The Magnificent Davey and Andy

As most of you know, tonight is Jr. High Clue, performed annually by high school and college students. This year, David and I have come up with some pretty unique characters. We'll be a duo of professional entertainers. Our "specialty" is miming. Considering that the Jr. Highers have to ask us questions, it should be interesting trying to answer them without actually talking. We're going to end up being not very good mimes, making for some funny interactions.

If you're a middle schooler reading this before Clue:
*In Madagascar penguin voice* "You didn't see anything..."

Speaking of the Madagascar penguins, you should all go see Wallace and Gromit just to watch the 10 minute cartoon featuring them before the movie.

"Hey! What's your favorite planet? Mine's the sun. I like it 'cause it's like the king of the planets."

Watch out for Nunzilla!

Thumbing through some books last night at work, I found this mentioned in Praise Habit by David Crowder. Marc and I had a good laugh at this little wind-up toy that carries a Bible in one hand, a ruler in the other, and shoots sparks.

According to David Crowder, it is best to not look directly at Nunzilla. Wearing the color orange is also advised against.

Apparently, you can buy Nunzilla online from a lot of different places. At first, I thought it was something that David Crowder was making up. I guess not.

This is shaping up to be a busy week. I finally got my history paper back, and it was not a very pretty sight. It was enough to make me seriously worry about the chance that I'll lose my scholarship because my GPA could end up below a 3.5. If you think about it, could you please pray? I've never asked for a prayer request about my GPA, but if I don't get my history grade up, it could cost my thousands of dollars. I set up an appt with my advisor to talk about what my options are for this class, so hopefully tomorrow he'll be able to help me out and put my mind at ease. It may come down to working really hard the last half of this semester to try and pull my history grade up, and then dropping out of the Honors College and fulfilling my gen. ed. requirements the normal way.

My other two classes are going fine. Econ is a piece of cake, but Chem requires some work to keep it up.

I should get back to my homework now, it is my day off you know.

If I had one wish....

.... well I don't know what I'd wish for. But if I had a million zillion wishes I'd use one to let... me have more time to post here.

Sorry I've neglected to keep this page updated.

Life's been pretty busy lately. It seems like this is the new trend for starting my blog posts.

The TFK concert was great two weeks ago. We had an awesome time, and it was cool to meet Ben there. He fit in so well with our group.

Work has become just a natural part of my routine now. I enjoy being there because the people are so much fun to hang around and we can joke a lot.

Last weekend, I saw "Flight Plan" at the Cinema with Sarah. Great movie, not entirely predictable, but with a minor plot hole or two.

Last night after work, Sarah, David, Ryan, and Dallas came over to watch "Robots." It was very funny, but that's to be expected with Robin Williams.

Today was the Outrageous Saturday sale at work. It got really busy at some points, and it stayed steady all day.

After work, I went to Dallas' house to hang out at a bonfire he was having. I didn't know that he was inviting his new friends from GH. Once Jennie, David, Cade, Melissa, Kim, Jason, and Jordan got back from getting pizza, the tension was so heavy between all of us and Dallas' friends. I wish that I could go back to the time when our group of friends didn't boil down to a bunch of childish drama. It's almost as if our relationships have gotten less mature lately. I'm sick of "he likes her, but she likes him, who likes a different her, but she doesn't like him like that, like, totally." I wish friends wouldn't change. Don't get me wrong; so much change that I've noticed in my friends is for the better. It just saddens me when I think of how some of my friends have changed in other ways. I really don't know what to do sometimes. I think Pastor Bill hit it right on the head when he talked about how much better off we'd be if we didn't have secrets. It seems like everyone does, though. I wonder how practical it could actually be for us not to have secrets. Could it ever even be done? Or would we still all be holding back a little something? Who knows? I sure don't.

The above paragraph sure does sound depressing.

Maybe there's something to be learned by all that. Relationships don't work when we're not open with each other. Openness is what builds trust. Trust is the key to being able to truly love another and be there for each other. I definitely need to work on that one.

I should be getting to bed now, sorry to be such a downer, but it's really been on my mind lately.

Hasta la vista.

"Who's that Spartan in my teepee?

It's me. It's me."

(Just a little randomness to get the post started.)

It's been a busy week. Hence, I haven't blogged much. Work is going great. I'm learning a lot, so I'm starting to feel more confident. I'm supposed to regularly get around 20 hours, but I'll have more the entire month of October because Jeanne, who works there, is leaving for a month to go on a missions trip to Africa tomorrow.

I think I'm getting a handle on handling homework with "work" work. Now, I just feel like I'm not connected with my friends anymore. I hardly ever talk to or see my closest friends anymore with being so busy. Luckily, I get to hang out with Sarah, David, Ryan, Dallas, and more tomorrow night at the TFK concert!!! I've been really looking forward to this all week. It's a chance to hang out and just be Andrew the friend, not the student or the employee.

Also, tomorrow is the annual MSU-UofM game. I guess we're watching it at the church this year as opposed to the Sandison's.

I've gotta get offline now and finish my Sunday School lesson since I won't have time tomorrow.

Peace.

Work

In memory of the last post of Dallas' old blog, this post is titled....




....and...............because I got a job today!!

I'll be working at Hage's Christian Bookstore starting tomorrow afternoon.

I interviewed on Tuesday when I was told it was likely I'd get the job, but not definite. The manager called back today and said he'd like to start training me this weekend. Therefore, I won't have all that much time to hang out this weekend, since I have homework, too; but once I get the hang of balancing my job with school, I'll be able to do more.

Later.

The Shadow Proves the Sunshine

I know it's been a while since I last posted, so I'll give a quick update.

Middle School Mania went great last Friday. My team was successful in both the treasure hunt and the cardboard pirate ship building. I saw Batman Begins again with David, Shannon, Cade, Jason, and some others from Calvary. That movie has so much meaning that I think I'll have to wait for the DVD before I can sort out all of my thoughts. Afterwards we went to Chili's for some chips and salsa. I don't think the waitress liked us much. PDF. On Sunday we went out to Logan's before church and sat in Alyssa's section. We took up all of her tables. There were 13 of us, so it was a ton of fun.

School went fine this week. No big assignments, just everyday routine. There was this kid sitting next to me in Classical World that was wearing the same white jacket that Ryan always wears. Everytime I looked next to me I kept picturing Ryan.

I had the chance to catch up with a lot of my friends that I haven't really seen since graduation this Friday. I saw Rudy at Subway at the end of his shift, so we talked for a while; then, at the football game I ran into quite a few of my class that stayed around Muskegon this year. It was good to catch up.

Last night, Sarah, David, Dallas, and I drove to GR to see a Battle of the Bands at one of the local Christian bookstores. A latino band named Tierra ended up winning, but Mesa County Fair was a really good band. I also had the chance to talk to two people who saw my CSM shirt and asked about my trip and shared about their trip to Washington D.C. I enjoyed being able to re-visit some of the thoughts and experiences I'd had this summer.

After the concerts, we went to Steak 'n Shake for dinner. It was a good time just goofing off and hanging out. Some lady came up to us afterward because she and her daughter had been debating whether we were in college or high school. Weird.

I started teaching my small group this morning. I'm going to enjoy these guys this year. There are about 5 that come regularly, which, in my opinion, is just about the perfect size. I can't wait to get to know them and be able to be an influence and also be influenced by them.

Keith let me borrow Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll. I'm anxious to get going in that book; I've heard nothing but good things about it.

By the way, the title of this post is in reference to the new Switchfoot CD. It's really good, and I love the name of this song. It's so cool to think how God allows tough times in our lives to give us a chance to see Him shining through. When life's just peachy and easy, I think we quickly forget how much we need God. Being so busy with life has made me forget God as I go through my day. Being busy + forgetting God = Not good. I just need to reconnect by doing what I know I should. Pray for me if you remember.

Oh, if you'd like to go to a Thousand Foot Krutch concert in GR, on October 1st, visit Sarah's blog. If we get enough people, we'll get a group discount.

That's all for now.

Until next time.

Shiver Me Timbers

AAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!

Tonight, I have the great privelege of dressing up like a pirate!

The Middle School youth group has their first event of the year tonight, Middle School Mania. The theme is "A Pirate's Life for Me," so I get to be a pirate from 6-11pm!

If any of you HS'ers aren't busy tonight, you could help out if you feel like it. (You don't HAVE to dress like a pirate)

Besides Middle School Mania, I'm not really looking forward to the weekend. Sure, I'll get to sleep in a little tomorrow, but I've got to write a 6 page paper for Classical World Civilization. It will be a lot of work even though I really enjoy the subject matter: The Iliad.

I'm one step closer to a possible job at Hage's. I talked with the manager on Tuesday. They've already started interviewing, but he said my application had been set aside. He wrote down a note of when I could work to attach to my application, and said he'd probably call sometime soon. I hope I get this job, it'd be a BIG help in getting me to and from Allendale everyday.

I've got to get going because I've got a class on the other side of campus in a little bit.

Until next time.

"Quan, can you see me?" - Cade
"Yeah, I can see you. Can you see?" - Quan

That Seagull is a Work of Art...

If you don't know what the title means, don't ask. I might be able to tell you later.

The last half of my school week went much better than the first half. My new Economics class will be a piece of cake. My Chemistry class is looking like it will be mostly review, but it will require a lot of my time. My Classical World class is getting better, and I'm looking forward to some of the stuff we're going to learn about Greek civilization. The Iliad and The Odyssey are two books I've been wanting to read, and this class gives me that opportunity.

I ran into Dan Quist today while walking out of my Econ class. For the majority of you that don't know him, Dan was my counselor at GYC two summers ago when I was on the Tim Team. He's in his senior year of studying to be a High School History teacher. He does a great impression of Robert "Goulet."

Sarah, Dallas, David, Becca, Melissa, and I went to see Red Eye tonight. I thought it was a good movie, but there were definitely some parts that we laughed at that weren't supposed to be funny.

After the movie Sarah, David, Dallas, and I attended to a very important task at a friend's house (the point of the title)... When we finished, we patted ourselves on the back and all went home.
Dallas set off my car alarm, and I think he might have woke up the Keurs. Oh well.

I'm looking forward to the start of the new school year with the Jr. Highers. We had a farewell "ceremony" for the 8th graders last Sunday, and this week the new 6th graders move up and we'll have a welcoming "ceremony." I think my brother is excited about finally being in youth group.

In Conversations, we've been talking about the Church in culture and where we fit in. Do we seclude ourselves to the extreme or do we completely immerse ourselves in culture to the point that we are fine with sin and are being negatively influenced by it? Obviously the ideal spot would be somewhere in between. I think I should be a little bit more immersed in culture than I am now, but I'm not sure exactly how that should play out. Any thoughts?

Where's the balance between becoming a part of culture because we live here and we need to be able to relate to the people that God is trying to reach out to and keeping ourselves from being negatively influenced?

I'd like to keep on typing because my thoughts normally become clearer as I type them out, but I'm a little too tired and it could end up a jumbled mess. (Even more jumbled than this post already is.)

Buenas Noches!

Life as a Laker

My first day of college was..... interesting.

Chem class went well. I think AP Chem set me up to be a little ahead of where they are now, but I've forgotten some of the old stuff.

I had a humongous break for 4 hours yesterday. I re-signed myself up for Spanish during that time, found out that because there was a brief time while I wasn't a full time student, I have to wait to get my financial aid money I was going to use for books. After that mishap, I found all my other classes, ate lunch at Subway, and watched Seinfeld on my computer while waiting for my Honors Classical World class.

Hnr Classical World is about ancient Greece and Rome, so it should be pretty interesting, but this one professor is too much of a philosophizer. I found out when I got to class (since I hadn't checked out the bookstore yet) that there are 11 books to purchase. Yes, 11, as in 1+10! Many of them are fairly cheap, but the sheer number of books is overwhelming.

After Classical World, I waited another hour and a half for Spanish. There, I found out that they know far more than I do having only taken 3 years of HS Spanish, so I decided to drop it.

Dropping Spanish works out the best for everything. It was the class keeping me at college from 8am - 5:45pm.

Today, I bought a majority of my books, went to Chem, and switched into Econ 100. Hopefully it will be easier than Spanish.

I had to read 60 pages of the most boring book about Greek history. It wasn't all boring, but the author uses uncommon words to sound more intelligent (by strange coincidence, so does that professor), so it took a while to get through.

I have a ton more Chem homework to get done before too much longer, but I need to get myself a graphing calculator. In high school, I always had a way of getting one loaned to me from the school. Grand Valley doesn't do that.

I have had the chance to see a few people I knew in my many adventures these past two days. I passed Paul M. from MSHS on the sidewalk this morning. I've seen at least 5 people that graduated a year before me from MS. I also ran into Betsy at the SMART center this morning. (I'm not joking about the name of the SMART center, it's Science and Math... something). :-)

Right now I feel a little overwhelmed with some of this homework, but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon. Then I may just have time for a social life again..... Sorry, Dallas, but I had to read my Greek book, so I couldn't make our date today..... :-p

Finding Myself... Yeah Right!

Since I'm starting the next phase of my life tomorrow morning, I decided it would be beneficial to truly KNOW myself. So I took this "How Nerdy Are You?" quiz. Apparently I'm just a Nerd-Wannabe....

Now that I know that, I can go to bed.

Have a great week, everyone!!!

(And for those of you, *coughSarahShannonandDallascough*, that don't have school tomorrow, just know that yes, you will be having more fun than me.)

Good Night.