aarons party

last night was a crazy one. all week aaron had been hyping a party he was planning for friday night. it was meant to be a group birthday party, aaron, bethany, myself, and another guy from his work all have birthdays within a week or two, so this was sort of a 'cover all' type celebration.

i picked up rex and jeff, we grabbed a bite to eat and stopped at the store, then it was off to aarons. the party was a bit of a mash up between aarons coworkers, and his friends. we first got there and it was slightly awkward; we didnt know them, they didnt know us. after a while things got better. kooch soon showed up, followed soon after by adam. one of the highlights was that molly was also there. we got to really talk about a lot. it made me realize that i never appreciated her as much as i should have when she was around.

the party soon got into full effect. there was dancing, rule making (quickly followed by rule breaking), and a lot of laughing. a couple of aarons coworkers made and brought their own brew, and were certainly enjoying the fruits of their labor...

near the end of the night there was even a pinata to swat at out back. it was a hilarious sight: it was pitch black outside, they were blindfolded, spun, and tipsy. lets just say that it took them many swings, some of which resulted in falling to the ground, for anyone to even come close to hitting it! i couldnt stop laughing. it was great.

the b-day

yesterday was a lot of fun. i got up on time and had lunch with my grandma. she just recently moved into one of those 'senior resorts' type of places. hes perfectly healthy, but has been wanting a new place and more community since my grandpa died a few years ago. it was a really nice place. later on i stopped over at baker books, a favorite of mine. they always have a lot of cool books, and its like a book warehouse, so theyve got tons to choose from. then i visited my other grandma who is in a home. shes really healthy at 91, but she doesnt remember anything very well. a usual conversation with her involves me telling her where im living now and what i do for a living at least 12 times each. but thats ok, because she is still so spunky and happy to be alive.

for dinner i met up with my parents, sis and bro-in-law and their kids. it was a good time (once the kids stopped nagging about when the food was going to come). we then headed over to a local library where adam was performing his storytelling. no one in my family had ever seen him perform, ive tried to explain it to them, but its really something you have to see to understand. jackson loved it! he was captivated and laughing the whole time. jaidy lasted about 10 minutes, then she got toally freaked out! i took her into the other part of the library for the rest of the show. afterward we talked with adam a while, and then my family headed home. jeffry lee and cary, dustys wife, were there as well. after the show we all went out to fridays together, as well as adams dad. we had a great time talking and sharing silly stories about everything from power outages to how true some of adams storytelling stories really are. we ended the night with a stop at adams house.

all in all, a really fun birthday!

whats goin' down in slc

i just checked in on seans blog. he and i lived together for about a year and a half when i used to live in salt lake city. he just posted about what he has been up to lately, and boy has he been busy! he has been planning a huge service project for a group called 'world changers' in salt lake city. yikes, that is a massive undertaking!

it sounds like it was a huge success. read about what he thought of it all here, then read about what the local paper thought about it here (sean even got a quote in it and everything!)

way to go sean, im proud of you and how you are working in Gods kingdom!

my special day

another one comes around. dang, im getting old. i figured id treat myself with a 'birthday monkey'. its a monkey, cake, and a celebration. can life get any better? i submit that it cannot!

the runaround

this afternoon i headed out to sandy pines to hang out with my nieces and nephew. i didnt have much time, they wake up from their naps around 4, and i was meeting up with the guys at 6. we had a great time, and i taught jackson the musical score of 'the planets'. not bad for a 5 year old, huh?

met up with jeffry lee and rex and we went to best buy. i left disappointed because they had sold out of season 10 of stargate sg1 (seriously, there are that many geeks out there who like stargate sg1 to sell out? who knew!). but i did pick up the newest album from silverchair called 'young modern', i am hopeful that it will rule. i also got the latest album from my guilty pleasure group- hanson. laugh if you must, but you are the one missing great music, not me.

after that we headed over to barnes and noble to look for a new book to read together. jeffry lee and i have been on a bit of a sci-fi short story kick, as i mentioned. so we scoured the ray bradbury section and found a couple copies of 'the october country'. hopefully it will be great. they only had two copies, so we headed to the other side of town to check the other book store, but no luck on a third copy. eventually we went to logans for dinner (great steaks by the way) and had a much-needed discussion about what has been going on lately. there has been some frustrations lately that needed to be aired. with a gameplan in place, we should be ready for the end of the week.

we headed back to jeffs and rex left soon after. i stayed and chatted with jeffry lee for a while longer, which is always a great time.

wheres the spark?

how do you gain back a lost love? a strong passion used to burn, but now there is only cinders and remnents left of a glowing flame that lit up my black night. i dedicated my life, but lost interest and turned my back. i have a desire to reignite those coals that consumed me. to be there once again. but how?

story time

monday morning adam stopped by and picked me up. he had a storytelling gig, and i was lucky enough to be asked to be his co-pilot for the trip. he and i headed down to northville, which is kind of in the detroit area. he had a gig set up to play at the local library there.

it was a lot of fun! it had been too long since i had seen adam last, and its always a special treat to be able to spend a day with him.

we made good time and (asking for directions a few times) we arrived at our destination. we had some extra time to walk around the town before the show, so we took in the sights. it soon became apparent that this was a really affluent town. we stopped in this cool little clothing store that had some strange stuff. adam found a crazy pair of pants and sandals that caught his fancy, but he wasnt sure if it was what he wanted, so we figured we could stop back after the show.

we headed to the library and he prepared for the show. all the kids and moms filed in and he performed for about an hour. adam did a great job, as always, but the kids were really rude during the whole show. afterward i asked adam if this happened a lot. he said it usually only happens in the towns where everyone is rich. i guess those kids arent taught manners quite as well. you know, that whole sense of entitlement and all...

after the show we grabbed a bite to eat. we went to poole's tavern and i had what has to be the greatest turkey sandwich on the face of the earth! it was truly a thing to behold. after much thought reflection, adam finally caved and we went back to that little shop and he bought the pants and sandals. granted, i did encourage him, but they looked totally cool so its ok.

the way home was just as much fun as the way down. eventually we arrived back in good ol' g.r. he dropped me off, and later that night we met up again at founders with all the guys.

waiting on harry

on friday night i happened to find myself in a rather odd place: i was one of the crazy people waiting in barnes and noble till midnight for the last harry potter book.

i know many people did this, most of whom were dressed up like characters from the book (which was quite a silly sight, to be sure), but heres the thing, ive never read any of the harry potter books. i happened to be out for the evening with a friend and she really loves those books, so over dinner we decided to go and check out the fun and frivolity that was going on. we got there around 9:30pm, and decided to stay. there were silly games going on, and cheesy crafts that could be made. we didnt bother with those. instead we spent the next three hours just milling around the store wondering the isles and discussing different books we had read. she was an english major, so she was able to give me some good ideas for what i should read next, which i thought was really cool.
finally, around 12:45am we got to the front of the line, and she bought the new book. on the way home i tried to read the last page of the book, but i decided against it when i almost got smacked in the face for it...

world news tonight

"we are sorry to interupt this blog, but we have a late breaking news story. our scientists have discovered some shocking news. it seems that when two guys like the same girl it can have negative effects on their friendship, and can really annoy everyone around them.

now back to our regularly scheduled blog."

r. e. m. (no, not the band)

ive been trying to break my sleeping habbit this week. its been tough going. not necessarily because its been hard, but because when my alarm goes off, its been a struggle to not just turn it off and roll over. usually that would be crazy because i would be late for work. but, i dont have to be to work until the end of august. so, the motivation is gone.

*beep* beep* beep* 'ugh, maybe ill change my sleep schedule tomorrow...' is usually how my thoughts go after that first alarm goes off. last night i hopped in bed at 11:30pm and fell right asleep. the only problem was that at 4am i was wide awake again. ugh. so i worked around the house and kept busy. but then around 1pm i crashed and fell asleep again. woke up at 5:30pm and realized that this is going to be a rough week...

a night at the movies

earlier this week i met up with the 'lost' gang. there are a bunch of us who get together each week and have dinner and watch lost. unfortunately, we have quite a while until there are new episodes (not until february 08!), so we figured we would get together anyway.

we met up and langels and had some pizza. i got to meet one of the guys fiancee for the first time (good job sir, by the way).

after dinner we walked over to the town theater in downtown highland. its a cool old movie theater. its one of those old school movie houses, its only got one theater, and it plays more independent type stuff. they were showing 'waitress', which turned out to be pretty good (well, anything with nathan fillion will be good, so i shouldnt have been surprised...).

the theater itself is whats cool though. the inside has a crazy 'medieval times' type feel to it, there are shields on the walls, and there are a couple suits of armor in the front. its also really stinking old! its run by an old couple, and they havent put too much money into it, and it shows in the shady seats (the originals from when it was built in the 4os!). but one of the coolest features of the theater is its intermission. yes, they have an intermission! about an hour in the film shuts off, the lights go up, and everyone heads out to the lobby where cake is waiting! at each show they offer free cake to everyone who came. how cool is that? it is truly a fun experience, and we had a great time.

maybe...

i have something in the works for later this month, and it might involve this guy. im sure hoping it pans out because it would be freaking awesome. ill keep you posted...

*update* yah, nevermind.

new stuff

today was another fun day with the guys. this after noon i picked up rex and we headed over to dustys house. he and his wife just closed on it yesterday, so they were busy at it cleaning up and trying to figure out where to put everything! it is a nice house, needs a bit of work because its quite out-of-date, but a grand first home. oh, and its got a hot tub- thats enough, really.

later in the day we headed over to aarons place. he got a new couch and tv, so we figured we should give it an inaugural run. we rented a really crappy movie (dont worry, we knew it was bad before we got it, we were just in the mood for some mst3k action). we were not disappointed... actually we were cus the movie sucked hard.

anyway, it was great to see aaron again and his new living room accouterments. we talked, we mocked, we laughed. a good time was had all around. except for jeffry lee because he was a dill and didnt show up. im not bitter. much.

the grill out

tonight we had a blast! jeffry lee and i were talking last night about what we could do that would be different than just going to a movie or just going to a bar.
soooo, i came up with an idea, and we did it! my parents were gone today so everyone came over here to have a backyard grill out! we went and picked up some meat and buns, rex came over and brought with him his backyard badminton set, and we had a great time! now, this doesnt seem to amazing or exciting, i know. but for us, this was something totally new- we always to see movies, or go out to eat and end up at fridays and chill for the night. its a big change for us. jeffry lee grilled up some hamburgers and brats for us (admittedly, the first batch didnt turn out so well because we were still trying to play badminton instead of watching the grill...) which eventually turned out great. and then we just sat outside and chatted the night away. we did try to get one more game of badminton in, but it was getting too dark and we werent able to see the shuttlecock at all anymore.after a bit steve had to head out to a previous engagement, but the rest of us continued the lighthearted banter inside (ya know, where you can see stuff at night...).
i hope we do this again sometime!

the 4th

this 4th i went out to sandy pines to be with my folks. if you dont know what sandy pines is... well, its kind of tough to explain. its kind of a campground, but its also kind a trailer park. its built around a lake, has beaches, people come and set up tents, but there are also those who have single wide trailers in their lots with built on decks. oh, and everyone drives around in golf carts. it really has to be seen to be believed.

i digress. my parents have a place out there and they live there during the summer (which is always nice when i come up to visit during the summer because i get their house to myself). my sister and brother-in-law have a place out there too. i headed out there for the 4th, to hang out and enjoy the holiday. i spent some time helping around the place, bringing trash to the dumpster and the like, and then went over to my sisters and played with the kids. eventually it was dinner time, and all my parents friends (and a few of their kids who i used to hang out with) all came over and we grilled out. it was a great time, the food was good, and it was awesome to reconnect with some of the guys i havent seen since i went off to college.

at the end of the night i headed back to my parent house. it was unfortunately too late to meet up with any of the guys before the fireworks started, so i just headed back to the house. i was playing on the computer when i started to hear the fireworks go off. i figured i might as well, so i went out on the back deck and sat and watched (mostly listened to) all the fireworks that were going off. it was actually quite relaxing and enjoyable. not the most social way to watch the light show, but i had a good time none the less.

in mich again

tee hee... (that title cracks me up, even though its quite stupid)

any way, i headed back up to the great lake state on monday. i actually got a call from my folks monday afternoon asking me if i would like to meet them in michigan city for dinner (its about 45 minutes from where i live, and about an hour and a half from where they live), and they didnt even know i was planning on heading through there anyway! i met up with them, and a few of their friends at a really good buffet. quite tasty. after that i headed over to jeffry lees place and hung out for a while until the standard monday night gathering at founders. on our drive i got to introduce him to the comedy cd of daniel tosh, which he said he loved (good, so its not just me...). we hung out at founders for a while and then headed back to jeffs place and chatted for a while longer. we talked a lot about sci-fi books, which is my latest obsession, and a perennial favorite of his.

tuesday afternoon i finally got a much needed haircut. jeffry lee suggested that i actually spend a couple more bucks and go to a place that isnt 'super cuts'. boy, am i glad i did! the place i went to was a real haircut place, with people who have been doing this for more than three months. i felt pretty fancy, i made sure to keep my pinky finger up the whole time i was there... im glad i went there too, because it looks really good (im not just tooting my own horn, i had several compliments on it, honest). in the evening all the guys got together and went to see transformers, which was totally awesome! (i write about it here). afterward rex, jeffry lee, and a couple guys they went to school with, and i went to fridays for a little post movie grub. it was a lot of fun, there was much lively discussion and light hearted banter to be had. then, jeffry lee came over to my place and we watched a few episodes of 'undeclared', which is hilarious!

its certainly been a blast here so far, and im sure it will only get better.

strange dreams

for a couple nights this week i have had a rather strange dream. now, the dream wasnt the exact same both nights, but it did revolve around the same topic: going back to school.

i dont mean going back in august to continue teaching, but rather, quiting my job and going back to college full time. these have been really strange dreams for me, because ive been out of college for over six years now. the dreams have gone like this: i am back at dordt, and for some reason i have decided to give college a second go-round. i am unpacking in a dorm room (for one dream i was just a regular student, but for the other i was going back to my position as a r.a., or c.a.) and seeing a few people i remembered from college and kind of telling them 'yup, looks like im back for a few more years!'. i dont have any desire to go back to school, let alone full-time, but for some reason these dreams have made me wake up incredibly happy and disappointed. i get a joyful feeling from the dream and the excitement of the life lived in the dream, but then i am disappointed when i wake up to realize that im back in my crappy old bedroom in the same place i was when i went to sleep.

i guess im not entirely sure how to process these dreams. im wondering if its just a sense of nostalgia on my part, or if its just boredom with where i am now, or if its something bigger.

i may have to ponder on this one for a while...