Mart.

2007-09-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

So its Friday night and I've made through the first week of classes of my sophomore year in college. Everything seems to being going great and I'm ready for the football game tomorrow against UCLA. The marching band gets better every time we practice and I think our western show should go well. I figured before I watched the first episode of Stargate Atlantis I'd quickly relate the highlight of my night.

After band practice Mike asked me to go to Wal-Mart to get socks and look at buying a camera. I said sure and headed out with him after getting some dinner (the band provided a potato bar tonight that was fantastic!). On the way out of town Mike said he was checking to see if his roommate was wanting to come and headed down 9th street. I figured we were meeting him somewhere and wasn't really paying attention. Mike then proceeded to pull into the subway parking lot. *I'm going to take a moment to say that I don't pick up very well on stuff sometimes--anyways on with the story.* At first I was going to just wait in the car while Mike did whatever pit stop he was doing. However, he asked me why I wasn't coming and I got out to go with him. I remembering thinking, "I hope this doesn't take long." So we end up walking around the side of of subway to where coldstone is. I figure his roommate is probably getting ice cream of something. We then walk in an I realize most my section from band is in line! Surprise! I wasn't expecting that to happen at all. And so we ended up getting some good ice cream and having a grand time. It was pretty sweet!

For those of you that haven't caught on yet or just don't know I'm turning 20 on Sunday. The big double decades! Hurray!

I'm excited for 20. No more a teen. Anyways I'm out.

Ruby Tuesday

2007-09-19T00:08:00.000-07:00

This blog has nothing to do with the restaurant Ruby Tuesday but it just seemed to fit cause its Tuesday night of band camp (well really Wednesday at least).

I've finished my second full day (third total) of band camp. It started last Sunday evening and is going through the rest of the week. On Friday its going to culminate with a free performance for parents, friends, and anyone else wanting to see a sneak peek of our first halftime show.

This year my section--the baritones--is being grouped with the tenor saxes. So far its turning out to be freaking awesome! Among the veterans are myself and Mike, baritones, and Katrina and Kelsey, tenors. The rest of our group is made of rookies but so far all are pretty cool. Freshman tenors include Eric, Hannah (one H but thats how they spelled her nametag), Michael, and Juan (I think I got them all). Then their are two new baritones from Washington: Carie and Kyle. I've been trying to get all their names since I'm not to good with remembering them. In fact I called Mike, our section leader, Matt today.

Our first show is a Western. It features a jazzed up Home on the Range, Magnificent Seven, and a compilation of Stand by Your Man with Rawhide. Next week we are going to start preparing our video game show.

Monday after band we played the traditional game of capture the flag. I'm pretty sore but it was a blast. In our second game I was able to get the flag 3 times but never was able to make it back unfortunately. My first try I changed out of my black clothes and into my regular ones to look les suspicious. I just walk right up to the flag with nobody going after me. One person asked me if I was headed home. All I did was reply coily that it was getting late and walked to the flag. Unfortionately they wised up right after I grabbed it but I took 5 of them surrounding me before they caught me. (If you zig-zagged and kept your balance most people would fall on the slightly damp grass. The other two times I just ran in but never got to far after getting the flag. It made me realize I need to get back into shape.

Tonight we watched Spaceballs after practice. If you haven't seen it its a great farce on Star Wars and a few other movies. There is some language but its pretty entertaining over all if you like parodies. (It was kinda fun in addition because the French subtitles were turned on too for some reason. I was surprised how much I could understand still from high school.)

Thats all I really want to say for now cause I need to hit the hay to recharge for tomorrow. We're going to try and finish blocking our Western show and probably do a little more memorization with the music. Fun Stuff!

The system is down...

2007-09-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

So I'm all moved in to my apartment for my sophomore year at OSU. Today the cable guy came I finally got internet, hurray! (more on that later)

So far the week has gone by really fast. I started moving in Saturday and though I'd be bored to death by Tuesday but the week has passed really quickly. I was able to get a lot of fun reading done, play some video games, and work on some writing of mine (maybe I tell you about it some day). Its really nice being just 2 blocks away from the public library. I'm going to try to spend more time there over the course of the fall.

Tonight we had a band rehearsal for the football game against Idaho. College football and playing in the marching band is always electric. There is no other feeling quite like playing for an audience of 50,000 people. Also the band is supposed to be 160 strong w/ color guard and dance team. Last year I think we were 120.

One more thing before I go to bed. When I got back tonight I opened up firefox and I got an error screen. At first I thought the internet was just being funny because I just got it but it worked when I tried navigating to other sights than my homepage. Now would be a good time to mention that Google.com what its been set for. And it finally dawned on me that Google is actually down for the first time I can ever remember. Now I don't know if this is isolated to just me but can anyone else confirm this?

Well planes haven't started to fall and I haven't seen any sign of the four horsemen of the apocalypse so I think we're okay and I'm going to bed. NIGHT!

WWW here I come

2007-09-04T23:52:00.000-07:00

So I got blogger today and started a website on google. Yay! We'll see how much time I waste doing this and how cool it can turn out.