Shall We Do Some Blessing Counting??

1. SNOW DAY ON FRIDAY!! - This is not just a Snow Day, but initiation into the teaching profession!
2. Realizing how sweet I felt playing BBALL against my college friends (but really only because none of them are over 5'10)

3. Reuniting with an old friend from Freshman year only to find out he hasn't changed in 4 years!
4. Dusting of the XBOX to find out that having 9 controllers does not guarantee that 4 will work

5. Grocery Shopping at Kroger on Saturdays - what bread-crumbed chicken breast (Transition)

6. Collaborating with Ms. Katelyn Bonko towards a mystical dinner

7. Spending a Saturday night with Katelyn baking muffins (berry berry or banana nut? It was a tough call)

8. Great Sunday Morning Church Service

9. Awesome Spinach Salad for dinner (Spinach Salad + Caesar Dressing = Happy Shawn)

10. Blogging on a site named "dontgochasingwaterfalls" on a Sunday Night...named by a few of the coolest girls I know I might add

ps. Really enjoying your posts Chris(-TOPHER)...keep it up, you are not alone, I am here with you (MJ??)

The light at the end of the tunnel...or is it just somebody's flashlight?

As I have said in my previous entries, life is INSANE, and you never know what it will bring next.  It's very much like Forrest Gump's mother told us...Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.  Last week we lost another drag racer, unfortunately he was way too young.  Drake Simmons was 23 years old and passed away last week due to a pnuemonia that he had been battling for a few weeks. Now I wasn't as close to him as I was with Andrew, but it still hits you hard and makes you re-evaluate how fragile a life truly is. Drake was one of the nicest people I have ever met and truly had a passion for the sport, God has a bigger and better plan for him in Heaven than he did on this Earth...it's unfortunate that he had to go so early.

Katelyn,
Drumming was so refreshing last weekend.  Going up there and playing music for more than just my own pleasure was so great, and I look forward to helping them out when they need me.  Everybody in the band is so nice and even though I was rusty at first (not playing for three years will do that to you) they let me work through the rust and by the time the second service was over, Bill was grinning with some of the stuff that I was doing. 184 misses you, and we are truly dissapointed that you will not be there for the last weekend of the Whiskey Ranch ;). 

Now onto the whole light at the end of the tunnel thing.

I don't know if it's because I have figured out a way to deal with my new, intense schedule or if my workload is actually lighter but I haven't felt as stressed-out lately.  Sure I wake up feeling like I got a half hour of sleep, but you try sleeping with a 70lb Golden Retreiver snoring in your face, lets see how good you feel in the morning.  I have been getting up early so I can see Jes in the morning because who knows what our schedules are after I get home and there are times we don't see eachother until we go to bed.  It's sad yes, but we will survive.  I do feel bad for her, she puts SO much time into preparing for the next day and those inconsiderate kids just don't care.  Another thing that is unfortunate for her is that she works the 40 hour work week, then instead of resting the weekend away...she has to work the entire thing.  She has been picking up extra hours and doing more tutoring and also babysitting a lot.  I greatly appreciate everything she is doing to help keep us afloat.
My car...well it's causing us a whole deal of grief but now it is fixed.  I had a brief scare and thought I was going to have to get a new car this weekend but it's fixed!  I am hoping this summer I can buy something brand new.  I am looking at 2010 Mazda 3, 5-door's...they are small, get pretty good mpg yet they have a lot of room being a hatchback. So stay tuned because I am sure I will keep all of you updated on that progress.

Jes and I are planning on going to Disney with the Madrigals and whatnot in June and we can't wait!  The last, and only time I have been there is for band and how lame was that?  I am really excited to spend a lot of time down there, and a lot of time away with just her.  It appears that the light at the end of the tunnel has the silhouette of Mickey Mouse ears.  Some great dates to look forward to are coming up though and it will help with this bad case of cabin-fever we are all getting



3/17/2010-St. Patty's Day
4/01/2010-April Fool's day (my personal favorite)
4/02/2010- Mom's 50th Birthday
4/08/2010-Jessica's birthday
4/18/2010-Chad's Birthday
4/22/2010-Chuckie's Birthday
4/30/2010-Jessica's Last day student teaching

Well, that's all I have for today friends, I hope you enjoyed!

sniff, cough, etc.

I have whatever usually goes around in February, which is some mix of night-time-sneezing-coughing-finish the rest of the nyquil ad here. I wouldn't even mind it if I wasn't the kid in class that is coughing and has to get up to get a drink. I keep hand sanitizing, I keep clean kleenex with me at all times, but there is no attractive way to go about meeting people/visiting with healthy people while sniffing!

Molly--I'm so glad to hear about you reading books that you actually want to! I really need to spend my time more wisely, I have 3 books half finished and I really should just work to finish 1!

Chris--How was drumming this past week? Your note was SO encouraging! I have had some heavy things on my heart lately, and I just really feel emotionally exhausted after this weekend. So i'm not changing things in cars and driving to work far away, but all different kinds of tired really are---tiring. I miss you!

I think it's those blues that can only be accredited to a seasonal slump. I think of all the things I have that are good and I smile. I think of the time of the year, how it has been difficult for me in years past, and I frown. My continual prayer has been to fix my eyes on the right things, the truly good things, because pressing on is important! (And spring break is soon, so i'm tryin to get out of this town for a second)

'gbye!

If you let it...and if you spread it.

Bonjour, mes amis!

I'm currently putting off writing a paper proposal due tomorrow at 9:20am, but I'm getting hungry and have asparagus waiting for me at home, so I'll buckle down and do it soon...

This weekend was beautiful in so many ways. I have made a hobby out of tracking down winter farmer's markets, so I found one on Saturday and my favorite microgreen vendor was there; the result is that my fridge is stacked with fresh, hella potent microgreens: broccoli, cilantro, arugula, snow pea sprouts...mmmm.

I had a goal last week of reading 4 books (for fun), and I finished 3 with ~230 pages left in the last one, but it felt really great and I don't want to rush good books just for the sake of fulfilling a self-made goal. 'Twill be my next conquer this week ::maniacal laughter ensues::.

Today I'm feeling pretty inspired for three reasons. The first reason is this: MY COUSIN WHO LIVES IN TANZANIA CALLED ME TODAY TO MAKE PLANS FOR THIS SUMMER, meaning that we are both working from both ends to do anything we have to do to get me there for a month or two this summer. AHHH! I am really starting to get excited about this. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!

Second source of inspiration: I had my "Justice League" (social justice living learning community of first-year students) create their own vision board today at our afternoon gathering. The result was pretty powerful, and I think that they were not only allowed to unleash their positive energy and creative juices, but they were able to come to the realization that they all dream about and want to work toward the same things for the community and for each other-- they just have had trouble recognizing that and holding one another (and themselves) accountable to those two goals. With the vision board hanging in their hallway to be added to and adapted, I think they will finally have the reminder they may need. :)

And reason #C why my heart is feeling light: I get to cook for the EVOKE Scholars yet again on Tuesday because I invited them over. Goodness, I love cooking. On the menu: buffalo tofu lettuce wraps, raisin rice, and roasted veggies with creamy garlic cheese sauce goodness. This week is going to be a great one...I can feel it.

Here's a poem that appeared on our vision board. I loved it:

Think.

Few things possess more Power than
a Thought.

Because a Thought has the potential
to become something significant.
To solve something meaningful.
And to inspire us to achieve great things.

What makes a Thought so powerful
is that it can be created by anybody.
At anytime.
From anywhere.

That's why Thinking should be encouraged
and nurtured in all its forms.
No matter how small.
Or how impossibly grand.

Because wherever Thinking happens,
Big Ideas will follow.
Minds become enlightened.
Knowledge grows.
And people discover new ways to unlock their
Potential.

So start Thinking.

time to stop....and breathe

Right now is the busiest I think that I have ever been.  There are so many things that I love doing, and I think right now I am doing most of them at the same time.  Here's a rundown of all of my extra-curricular's
-Drumming in the Church Worship Band (starts Sunday)
-Playing volleyball on Mondays
-I have 4 sidejobs going on at the same time right now
-Trying to fix my car
-Probably something I am forgetting

Now take all of that, and toss it on top of what Jes and I already have on our plate as far as keeping 184 afloat, working full time and trying to have time for the two of us to see each other.  I feel like these past few weeks God has been testing me, I feel as if He is challenging me to grow closer to Him, to worship Him, and He will guide me through these hectic times.  I feel like He pushed me to play drums in the Worship Band, and I am so glad that I did, so far I am really enjoying it.  I know there are people out there that don't believe that God is real, but there are so many signs in my eyes that he is.  I felt like the sermon that Tim gave on Sunday directly effected what has been going on in my life as of lately, yet, I bet everybody in the congregation thought the same thing.  God works in funny ways, there are sometimes he works in tragic ways...ways that we may never understand, but then there are times like this, when I feel so overwhelmed, that I take the time to stop...and breathe, and I get a second-wind to take on the tasks at hand. Jes and I have both been so busy lately that we don't get to see each other too much, does that worry me?  No, we've been together for almost 5 years and have seen our share of ups and downs, this is just a hiccup...hell it's not even a hiccup, were not upset with each other, were just upset that we don't get to spend a lot of time together right now.  Do I wish we could clear our entire schedules and just spend time with eachother? Yes. I am so happy with how well she is student teaching, her adviser was very impressed with the way she carried herself.  She has been teaching, and tutoring, and working a lot lately, and I can't wait until she just has to teach, because she's going to be damn good at it :)  Well, it's time to head home and dive into this fun evening of fixing closets, fixing cars, and fixing websites.  Good Evening!

over the rhine

Pura vida, vaya con Dios: I wish I had a button that I could push (similar to the idea of the reading-helper leap frog) for the computer so the proper accents could be placed on the proper parts of the words....just so my foreign tongue doesn't mess up something much better than what I could sound out. Someone should invent that, Chris--go ahead and get on that as a part of your web-development way of life.

SO! Today was preview day at BGSU! or, shall i write this more appropriately--- BGS-YOU! Everyone loves to complain about how crowded campus is, and I really loved how this was the easiest conversation starter with someone. You could say to a complete-stranger-that's-a-student: "Wow, campus. psssh. can you BELIEVE the nerve of these people? coming to actually look at campus before they decide to come? the NERVE." and they would agree!!! anyways, i didn't mind it. my favorite part was when a tour guide came into one of my classes because they thought the lecture hall was open (and there was a class there, aka me) and then they got very nervous and hurriedly pushed a father and son out. poor kid, he was just trying to see what all the fuss was about.

My nature class has remained very interesting. We took a hike today to note trees throughout the floodplain- it was really neat to note the differences between the native trees and the nonnatives that park rangers had planted. In the 1950's there was a big push (not for nature) but for aesthetics to "boost" nature, so lots of slow-growing, green trees were planted. This might not be interesting when typed out, but my teacher really has a way with not only her presentations but the way she means the words she chooses.

For Lent! I'm going to give up wearing makeup! I was really nervous about the idea at first, but I think by removing something I do every day will actually mean something. I have given up certain things before (soda pop, meat, pizza, candy) but those are just certain things I can move around. Make-up means get proper rest the night before, brushing my hair, striving too look awake, to not only boost confidence but perhaps an awareness (along with the meanings of lent!) So, the journey begins... with a clean face!

'bye!

New Colors

Sorry to drive everybody crazy, there was a request to make the site brighter since we are all little rays of sunshine so I brightened it.  That background probably isn't permanent but for the time being it will be there.  I am trying to find better ones but I made the changes on lunch break and ran outta time.  Suggestions are always helpful

Friendships need THREE aspects...

At cru we are going in to THREE things real, deep friendships need. So, we need to be...

1. to be known and understood

2. to be loved and respected

3. to be challenged

This works better with an actual interactive group, but I was just challenged by two of my really good girlfriends about a serious part of my life... and it worked! By that i mean, i was forced to actually have a real conversation after they did that. I think a lot of times being challenged is the hardest part of a friendship, because what if the person I say something to doesn't want to hear anything about this? Anyways, I didn't want to hear it--but after I did I realized it was helpful. I'm being vague for a few reasons...but I wanted to share how thankful I am for real friendships.

On a different note, I slept for 14 hours yesterday. Literally, I napped for 4 and slept for 10 that night. I couldn't believe that even was possible. Today I feel a little groggy, but mostly thankful that I had a week where I could do that (for all the weeks I don't let myself sleep properly). I'm going to Columbus this weekend to take my brother out for his 19th birthday! I hope that

1. He doesn't leave me somewhere 2. I don't try and wander somewhere 3. His friends don't mess with me while I'm sleeping on a fouton.

Let's hope those things don't happen.

k, bye!

A Complaint-Free World

Today's "3 Questions" reflection, as taught to me by my former boss:
1) What was your favorite part about today?
2) What was your least favorite part about today?
3) How did you help someone today?

Some of you may have seen on facebook last week that I'm "going complaint-free" with some LUCers...And the circle of those who've pledged to do the same has been expanding ever since I made the pledge on Friday. I now know that there are 30+ people on our campus who are working on not complaining for the next 21 days. Want to know why? Read the reflection that I wrote to propose it to some of the living learning community leaders. And feel free to join in on the fun...if you dare to change the world!


(Everyone is asked to pick up a rubber band from the middle of the table)

Last week, we started our focus on the power of one-- one's ability to become the catalyst for a world-wide change. And just as the enthusiasm and ingenuity of one person is highly contagious, so too is the negative energy and feelings of doubt that are all too prevalent in our communities and in our world.

Reflect for a moment on your day. What did you feel like when you first woke up? How did that affect the outlook you had on simple daily tasks, challenging assignments, and interactions with people around you? What about yesterday? Last week? Last month? Last year? If you're like most people, the darkest and worst times in your life often correlate to the times when you were least receptive to good things and optimistic perspectives on life. Charles Swindoll is famous for saying that "we cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it."

When we choose to face the world with a smile on our faces, the positive energy we put out comes back to us. We are able to magnetically attract others with inspirational thinking and motivation to take risks and sow reward. But if we put out negative actions and words, those will return to us with different consequences. What was the last thing you complained about? Was it worth complaining over? Was there another way you could have phrased it? More revolutionary, could you have used the time spent complaining to think of how to fix your worry?

The rubber band you hold in your hand is a common office item that is rarely thought of as significant and powerful. This seeming meaningless is what it has in common with our unconscious rattling on about things that we wish were different, or better, or more convenient. And one minister in Missouri discovered how powerful one band-- and one less complaining person-- really can be when he started A Complaint-Free World. Through A Complaint-Free World, more than SIX MILLION people have taken the challenge to become conscious of their unconstructive thoughts and then stop emitting them into the environments in which they work, play, and live.

The challenge: it takes 3 weeks to break a habit. If you choose to do your part in filling the world with more joy and hope, wear your rubber band on our wrist as a reminder of how powerful something so simple can be. Every time you complain, gossip, or whine, switch the rubber band to your other wrist. In doing this, you will become conscious of every negative thought-- however little-- that you release into the world. The less you say those things, the less you have to switch the band, and according to those who've succeeded in the twenty-one day endeavor, the less you start producing negative thoughts to begin with! Just thinking the thoughts does not require a band-swap, but if you remind one of your fellow challenge-takers to switch after one of their complaints, you're whining about them not following the guidelines so you have to switch yours, too!

And this is how great the power of one really is: by making a commitment to ourselves about what we decide to think and express, we inherently make a decision about what role we will choose to adopt in our world. Because we are each individual parts of the greater society, our attitude change can only lift the entire community to which we belong one step higher, one level closer to unconditional love, hope, and companionship. As one person, we can cause a wave of optimism that builds momentum and surges with positivity and growth for the entire community.

The choice of wearing this rubber band is entirely yours, just like your ability to choose an attitude the moment you rise out of bed. What will you decide for yourself and your world?

an ode to the assholes of the world!

this is an ode to the guys that tried to steal my car!
your finger prints and tools were left all over the place.
you have probably been in trouble before and I will try to put you behind bars!
I would love to be there, and see the look on your face
when the Cops come knocking at your door
now I cannot drive my car in the snow or rain,
because you broke my column that controls my windshield wipers!
You will not be able to steal my car anymore
because next time, it will be an even bigger pain
to break in and start it, and besides, why dont you steal something better, like a Dodge Viper?

If you have never had your car stolen before, it's a gut wrenching feeling, even though mine didn't get stolen, now I don't care for anybody that I don't know...sure it will pass, but for the time being let me be mad!  Now i am sorting through the insurance shit, and having to borrow my dad's car for the week, and all kinds of other AWESOME things.  Maybe one of these days, I will get to write about something really cool and fun!

Jes did start student teaching today, and I am so excited for her, but I feel like I could have been a lot more excited had this not happened last night!