Oh you know...

Post # 63 - Fait Accompli

2011-05-03T11:48:00.002-04:00

This blog post is addressed to the Christian Church, but all are welcome to read. I will open up this post with a few verses that are relevant to current events:

Romans 12:14-15, 17-21: 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn… 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Matthew 5:38-48: 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Proverbs 24:17-18:
17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,
18 or the LORD will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from them.

On Sunday Osama bin Laden was finally killed. The way I saw it he was the entire reason we went into Afghanistan. Strangely enough we killed him in Pakistan. Immediately upon hearing the news I was unsure about how to feel. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a sense of relief, but I also felt an overbearing sense of "well...what now?" Like many of my friends I was extremely hesitant to celebrate. It is true that Osama bin Laden was responsible for many American deaths and stole from us our sense of invincibility. However I knew that celebrating was probably not the wisest thing to do and so I opened my bible.

The act was done by the United States, and many members of the body of Christ are citizens of the United States. If we as citizens of the United States and as members of the body of Christ have ever had an enemy, Osama bin Laden was it. It is very easy to love others when you are with your family. It is very easy to love others when you are with your friends. I encourage you to replace the word “tax collectors” in Matthew 5:46 with “terrorists.” Just as the law must speak most clearly when the situation makes it tough to follow, so must the Christian act according to scripture when we are tempted to do otherwise. Think pensively on that.

We must also ask ourselves was all of this worth it? There comes a time when a shepherd must protect his flock, and in their duties as President, George Bush and Barack Obama have done just that. We’ve spent billions of dollars and lost thousands of soldiers’ lives along with thousands of civilian and Taliban lives. Much of the information leading to this particular raid, though still unconfirmed, seems to have come from Guantanamo Bay. And so we must ask ourselves, was all of this worth it?

Finally in Matthew 26 after Peter cuts off a servant’s ear while attacking those who were arresting Jesus, Jesus exclaims: 52 “Put your sword back in its place… for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” I do not think that the killing of Osama bin Laden was wrong. He was openly at war with us. As a nation we (recently) have become committed to having church and state completely separate, and so we cannot force the President to live by “wwjd.” However, I also do not wish to live by the sword, nor do I wish to die by it. Osama bin Laden is dead, but I hope the Christian spirit is not. "As far as it is possible" we must strive for peace. We must not gloat. We must not repay evil for evil. If one forces us to go one mile we ought to go with him two. Revenge is for God, and so if our enemies are hungry we should feed them. If they are thirsty we should give them something to drink. In doing these things we just might overcome evil with good.

Post # 62 - When the Log Rolls Over

2011-01-14T10:51:00.002-05:00

There comes a time in every man’s life where he must prove to the world that he is once and for all not a complex being.

Tip o’ the Week from James:
Do not wear a scarf while at the urinal.

This past week has been pretty crazy. After working an insane amount of hours over my “break,” driving over 2000 miles on the interstate, my right front tire blows out in a rather pathetic manner right in front of my house here in Maryland. I really wish global warming had been a reality at that moment, because it was approximately 20 degrees below 0 and the wind was howling around 30 mph with gusts up to 97. I braved the cold, and stood my ground fearlessly while changing my tire with a pack of blood thirsty wolves surrounding me. In just a few short hours I became the alpha male of those wolves, and miraculously my spare donut-tire remained useful for 0 minutes. For second upon second it firmly fulfilled its duty to remain steadfast whilst I was in trouble. Sadly, the sole purpose for that tire in this world was to last for no longer than Sarah Palin’s chance at becoming president. It reminded me of the story of the fig-less fig tree in the New Testament. I do not have the power to curse a tire, and so the car remains technically parked in front of my house.

Grades have been slowly trickling in this week which is stressful in and of itself. Some grades were received with songs of jubilation (see Mulan: Let’s get down to Business). Others were received with cries of despair (see the Hindu God Vishnu who was quoted after the testing of the first atom bomb: “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”)

Classes have started. I woke up at 5:30 the other morning and read Title 28 of the U.S.C. for 2.5 hours. What a terrible way to start the day! It sapped every ounce of creativity and livelihood out of me, and I was reduced to a pile of wistfulness while blubbering “And this district hath only jurisdiction over disputes between a citizen and a state, or anything involving tigers.” Only some of that is actually true.

I also have not yet received a loan check. It was processed on January 3. It was sent out January 7. Just so we are all clear, it took four days for someone to move the check from outbox to mailbox, an understandably difficult task for your average government employee. Zing!

Somehow that last comment could, after watching news coverage of the recent tragedy in Tucson, be construed as an attack on the troops since they are technically government employees. The point of the previous outrageous sentence is to point out how ridiculous the media coverage of this event has been. As we all know Rush Limbaugh went on a shooting rampage, succumbing to his own violent political rhetoric.

CNN even ran a story written by a Muslim-American talking about his experience watching coverage of the event. He wrote about how he prayed “please don’t be a Muslim that did this.” The article brought up some good points, all of which have been completely exhausted in debate and discourse and thus has a severe lack of originality in my opinion, but the reader comments easily stole the show. It’s much like a psychology experiment that I get to just sit back and watch (read). The article can be found here - http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/01/13/obeidallah.loughner.muslims/index.html?hpt=T2

And now a thin slice of user comments for your reading pleasure:
•
joewill
Hey buddy, when thousands of Americans are killed by Muslim terrorist, and thousands of Muslims hate Americans and many Muslims have little regard for the rights of women, don't ask us not to be weary of Muslims. The Muslim religion was created by men for men and for hate toward non-Muslims. You can candy coated it anyway you like to, but the religion is flawed. I believe there are million of nice people who are Muslims,,,,but you have too many extremist. less
2 minutes ago | Like (1) | Report abuse
•
joejoejoe123
hey moron bigot, how many books of the bible are named after women?
1 minute ago | Like | Report abuse
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xsdawe
Bleeding-heart liberal pile of $%*#.
3 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
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bobsugar10
liberalism and atheists tend to have higher IQs, lower rates of violent crime, less infectious disease, less sexual assaults, (less abortions is the real shocker)
0 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse

•
shephrd01
It's time for Americans to wake up, this is really a great article. We are all for sending our troops across the globe to fight criminals in other countries and call them terrorist.

Terrorism is defined as an unlawful act of vilolence or war. The systematic use of terror.

If we just use the actual definition as it should be and apply the same actions we do in other countries, our military would be hunting down and eliminating gang members, serial killers and sicko's like this.

Instead we label our own Terrorist as misguided kids, mental illness and many more sympathetic liberal labels. It is what it is "Terrorism"

By the way I am a white male and not Muslim less
3 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
•
bobsugar10
yawn
2 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
•
Guest
What if? What if? This writer seems to have a subliminal desire for chaos. We certainly already have more than enough examples of what if? already. What if he were a Mexican? There's one stereotype to go for. Drug guy. What if he were Italian? Mafia. What if he were black, asian, jewish, and on and on and on. The REAL question is, What difference does it make? Being not even a little, but totally crazy whacked-out crosses all and all racial boundaries. So to be right about matters, Mr. Writer, don't exclude the rest of the ethnic groups on the planet when you ask "What if". What if ANYBODY did what the Tucson Terror did? I'm just glad the firing squad is well and alive in Arizona. I volunteer to be one of the marksmen, as long as I'm given one of the rifles that has a bullet in it. less
7 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
•
SinD
I don't know who is stupider the person that has to ask if it was an act of terrorism or Clinton suggestion it falls short of the definition,
9 minutes ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
•
EmperorWuRM
SinD your HOT!!!!
5 minutes ago | Like (1) | Report abuse

In other news, I accidently held the door open for a lady in a wheelchair at Starbucks. That statement seems odd right? I was walking out of the store and saw a gentleman coming in so I held the door for him, I let the door go as I was looking back and, oh, there is a lady wheeling out! Luckily for everyone involved she not-really-that-narrowly escaped the slow crawl of the door to its natural resting place.

It is time to make pancakes.

Person of the Week: Robbie Shaver! Happy Birthday big guy. Remember, here at 5004 Cherokee "The quatro" we don't retreat, we drink beer.

Post # 61 - The Vast Green-wing Conspiracy

2010-12-03T16:18:00.003-05:00

Maryland, as a state, has a lot of ground to make up if it wants to become cool in my eyes. There seems to be a general feeling of the residents here that “everyone else who is around me, including my neighbors, is by default a nuisance or burden to me.” When I pass people in the grocery store I’ll say “Hi” with a smile and they just walk by without even a nod. When I go out of my way on narrow residential streets to allow a car coming from the opposite direction to pass before me, which I have done on dozens of occasions, I have received only one wave of appreciation. I just said “bless you” to the guy sitting across from me in Starbucks twice and he didn’t even acknowledge my presence. These events, along with such incredible instances of “loving thy neighbor” (see the anonymous neighbor who called the police after we started a fire in our “unsafe” fire pit to grill hot dogs at 4 o’clock on the last warm day of the year. Keep in mind that we have a large backyard enclosed by both a chain-link fence and a wooden fence as tall as me.), continue this constant pressure for me to dismiss Maryland as a state for the chilly instead of for the cheery. I want to give Maryland the benefit of the doubt because they make crab cakes (and I LOVE crab cakes) but it seems as though every day I am reminded that I as an individual I am not welcome in any form if my presence is made known to another person.

Ok now the same guy in Starbucks, real time, just adamantly refused to watch the guy’s laptop who was sitting next to him while he used the restroom. Really?! Is it THAT big of an inconvenience to you to sit there doing exactly what you were doing before (being a dick) but simply making sure that tragedy does not befall your neighbor or his things, something you should probably be doing ANYWAY without being asked?! He does have an atrocious sweater on, and I appreciate that in a guy, but other than that, this swine-flu guy really encompasses what is annoying about being in this state. Way to bring holiday cheer, sir. If your goal was to make no one want to even look at you as a decent human being you have succeeded. Based on the small amount of information I have given you may think I am being harsh on him, but I assure you both he and I have been here for five hours and his demeanor has not changed and he has taken several measures to, in effect, announce: "Attention, I have a really small penis and have been insecure about it since 1968! STAY AWAY." A scented Christmas-y candle, or perhaps a swift boot to the nose, would do this guy a world of good.

In other news the Democrats lost control of the House. No one was surprised by this. They had so much opportunity and potential to maintain control and do a world of good in both houses of Congress. Instead the leadership of Nancy Pelosi, which should be written into a book about how not to lead, is best characterized by this film clip from Tommy Boy (the bread roll represents her newfound role beginning in 2006 as House Speaker):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCyaXh-VZco

Anyway I do not wish to spend too much time on politics, but I think it is prudent to point out how fickle the whims of the American people have proven to be. Does anyone even remember 2008? The economy was Bush’s fault, Bush tax cuts were a toxic-at-best sound bite, and “Republican policies” were soundly rejected and repudiated. Fast forward to 2010 and you get the picture. Now the economy is Obama’s fault (including the unemployment rate), the Bush tax cuts are now this great and incredible policy that is supposed to help the economy (and is favored in a bipartisan way), and Republican policies are now accepted in a sound rejection and repudiation or Democrat policies. Two years, folks. It’s incredible. I’m not saying that American people are stupid, but I do think a look into the sensationalist media that we have today might be necessary in explaining these inconsistent political and policy wants.

We had a squirrel “problem” in our house. Earlier this year on a Saturday morning, on which my eyes were especially sensitive to light and my head was throbbing, I walked out of my room to see a squrriel IN the living room climbing up the open but screened windows. I stared at it for about five seconds and thought to myself “There’s no WAY there is a squirrel in the house…” I went to the bathroom, walked back into my room, sat on my bed with a quizzical look on my face and thought (pensively): “Am I awake right now? A squirrel being in the house is absolutely absurd. I’ve either lost my mind or I am dreaming…but my head hurts, so I can’t be dreaming.” I don’t know how long I sat there. It could have been seconds, it could have been hours. I came out of my room and began telling my roommates about this crazy dream I had about a squirrel. They were like “Yeah when we came downstairs there was a squirrel trying to get out of the windows so we shooed it outside!” Relieved that I was not insane I exclaimed “No WAY!” It was, for some reason or another, a life-changing experience.

Unfortunately another squirrel (or perhaps the same one) got back into our house and was living in the walls of our house. Here is a picture of approximately what he looked like:

(photo courtesy of duncraft.com)

We made sincere and continuous efforts to get it out. I even had this seemingly fail-proof plan of cordoning off a section of the house and leaving a discrete trail of almonds leading to our open backdoor. Those almonds were nibbled, and we thought on several occasions that my plan worked! Unfortunately it all failed. We almost accepted him as our 7th roommate, even going so far as to naming him Charlie, but then he reminded us that he was not potty-trained. Alas after we had all left for Thanksgiving break my roommate, Clint, set a trap and coldly murdered Charlie. Clint came home one day to find Charlie’s bushy and lifeless tail hanging out of the trap. He held a funeral service for him and had him cremated.

I am in the middle of preparing and studying for finals. Classes are officially over and my grades are solely dependent on how I do on these exams. I would like to share a couple of my favorite quotes from my Torts book that I hope you will find just as precious or awesome as I do:

On page 126: “The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff. The defendant appealed, contesting the instructions given to the jury and arguing that he ‘ought not to be responsible for the misfortune of not possessing the highest order of intelligence.’”

On page 201: “The witnesses who saw and knew, like all things else around, save the earth itself, were scattered to the four winds.”

On pages 693-694 from Warren and Brandeis’ Harvard Law Review Article, The Right to Privacy: “Gossip is no longer the resource of the idle and of the vicious, but has become a trade, which is pursued with industry as well as effrontery. To satisfy a prurient taste the details of sexual relations are spread broadcast in the columns of the daily papers. To occupy the indolent, column upon column is filled with idle gossip, which can only be procured by intrusion upon the domestic circle…the supply creates the demand. Each crop of unseemly gossip, thus harvested, becomes the seed of more, and, in direct proportion to its circulation, results in the lowering of social standards and or morality. Even gossip apparently harmless, when widely and persistently circulated, is potent for evil. It both belittles and perverts. It belittles by inverting the relative importance of things, thus dwarfing the thoughts and aspirations of people. When personal gossip attains the dignity of print, and crowds the space available for matters of real interest to the community, what wonder that the ignorant and thoughtless mistake its relative importance. Easy of comprehension, appealing to that weak side of human nature which is never wholly cast down by the misfortunes and frailties of our neighbors, no one can be surprised that it usurps the place of interest in brains capable of other things. Triviality destroys at once robustness of thought and delicacy of feeling. No enthusiasm can flourish, no generous impulse can survive under its blighting influence.” (Sorry about the length. I shortened it as best as I could without taking away the meaning.)

There are many more, but I must get back to studying.

Person of the Week: I can't believe I'm doing this, but Paul Thompson wins the award for the craziest story which will never be published on this blog. A quote from the story which perhaps captures the essence of the moment: "Have you ever seen hell?! This is what hell looks like! I'm in hell!"

Post # 60 - Nemo dat quod non habet

2010-09-01T23:49:00.002-04:00

So I woke up the other morning at 5:00 AM to the sound of my alarm clock. I turned it off fully intending to sleep 20 more minutes. I bet you think you know where this is going. Trust me, you don’t. I lost a hide and seek battle with Nehemiah the Cricket the previous morning, and upon sounding off the alarm I could hear him calling to me from the living room. He was up to his old tricks again. In my fatigued stupor I stared at my couch in the living room and decided to make coffee and read for the next 3 hours before I left for school. Nehemiah, I will peacefully catch you and gently release you back into the depths of the front yard from whence you came! This is not a threat, it is a promise.

I’m in Law School now and it has rocked my world. Who knew that reading text after text could be so unappealing to the outside world? There have been many cases I have briefed that have been thought provoking about the human condition, of which I would like to write about later on in life. However I would like to share with everyone the beginning of a case that I found especially entertaining from my Torts class (Farnsworth and Grady. Torts, Cases and Questions. Aspen Publishers, New York. 2009.). Within the text I will add in my real-time thoughts when I read this through for the first time. All credit goes to the authors of this book and the genius’ within the case. It can be found on pages 85-86:

Katko v. Briney

The defendants, Edward and Bertha Briney, owned an 80-acre farm in Iowa with a house on it. [wow, I bet that is very peaceful out there] They did not live there; they used the house mostly for storage. [um, ok, how much land do these guys have?] After suffering a series of trespasses and break-ins at the house, the Brineys boarded up its windows and doors and posted “no trespass” signs nearby. [that is really annoying that they have to go through that kind of effort to protect 80 acres of near emptiness] After still another break-in Edward Briney set a trap in one of the bedrooms. [wow that seems a bit extreme to set a TRAP inside the house. What, are people just animals to be caught in a trap?] He tied a 20-gauge shotgun to an iron bed with the barrel pointed at the bedroom door, then ran a wire from the doorknob to the gun’s trigger so that it would fire when the door was opened. [ hahahahaha what the foxtrot?! We have a winner!] Briney first pointed the gun so an intruder would be hit in the stomach, but at his wife’s suggestion it was lowered to hit the legs. [Well, at least the wife adds some reason to this guy. This sounds like the typical guy-girl relationship: Guy comes up with some ridiculous and crazy idea, immediately acts upon it, and just before he gets himself into a really bad pickle the girl jumps in and, still allowing him to have his fun, makes some necessary precautionary measures to save the guy from disaster] Skipping along down a little further in the reading so you get the idea of what happened…”The plaintiff…entered the bedroom and set off the gun; it removed much of his right leg.” […….*stunned silence*…….. why do I feel like this book is so cold and anti-climactic. To say that “removed much of his right leg” does this story justice is a crime in and of itself, especially when the next line is “The plaintiff remained in the hospital for 40 days.” This guy took a shotgun to the legs in a supposedly abandoned house after setting off a trip wire you only see in movies!

How about Islam? Ok, so let me just semi-briefly comment on the incredible debacle taking place in our nation’s biggest city, New York. Few may remember what happened there a few years back. They elected a Republican mayor.

And moving on.

Seriously though there is a supposed radical Imam that is attempting to have a community center/mosque built near the site of the World Trade Center. Is it important to note that this Imam refuses to condemn HAMAS? Sure. Is it relevant for this issue? No. Let me point everyone to something that is relevant:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”

Yes, that is the Constitution. It is the first amendment to be exact. Muslims have every right to erect this building. It doesn’t even matter if it is ONLY a mosque. I don’t care that a community center makes up a large portion of the proposed building. I think it’s great that it is a part of it, but frankly it doesn’t matter. That aspect should not have to be emphasized. Do I think it’s a ridiculous thing to do? Yes, absolutely. Do I think there is insensitivity involved? Yes, absolutely. 3,000 people died. It’s tragic. However, if we attempt to deny American citizens their right to the FIRST amendment, why don’t we just deny the 13th amendment to certain Americans at our leisure? Ugh, for brevity’s sake, build the mosque. Build three mosques if you have the money. It may or may not be a good decision but I’ll fight for their right to do it. They have just as much right to build there as the NRA did to hold their conference in Denver a few weeks after the Columbine tragedy (which they did do).

I am so happy I was able to use the word "erect" in that last paragraph!

Anyway, I must get back to my irregular sleep schedule before my body gets rested or comfortable.

Person of the Week: Combination award goes to Jeremiah and Charity (le wedding…many moons ago) and Ellie and Marijn (le wedding…many moons from now) and Josiah (le pizza plate to the face requiring 9 stitches). Some accuse me of nepotism, but really this blog is just a dictatorship……………where nepotism is rampant.

Post # 59 - A Return to Glory

2010-02-01T21:46:00.000-05:00

The ball has dropped and 2010 is here. Sometimes I wish that, instead of a ball, it would be a really big hammer that signaled the countdown of a new year. “It’s hammer time!”, or “The hammer’s dropping! Get down!”, (spoken in a German/Austrian accent of course) sounds way cooler than “It’s ball time!” or “The ball’s dropping! Get down!”. Let’s take some time to recap the last couple of months…

First and foremost, and yes I am getting giddy just at the thought of getting to put this in writing, I have a girlfriend. And, just to warn everyone ahead of time, this story is in fact NOT a lie, nor is any of if a fabrication. Her name is Marie  I’ll leave a lot of details out (like our first kiss…baBOOM!!!! schwing schwing), but I’ll let the readers in on how it all started:

Well, we first met in high school at district band. She was a clarinetist and I was a drummer. APPARENTLY she would look back to the percussion section and thought I was cute. Logically, she wanted to talk to me. So, at our lunch break, she came and sat with some of my friends and me at a Chinese buffet place. Here’s the thing, I’ve never claimed to be very mature, and for some reason I (along with all of the other dudes at the table) got the biggest case of the giggle fits every time our server came to the table to fill our glasses of water. As soon as they would subside our server would return, and thus a vicious cycle was created. The point of the matter is I did not heed much attention to the pretty girl sitting at our table. One thing led to another and, well…I guess she was so impressed she was too embarrassed to say something!

Fast forward five years: We are hanging out with a group of friends, and lo and behold James and Marie are at long last reunited. I knew I recognized her from somewhere, so I go to re-introduce myself.
James: “Hi! My name is James!”
Marie: “Oh I know you from band! The first time we met I thought you were gay.”
James: “Oh…”
*End of conversation*

Needless to say I was less than pleased with how things turned out in that conversation. I felt like the wind had been blown from my sails. I was happy to meet a familiar face, and BOOM shut down! It’s like when the waiter returns with your credit card at a fancy restaurant and in big red letters stamped on the receipt it reads “REJECTED”. That really was the entire extent of our conversation. We said nothing the rest of the night. Now there is a great deal that happened in between our reuniting and the start of our official relationship, but I can cover the gist of it in a few sentences. As it turns out, Marie was really impressed by my intelligent sense of humor, the incredible command of my body on the dance floor, and my sinuous and tantalizing physique. A combination of these attributes, along with my aura of “irresistibility” while I am wearing my XBOX headset, as well as a nice pair of slacks, led to her falling completely head over heels for me. For the record, I fell first…well first the second time anyway.

Also, I have a nephew! ZOMG! Josh and Erica had their first child (probably of like 12). His name is Easton Lamar Weaver and he has the honor of being the latest edition to the growing Weaver family! He looks like Josh! But...wait he kind of looks like Erica. Yeah, definitely more like Erica. But then again, I'm seeing a lot of Josh...anyway, he looks awesome with an XBOX controller for sure! Well done guys.

Tim Tebow has been the quarterback of the Florida Gators for the past 4 years and is arguably the greatest college football player of all time. Next Sunday, there will be an ad airing sometime during the Super bowl about how his mother, while she was pregnant with him, was told that her life was in danger and that she should abort the pregnancy. She chose to not abort (obviously) and Tim Tebow has been an incredible person both on the field and off the field. Although no one has seen the ad, it is my opinion that the purpose of this ad is to show a side to the pro-choice abortion argument that is hardly ever discussed: choosing life. I would imagine most of the readers of this blog have seen the outrage that many pro-life proponents have expressed at this ad being displayed (an ad that has not even been shown yet mind you). They want it taken off the air. Quite frankly, if they are willing to spend 2 million dollars on 30 seconds of air-time, that is their choice. At the same time, those who are against a woman showing that choosing life is not necessarily a bad thing have choices in this matter as well. If they wish not to see it they can turn their television off when it comes on. If they wish to present a counter argument to, what I view as something that is only good and decent (how can you be against promoting life, I mean seriously), then spend 2 million dollars of your own money and put it on during the Super Bowl. Do not try to censor me because you are insecure about how much your arguments suck for taking this ad off the air. When proponents of the “pro-choice” movement are arguing for a woman’s right to choose, all too often it seems as though they are arguing FOR choosing abortion. In this particular scenario with the Tebows, Mrs. Tebow was offered the choice of aborting the pregnancy AND the choice of seeing the pregnancy through. She chose to *sit yourself down for this* put her own life at risk for the life of another. And a hush fell over the crowd…

This just in: Missionaries from Montana arrested on charges of child-trafficking in Haiti. Thank goodness we are concerned about the correct things here. Why would we focus our energies, monies, and legal manpower on food distribution and hospital construction? It makes much more sense to arrest missionaries who are offering a few orphans the promise of temporary (and possibly permanent) food and shelter. My biggest concern here is that these “missionaries” are forcing their beliefs of caring for the poor in a meaningful, direct, and compassionate manner on poverty-stricken children in an extreme time of need. Disgusting.

I have a short response to specifics on the State of the Union which I will be posting soon! It will bore you to tears and incite anger and wrath on the part of many! Children will be crying in the streets! I would like to mention, though, that I do think that this past year (which was dismal for the Democrats at best) has flicked a switch in President Obama’s head (not so much for Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid). He pretty much told Republicans (and this is paraphrased…but still pretty accurate), “Look, you’re not going to get a 100% Republican bill. Work with us, and I’ll tell my side to stop being such douchers about healthcare and give a little as well. Cool? Alright awesome let’s stop sucking as politicians.”

Person of the Week: Jeremiah Weaver - with this guy he really had to hit a home run finding a girl because, well, you know...momo... Anyway, Charity is awesome, Jeremiah really did hit it out of the park by wooing her, and the Weaver family will be bigger and better come June! Congratulations guys! (They are engaged fyi. I know, Jeremiah found a WOMAN

Post # 58 - Flows that Glow like Phosphorous

2009-11-13T15:53:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, the beloved Weaver family dog, Bartok Humpaleg Weaver, wandered away from home late at night. It was the coldest night of the Fall season (around 28 degrees). I saw on my facebook status feed that my mom had posted a “Missing Dog Alert”. This was around 7:00 AM, and the first thing I did was drive over to my parents’ house to see if there was anything I could do to help. Moments after my arrival, my mom called the SPCA. I had never seen such calm and such succinctness in such a desperate situation from her. She was able to exponentially narrow the search area for Bartok by providing vital information to the SPCA like “He likes to eat nummies” and “Sometimes I call him Bartholomew”. I would have never even thought to pass that information along, which is why I was not the head of the search and rescue mission. Alas, he had meandered a block away from the house, and after realizing he was lost hopped up to someone’s porch and started whining. They let him in and let him sleep there for the night. They called the SPCA and Josiah walked down with Tamr to pick him up. Apparently he has never been so happy to see anyone as he was to see Josiah that morning.

Understandably I fell pretty far behind in school as a result of the passing of Bob. Looking through photos, old facebook messages, and even seeing him on my friends list on XBOX live makes it all still seem too surreal. I don’t know if the finality and reality of it all will actually ever set in. Anyway, I have since caught up, and am now only two weeks of classes + exam week from graduating college. Sometimes it is weird how time passes. On one hand it seems as though college has been a long and extended period of my life, with countless life-shaping experiences. It has mostly been a very happy time of my life, and I have met many many friends. On the other hand it seems like only a few weeks ago that I was moving into Gifford Hall as a spindly and eager freshman. I am currently still in the application process of law school, and still looking for internships for next semester. There is a chance I stay in Harrisonburg, at least until I hear back from places where I applied. There are also a few things that I would like to accomplish in between graduation and law school:

A road trip to somewhere awesome

Learning to play the guitar

Writing something substantive, like a sweet essay or a short story

Halloween was a few weekends ago, and I specifically asked off of work for that night. I had not had a Halloween night off from work since I was 14 years old. Needless to say, I was long overdue. I wanted to be someone nobody else was going to be, so I decided to be a character from my favorite show, LOST (A special shout out goes here to Erin Mahoney, who free-handed the sweet tattoo on my arm). Ladies and gentleman, meet Jack Shepherd (pictured alongside my sister, Joy):

That was probably one of the most fun weekends I have had this semester. Three of my roommates were glow-stick robots, and my other roommate was Richard Simmons…and wow. His outfit, in a word, was stunning.

Speaking of my roommates, they are all really awesome. It sucks that I will be moving out in a little over a month…To honor them, I will describe each of them with one word, a task so daring and daunting no one has ever tried to do it before. And so, in no particular order of preference or height, meet the roommates:

Adam Miller – PieceofMeat

Ernie Golan – HatchetWoundoftheBeardedVariety

Joe Barnes – NePhotogenicPas

Jason Krech – Ambiguously…Happy

Mike (he may not have a last name) – HawtNekkidBawdee

Obviously many of you faithful readers may not understand these descriptions, and it’s probably for the best that you do not. What happens in this house stays in this house…unless it is a Thursday…what?

A few weeks ago Cole came down from Maryland to visit, and I would like to share with everyone an excerpt from his blog that I found hilarious:

“My memory becomes spotty at this point. I remember drinking part of a cocktail talking a little and walking upstairs because I was tired. Then I woke up the next morning on the couch with three text messages from James: (1) “where are you?” , (2)“you are at Westport. I’ve arranged a ride for you via grace in the morning. I gave you a blanket and I took your shoes off so you wouldn’t get written on.” (3) “I wish you the best of luck. Godspeed.”

Person of the Weekend: James”

You can keep up with Cole and his blog by following this link:

http://teachingcatholics.wordpress.com/2009/10/

(That's Cole and I)

Last night about 9-10 of my friends and I went to hang out at the mansion. It was a very chill night, and I finally got to be a bartender and made people Long-Island Ice Teas. They were strong. They were tasty. They will be written about as legend many years from now. I think one of the things I enjoy most is spending time with good friends and/or family. Add in a few good drinks and some sort of entertainment (like music or a game of some sort), and the night is perfect. Speaking of games, some of my friends/roommates and I have been going to trivia night at Clementines every Tuesday night. We have a solid core squadron of trivia buffs and we did really well this past Tuesday. We answered the first 8 questions correctly and were in first place heading into Round 3. One of the questions was “What is the only state capital that was named after a biblical figure?” I stared at the table for 3 minutes with my index fingers on my temples (partly for thinking emphasis and partly for showing off to the ladies how hard I was thinking). I went through every state (instead of alphabetically which makes sense to do, I was an idiot and did it geographically which probably took me twice as long) and came up with “St. Paul, Minnesota”. BOOM! We were in 3^rd place heading into final jeopardy, where we wagered everything and got the question wrong. BLAST IT ALL!

Finally, I’d like to officially announce that I am making a push to start a new political blog with a few friends of mine. It would be a blog with two conservative writers and two liberal writers writing opinions on issues or current events from a respective conservative or liberal viewpoint. If this comes to fruition I will keep everyone informed. Otherwise, I think Cole and I might just start a political blog together.

Person of the Week: Aaron Kelchner, for having the sweetest Halloween costume of Tinkerbell, complementing his girlfriend Jackie’s costume of Peter Pan.

Post # 57 - Farewell old Friend

2009-11-02T10:01:00.000-05:00

On Monday, October 5th 2009 my best friend, Bob Stieber, passed away.

I had written an entire post describing the days with Bob leading up to that terrible Monday morning, and will keep that post down. I have never experienced loss by any means of this magnitude. A piece of me died with him that morning. I, along with many other people, loved Bob, and there hasn’t been a day that has gone by that I haven’t wished that I could call him and speak to him again. I have also not spent a night of sleep where he has not been a part of my dreams. I miss you so much, Bob. There is no way that time can completely heal the wounds in the hearts of Bob’s family, Cole, his close friends, and myself. He was a part of our lives. He was a part of ourselves. I do thank God for gracing me and allowing me the blessing of having Bob in my life the last 17 years. More than anyone else he helped shape how I think. He was always my biggest critic, and always offered his thoughts on my blog posts and theories privately. There are little things like that which will come to mind seemingly at random for a long while.

If there has ever been a time in my life where I have been completely confused as to whether God has a plan, it would be during this time period. The feeling of helplessness, loss, and confusion has never been more overwhelming. I can assure everyone, even while I was in my darkest hours, that God does have a plan. I cannot tell you what that is, because honestly I have no idea. I know that Bob believed in God and in his divine providence. Sometimes I wish I could pull a “Job” and stand on a mountain and yell directly at God, but I guess it’s a good thing the results of such a foolish endeavor have already been recorded.

It has been more than a month since he passed, and I guess one could say that I am slowly getting ‘used’ to him not being around. It is a very disconcerting thought, one that I am not comfortable with having.

If anyone wishes to write fond or funny memories of Bob, please write them to me, or simply leave them in the comments section on my blog. Because this is on my blog, I thought it appropriate to show everyone the times that Bob won person of the week. They are as follows:

“Person of the week: Yes, I realize that this is my second post this week, and therefore have had a person of the week already. I justify this partially because I'm averaging 1 post every 2 weeks for the past year, and therefore there is time to be made up. Mostly though I justify it by reminding everyone that this blog is a monarchy! I make the laws here! Anyway, the honor thusly goes to .......... Bob Stieber, for successfully telling EVERYONE about his surprise visit to Harrisonburg this weekend. Congratulations Bob, you have earned it.”

“Person of the day - Bob Stieber, after almost killing someone with what could possibly be dubbed "the worst drive" or "the drive that got away, far away" or "it looked good until I hit it" or "it just kept going towards the wrong hole" yesterday while golfing.”

Bob, you would know this already, but I will never forget you. I will only have fond memories, even of the times where you really pissed me off or the times I pissed you off. I really wish I could spend the rest of my life with more than just memories of you, but that is no longer an option. When you were really happy, there were few people who could match such a genuine laugh. That is what I will remember most, when you were happy. My family misses you. Your family misses you. May we meet again someday. Godspeed my friend.

Post # 55 - Obama is not the Antichrist.

2009-09-01T11:45:00.005-04:00

Barack Obama is not the Antichrist.

It has surprised me that over the course of the last few weeks, several people have either genuinely or half-jokingly asked me “So, do you think that Obama is the Antichrist?” Well, to that I immediately respond “No, absolutely not”. Every time a new president is elected this question always arises. I can say with a great amount of certainty that if there ever is a human Antichrist, that he will not be a President of the United States. Many people get absolutely ridiculous when speaking about the end of the world or potential Antichrist candidates. I guess it could be helpful to keep a somewhat watchful/cautious eye out, but as far as the Bible is concerned, no one is going to know for sure when the rapture/tribulation is going to happen. There are also many other specific worldwide events that need to occur before the rapture/tribulation occurs (and even then I am not entirely sure that one can know exactly what the rapture/tribulation is/will be). I feel as though dwelling on this issue for any significant amount of time is both mentally taxing and fruitless. Discussion about the end of the world should not be ignored or abandoned all together because we should always keep ourselves informed and prepared for any potential situations/crises, but to keep oneself absorbed in it is, put simply and bluntly, stupid. In conclusion, have no worries my friend, because Barack Obama is not the Antichrist. If he were, I guarantee the world would look much different.

Here is a potential lifeguard-scenario (the lifeguard scenario was used by many as justification for going to war in Iraq). There is a fatally flawed justice system that exists today in supposedly-democratic Iraq. The court system allows for torture-induced confessions of suspects and criminals, and in my eyes an unfair over-prosecution of women. CNN ran a story recently discussing one such case where a 27-year old woman is currently on death row (and has been for over 2 years) for the killings of three relatives. She was forced to sign a blank piece of paper after (or perhaps during) torture and the authorities then filled in writing creating a confession. Therefore they had a “signed confession” and the prosecution/sentencing all took place in one day. The facts of the case, in my opinion, offer very compelling evidence that this woman is actually completely innocent. She does not even have a date of execution, and lives every day wondering if it is her last. I am sure that this is in and of itself emotionally and mentally exhausting. The following is a quote from the article I read on CNN.com:

"I wish there was some kind of response. But the response is totally passive. We've reached a degree of despair," said Yanar Mohammed, founder of the Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq. "As a human rights organization in Iraq, we find that we need some backup from abroad to put pressure on our government as a first step to stop the executions of these women, some of whom we know are innocent."

In other words, there is a certain injustice occurring in a foreign country where many innocent civilians are being killed. Is it the responsibility of a foreign-power, a country who claims to have “liberty and justice for all”, to intervene in another country’s personal affairs? Does "liberty and justice for all" only pertain to the lucky few who happen to be citizens of the United States? This is a lifeguard-scenario because we are currently watching an injustice happening, AND we have the ability to stop it. The question is, however, should we? My initial answer is absolutely. But, when answering this question one must understand the following facts:

Injustices like these are occurring all over the world, such as in North Korea, China, pretty much the entire continent of Africa etc…

The United States has limited resources (both monetary, political, and with, sadly, domestic interest in the subject). As a result, it is impossible to address every injustice at every corner of the earth.

So, what do we do? First, if we were to intervene somewhere in the world where there is an injustice, especially militarily, there is a great possibility that innocent lives will be lost as a direct result of our intervention (see US invasion/war with Iraq circa 2003). That alone should call an attention to caution on the part of the potential actor (in this case the United States). Second, is there an attainable objective that ends with justice and peace? In other words, is our objective even possible (In many cases, I believe the answer is yes, the only problem would be the cost of reaching that objective).Third, is there an outcry for foreign from the oppressed or from reasonable/reliable sources in the country? Fourth, and I could probably argue that this is the most important issue, will the US be better off as a whole as a result of intervention? In other words are we better off economically/morally/ethically/politically/militarily, or is the general welfare of the union preserved or bettered? These are the questions that should be asked in cases like these.

In the particular case of the death-row prisoners in Iraq, I think it is within our right and reason to send immense diplomatic pressure on the Iraqi government to seriously reevaluate all potential executions. I would personally advocate a permanent moratorium on all executions until the issue with the flawed judicial system is resolved. We could also use a tactic that has recently proven useful for American prisoners abroad, and that is to send an individually powerful/influential politician over to whatever respective country and get a release or response that way (see Bill Clinton in North Korea and Senator Jim Webb in Myanmar).

Person of the Week: Jim Dye, for taking some friends and me out for lunch, being awesome, and providing his mega-sweet house (complete with a piano, hot tub, coffee maker, and sweet beeping noises when doors are opened) on a consistent basis to hang out in.

Post # 54 - Paris, je t'aime

2009-07-28T18:02:00.000-04:00

After having received countless petitions and demands for a new post over the course of the last few months, I have decided to make my first out-of-country blog post. Yes, I am currently in the city of Paris, enjoying a rooftop panoramic view of the Western half of the city, including a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower. This tower is absolutely stunning at night when it is lit up, sticking out of the dark landscape like a burning ember. However, during the day it is brown, metallic, and overall a huge sore to the eyes. It seriously sticks out like a sore thumb.

Enough about Paris, though. What have my fellow Americans been doing with my COUNTRY?! As soon as I stepped off the plane in the wee hours of June 26th, the VERY first thing I heard was “Hey, Michael Jackson died.” I could not believe it, and that is all I could think about for the next few days of my life. My first ever favorite song was written by him. I know this is going to sound lame, but it was “Heal the World”. I was 4 or 5 years old and believe it or not I was CUTE, so cut me some slack. Since then, we have had several nights at the bar dedicated to Michael Jackson. Also, everyone over here, aka Europeans, loved the guy, so everyone has been paying him his due tribute. Michael Jackson has not been the only serious casualty since I left. Billy Mays. Steve McNair. Walter Cronkite. This tragic list needs to stop before I have to come back and stop it myself.

Before I came here I had to move out of my apartment at 25 B in The Mill. That was pretty tough because I met a lot of cool people there, and my roommates were incredible. I only have one semester left of college (I’m graduating in December, which means I am still part of the class of ’09!), so I do not need a lease for the entire year. I plan on doing a 5 month reunion tour with Joe Barnes in a new place. For those of you who do not know Joe, he has a large cache of movies, is a stud at fantasy football, and has large hands. He is considered a giant amongst children to say the least. After I graduate I plan on going to law school. ‘Where’ I go is the biggest question right now, so there will be more on that after I apply/receive acceptance /rejection letters. Since I will not be able to go to school until Fall of 2010, there is a noticeably large gap between December 2009 and August 2010. Whatever shall I do? Well, I have come up with a list of a few lucrative and tempting options:

1) Move in with Jeremiah out in Oklahoma. Out there I would find a temporary job and do a lot of reading/writing. Since there really isn’t much else to do out there, I might start brewing some moonshine and building up my stash of awesome pickup lines.
2) Stay in Harrisonburg and work. Again, there is not a whole lot to do here once I graduate.
3) Move to Alaska and fish for crabs. I am not sure if you can ‘fish’ for crabs, but as I am unsure of which verb is correct to use here (perhaps it is simply ‘crab’), I will stick with ‘fish’. Obviously I have prepared myself well for this sojourn.
4) Become a Michael Jackson imitator for a living. I have been told by many friends and acquaintances that I have a unique dancing talent, and that I can go far with it.
I am also willing to take suggestions as to what I should do. I will thoughtfully consider any and all recommendations or solutions, and may even publish some that may be possibilities.

Let’s see, how about a list of awesome babe-attracting things I have done/accomplished since my last post:
- Attended a National Halo event in New York City
- Set a new personal record in both text-twist (92,290 points) and free cell (currently on a 251 game win streak)
- Finished 3rd place in my fantasy football league
- Began and am still maintaining a streak of not losing “never-have-i-ever” games (currently at 19)
- Have had 29 new and now extinguished crushes on various women and babes
- Attended a National Halo event in Columbus, Ohio
- Won 45 dollars from my boss for doing 100 pushups in 2 minutes
- Defeated a field of 16 competitors to win the First Annual Outback Father’s Day Rock-Scissors-Paper double elimination Tournament, in which I never dropped a series.
- I am undefeated on the continent of Europe in Beer Pong

Now, if those things do not land me a babe, then something has changed in the world since I left America. Those are some quality attributes, and I cannot always just lean on my witty and unmatched sense of humor as a crutch all the time.

As predicted, John McCain got absolutely demolished by Barack Obama last election. Republicans in general got beat pretty badly. Even Virginia voted Obama AND now has two Democratic senators. It is weird to see Virginia as blue on an electoral map. The day is not lost though. If the Democrats can bounce back after the 2004 election (might I chime in and mention, yet again, that in that election they lost to George W. Bush for the second time), so can the Republicans in 2012. Here is how I see it. The honeymoon with Barack Obama is now over. America has now had a black president, and that is wonderful. Soon enough we will all realize, as many of us have already done so, that the economy and foreign policy pay no attention to race. Obviously, President Obama was not only voted because he was an inspiration to a continually-progressive nation. He has other admirable qualities. For instance, he is a smoker, and Virginians love a man who loves tobacco. That being said, immediately following the election I was thinking to myself “Wow, this guy is probably going to be President for the next 8 years…he is unbeatable”. Although if I had to put money on it now I would say Obama would win in 2012 no matter the opponent, his aura of invincibility is slowly waning. One of his biggest supporters, the media, is even running the occasional negative story, a day I never saw coming. The economy is still sucking wind, and the Unconstitutional Appropriation of Hard-Earned Taxpayer Funds to Irresponsible People or UAHETF (more commonly known as the federal bailout), which was began by President Bush and the 2006 elected congress and continued by President Obama and the 2008-elected congress, is not doing what was anticipated.

These continued struggles with the economy, supposedly Obama’s area of expertise, although I am still unsure why he was ever considered an expert in this area, he had no prior experience in the area, combined with a failure to succeed in his foreign policy campaign of making-nice (which I hope, in all honesty, works and our image is repaired internationally), could make for a very interesting election in 2012. The loss in 2008 could be much like 1976, when Ronald Reagan lost the Republican Primary to the expected candidate Gerald Ford, a man no one could get excited for. Reagan went on to win the Primary in 1980, and soundly defeat the incumbent Jimmy Carter in the national election. I feel the story could be much the same with Mitt Romney. He is a face the party can rally behind, and actually has tangible experience with economics. He is intelligent, savvy, good looking, young, and quick on his feet in a debate. As my friend, Bob, also mentioned to me, he also has an uncanny ability of temperament. This is a good quality to have in a candidate (such as during a long campaign season and in televised debates), as well as in a president. He also already has the grassroots in place (see my blog), and has a lot of money and support from the last go around. A Romney-Obama election in 2012 could be quite the spectacle. I found a SWEET clip online of a guy who shares pretty much all of my political beliefs and spells them out in an entertaining yet clear manner. And yes, he is serious:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxhYampIl7A&feature=related

The less the government is involved, the more efficient things run. The less government is involved, the more money the people can save and spend their own money how they see fit. The less government is involved, the less chance of continued failure of government agencies (such as FEMA). Thought of the day: imagine a national healthcare system run by the same institution that ran FEMA. And no, it doesn’t matter that George Bush was at the helm. The fault was in the American people for failing to realize once again that government-run agencies simply cannot work as effectively or efficiently as a privatized agency. I can tell you one thing, I am glad I had heart surgery before any of this socialized health care fiasco began.

On an entirely different note, I wrote a paper during Fall Semester involving the Church, Science, and Creation. Cole graciously gave me a few pointers on it, and I will have the edited version of it soon. If anyone wants to read it let me know. Perhaps when I get back to the States I will publish it in a blog post as an attachment or something.

A few quick notes before I leave you:

My mom’s side of the family is awesome, and I cannot wait to go back out to California to visit them.

My oldest brother, Josh, and his wife Erica, are expecting their FIRST child in late December! That announcement in California has easily been the highlight of my year. And, somehow, Mom managed to find out before anyone else. She is wily.

I was voted “Most likely to not graduate in May” by my classmates in college. They are all very thoughtful.

Person of the week: Joy Weaver – her senior piano recital was AMAZING and she let me sing in it. I am glad some of my friends came too so they could see how awesome my sister is.

Post # 53 - Remember Remember the 4th of November

2008-11-04T14:27:00.006-05:00

"And thus I shall always do, whenever You leave me to myself" - Brother Lawrence

Today, November 4, 2008, will be one of the most important days not only in our lifetime, but in the history of our nation. Today our nation celebrates one of its oldest traditions and privileges, where all able-bodied and eligible persons vote in order to elect the next leader of the free world. Tonight we will know who the 44th President of the United States will be. Today, I personally have been in a terrific mood because I love the fact that we get to see democracy in action. A few weeks ago (and yes, I spent that long deciding) I threw my support behind John McCain. That being said, I would like to make a few comments regarding today and the days to follow.

In all likelihood, Senator Barack Obama (D - Illinois) will be elected the next President of the United States. I was humbly reminded the other night by a friend very dear to me, that we must understand that neither candidate is the Messiah. By the grace of God, that has already happened. In the same manner, neither candidate will bring about the apocolypse*. And, if he does, we can still be blessedly assured that the Messiah has already come and guaranteed our salvation. If your man does not win today, I beg you, to not "give up" on America. That is absolutely foolish. Every four years emotions run high and friend will fight friend, brother will fight brother etc... However, we as a nation must have the ability and the courage to rally behind whoever is elected. We do not have to agree with everything this man says or does, but we must understand that the President represents America to the rest of the world. Both candidates have stated that America must be a "beacon of light" to the international community. It is our duty as Americans to participate not only in the election, but in the debate, scrutiny, and checks/balances to keep our government in line. When there are causes that we believe in passionately, and there is a man elected that disagrees with them, we must work to achieve compromise so that what we stand for is not lost. This is what is great about America, we can do that. Now, when I say support the President, this does not by any means mean to blindly and obediently follow him like a dog to a master. It simply means that the people have spoken, and as respectable citizens of this great country, we must honor those elected to represent us as best we can. Prudence, indeed, compelled me to note that.

*The Declaration of Independence states that, in regards to inalienable rights such as "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...that whenever ANY form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the RIGHT of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its power in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness..." (Capitalized words my own for emphasis). Thank goodness for the 2nd amendment!

On the Iraq War - It is beyond naive to attempt to direct the happenings of war from a seat in congress. This is even beyond irresponsible. It is absolutely dangerous, especially when speaking about war in a country in the most volatile region in the world, to dictate who goes where, and who leaves when from a seat in congress. Any sory of timetable or withdrawal date, in my humble opinion, can only be established by a few select people. These people include, and are in fact limited to, the President of the United States (Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces), and the leading American Generals who are in Iraq. Also, this timetable must, under no circumstances otherwise, be constituted in collaberation with the new Iraqi government, notably the Prime Minister. Regardless of your beliefs about going into the war in the first place, your reservations about justification, or your dissatisfaction with the death and destruction associated with war, one thing must be emphasized. We ARE at war. We cannot, while being discouraged by depressing stories given by the media, just pack up and leave because we are tired. We made a mess, and we need to clean it up. We are under the false impression that all Iraqis hate us. One thing you did not see on nationally syndicated news programs was the largest re-enlistment ceremony in United States military history. Why would these young men CHOOSE, from their own will, to stay in an unjust war where all the citizens there hate them? Perhaps because they understand, through the hopes of the Iraqi people, that their job IS important, and establishing a stable democracy and a stable police force in Iraq is what the people there really desire. That would motivate any rational and warm-blooded human being to finish an increasingly difficult task. Letting Iraq devolve into anarchy, and eventually another dictatorship, and furthermore into a haven for Al-Qaeda and other like-minded terrorist organizations, is not right-wing scare tactics or propaganda. It is a very real possibility. We cannot in good conscience allow this to happen. The top Generals in Iraq, along with Prime Minister Al-Maliki are ALREADY discussing options for troop withdrawal. These are the people that are in Iraq, and who actually know what's going on. We cannot pretend to fathom, especially with distorted stories given by the media, what the war is like half a world away.

Anyway, I thought it important to note that Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Harry Reid voted FOR the Iraq war. Barack Obama was not in the U.S. Senate in 2003, but most likely would have voted "Present". So, after we, as a nation, have decided to go to war, we cannot give up halfway through. It would be ethically criminal to do so, and would send an even worse message to the international community about our ability to do ANYTHING right.

I had an incredible urge to write on "being respectful" during this political season, but not in the sense you would first expect. I wanted to write about those being "hypocritical" in attempting to call out those being "disrepectful". Instead, I will leave it to those who know intrinsically where they went too far to understand where they did so. Also, if you ever think about calling someone out on being disrespectful, try not being blatantly disrepectful in other areas of life. It really detracts any and all significance to your claim. Also, it is important to note, that just because someone takes a stance in opposition to you does not necessarily put you in the right, and does not necessarily give you a noble cause to continue whatever it was that your opposition is opposing.

I also wanted to give a short message to Christians. We cannot expect or impose Christian standards/beliefs/principles on those who are not Christian. For instance, we cannot justify our vote for redistribution of wealth because God calls us to give to the poor. God calls US to give from our own heart, and HE will take care of the rest. To assume that God is not powerful enough to do with 2 cents more than we can do with a million dollars is ridiculous. It is very easy to be generous with money that is not ours, and it is very easy to rationalize giving less from our own money when so much is being forcibly taken from others. I have been thinking a lot about the fusing of the Gospel with politics, and it is a very touchy issue. Perhaps sometime later I will write on it, but I wish to add one more thing. Do NOT confuse political doctrine and secular beliefs with what the bible actually says. Also, erroneously interpreting scripture to meet the ends of ones personal or selfish beliefs is a very, very dangerous thing. As you can see, this is a very touchy and sensitive issue, and hopefully one day I will have a clearer understanding of it.

I will end with a silly, but remarkably enlightening political cartoon :)

Person of the week - Don Poston - For pouring massive quantities of liquid butter on my phone, allowing me to get a sweeter touch-screen phone! P.S - I probably do not have your (anyone reading this post) number anymore because the butter caused a complete and irrevocable death of my last phone, and I thus lost all of my contacts. Feel free to call me and leave me your name, especially if you are a hot babe!

Post # 51 - Sense and Sensitivity

2008-07-08T17:02:00.003-04:00

I have come to realize that not only has this country become desensitized, it has also become very sensitive. It has become desensitized, in the sense that kids at the age of 5 are introduced to guns, violence, drugs, sex, lewdness, drunkenness, and death, and are incredibly stoic toward those things as a result. It has become sensitive in the sense that anyone and everything can be potentially offended by anything and everyone. It's actually quite ridiculous. For instance, any joke pertaining to a particular race, gender, hair color, skin tone, age, or sexual preference, has become extremely taboo. This is only publicly of course. Privately, everyone has said a joke making fun at one of these groups of people at one time or another. Now, in my opinion, it's not that big of a deal. I grew up getting called a lot of names (people thought carrot-top was quite original). I thought the best name I was called was "Casper", most likely directed at the paleness of my skin tone. Now, in my defense, it was Wintertime, and I play Halo a lot... it's not really an outside activity. These are things that are beyond my control, things that I was born with (red hair, pale skin etc...). However, when I got called these things I didn't break down and cry and threaten to sue. No, instead, I grew a pair, and got on with my life, even saying some jokes of my own. Oh, and just so people are aware, stereotypes don't pop up out of no where. Stereotypes are stereotypes because at some point in time, a large portion of a particular group (say UFO's being creepy, so as not to 'offend' anyone) was known for doing a certain thing.

Anyway, moving on to my reason for bringing up the "being to sensitive" thing, I wanted to address a particular issue that has me absolutely baffled. My eldest brother, Josh, recently got his gamer tag banned from XBOX Live because they considered it "offensive". I was completely taken aback. He was forced to change it before he was allowed to do anything through XBOX Live. His former gamer tag was "Wenis DU". "ZOMG I CANNOT BELIEVE MY 8 YEAR OLD KID HAS TO SEE THAT!!!!!" Sorry, I'm quoting a hypothetical 40 year old mother in California being offended by that. Well I became more and more disgruntled as I took a closer look at some of the people I played against on XBOX LIVE, and kept a tab on whose names were absolutely ridiculous. Now, the following names were deemed less offensive than "Wenis DU" (less offensive because they are still playing and have not been banned for being offensive). " " HoOoTY iZ eREcT", "TaStE My Ju1c3", "zHiV Fury", "slipperynypples", "hotcooter" and my personal favorite "Chokeslam DatHo". There was also a pleasant gentleman who I played against, of whom I could not find the exact gamertag, whose name referred to one's rear end, and connected with a word referring to a human's sexual climax. Now, honestly, who in their right mind is not completely disgruntled by this oppression of a good man with a respectable gamertag (I am of course referring to Wenis).

Moving on, my team did not make it out to San Diego for reasons I do not wish to discuss at the moment. We are however leaving for the third event on the pro circuit this Thursday... get ready ORLANDO! We picked up a new team member after dropping MOHAWKAS. Our newest member to REACH is Flagside, or more commonly known outside of the Halo world as "Jim". He is the purest of all support players, and has complimented our team very nicely. Our team now has great balance, and we have been playing every day in order to have our performance in Orlando play out much better than Meadowlands. Look out hot Florida babes, I'm coming, controller in hand as my sword, and my over-packed Hyundai pickle jar as my noble steed.

I've been frequenting UREC this summer with two goals in mind to achieve by the end of the summer. I wanted to bench 200 pounds and weigh 180 pounds (as in gain). I have already achieved one of them (I'll let your imaginations run wild as to which one). I did however show my Mom how to use some of the machines there, and my sister Ellie has also been recently coming. I think it's good for my gym-image to show that behind my hard body and stolid attitude, I do in fact have a soft side, and take care of the women in my life.

James' latest VP predictions for the Presidential candidates:

McCain/Jindal

photo courtesy of ibabuzz.com

Obama/Webb

photo courtesy of nycscenequeen.com

Person of the Week: Tamr, for having a high percentage of theories turn out to be correct while watching LOST. He must be an expert television watcher

Post # 50 - I would've been your daddy...

2008-06-17T13:05:00.000-04:00

I get an email alert every week or so telling me my current superlative rankings on Facebook. I wouldn't normally write about it, but my recent rankings have me concerned. Currently my "strengths" are: best singer, best father (potential), and smartest. Now, I can understand the best singer part. My ranking was probably boosted because of my excellence in song choice and volume while singing in the shower. I can thank my roommates for that. The whole "best father (potential)" has me worried. Does that mean people think I'm potentially going to be a father soon? I don't know what kind of promiscuous vibe I give off in my daily life, but I assure you, I have no children...that I know of at least. And even then, it would only be because they were immaculately conceived, which is highly unlikely because it's only happened once ever. Instead of "smartest" I would rather my last "strength" to be, "most likely to date a Hollywood actress whose character name is 'Claire'". But no, my Facebook colleagues have it in for me. Moving on to "weaknesses", they are: "hardest worker", and "best to hang out with for a day". Well, I don't know what more I can do to work harder. Apparently working full time and being a full time student isn't working hard enough. I'd like to know what everyone else is doing to be such hard workers so that "hardest worker" can be taken off my weakness list. I can understand the "best to hang out with for a day", because usually my jokes are so sophisticated that no one understands them... I can see how that would get old.

I recently listened to John Lennon's song "Imagine" while driving back from New York City (more on that later), and was stunned by the lyrics. I wasn't sure if I heard them correctly, so when I got home I looked them up online. Sure enough, my concerns over John Lennon being ignorant and a lunatic were confirmed. John Lennon was a good man in many respects, and even preached one of Jesus' primary messages, love. However, the following lyrics may shock you:

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

Wow. OK, so, I'll point out a few of the obvious flaws with this ideology, and I'll let you guys do the rest. "Imagine there's no heaven". Well, if there is no heaven, there is no God. If there is no God, there is no such thing as morality. If there is no God, there is no hope. And in the words of Sayeed from LOST, "Hope is a very dangerous thing to lose". "no religion too". We tried that Mr. Lennon, it was called the SOVIET UNION. Yeah! That turned out great! Millions of people dead later, Reagan made them "tear down that wall". "Imagine no possesions". We have also tried that, it's called COMMUNISM! Wow, this is sounding better and better. Ok, well, you get my point, and I don't want to dwell on such a popular figure for too long. However, we must be wary of all our political and celebrity heroes, because of messages they might be sending.

The Democratic primary season is finally over, with Barack Obama being the nominee. So, this means that we will have a McCain - Obama election in November 2008. The biggest question now is, who the heck will be their running mates?!?! Since the Democrats got the candidate from their side most likely to win, and since the Republicans got the candidate from their side who was 3rd most likely to win, the Republicans are already at a disadvantage. Now, this means that McCain's VP pick is all the more important. McCain is a senator from Arizona with no private job experience (he's been in the military and the government, that's it). So, there are three things we can assume about his VP pick. He/she will be east of the Mississippi, will have experience outside of the government/military (hopefully executive experience), and will have more conservative credentials than "moderate McCain" does. Now, the most obvious choice would be Mitt Romney - governor of Massachusetts and fits the mold of a true conservative. Something tells me that McCain just won't do Romney though. My two picks would be Romney, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, and as a darkhorse, Olympia Snowe of Maine. For Obama, he will not pick Hillary Clinton, mostly because of her political baggage. Obama wants to win Virginia really badly this upcoming election, and there is a high chance he chooses one of the three guys from here: Jim Webb (US senator), Tim Kaine (governor), and Mark Warner (about to be US senator). Now, the candidate that will essentially hand Obama the election would be Warner, because everyone here has a man crush on him. Mark Warner will also be president one day, you heard it here first.

To briefly address Jeremy Sheppard's response to my last post. We can't immediately blame US oil companies for ethical irresponsibility in the recent trend of rising gas prices. We also have to understand the basic laws of supply and demand, and the knowledge that oil is a limited resource. In the past 10 years, the price of a barrel of oil has risen about 100 dollars. That is a loooooot of money. There was a time when I filled up my tank for 13 dollars. It now costs me 50. We must also understand that our economy is dependent on pretty much one thing - oil. Now, who produces oil? Saudi Arabia... Iran... Venezuela... countries that do not like us. So if they know we are dependent on their oil, and they don't like us, what's to keep them from limiting their supply. When there is less supply, there is a greater demand, and therefore a higher price. When the price of oil per barrel goes up, the price at the pump goes up too. We could lower the prices and ease the hit on our economy by drilling more here in the United States. But, environmentalists will have none of it. Gas prices will not be low again, assuming we don't drill. There is another solution, alternative energy. I think our future rests in nuclear energy. It's the cleanest energy, and the possibilities with that energy are endless. What many people don't know, is that President Bush has put a lot of money and emphasis on alternative energy research and development. What? A Republican being smart and environmentally friendly? Unheard of... Well, unheard of because the media does not want to hear of Bush doing things that people actually like, only things that will sell more newspapers.

Person of the Week - Cole Simmons, for valiantly coming over to my house last night at 3:30 to watch an episode of LOST season 1 with myself, Tamr, and Josiah

Post # 49 - School's out for Summer!

2008-05-16T16:38:00.002-04:00

Earlier today a number called me on my cell phone that I didn't have listed under my contacts. Naturally, being the victim of numerous prank calls by clever and intelligent peers, I didn't answer and expected whoever it was to leave a message if it were important. There was no message, and I simply had a missed call. I decided five minutes later to give the number a call back, simply out of curiosity. The following is the conversation I had with a college-educated* woman.

*sarcasm

Woman: "Hello?"
James: (eloquently) "Hi this is James, I got a call from this number about 5 minutes ago and I was just returning the call."
Woman: "Wait, who is this?"
James: "This is James, I'm returning a missed call from this number."
Woman: "Oh, no one called you from this number."
James: (immediately outraged and thinking to himself 'THEN HOW IN HADES COULD I HAVE POSSIBLY GOTTEN THIS NUMBER?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!') "Uh... well, see ya later!"

- click -

That, however, was not the highlight of my day. I went to the midnight showing last night of 'Prince Caspian', which is the sequel to 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe'. These two movies were based off of a 7-book series written by, my favorite author, C.S. Lewis. Coincidentally, these books are also make up my favorite book series of all time. Unfortunately, 'Prince Caspian' did not follow the book for most of the movie, and much of C.S. Lewis' theology, imagination, and eloquence was lost. However, the movie still had a pretty profound effect on me, seeing as I left the theater in a pretty sad mood. This was mostly due to the somber nature of the film and a sense of loss I felt because of the characters and what happened to them in the movie and what happens to them later in the series, and less due to having to block out the two dudes making out a few rows in front of us. Overall though I highly recommend the movie, and am already stoked about the next movie 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'!

Barack Obama has all but clinched the Democratic party's nomination to run against John McCain for the office of the presidency. He is already campaigning on a national scale even though the primaries are not officially over yet. Hillary Clinton has vowed to stay in, and it is possible she will stay in until the convention. This will, in all likelihood, hurt the Democratic party, but I don't think it will diminish Barack Obama's chances of winning in November. He is going to win it.

On another political note (well, more economic note but whatever)... GAS PRICES. I remember my economics professor last Fall saying "Folks, it's getting kind of scary. We may be seeing something we have never seen before next summer, oil could break 100 dollars a barrel. Well, oil is currently at 135/barrel, and we can see those effects at the pump. I broke down at the pump the other day and was consoled by a nice lady from the SUV in front of me when I saw this after I was done fueling:

Person of the Week: Joy or Ellie Weaver, depending on which one gives me a free hair cut.

Post # 48 - Meadowlands

2008-05-08T03:48:00.001-04:00

(photo courtesy of mlgpro.com)

As the title as subtly given away, my team finally managed to attain a pass to get to the first ever national Halo 3 tournament, held at the Meadowlands! The Meadowlands is some sort of sports complex center right outside of New York City. I will try to give everyone a somewhat detailed breakdown of the events from Thursday (10th of April) - Sunday (13th of April). First, an introduction to the team

REACH

Mebraav (aka James Weaver) - a talented, conservatively aggressive player best known for his sniping capabilities. Most commonly used as a utility player during matches, Mebraav has an uncanny ability to stay alive through the most perilous situations. A rookie to the national scene, Mebraav is a player to keep an eye on.

GREG (aka Greg Hicks) - a consistently accurate Battle Rifle best defines this player. Rarely goes negative in a game, and can be relied on to carry a team with his ability to finish off kills with headshots. An aggressive player by nature, and a rookie to the national scene, GREG is a force to be reckoned with.

MOWHAWKAS (aka Tim Hicks) - like his brother, GREG, MOWHAWKAS is talented with the default weapon, the Battle Rifle. Although considered a support player on the team, MOWHAWKAS is the most aggressive player, and can surprise any team by picking up 3-4 kills by himself before he is dead. A rookie to the national scene, but look to see him in future tournaments.

Jago (aka Chris Hicks) - The only member of the team with tournament experience, Jago brings strategies and confidence to the arena. Primarily used as a support player, Jago is fearless as he sits in hills, holds the oddball, or is capturing a flag. Jago is known for his vocals during matches, and although the stat sheet won't show it, assists many kills with his knowledge of enemy whereabouts.

Now that you've been introduced to the team, here's a breakdown of the tournament. We left Thursday evening by car and made the 5 hour trip (according to Map Quest) in only 7 hours! This is mostly due to the inability of Chris to be a reliable navigator. There are so many exits in New Jersey, most of them look like they are labeled the same. Luckily we had one toll booth lady give us unintelligible directions, and a large man from Brooklyn guide us to "1-9 nowath". Once this lead us by a correctional facility shrouded by barbed wire and men with guns, I knew we had nary a chance to survive the night. Somehow, most likely due to divine providence, we made it to the hotel at about 2 in the morning, and I do recall seeing a bush and a tree at some point in New Jersey. They must have been the main two components in naming New Jersey "The Garden State".

The tournament was held in a huge expo center, and there were 256 teams competing in the Halo 3 portion of it. (There were also tournaments for Gears of War and other games). This means that there were well over 1000 players at any given time in the building. The tournament lasted began Friday and lasted through Sunday night, which was when the championship game was held. Unfortunately for us, and similar to 232 other teams, we did not make it past Saturday's games. We did however enjoy sending one team home on the MAIN STAGE. That was easily the best moment of the tournament. There were 32 "stations" which consisted of 4 televisions and 4 xbox's each. Therefore, each team would get 2 televisions, and would have two players to a t.v. (playing split screen). The main stage was a little different, because it was separated from the main mass of stations. There was bleacher seating available to watch whatever team happened to be playing there (championship matches were played there). Now, it might seem incredibly boring to watch people play a video game, but hear me out. Each team was playing so that if they looked up from their screen, they would be looking at the crowd and the stands. So, logically, only they could see their screens and not the crowd. However, directly behind us, they had a first-person view screen of what every player was seeing, live. That way, the crowd could see everything that was going on on all t.v.s of both teams. "Ohhs" and "Ahhs" could be heard during great moments (like double-kills, triple kills, sniper headshots, sniper sprees (ahem, myself), Greg getting "out BR'ed" by a girl and having to have me clean up) and there was applause during flag captures and victories. It was all really exciting, and really intense. We walked off the stage winners, which was a great feeling. This feeling was nearly equaled in the opposite way when we played on the main stage again, and were eliminated.

All in all it was a successful tournament for the team. We learned a lot about how to improve our gameplay, and how tournaments run. We are currently preparing to play in San Diego in June, and are hoping to pick up a sponsor (mostly hope).

It is currently finals week, and I had a rough start. I worked Friday-Tuesday 40 hours, and had an 8 am exam Monday, an 8 am Tuesday, and a 10:30 Tuesday. I only have one left, which is tomorrow afternoon, and then I am done for the summer. My contemporary theology exam was fun, and I got to write a lot about totally awesome things and ideas (MLK Jr., Vatican II, Holism etc...) Anyway, a lot of what happened during the semester got me thinking about a very imporant question. Who is the greatest American of all time? I thus have composed a list of the top 10 greatest Americans. The following is a list in descending order:

10) Robert E. Lee - A man opposed to slavery during one of America's most tumultuous times, Lee was a man of character and loyalty. When asked if he would fight for the North or the South (he had been offered command of the Union army by Abraham Lincoln), Lee responded "I shall never bear arms against the Union, but it may be necessary for me to carry a musket in the defense of my native state, Virginia, in which case I shall not prove recreant to my duty." Lee was a Virginian and the paternal figure of Southern Culture (not to be aligned with racism and hatred).

9) Orville and Wilbur Wright (aka the Wright brothers) - Two men who were the first to create a flying vehicle (an airplane). This invention is one of the greatest of the 20th century, and marks one of mankinds greatest achievements.

8) Ronald Reagan - The centerpiece of the final blow of American democracy versus Soviet communism. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

7) Abraham Lincoln - President of the United States during the Civil War (also known as the "War of Northern Aggression"). Lincoln maintained the hope that we, as two very distinct cultures (north and south), can live as one united democracy.

6) James Madison - President of the United States and author of the greatest law document in history, the document which runs the government of the leading nation in the free world, the Constitution. Oh, and I go to a school named after him.

5) Alan Shepard/Neil Armstrong - Shepard was the first American in space, and Armstrong was the first human ever to walk on the moon. The journey to space, which was led by these Americans, is the final frontier in human exploration and destiny, and these men proved that America will be at the forefront.

4) Bill Gates - The most successful American at combining human ingenuity and capitalism. Gates led the development and implementation of the most important invention of the 20th century (and there were a lot): the computer. It must be noted that he didn't invent the computer, only made it awesome, and became one of the richest people in the world while he was at it. Oh, and Al Gore invented the internetz... and subsequently "modding" - few will get that.

3) Thomas Jefferson - President of the United States who doubled our territory (Louisiana Purchase) and the author of arguably the single greatest document ever written, and the document that birthed our nation - The Declaration of Independence.

2) Martin Luther King Jr - Leader during the civil rights movement, King led the final (well, hopefully final) charge in the fight against American oppression. His war of love and hope peacefully waged against his enemies is something that all Americans should admire and seek to
implement whenever faced with injustice. This country was started because of an inability to put up with injustice, and King gave his life fighting for the betterment of a great nation.

1) George Washington - First president of the United States, and who led the American forces in the Revolutionary War against England, gave the country back to the people, instead of creating a military dictatorship (see Cuba). He is quoted as saying "I did not get rid of George the third so I could become George the first". A man of such character, that Henry Lee, father of Robert E. Lee, said of him at his funeral "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in humble and enduring scenes of private life. Pious, just, humane, temperate, and sincere; uniform, dignified, and commanding; his example was as edifying to all around him as were the effects of that example lasting…Correct throughout, vice shuddered in his presence and virtue always felt his fostering hand. The purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues…Such was the man for whom our nation mourns."

Well, it's summer, and I have a lot to write about. Hopefully posts will be coming more frequently.

Person of the Week - Greg Hicks for yelling "FINISH IT JAMES!" on the main stage at Meadowlands after getting absolutely destroyed by a girl with no shield.

RIP Aunt Marian

Post # 47 - Spring Break 2K8

2008-03-04T15:36:00.002-05:00

I did a little research, emphasis on a little, and found out that the average Halo ranks in most playlists for Halo 3 hover between 18-25 (The ranking system goes from 1-50, and there are 7 playlists). I have two 50's, a 49, and a 47 in four of the playlists. While this may be impressive to some, it is online play, and real players are sculpted in highly competitive LAN gaming. I must also admit, as some of you may have suspected, I have had a low-percentage success rate in using those stats in a pick up line.

The first MLG pro tournament for Halo 3 is being held April 11-13 at the Meadowlands, and I am going to do everything in my power to get my team there. Once we have confirmed that we're in, I'll let everyone know.

I've always prided myself on my reflexes and my ability to make quick decisions in hostile situations. One such situation came upon me the other day while grabbing lunch in Top Dog (a campus dining facility). For some reason I cannot seem to remember, I got really excited when I got my food. It might have had something to do with the fact that they were serving tater tots for the first time ever. Anyway, I had my soft drink sitting calmly on my tray as the kind tot lady placed the food on my tray. After exchanging pleasantries about how bleak the weather was that day and how her hair net complimented her eyes, I quickly spun around to find a table to sit. In my hasty turn-around, some law of physics or motion caused my drink to topple off the tray. Time slowed down. Everyone standing in line, and all those who were hogging all of the available seating were staring me down, wondering what my next move would be. I switched the tray to my left hand, and deftly reached with my right toward the anticipated path of travel of the soft drink. My eyes were ablaze with intensity and concentration, and with all five fingers and palm, made the catch before it hit the ground. It was a top-play nominee for sportscenter. Not a single tot was lost in the fray, and I held my trophy high above my head for all to see. The onlookers were stunned into apathy, which is probably why nobody wanted my autograph. And yes, that was the coolest thing that has happened to me since my last post.

The following is a picture of all those who will understandably be proud of me for this accomplishment:

For every awesome and wondrous feat I manage to pull off, I seem to do something equally imbecilic... imbesullen. For instance, the other day while getting dressed for school, I really wanted to wear a particular sweater. However, it was gravely cold outside, and I didn't want to wear 5 shirts underneath the sweater, for fear of looking too buff. So, to settle the quandary I was in, I brought along an extra jacket, which I kept hidden in my back pack. To make room for the jacket I had to make a decision on which text book to leave behind... so sorry "Traditions in Hinduism". Anyway, after getting off the bus and walking on the quad, I very nearly froze to death. For second upon second my vanity flamed the dying embers of bravery, but I could take the anguish no longer. I stopped mid-quad, which was awesome because a girl ran into me (normally I would've taken the time to say "oh hey I'm James!", but all that came out was "vavavavavavava"). I quickly reached into my backpack, threw on my jacket, and began putting the books back into my backpack which had been accidentally tossed out by the jacket. Suddenly, a haunting and sickening feeling came over me, when I realized that I had in fact managed to put my jacket on backwards. (It was a pull over zipper kind in my defense). Humbled, I took it off and put it back on the right way, gathered my things, composed myself as best as possible, and took off for Starbucks as a single tear froze against my cheek.

I'd like to take this opportunity to open up a can of worms. The drinking age. Nooooooooooooo! James, don't do it! Think of the children! Well, it's only a few months before I, myself, turn 21, and I would like to address this issue as one who is underage (perhaps maybe so I can see how I thought about it at this age, twenty years from now). I grew up in a fairly conservative church, and a fairly conservative family. In both contexts (church and home), alcohol was presented to me as something completely evil, something only bad men take part of. Although this may not have been the intent of the church and my parents, that's the way it came across. Therefore I, like most people that grew up alongside me, always viewed alcohol as the spawn of Satan and if you so much as smell it you better repent immediately. Then, one day a few years ago, I was doing an independent study on the miracles of Jesus. What was his first miracle I wonder? For those of you who are unaware, Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine. Jesus made alcohol. This was his first miracle. Now, please do not get me wrong. I am not trying to blaspheme and say that Jesus' condones drunkenness and debauchery. I am simply stating that Jesus made more wine at a wedding celebration, after all the other wine ran out. Alcohol is a gift from God, and when used properly, is a beautiful thing. (Jesus' disciples were teenagers....in case you were wondering). I personally had no idea, no idea whatsoever, what the effects of alcohol were like (even after hours of "alcohol awareness" classes in high school.... biggest waste of time) until I had my first beer.

Anyway, now that there is some background for this argument, here is the law as it stands today: if you are under the age of 21, you are not allowed to purchase or consume an alcoholic beverage. My mission in the next few words will be to shed some light on why this is a terrible law. Hear me out and actually listen and think intelligently about my arguments.

Perhaps the biggest complaint about the law, is that those aged 18-20, who are also in the military can in theory "die for their country, but cannot have a beer". This makes no sense to me whatsoever. If I'm hypothetically going on a dangerous mission the next day, and every other guy in my unit is 21 and goes out to have a sort of "last supper" at the tavern, and I'm the only one who can't have a beer. That's ridiculous. It's especially ridiculous in this hypothetical situation, if said underage person (I used myself in the first illustration, but it could be anybody), was drafted into war. They are there against their will, being asked to risk their life for their country, but they cannot have a beer...somebody please explain to me the reasoning.

Many older adults use the rarely-cited scientific finding that "people's brains are not fully developed before 21, therefore they cannot handle the responsibility of alcohol". Well, newsflash, people's brains don't really fully develop until about the age of 25. Therefore, using the aforementioned philosophy, we should disallow anyone under the age of 25 to do any of the following: drive, vote, drink alcohol, fight in a war, get married, or have children. All of those examples require a great amount of responsibility, therefore, since the "brain isn't fully developed", only old people are allowed to do them. "Well, James, you obviously don't see that alcohol is a special case, it can be addictive and kill people." Wow, worst argument of all time. Bad driving is habitual, and it kills way more people than alcohol. I cannot count on all my appendages how many times I have almost been killed by terrible drivers. Irresponsible voting can get people killed (see Iraq). Fighting in wars...well, yeah. You get the picture, singling out alcohol makes no sense.

The reason alcohol is abused so much today by minors (especially on college campuses), is because of the law in place to prevent it from happening at all. In college, when you are separated from your parents (at the age of 18, when you're an adult... go figure), you can do all the things they wouldn't let you do. This includes breaking the law, and the funnest way to do that, is by drinking alcohol. (Other examples of rebelling include getting tattoos and piercings, growing facial hair, and streaking on the quad). The thinking is, "hey, I'm an adult, I can do whatever I want". And, the reality of the situation is that alcohol is remarkably easy to a get a hold of when you are a minor in college. A minor can get alcohol faster than I can get my coffee at Starbucks. I'm not trying to make the argument "They're going to do it anyway, so make it legal", but I am trying to get across the line of thinking of college minors..."I'm an adult, society should treat me like one".

Many places in Europe have laws that set the drinking age at 16, and the driving age at 18. This is a revolutionary thought. Why won't we let people understand what alcohol is BEFORE we let them start driving, so that they understand the effects it has on you? What a concept.

Obviously, making that change would be hard for America to adjust to, but hear me out. I have two younger sisters, who I love more than anything else in the world. Now, inevitably they are going to go to college. One of them is already there. Because the drinking age is 21, they will not have had much, if any exposure to alcohol. As an older brother, who do I want introducing alcohol to them. Do I want my parents, who are mature and responsible adults and who care deeply about their well-being to do it. Or do I want some horny 22-year-old college frat boy trying to get his jollies by taking advantage of naive underage girls to do it. This is a no-brainer. It only makes sense to lower the drinking age, and allow those closest to you (older siblings, parents, relatives etc...), who are looking out for your best interest. This will not only lower alcohol abuse, it will make us a more responsible and open society.

There is more to this argument, but in my increasingly feeble attempts to keep my posts somewhat brief, I must allow my readers to digest my proposal.

Person of the Week: Claire from LOST... I have a huge crush on her, and plan on winning her affections by making her person of the week.

Post # 46 - Black Thursday 2.0

2008-02-12T02:02:00.001-05:00

In an effort to keep myself from devolving this blog into a political platform, I'll keep my remarks on the self-titled "Black Thursday 2.0" as brief as possible. As many of you know, my storied and valiant political hero of the past year, Mitt Romney, has suspended his campaign. It pains me to write those very words. The man who graduated from Harvard business and Law school at the same time, near the top of his class in both; the man who amassed a fortune along the lines of 250 million dollars as a venture capitalist (money made due to his own genius concerning the economy); the man who became the governor of the bluest of the blue (Massachusetts) and "reached across the aisle" to get things done (universal health care for the people of his state, while enlisting the aide of Massachusetts senator Edward Kennedy); the man who turned the Salt Lake City Olympics of 2002 from a 40 million dollar indebted nightmare into a profitable organization; the man who has been married to the same woman for 38 years, who has 5 sons, all of whom are married; the man who has publicly admitted when he was wrong politically, and holds fast today to true conservative values; the man who gets things done himself, and sets the bar high; the man who would balance the budget himself while governor, to make sure there was no wasteful spending, and to ensure important projects were taken care of; the best man for the job, will not be elected President of the United States in 2008. (photo courtesy of www.politicalcrossfire.com)

My question to the Republican party (to quote a personal non-political hero of mine, a certain Lloyd Christmas): Do you realize what you've DONE?!

I will be so bold as to claim that the Republicans lost the election in November, and yes they will lose, not on election day, but on January 3, 2008. On this day, and no offense to this man, who is a good man with a good heart, the Republican caucus voters in Iowa shuffled Mike Huckabee to victory. With this win by this dark horse candidate, the Republican party essentially split the conservative vote between two candidates, Huckabee, and Romney. There were really only 3 candidates for the Republicans: those two and John McCain. John McCain has long time been a political maverick, and although he wears a Republicans clothing, he often strips down to the nude (metaphorically speaking...eh). Therefore, by default, McCain will end up being the Republican nominee, because of the split vote of conservatives during the nominating process. I won't go into specific figures and numbers, but imagine a 60-40 race between two candidates. The one with 60 % of support will win. Now, enter a third party who only attracts voters from the 60 side. Here, in this particular republican nominating process, it then breaks down into a 40-35-25 contest. Guess who gets the most votes? Hopefully that made sense. So, now, the Republican party has a guy that they don't really want, a guy who isn't even a true conservative. Because of this, the conservative base, the foundation of the Republican party, will only mostly rally around McCain, and not totally. Because of this, there will be a democrat-controlled White House come January 2009.

To further my current dislike of McCain (not because I have a personal grudge, although I do, a big one), I would like to point out a case of "everyone versus Romney". If the following story doesn't disgust you, may God have mercy on your soul. This is a direct quote from a blogger responding to Curt Schillings (the baseball player) endorsement of John McCain.

"Look at what happened in West Virginia today, that is a flagrant abuse of the voting system. Allow me to paraphrase. Romney lead the first ballot with 41% to Huckabee’s 31%. After this first round of voting, since no candidate reached the required 50%, McCain threw all of his votes to Huckabee, thereby handing the state to Huckabee and preventing Romney from winning the primary. Integrity? That does not sound like integrity, that sounds like cutting a backroom deal. I wonder what Huckabee got out of it? A cabinet seat if McCain wins? Perhaps a shot at being the vice president? Call it what you want to call it, but that doesn’t show integrity on the part of McCain or Huckabee. The people of WV voted for Romney, and McCain presumed to speak for them and throw his support for Huckabee.
This is a problem endemic to Washington insiders like McCain"

West Virginia was one of the states that voted on Super Tuesday (February 5, 2008), which was two days before Mitt Romney dropped out... five days short of the Potomac Primary. Right now, after watching Barack Obama generate uncanny momentum, I would put the Republican's chances at keeping the White House at 14%. There will be more on this stuff later, as I'm cutting myself off after a not-so-brief rant. Oh, and I'm still voting for Mitt tomorrow.

Unfortunately for myself, I found out about Mitt's departure from the race 5 minutes before my first theology test in Rel 380. After 3 missed calls and 5 text messages from various people, my despair was confirmed. It has been a bleak midwinter these past few days. Speaking of winter, let me introduce you to Harrisonburg. It was 72 degrees one day, then 20 degrees the next with wind. I was explaining to my roommate, Ben, that here, it can be winter in the summer, summer in the winter, and both winter and summer on the same day. He responded with "I think that's actually malaria". Oh Ben, I wish I could use your magic on the babes.

So as not to leave the readers completely bored with my political ramblings, I have decided to provide another link to a video on you-tube. This video is of one of my favorite songs, and is very eloquently done by four guys. (The guy with the teeth is the best singer, you'll see who I mean).

Watch Here

Person of the Week - Joe Barnes, for officially having played more Halo 3 games than I. Congratulations Joe, I was pulling for you.

Post # 45 - Right hand BROKEN!

2008-01-17T03:35:00.001-05:00

A lot of things have happened since my last post. Approximately 8 days after my last post, I got into a heated debate with an inanimate object. I finally had had enough with it's childish game of silence, and it's inhuman and stoic responses to my arguments, i took a swing. As it turns out, punching hard-surfaced non-living objects (walls, counter-tops, boulders, my abdomen, hillary clinton, cafeteria bagels, or even bus stop shelters), generally do not turn out with great results. I broke my hand as a result, and thus lost the fight. I went to the doctor today for my final appointment and my hand is still broken, but healing well and I don't have to wear any cast or anything anymore. Unfortunately there was a toll exacted on my vanity, because now my right pinky knuckle is about 1/8th of an inch shorter than my left pinky knuckle. That kind of stuff can distract you for minutes at a time during class lectures.

Speaking of Oklahoma, my brother, Jeremiah, is now a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force. He is now II Lieutenant Weaver. We celebrated heartily out there. All the family was there except Josiah, and there are sweet pictures on facebook. After Oklahoma, Dad, Ellie, Joy, Bob and I drove to Texas to see TCU, and to visit ROB and STACY! Rob was my youth pastor growing up and my boss when I did the internship at the church a few summers ago. He's only one of the coolest dudes ever. After that Bob and I woke up early and I drove straight from Arlington, Texas to Blacksburg, Virginia in one shot. It was a big day for me.

And speaking of lectures, my classes last semester went incredibly mediocre! I had an A in my CIS class until the final project, which was creating a personal website. This website, which I probably spent about 20 hours on, was created in the same kind of atmosphere that this blog displays, and was both informative and humorous. But of course, hours before the deadline, when I go to publish it, it crashes, and somehow I lose all of my work in the process. I must then conveniently leave for Oklahoma the next day and therefore have no time to work with the professor on it, and by the time I got back, final grades needed to be posted. Needless to say, I did not get an A, nor a B. My thoughts on the matter - what's another way to say "aw gee wizz!"

My classes this semester are pretty sweet, and they include a contemporary theology class, microeconomics, french, french literature, and traditions in hinduism. That last class, with all due respect to the hindu faith, is as lame as it sounds. In fact, here is a scene excerpt from that class. Please note that the following events actually happened:

Setting: Religion 310, Traditions in Hinduism. The professor is about halfway through his lecture, talking about the Vedas and ancient spiritual mantras*. James is debating whether or not counting the ceiling tiles 11 times and getting the same number every time means that he knows the actual number of ceiling tiles, or if he should try counting again. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the guy sitting in front of James raises his hand. *Please note that what the professor was talking about at the time.

Guy sitting in front of James: "I've been reading a book about soil, about how they didn't know how to manage it, which is probably why the Indus civilization fell, and which is probably why we are going to fall...It's sad"

James looks at the helpless professor for about 5 seconds with his mouth slightly open, and then puts his head on his desk, and slowly begins to count to 100, for lack of anything else to do. Then, by about #57, James realizes "Hey it could be worse, this guy could have the right to vote..." James sheds a single tear, and restarts his count.

Yeah, that happened.

Great Joke James! So my French professor asks "Does anyone know the French word for 'abroad'?" I respond "une femme", which of course means "a woman". Nobody got it, and the class moved forward.

Yay Mitt Romney! After second-place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, Mitt Romney finally won a primary in a big state...Michigan! Finally, voters saw how brilliant he is, and it took an issue like the economy to come to the forefront for Mitt's brilliance to show. Michigan's economy is atrocious, and their unemployment rate is like 2 percentage points higher than the rest of the nation. John McCain said that "some of the jobs that left Michigan are not coming back." Mitt Romney insisted he could get them back, and we should never give up on people's jobs. In Mitt Romney's victory speech he said the voters decided that optimism had won over "Washington-style pessimism". Romney had 39% to McCain's 30%. Mike Huckabee looks as strong as ever, and might steal South Carolina from John McCain. I predict a Huckabee win in South Carolina, and a Romney win in Nevada, which will kill all of McCain's momentum heading into Super Tuesday. This would be setting up for a Romney-Huckabee ticket for the Fall...that's being very optimistic though. Remember, those of you who are reading this and are of voting age... VOTE! Virginia's primary is on February 12, 2008. This blog supports Mitt Romney.

I recently noticed on a bottle of Jagermeister liqueur that there was a poem written around the edge of the label. I did some research on it and saw the translation. I liked it so much I decided to put both the German version and the English translation here:

Das ist des Jägers Ehrenschild,

daß er beschützt und hegt sein Wild,

weidmännisch jagt, wie sich's gehört,

den Schöpfer im Geschöpfe ehrt.

This is the hunter's badge of honour,

that he protect and nourish his game,

hunt sportingly, as is proper,

and honour the Creator in the creature.

Yes, thats on a bottle of German liqueur, and it's awesome.

I cannot wait for LOST season 4 to start (even though it will be halted halfway through because of the writers strike). I am mostly anticipating it, because after finishing HEROES season 1 the other night, I feel as though I am betraying "Claire" from LOST by having a huge crush on "Claire" from HEROES.

Because there has been a two month absence between my last post, and because 2008 came in between them as well, I have unilaterally decided to have two persons of the "week".

Last Person of the week of 2007: Jeremiah Weaver. Congratulations on the commissioning bro, no family could be prouder.

First Person of the week of 2008: Jeremy Sheppard - Your handling of everything that happened over break was... well you taught me a lot. You are a good man.

Post # 44

2007-11-13T18:01:00.000-05:00

November is upon us. Many know this month as "No-shave-November"*, which is synonymous with "grow a manly beard which radiates testosterone month". I am certainly giving it my best effort, and am currently seeing no women. This situation of inactivity in that particular department is almost guaranteed to change once my manly beard comes to full maturity...I'm betting most babes will liken me to a huge scruffy viking, who fights lions with his bare hands (assuming that particular viking ever went to Africa).

*Ladies heavily encouraged not to participate

Election day has come and gone, and although some people considered it a pretty lame election (no national seats up for contention, only state senate, house, and local offices in contention), I thought it was full of intrigue and excitement. Well... I can't back that up. I mean, take the "clerk of the court" spot that the people were voting on. There were about 10 names I could choose from and a) I didn't know ANY of the people and b) I don't REALLY know what the clerk of the court is nor what he/she does. Therefore, instead of making a completely uninformed decision on a potentially important elected position, I made a somewhat risky, yet courageous and aggressive decision and I wrote in my dear friend "D. Cole Simmons" as my vote for clerk of the court. Good luck Cole, you have my unwavering support. I don't know why voting Democrats into office has become such a fad recently, but they now control the Virginia state senate...keywords = Deomcrats, Control, Virginia.

My grandmother was recently in a single-car accident, where she suffered some pretty intense injuries (she probably won't be walking until April). She is currently doing pretty well, considering the circumstances, and is recovering near her home in Maryland. There has been a lot of falling out between members of the family on my maternal side since as long as I can remember. My hope is that in light of the fragility of life and the importance of family (siblings from Virginia, Kansas, Wisconsin, California, and Maryland made the trip to be with their mother), perhaps my relatives (including my mother) can rekindle the relationships they once had, and find a solution to whatever problems and differences they had/still have. I mean, I had nothing to do with whatever is going on, and I want to hang out with my cousins. Shoot. That's not too much to ask.

Speaking of cousins, my cousin Alex (on my mom's side), got married on November 4th in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. I flew out there on Saturday and stayed with my Aunt Janet (mom's little sister) and Uncle John. I hadn't seen anyone on that side of the family in probably 10 years, and just watching my Aunt Janet's mannerisms, facial expressions, tone of voice and of how she went about daily life would have made the trip worth it. I was astonished at how much my mom and her sister look/and sound alike. Hilarious. They were very hospitable, and I felt like family the moment I was in their house. Uncle John even let me try some of his beer (which was incredible). I got to catch up with my cousins Vikki and Ariana, and learned that Vikki can still speak German. They lived in Germany for 8 years, and Estonia for 3...or something like that; and which is completely awesome and I hope to live somewhere over in northern Europe at some point in my life.

ANYWAY, the wedding was on Sunday and Sunday morning Uncle John and I drove around doing errands and discussing how we were going to get yelled at for things beyond our control (women and weddings...what can you do). So one of our tasks was location Vikki somewhere in Leavenworth, Kansas, who had left the reception area without taking her cell phone. This was much to the chagrin of the rest of the wedding party, because they needed to start taking pictures. So the two of us set off ranting about how there is no way we'll find her and after 10 minutes of searching we'll just go back and explain why we didn't. Now, Uncle John is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force, and is currently a professor of military history at Tulane University, and he came up with our excuse for not finding Vikki; "We didn't find her because of the same reason the Japanese didn't win World War II.......because they didn't". I thought it was brilliant. However, we did find her (at Alex's apartment), and received no accolades or applause upon our triumphant return. The wedding turned out to be great success, and the reception was money money money. My mom's brother (Uncle James) and his family (Aunt Mary, Jackie, Jamie, Jillian, and Joey) were there and catching up with them was awesome. I swear the "J" theme is coincidental... It was one of the best weekends I've had in a long time, and I hope to make it out there again sometime soon (Vikki, get married already). To wrap up my telling of the events at the wedding I will close with an actual conversation that was held with my reception table mates.

Setting: James, Jeremiah, Ellie, Sara (Vikki's friend), and three other unnamed and anonymous older guests are sitting and chatting. James and Jeremiah are enjoying beers together, while quietly chatting with each other and Ellie and Sara. The unknown guests notice the three of us look alike and begin the conversation asking:

Anonymous male guest #1: "So are you guys related?"

James, Jeremiah, and Ellie in somewhat unison answers: "Yes sir we are siblings"

Anonymous female guest #1: "So are you the oldest?" (she says while pointing at James)

James: (Laughing haughtily towards Jeremiah) "Actually HE's older"

The table chuckles. Jeremiah smiles sheepishly.

Anonymous female guest #2: "So how old are you guys?"

Jeremiah: "I'm 22".

James: (Noting Jeremiah's tactical error in not giving him any "breathing room" on age, but says rather convincingly) "And I'm 21."

Ellie: NO YOU'RE NOT!

Nobody says anything. Second upon second of awkward silence ensues, and crickets could be heard chirping a simple melody of one rhythmic note after another outside the nearby window. James inspects the ceiling once or twice and avoids eye contact with everyone except Ellie. Jeremiah continues his sheepish smile while looking downward. Meanwhile, Ellie's brain processes, processes, processes until it clicks.

Ellie: Oh! Yeah you are!

The Halo book "Contact Harvest" came out and I have finished it. It is the prequel to all games and books, and tells the story of mankind's first contact with the alien species known as "The Covenant", and how the brutal war between them started. The few hours it took me to read put me momentarily in nerds heaven. Also, an update on my service record for Halo 3: Brigadier grade 1, highest level 50, games till General: 6. (Note, 50 is the highest possible level, and General is the highest possible rank).

I want to leave everyone with a link to one of the sweetest drumline cadences ever. (All older folks: Click on the underlined "drumline" words which will take you to the site).

Person of the Week: Uncle John, for being the man and not rubbing in the fact that he would dominate me in hand squeezing contests 10 years ago.

Post # 43

2007-10-11T10:06:00.000-04:00

There comes a time in every man's life, when he has to decide if he does, or does not, look good with a mustache. Many great men in history have pulled it off (most notably Joseph Stalin and Adam Morrison), and I must decide if I will step into that elite club. Decision pending...

In other news, I have recently (in the past few months) gone on a spending spree. Almost immediately after moving into The Mill, and right before classes started, my computer crashed (pretty much an explosion and I saved two kittens, ladies take note). I got my new roommate to buy parts for me and he built me an entirely new computer (very fast). Then, the expected rent + electricity fees, along with books for the semester came. And after all that, I decided to invest in a 42" plasma t.v.. Then came the long anticipated release of the babe-magnet game Halo 3 (of which I bought the legendary edition). I have decided that I am spending too much, and am taking a break...unless of course a drought in (terms of babes coming over) resorts me to buying another video game.

Speaking of Halo 3, I am currently a Major in the Spartan Officer ranks. I am also a level 42. There is a very good chance that I will be going to the first MLG (major league gaming (some argue its 'geeks' instead of 'gaming' but it's not I promise)) tournament.

My roommates at The Mill are pretty cool. In order to describe them I have decided to use one-word sentences. We will start alphabetically, so as not to play favorites:

Aaron: Favorite. Short. Goat-e. Redskins. Loud. Alwaysupsetatsomeprofessor. Hairy.

Ben: Tall. Not. As. Tall. As. Me. Movies. Warcraft. Cute*. Ultra.

Barry: Asia. UREC. Nerd. Beefy. Sugar. Spice. Player.

*kind of

I would like to take this time to pay tribute to a lost family member. Frances Harriet Weaver, our first family pet in Harrisonburg, has passed. My dad and I found her in her dog house, one sad August morning. She never really made much of a name for herself, or for runt basset hounds, and I actually once considered her one of the most annoying pets of all time, but nonetheless, she will be missed (good news for Bartok though, he gets to be inside now. Congratulations buddy, we were all pulling for you). Frances Harriet Weaver - October 24, 1993 - August 10, 2007.

Can someone tell me what the deal is with me and Outback employee bathrooms/me and Outback important people? Some may remember the story of me getting walked in on in the bathroom one day, and others may remember the story of me using the wrong lettuce while demonstrating (to all the Outback proprietors in the region mind you) how to make a caesar salad. Well, this one might top both of them. So the VP of OSI (Outback Steakhouse Incorporated), decides to come to our Outback. A few days before Reggie (my boss), gets in new shirts for the line guys (so we all look uniform etc...) Unfortunately for me, I didn't work the two days prior to him coming, so I didn't get my shirt until the day of. When I arrived, the VP was already there, so I shake his hand, introduce myself, then go to the bathroom to change. Of COURSE it's the one day I forget to lock the door and of COURSE the ONE GUY to walk in is the VP. There is no comedy there, only fear. In all of a second he saw me half naked with a deer in the headlights look. It's a good thing I had brought a change of underwear...

The Braves missed the playoffs, but the Redskins are 3-1, and won their last game 34-3. I smell a dynasty.

Governor Mike Huckabee, of Arkansas, has shot up to my #2 spot for Republican candidates (still behind Mitt Romney). In the most recent Republican debate, he discussed eliminating the income tax, while raising taxes on consumer goods and other stuff (more like sales taxes). If this happens, people earning income illegally (namely drug dealers, prostitutes/pimps, and illegal immigrants) will finally be paying taxes. Another issue that is hot in my head right now is spending. Both spending on the private level, and on the government level are out of control. We are spending money we don't have, and are outsourcing jobs to other countries, so we can't make any money to pay off the money that we don't have. For instance we need to say "No PETA, we are not going to spend millions of dollars building little animal bridges to go over interstates". They should understand that soon enough, natural selection will take care of all the animal genes that tell them "hey, i think i wanna walk in front of the fast moving vehicle, just to see what happens". Then we won't have that problem anymore. Either way, we will have an economic crisis if we don't get spending under control.

Finally, I want to add a quote that my friend, Bob, found. It talks about education, and was written by one of the most brilliant men in human history:

"What I want to fix your attention on is the vast overall movement towards the discrediting, and finally the elimination, of every kind of human excellence -- moral, cultural, social or intellectual. And is it not pretty to notice how 'democracy' (in the incantatory sense) is now doing for us the work that was once done by the most ancient dictatorships, and by the same methods? The basic proposal of the new education is to be that dunces and idlers must not be made to feel inferior to intelligent and industrious pupils. That would be 'undemocratic.' Children who are fit to proceed may be artificially kept back, because the others would get a trauma by being left behind. The bright pupil thus remains democratically fettered to his own age group throughout his school career, and a boy who would be capable of tackling Aeschylus or Dante sits listening to his coeval's [of the same age] attempts to spell out A CAT SAT ON A MAT. We may reasonably hope for the virtual abolition of education when 'I'm as good as you' has fully had its way. All incentives to learn and all penalties for not learning will vanish. The few who might want to learn will be prevented; who are they to overtop their fellows? And anyway, the teachers -- or should I say nurses? -- will be far too busy reassuring the dunces and patting them on the back to waste any time on real teaching. We shall no longer have to plan and toil to spread imperturbable conceit and incurable ignorance among men." - C.S. Lewis

Person of the Week - Ellie Weaver: she is an adult. She did the same thing I did, only two years later (not to take anything away from you Ellie, some just go at their own pace)

Post # 42 - Two and a half months later...

2007-07-23T13:14:00.000-04:00

I just flew in from Florida yesterday, and boy are my arms tired! Actually I drove home (14 hours) after celebrating my 20th birthday with the brother who shares the same day with me (Josiah turned 21). I drove down last Wednesday, which was the 18th, and which also turned out to be a memorable 'last day' of being a young and immature teenager. I will give you a minute-by-minute description of the entire day:

July 18th

3:03 A.M. - I go to sleep after foolishly going out and hanging out with some Outback people before packing. Thought running through my head: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

7:35 A.M. - My cell phone alarm goes off and I stumble out of the top bunk, take Bartok out, then try and figure out why I put brown socks in my 'pile to be packed' pile. After working 9 consecutive days at Outback, and after getting little amounts of sleep, and after realizing I have to be in central Florida that evening, there was only one thought running through my head. Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo Mike Echo.

8:08 A.M. - Peace out Harrisonburg, next time you see me, I will still be under age.

10:36 A.M. - I got lost in Richmond on my way to picking up Bob, ended up getting on some random toll road, and was moderately perturbed because all the time I saved by averaging 90 mph on the interstate was lost. Inefficiency sucks. I then have to tell Bob I left his stuff in Harrisonburg...haha right?

11:32 A.M. - We are nearing the North Carolina border and my gas light is on, so we stop at a gas station where there are 8 people buying lottery tickets, and I cannot understand any of the words coming out of their mouths. After filling up, I pay at the register with my credit card...it would be the last payment with that card.

12:13 P.M. - We are in North Carolina, and we want to make a quick Chick-fil-a stop so as not to lose valuable time. 30 minutes later, after finally finding the place, and after ordering 18 dollars worth of food, we are back on the road.

4:05 P.M. - We stop for gas somewhere near the South Carolina/Georgia border. Gasp! Where is James' credit card? Nobody knows...we may never know. The status of the card was, and is, MIA (although probably KIA but you know how politics go). Thought running through my head: Woooooooow.

6:13 P.M. - Somewhere in Georgia, I get pulled over. Passing a cop and then seeing him pull out of his hiding spot in your rear-view mirror gives you the same feeling as someone walking in through your supposedly-locked door while you are wearing nothing but shoes and a cape (...nothing). Apparently I was going 87 in a 70, and even after telling him it was my birthday, he still took my license and registration. I got somewhat lucky, because 87 mph was actually slower than what I was usually going. THEN, after chilling in his car for 5 hours, he comes up to the window and asks me to step out of the car. Talk about needing a change of underwear. Anyway he gives me a ticket and tells me to have a nice day and slow down. I thought to myself 'it could always be worse, I could be on fire'. Either way, that sent me into a silent rant into the things I would do in response to this. I first thought of asking for a presidential pardon as a late birthday present from Mr. Bush but...I decided it was foolish. I will pay my fee, using donations to the James Got Pulled Over Because He's An Idiot And He's Poor Fund Association, which is more widely known as J.G.P.O.B.H.A.I.H.P.F.A.. I also plan on making a top 10 favorite states list sometime soon, on which Georgia (which previously had a decent shot of making it) will be automatically disqualified. All because of one unmerciful and uncompassionate Georgia State Trooper. What happened to you Georgia... you used to be cool.

10:00 P.M. - We arrive in Daytona Beach. Thought running through my head: Boy my butt is sore (no innuendo intended folks let's keep this clean).

11:59 P.M. - We are all in a bar where everyone is of age, everyone but Bob and I. So when the clock struck midnight, I was still under age, and for me at least, it was extremely uneventful.

Well, those teenage days of ineptitude and irresponsibility are over. I am now in my twenties, and must try to be mature... but let's be honest, that's not going to happen. Florida was awesome though, and yes, I got sunburned. I mean, who can't have a good time with Jeremiah, Josiah, Jenny, James, and Robert the Ghee?

List of things that happened since May 5, 2007:

- I almost left Outback, but then I didn't (that story seemed a little bland...whatever)
- I had a girlfriend
- I got an A in that history class
- Ellie graduated, and Joy turned 16 (still illegal)
- I decided I want to go to Belgium to study abroad in Fall '08 (still in preliminary stages of figuring out if I can)
- Bungie sets the release date of Halo 3 (September 25, 2007) FINISH THE FIGHT baby!
- I made a fool out of myself in front of all proprietors and kitchen managers in the Northern-Virginia Outback region, after botching a caesar salad. Possibly one of the most embarassing moments of my life, along with getting hit in the face with a baseball while pitching (not a ball that was batted, a ball that was gently thrown to me by the catcher after a pitched ball...I mean...how do you miss that?).

So guys, Rhode Island...neither a road nor an island...think about it (I've been thinking about it for a while, thanks Jeremy).

Person of the Week: Tara McFarland, for being the first person to wish me Happy Birthday via facebook, ON my birthday.

Post # 41

2007-05-05T14:53:00.001-04:00

Welcome Summer 2007. Classes are over, and exam week is over. Today is graduation day (not mine), and amazingly I've had Friday and Saturday night off from work. I found out yesterday that after 4 tests during the year in GMUS not getting above an 81, I got an A on the final, which raised my average to a B. I'm sure I could've done a lot better in that class, but only 67% of the blame goes to me. 33% goes to my professor, who had no attendance policy. I took full "advantage" of that, and only went to class on test days...it showed. The other class I was taking, GHIST 102, was probably one of my favorite classes in college. My professor concentrated on European history in college and graduate school, and it was an awesome class. Talking about the Enlightenment, colonization, WWI, WWII, and all the global contexts these were in was awesome. She was a hard teacher and a tough grader, but I loved the class. I'll get either a low A or a high B in that class, depending on how my final went.

Today is one of my favorite days of the year. No, not because it's cinqo de mayo. Surprisingly enough, I have no Mexican blood in me. Mark Mendez cannot say the same. However, it IS the day of the KENTUCKY DERBY, where the gates will open at 4:30, and the "most exciting 2 minutes in sports" will commence. For those of you who do not know, the Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown, with the Preakness stakes and the Belmont being the final two. Last year, Barbaro won the race by an incredible 6.5 lengths, and was seen by many (including myself) to win the triple crown. Unfortunately in the Preakness, his leg was shattered (I claim it was done unintentionally by the horse "Brother Derek", and replay of the incident all but confirms this), and all hopes for a Triple Crown were shattered along with it. Barbaro was later euthanized after an inspiring fight for survival. This year, there are no heavy favorites in the race, and the field is wide open. Oh, and Queen Elizabteh II will be there (hot!).

One of the biggest fights in boxing is also tonight. Oscar De La Hoya is taking on Floyd Mayweather, in what could possibly be the last big fight the floundering sport will ever see.

Things are looking good for Mitt Romney. He was tagged the "winner" of the first Republican debate. I don't feel as though Giuliani is conservative enough socially to win the republican nod, and McCain has had some public image gaffs (although ridiculously minute and shouldn't determine ones eligibility to be president) which has led to drops in polls. With the Democrats, it will be a Clinton-Obama ticket, one way or the other. I know I keep changing my opinions on these things, but I'm just playing it by ear with what I hear and see in the news.

I am living in the clubhouse now, and will be living here for the summer. I bought a new couch for it yesterday, and the place is now a pretty sweet chill-pad. Babes are welcome anytime, since it is only 75% male in here right now (Bartok is here).

Ok so I'm gonna try and get good at golfing this summer. I went with Bob and Josh a few days ago, and it was not spectacular. It was a 9-hole all par-3 course, and I led all scorers shooting 18+ (yes, 18 shots over the alloted 27 (9x3=27)). And no, that was not a typo, I LED all scorers, beating Josh and Bob by 9 strokes (they both shot 27+). It is a good feeling when you are averaging a double-bogey per hole and you still win by 9 strokes. I mean there is absolutely atrocious (dictionary.com defined as "shockingly bad"), which is about the level I was playing, and then there is Bob and Josh. It's funny to see a shot that is supposed to be about 10 yards, go 60 yards and onto the next hole's green where there is an old man putting. What do you say to that guy?

Because it's summer, it means it is "purposefully invite people (namely babes) over to your house and make sure you are not wearing a shirt when they arrive so they get an accidental peak at your sculpted manly frame" season. I will not be participating this year, because I only weigh 160 pounds. However, I might be able to show off how not tan I am.

So...Carmen Sandiego...anyone seen her?

Person of the Week: Josiah Weaver - For succesfully implementing at least 100 exclamation points in every conversation via instant messenger.

Post # 40 - A Tribute to the Hokies

2007-04-18T13:12:00.000-04:00

In response to the tragic events that transpired two days ago, Monday, April 16, 2007, I have decided to dedicate this post to those whose lives were ended. A lone gunman went on a rampage on the Virginia Tech campus, and killed 33 people, including himself. This is the largest campus shooting spree in United States history. Although there was one shooter, I cannot help but feel that we as a society must take partial responsibility for what happened. The shooter was a troubled individual, who had little or no friends, and was obviously in a deranged mindset. No one reached out to him. No one invited him to eat with them at their lunch table. We get caught up in our own lives we forget to look around and see that people are hurting. Unfortunately, this man thought he had no other way out of his depression than mass-murder/suicide. I am not offering an excuse for what he did. What he did was cowardly and animalistic in nature. Anyone who chains the doors of a building whose sole purpose is for academic instruction and educational integrity, and shoots innocent and unarmed civilians, and afterwards takes his own life in order to not face the consequences, is a coward. However, it just seems like no one would help him, no one would love him, no one would listen. So, he made people listen.

Many of you may recognize this quote from one of C.S. Lewis' novels, which I have had on my AIM profile for some time now. The setting is a human, who has traveled to an inhabited planet, where evil is non-existent. The human, whose name is Ransom, is explaining to a creature (called a Sorn), why people on his world murder, why they betray, why they steal... The Sorn cannot comprehend humanistic actions, and after asking if Ransom is telling the truth, Ransom responds. The quote is ""Yes", he said dully to the Sorn, "That is my world". It was the bleakest moment in all his travels".

One of my best friends, Rob, in his last sermon before leaving for Texas gave a piece of advice I have written on the inside page of my Bible: "You have something to offer a hurting world". We can rise up from the ashes of this tragic event. Intrastate collegiate rivalries have been cast aside already, and Cavaliers and Dukes alike have poured out support for our battered and bruised Hokie friends. I felt a little apprehension going to class today, seeing as this event was so close to home, and could just as easily have happened here. However, we as college students, as young members of a civilized society must reverse our roles of "leaders of tomorrow", and become "leaders of today". We need to show others that we can rise above this, and show that even though others may cause us unimaginable pain, we can move forward. Our greatest tribute to those fallen, is to persevere, and to make this world a better place than it was yesterday. We cannot be afraid. We cannot back down. We MUST offer the gifts we have been given to be used for the greater good of the great society we live in. Every one of us has something to offer a hurting world; let us give generously, and never hold back. HOKIE HOKIE HOKIE HI!

Post # 39 - The ending of Blog Year 2 "The Pioneer"

2007-04-10T15:22:00.001-04:00

The year of the pioneer is at an end. I have decided to name this past blog year "The Pioneer", due to the many new things and changes that have happened. I am living in my first house not owned by my parents (TOOLBOX). With this comes paying rent and utilities, all on my own...something new. I also got a job again at Outback. My dad lost his job, and got a new one. I changed my major to business - more on that later. I grew a mustache. One of my best friends moved away (Rob). And I totally locked lips with a few babes. These occurences have changed and molded me into a new sense of adulthood and maturity, a phase of life which is exciting and worth exploring. Thus the aptly named title of "The Pioneer".

Yes, I have officially changed my major to business. Right now I have a declared concentration in marketing, but that could very easily change to Management or CIS (computer information systems). I was bored with not only my religion courses, but with school as a whole, and saw no future in my life in that area. With a degree in religion, there is a very small job market, and the main route for continued success in that area is graduate school......I refuse. SO, since I registered for classes yesterday, we will see how I like my new business classes...and boy am I excited.

*In the Headlines*

Radio talk show host Don Imus has recently come under an incredible amount of scrutiny for comments he made towards the Rutgers women's basketball team. There has been a media-induced public outcry for his firing, even though CBS has given him a 2-week suspension. His exact words referring to the members of the team were "nappy-headed hos". First of all, out of my own ignorance apparently, I don't even know why that particular statement is racist. Secondly, it has been taken out of context, since his radio show is known for being off-color (no pun intended) and politically incorrect. His show thrives on living on the edge of what should and shouldn't be said. This comment was made in an attempt at satire, not in a malicious way. Thirdly, he has apologized profusely many times, admitting he made a mistake, and insisting that it was done without malicious intent. Of course because the media blew this particular story up Al Sharpton had to get involved. Imus made an appearance on Sharpton's show and apologized again, admitted his mistake, and the two men were fairly respectful to each other. I was listening to NPR on my way home from Chick-fil-A, and a black woman called in to state her opinion on the matter. She said (paraphrased) "I listen to him every morning, and what he said didn't offend me as a black woman.", she was insistent on the fact that she understood it was satire, and she doesn't know what all the hullabaloo is about. Of course, she isn't a member of the Rutgers women's basketball team...and unfortunately, because of this blowing up of the story by the media (those stations that don't give this particular story a lot of air time will probably be thought of as racist), the 2007 Rutgers women's baskebtall team will be remembered for this incident, and not for their remarkable run to the championship game. I encourage everyone to listen to Don Imus's words themselves, in context, and decide for yourself. THEN, I encourage you to listen to your own words and jokes, as well as those around you, and see how many of them are "racially insensitive".

Basically I get frustrated with these kinds of things. What frustrates me is that I have no predjudices against who I am friends with based on the color of their skin. Skin is skin is skin. I personally don't hold anything against or withhold anything from anyone solely based on skin color. I am color blind in that sense. However, it is hard for me to reconcile my own feelings, with that of societies. I understand that african-americans have been oppressed for a majority of our nation's history. However, I feel a lot of the times that I, and other people like me, are the ones being punished for the sins of our fathers. Why should it be harder for me to get into a college when I worked just as hard as the guy next to me, who happens to be black. I had no say in the conditions of the country before I was born, yet I am the one being held back because of it. What if in the NFL there had to be an equal proportion of black to white athletes playing. Can you name three white wide receivers? I can name Drew Bennett, Matt Jones, and Ed McCaffrey. Ever heard of those guys? A rule proportioning out the NFL by race would be RIDICULOUS. What about the NBA? Can you name 3 white NBA starters? What if there was an affirmative action organization for white atheletes. Obviously they would be deemed racist, and I personally would also think they would be RIDICULOUS. I want to see the best athletes at their best positions, regardless of their color. Why should it be different for college, or even the workplace. I want to see the best students at the best places for them, in accordance to what they have done and what they are capable of doing. There are different ways of addressing social inequality in our country. Better funding for inner-city schools, racial awareness for primary schools, and even harsher criticism on today's hip-hop industry. Do not punish the innocent.

In my opinion I think Rudy Giuliani will win the Republican nomination for the 2008 election. I also think he will tag Romney as his vp...in light of John McCain's recent botched trip to Iraq. Stupid things like that always cost politicians critical political capital. John Kerry anyone?

BASEBALL IS FINALLY HERE. Oh my goodness I am so glad baseball is here. There is a game every day, and the season is long. It is awesome. Oh and on a side note, the Braves are atop their division at 5-1. WOOT.

I am training on Sautee tonight at Outback. This means I will be getting a raise. Fantastic. Also, I worked 54 hours last week. 9 of those hours were of the clock, because I was power-washing the porch, sidewalks, and dumpster area at Outback for a pre-determined price.

Things are underway for CHINA 2008. That's right, Barry and I, and perhaps some others will be traveling to China in August 2008 for a trip to the Olympics. Planning and saving is currently underway.

The Halo 3 Beta version will be released May 16, 2007.

Person of the Week: Geoff Skelley for getting a 360 and XBOX live. Ladies, this guy is a diamond in the rough. I still think his gamertag should've been "Darth Vaden", in honor of his middle name. However, it is "GeoffreyVS". Not intimidating to say the least.

Post # 38

2007-03-03T14:10:00.000-05:00

Real time balance of checking account: $8.64

I realize I haven't posted in a while, so I figured the Saturday that Spring break starts would be an excellent time to update everyone again. As many of you know, my dad got laid off from his job(he has since gotten a new job dealing with sales, and starts training on Monday...goooo DAD). Because of that, many things have changed. Because money was going to be scarce, I picked up more shifts at Outback, and am currently working 40 hour weeks. I have also dropped all but two classes to keep up with working as well as with family stuff...AND I am planning on changing my major. I realized that, although I enjoy learning about things relating to religion and history (and more can be learned from those two areas than most others...Cole and I actually had a pretty sweet conversation about sin and grace), I am thinking about taking a more practical route, and changing my major to what I originally wanted it to be: business. This will probably add an extra semester to my college time here at JMU...but whatevs, it should be fun.

In other newsmy prediction about the Colts winning the superbowl came to a reality last February. Of course now that they won everyone is talking about how good they are, and how they might win it next year etc... Let it be known that before the playoffs, I heard of NO ONE picking the Colts to win it all (including ESPN analysts and other experts). On the contrary, many thought the Colts would lose in the first round, and definitely in the second.

As of Wednesday, I have walked across campus with my fly down five times since first semester freshman year.

MARCHSTACHE is upon us! Ladies and gentlemen the month we have all been waiting for has arrived. For those of you who do not know of this sacred time of year, Marchstache (a clever comnbination of "March" and "mustache") is a time where you go as deep into the month as possible without shaving your mustache...only the bravest souls make it to April. I actually only know of one other person that is doing it for sure with me, and that is my good friend and room neighbor, Jeremy Sheppard. Perhaps an Adam Morrison-esque mustache is ahievable. I understand picking up babes will be difficult and arduous during this time, but this only furthers my resolve.

Speaking of hair, I have not received a haircut since last August. Yes, it is in fact ridiculous. The time is coming I'm afraid, for the cutting of the mane.

This post has been moderately hard to write, because of a few band-aids I have on my right pinky. I fileted it open a few nights ago at Outback, and I keep hitting every key near the 'shift' key in my attempts to capitalize numbers. Other injuries include a sweet burn mark an inch and a half long on my left arm that makes me look tough, in a not so tough kind of way...few can pull it off.

There is a good chance that I am still growing taller, and I am nearing the landmark 6'4" mark. Yao Ming, watch out.

In political news, Barack Obama has all but confirmed he is running for president, and the democrats are at it again (putting out around 10 candidates in the primaries and expecting to win the presidency with a split party). Then again, the republicans are doing the same thing, with the front runners being Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. I recently heard an interview of former General Wesley Clark, and he is a very impressive speaker. Although he and I disagree on a variety of issues, he is a good man and is a good leader. He wants to run as a democrat, but there is no chance he would win the nomination...although if he did it might be hard for the American people to not vote for a general during these times...

In a few weeks I will be traveling, along with Jeremiah and Josiah, to CALIFORNIA. We are visiting Josh and Erica, who are living very near the coast...Maybe I will like it so much I'll stay.

Speaking of dogs, Bartok was recently kicked out of the house for financial reasons, and he is now living at the TOOLBOX. He gets more chicks than I do. And yes, he is still black (although he is growing a white-ish beard now...getting him Just for Men is out of the question with my current bank balance)

I recently bought an XBOX 360. There is a minute possibility that this was financially a bad decision, considering the 400+ dollars for that, along with the 300+ dollars for rent has taken my account to single digits. I am also playing guitar now (at a very beginner level) with a guitar Jeremy has let me borrow. What a dude (why is that man SINGLE). We also got extended cable (including movie channels), as well as HD and HD channels. Discovery channel in HD...incredible.

300 the movie comes out next week...so excited.

Bob and Cole's birthday are next week.

Person of the Week: Jeremy Sheppard - For participating in Marchstache with me, for letting me use his guitar, and for getting up at 6:30 to go to bible study with me, even if it was only once.

Post # 37

2007-01-06T12:49:00.000-05:00

GOOD MORNING 2007! This is my first post of the new year ladies and gentlemen, and boy am I excited! Here is a list of things that didn't happen in 2006 that might happen in 2007:
- The Redskins will have a winning season
- The Braves will have a winning season
- JMU will not lose in the first round of the playoffs
- James will read more than 4 books
- James will get sick
- The war in Iraq will be over
- The war with North Korea will begin
- The war with Iran will begin
- Osama will at last be caught
- The media won't have a liberal bias
- Good candidates will announce their decisions to run for president
- James will grow a mustache
- No one will make fun of George Bush's speaking difficulties
- The Rapture
- James will have more than 20 dollars to his name

There are definitely other possibilities that no one can possibly predict. For instance who could've thought that there would be doping allegations at the tour de France? Who could've predicted a Republican downfall in the November elections after a popular war? And who could've predicted that Mario Williams turned out to be the best #1 pick in the NFL draft in decades, and that the Houston Texans are geniuses and that fact shows in their yearly performance? Well, I have some bold predictions for this year myself:
- The Colts will meet the Giants in the Super Bowl
- There will be a bad hurricane season (looking more like 2005 than 2006)
- Republicans will not regain the house or the senate
- George Bush will be president
- We will be praised by all countries in the Middle East for leading a war on an Islamic country, and for supporting our only true ally in the region in Israel (which happens to be the only Jewish nation in the area, and is soveriegn by controversial means)
- We will finally invade the right country and take over Canada
- James will receive complaints for his calendar he got from Bob for Christmas
- James will finally wash this dang spaghetti plate that has been sitting on his desk for 3 weeks, and will also figure out what to do with that garter

2006 was a big year for me personally, and included the following important events:
- two trips to Mississippi
- returning to Outback
- a summer internship with First Pres., which included trips to Tennessee (leading a middle school trip), Myrtle Beach (leading a high school trip), Pennsylvania (missions conference), and Kings Dominion
- I turned 19
- I also traveled to Pennsylvania on two other occassions for a camping trip and for a family reunion
- tore a ligament in my thumb (did not affect long term Halo-playing abilities)
- finished Freshman year of college and began Sophomore year
- a girl
- I read the books Ender's Game, Out of the Silent Planet, The Historian, and started the fourth Halo book
- Rob left
- TOOLBOX
- grew out my hair (on the head not the face)
- Bartok stayed black

Well it's time to review a few of the happenings in the past few weeks. I was sitting in my church when 2007 came. I went downtown expecting fireworks, because I love fireworks, and what city doesn't have fireworks on for New Years? Harrisonburg did not. I found this out about 5 minutes before midnight, and the next best thing to fireworks is church. I was sitting next to some hot babes at mignight, namely Sarah Cupp and Tara McFarland (and later Nicole Budzius), and then spent the next hour or so at the service. This was followed by dd'ing for people at various parties.

Christmas was different this year. It was the first Christmas the Weaver family spent, without the entire Weaver family. Josh and Erica, who recently moved to California, were unable to join us. Other than that it was awesome. We even did our tradition of going to see a movie, and we saw Pursuit of Happyness, with Will Smith. Well, Will Smith was in the movie, not with us. Josh and Erica were the people I was secret Santa for, and I got them Red Oddball team t-shirts. For those of you who do not know what Oddball is, you probably cannot afford it.

Summary of exams - Nothing short of mediocrity.

Person of the week - My Dad - for being the man.

Post # 36

2006-11-27T12:40:00.000-05:00

So much has happened in recent weeks and I am overdue for an update. Thanksgiving has come and gone, and boy was it awesome. My mom cooked an awesome meal of turkey, ham, green bean casserole, mashed potatos and gravy, fruit salad, peas, a shrimp platter, sweet potato pie (which was actually courtesy of my sister-in-law), rolls, apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and cranberry punch! Our Muslim friends, Tamr and Yousef, also came over to enjoy the food as weell. As is tradition, we took our Christmas card pictures on the front steps before we ate. My mom generally makes us do something unusual, and this year was no different. She bought all of us reindeer antlers, with absolutely no aesthetics about them. They also played Christmas carols at the touch of a button in a cell-phone-type way, and when you get nine of those playing at the same time, with all of them playing different things....it can be quite overwhelming. Anyway we got through the pictures, and those who had complained about the antlers (everyone) eventually subsided into quiet submission, and humbly accepted their fate. All of my brothers were in town (Joe from Florida, Jeremiah from Oklahomo, and Josh from California. That's right, Josh moved to California between this and the last post because Drexel University dropped his major. They have since reinstated it.)

My trip to Oklahoma:

A couple of weeks ago my dad and I flew from Dulles to Dallas (my first time in Texas), and then from Dallas to Oklahoma. Both Josh and Joe met us there. We were obviously visiting Jeremiah. We went down for a weekend and got to see a Sooners football game. We cheated our way down to the student section and it was loud. This is my second Sooners game, and the stadium is still huge. Throughout the game my vocabulary of vulgar things to say, which is never used, was vastly expanded. There are certain objects, and phrases about those objects, that should never be mentioned in the same sentence as other delicate body parts. That is about as classy as I can put it. The game was pretty much the highlight of the trip. Also, Oklahoma is flat.

Election Day: (The tune of "It's the End of the World as We Know It" should be played here)

Well I got to vote in my first national election on November 7th. Republicans lost control (expectedly) of the House of Representatives, and lost control (UNexpectedly) of the Senate. Of course it came down to Virginia's senate race between George Allen and Jim Webb. It was such a close race, and Jim Webb, the eventual winner (...I know...how?....HOW?!?!) eked out a victory by a few thousand votes. This gave the democrats a majority in the Senate 51-49. This election also puts Nancy Pelosi (the new Speaker of the House), second in line for the Presidency. That is correct, Nancy Pelosi could be our PRESIDENT. She reminds me of a lady down the street growing up who would always yell at us whenever we walked on her lawn. Uptight, stingy, and aiming to point the direction of the country in a new (not a bad thing) direction (her way would be). Aside from Pelosi, domestic issues as a whole will now be threatened. No one voted on domestic issues because we are the American public and we have no balls. Our public opinion shifts constantly, like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. Unfortunately, public opinion on election day decides the direction of our country. People on November 7th voted on one thing, the unpopular war in Iraq. NEWSFLASH: most wars throughout history are lost because floundering public opinion. Everyone KNOWS that war is a bad thing. It sucks. Sometimes though, things need to be done. After WWII, we occupied Japan for seven years. We fought Japan for four years, so that brings the total time of war+occupation to ELEVEN years! We have been in Iraq since 2003, you dp the math. The Japanese people HATED us. We nuked them! We were the imperialists of the West. Sound familiar? Troop occupation is needed because of the instability of a country after a war and an upheaval of government. Look at Japan today. They are leading innovaters in cars and technology. How many of you own a SONY Playstation? a Honda? Toyota? Mitsubishi? My point is, Japan is a leading contributor in todays society. If we were to pull out now, it could have devastating consequences.
Anyway, there are other domestic issues that were not part of a voters decision. Raising the minimum wage...sounds good right? WRONG. It is a quick-fix with long-lasting ill effects to an unsolvable problem in a capitalist society (class separation). Basically, it will hurt employers, increasing labor costs by about 30% across the board. This will in turn stifle our economy, eventually leading to inflation and the weakening of the American dollar in foreign markets. Sounds drastic and unrealistic, but hey, you heard it here first. Other important issues include abortion, and same-sex marriage. The argument goes "Why shouldn't two consenting adults who love each other be allowed to marry?". Well, why can I not marry two women? Why can I not marry TEN women? Why can I not marry a goat? Why can I not marry my grandmother? I'm not hurting anybody. It should be my right to do whatever I want as long as I'm not hurting anyone. "Well James, those are different cases and really don't pertain to the issue at hand." Wrong, these are completely relevant counter-examples, and should win the argument by themselves. I would go on, but politics can be boring, abrasive, and it gets people riled up. Basically, the election results have me concerned.

Ben Folds concert:

Bob, Barry, Joe Z., Rachel Brown, Erika, Josh Burnette and his friend Phillip, Cole, and I all traveled up to Maryland to see Ben Folds live. It was nothing short of amazing. I called my sister during some of my favorites so she could hear him too. Everything was going to plan until we got lost on the way back. We had gotten off the beltway for a bathroom break (this is like 1 in the morning), and to get some drinks so the drivers (Barry and I) would not fall asleep. Josh Burnette offered to ride shotgun in my car to help keep me awake. After getting lost trying to get back on the beltway, and after spending half an hour hoping we would blindly run into it, I called my brother in California to figure out where we were. We finally got back on the beltway, and got back home the fastest way possible from where we were. Josh courageously tried staying awake for second upon second, but fell asleep valiently after we got on the beltway. We finally got home at 5:30 in the morning.

There are only two weeks left of classes and I have 0 papers left to write and 0 tests to take. This of course does not include finals, but the point is, the end is in sight.

Every Wednesday for six weeks I went to my friend Laura's house, where a group of people sat and watched LOST. This show is in it's third season and it is intense. The fall part of season 3 is over, but in the Spring there will be 18 more episodes. I am excited. Since it is not on Wenesdays anymore, they have started watching the mini-series "Pride and Prejudice". I have yet to attend.

*Oklahoma update* - Still flat

JMU lost in their first round play-off game 35-31 on Saturday against Younstown State. This JMU team is actually better than the team that won the national championship two years ago, but we couldn't find a way to win... On a lighter note, Akeem Jordan, who went to my highschool and plays for JMU, and who I also played peewee football with (I was terrible), might be drafted in the NFL draft next year. HHS also lost in the playoffs, making it the second year in a row where I was present for their first loss of the season...coincidence?

The Cardinals won the World Series...

*Halo update* - The new Halo novel "Ghosts of Onyx" is out, and I of course have a copy. Bungie announced that the first Halo 3 commercial will be aired during Monday night football on December 4th, aka NEXT WEEK. Bungie will also be releasing more multiplayer maps for Halo2 in the Spring.

Person of the Week: Jon Betz and Joe Z. for getting owned by me in Halo 1, which we played in celebration of the 5th birthday of Halo on November 15.

Post # 35

2006-10-25T16:55:00.000-04:00

Fall is in full swing here in Harrisonburg. Today it didn't get above 50 degrees, which has been a general trend the last couple of days. Midterms have come and gone, and here are a few things I learned upon the return of my exams:

a) Timbuktu was in fact NOT the first capital of Israel
b) It actually is possible to lose 13 points (out of 100) on ONE part of a NINE-part question, on a SEVEN question test. The numbers just don't make sense, but that would figure since this happened in my MATH 220 class...
c) You do NOT get bonus points for making a professor laugh out loud because your answer was so ridiculous, or because you told a funny joke because you didn't know the answer

Despite my poor showing in some of my classes, I can still get an A in four of my five classes... I currently have a B in all of them but one, and that one class is Religion 201 (Old Testament). Where we have had two exams, both of them 50-question short answer...those tests are easy to tell jokes on, not so easy for having the right answer... Does anyone know the original name of the book of Numbers? I sure don't, and the answer is not "The hardest book to stay focused on the night before an exam", as my answer on the exam would suggest.

Anyway, I tend to be a forgetful person, which is why I put a dry erase board up in my room so I can have an easily-visible "to-do" list. Right now the things listed on it are:

- fill out IRS jam
- i'm mad at you!!! love ellie
- Hebrews 13:7
- note to self: stop getting owned by tests

The IRS thing is on there because apparently the IRS did not get an electronic verification signature from when I submitted my taxes online...meaning...well I don't really know what that means, but in short, I have to resend in a lot of forms in a hard copy form... even though they have my money

I'm really not sure why Ellie is mad at me. On a side note; I was reminded again of why we call her Ellie, instead of her given name, Jerusha. Last night my roomate attempted a sister-joke, and unintentionally called my sister Jeruka. That is incorrect.

The Hebrews verse is just so I don't forget it, and the other one should be self-explanatory.

Rob is long gone, and is now in Texas. His relationship with our church "officially dissolves" October 27th. I might actually be making up that number, but I think it says that somewhere in the contract.

Barry and I have been going to UREC regularly to sculpt our bodies for the upcoming Winter beach season. I really only go because UREC has a hot tub, and after a grueling workout, it's nice to be able to take off my shirt and head over to the hot tub, where there are many unsuspecting babes. The bad days are when the hot tub is more like a pickle jar...not a big fan. Also, we are out of the volleyball playoffs, I don't want to talk about it.

Mike and Julia are married! The wedding was awesome, even though the reception afterwards was mildly awkward, seeing as the only babes at the table had boyfriends, who were sitting next to them. Even the GUYS at the table without babes at their sides were not single. There just were not a lot of options for me. There was an open bar at the reception, and a highlight of the evening was when a waiter came over to pour someone a glass of wine, but he didn't know who he was supposed to pour it for. He guessed me, and I was the only underage person at the table. So, for two seconds I was the only person with an alcoholic beverage, until that sly Alec Sherman took it away from me. My brother Josh was my only sibling that was there. It would be his last day on the east coast, because the next morning he began his 4-day drive to California, where he will be living.

I learned a lot of things that day too. Firstly, I learned that after 19 years, no matter what I pick out to wear, my mother always says 'you're wearing that?!', and she then proceeds to pick out something else for me to wear. I tried really hard this time to get it right, but it was to no avail. That was also the same day she comes into my room (which is not at the same house she lives in mind you, meaning she had to come all the way to my house) at EIGHT O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING on a SATURDAY to ask me what I was going to wear in seven hours. Having only a few hours of sleep under my belt, I not-so-calmly let her know, that what I was wearing seven hours from now was not at the top of my to-do list, and referred her to my dry-erase board. Secondly, I learned that the thing a the groom throws to all the bachelors at the wedding used to be on the brides inner-thigh. Also, it is not a "girder" as some may have thought, it is called a "garter". No one caught it when Mike threw it because he has a terrible arm (I thought of diving, but somehow I knew that even though I was 19, my mom would yell at me for getting my clothes dirty), I did however pick it up, which means I'm supposed to get married now or something. It is currently sitting on my desk organizer in my room, and I have no idea what to do with it. Suggestions are welcome.

The Redskins are 2-5 and are going into their bye-week. I predict they will finish the season 9-7 and miss the playoffs. The Cardinals are currently beating the Tigers in the World Series 2-1, with game 4 being played tonight.

Politics update - Mark Warner has dropped out of presidential running in 2008, which is bad news for Democrats and good news for Republicans. He stood as the only obstacle between Republicans maintaining the presidency (at least as I see it right now). The Democrats need to get their act together as a party, and rally around a few people early, instead of 9 people in the primaries like they did in '04. With Warner out, I feel as though the Democrats best chance lies with Barack Obama. This is assuming of course he changes his mind and runs in '08, instead of holding off until he has experienced the senate a little more. He is from Illinois, and took office in the senate in 2005. His inexperience could cost him an election for the presidency, which is why he will probably stay out of this race. I am currently going to throw my early support behind a Republican governor from Massachusetts. His name is Mitt Romney, and even though right now he might not have the best chance of winning, I feel that when it comes closer to election time, voters want a fresh face that hasn't been "polluted" by Washington politics. A Romney-Giuliani ticket would be hard to vote against. My current forecast for the '08 election however is a Clinton-Warner ticket (I know Warner dropped out, but I still think Hillary can tag him as her VP) verses a McCain-Giuliani ticket.

My philosophy teacher told me an interesting story today. He said he was at a meeting with other professors, and they were asking how they could curb the underage drinking that is getting out of control at JMU. He said he proposed "a genuine idea with a sarcastic tone" that "maybe we should tell our students that it's wrong...". His co-workers retorted saying "we can't tell them how to live their lives!". He then thought to himself "well then... shut up...". I just thought it was an interesting story, you can take what you will from it.

Person of the Week: Mark Mendez - I beat him in a baseball game on the playstation with a two-out, bottom of the ninth, three-run homerun to win the game 13-12. I also love him.

Post # 34

2006-09-28T18:25:00.000-04:00

Wow. Math 220. That class is easy as pie... when you have a calculator. Unfortunately, mine (and by mine I mean Barry's) was unintentionally stolen from me by my homework partner yesterday. Today we had a pop quiz the class period before our first test. Brilliant Mr. Professor, brilliant. We didn't see it coming. Normally I would've finished the quiz in 5 minutes, but without the calculator, I spent 15 minutes on the first problem, trying to figure out why both x-bar AND y-bar kept equaling ZERO! Fortunately the professor got up and said, "some of you may be doing this wrong on the first problem....yadda yadda...". I was one of those people. Minutes later, after finally completing problem 1, which now that I look back is most likely incorrect, I had a line on a chart that was supposed to have a negative slope, but I got a positive value. I got a stern look from the professor when I made a small commotion bursting out laughing at my outrageous answer for the y-intercept. According to the chart, it was clearly supposed to be between 9-10. My answer was in the hundreds. I seriously had the giggle-fits, and stopped trying to take the quiz and turned it in 10 minutes after class had ended. I can only imagine my professors' reaction when he sees my complete lack of ability to complete the quiz. Fortunately, we get to drop two quiz grades, and I'm averaging a 93 on my other quizes (a 95 if you drop the next lowest). Upon leaving the building, it was raining, and there was no way I was going to walk to ISAT to my next class, so I just came home.

My other classes are going really well, and my American government class has motivated me to add a little politics to my blog.

Virginia Senate Race:

George Allen is facing re-election in the upcoming midterm elections. He is running against democratic challenger Jim Webb. This race is ridiculous, because Jim Webb has staged an amazing rise in the polls after a controversial racial remark about an Indian by George Allen. He called a man a "macaca" which is a derogatory term in India, referring to a genus of monkey (or something). He claims that he did not know the meaning of the term, and has issued several apologies. Democrats are waiting for an apology... Allen has also been accused of using the n-word while in college on several occassions. He claims this is untrue. Bob speaks for the rest of the general public when he states "UPDATE: Nobody gives a rat's ass". Webb has also drawn fire for politically insensitive actions as well. He wrote an essay while a professor at the Naval Academy about how women can't fight and how a co-ed dorm there was "a horny woman's dream". He also tried to draw negative attention to Allen's Jewish heritage. Allen responded with "How is that relevant to anything?". Well put Georgie. Basically, this race has completely devolved from who will best represent the state of Virginia, to who has done the least politically incorrect things in his respective liftime. Allen has also been under public scrutiny after the publishing of his sister's book, which describes Allen as being an aggressive and occasionally abusive sibling. Welcome to life as a younger sibling missy. I had THREE older brothers, and was always smaller than them growing up. They were all (mostly Jeremiah) aggressive AND abusive. I learned the banana split (a wrestling move) the hard way in a valiantly and poorly fought wrestling match. There is also still a child sized miniature cave-in of the wall where I was thrown into. My parents found out what caused it many years later. COME ON PEOPLE. Let's talk about issues. Let's talk about how they will vote on troops inIraq, the dispute between Afghanistan and Pakistan, long term energy solutions, and using excess government funds to pay for James' debt for school.

George Allen is still ahead in the polls by 4 percentage points. He needs to win this Virginia senate race, if he plans on running for president in 2008. Speaking of the presidential race in two years, we can all hope for two great candidates for the opening seat. The Democrats best chance would be to pit former Virginia governor Mark Warner, against whoever the Republicans throw at them. Democratic governors from southern states have faired well in presidential elections (Jimmy Carter - Georgia, Bill Clinton - Arkansas). A big no-no for Democrats would be Hillary Clinton (senator from New York). Not only would she be a terrible mistake as a country if she WERE to win, but she would stand no chance anyway. Republicans best chance would be a more moderate Republican, like Senator John McCain (Arizona), or former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani. McCain is old (72), and Giuliani, although popular, does not have much experience. George Allen would be an interesting match up against Mark Warner (both former Virginia governors).

Rob is leaving. Aside from my family, Rob has been the most influential person of the last 6 years of my life. Any mission trip I've been on (including trips for Katrina relief), have been because of him. I worked with him all summer as a paid intern with the church. He accepted a senior pastor postion from a church in Texas, and is leaving in a few weeks. I worry about my church now, because since Rob came, the youth group rose from a couple of kids to hundreds. He also was the impetus behind the 6:33, our church's contemporary worship service, which attracts a younger crowd. However, our church and many people have been bettered because of his time here.

ANYWAY, I had another bad public bathroom experience the other day while in Top Dog. Nobody is ever in that bathroom at 9 in the morning, because it is hidden. As soon as I opened the door I began singing the theme song from Gilligan's Island. I didn't know all the words, so it came out something like "Now this is a tale hmmm hmmmm.... with Gilligan! the skipper too...hmmmmm... and his wife..." I whistled parts of it too. After leaving the urinal, and washing my hands in the sink, I hear one of the stall toilets flush, and a young lad walks out smiling at me. I gave him the 'up-nod' and said "what's up". He did the same, there was an awkward silence, and I left.

*Facial hair update*

A few weeks ago I decided to give the beard a try. After two weeks, I had what I would describe as (and not to steal from Hollywood...maybe I will have excited them to make a sequel) "The Thin Red Line". It's gone now, and although it actually wasn't all THAT thin (it could probably grow pretty solid if I let it), I need to watch my public figure. If I'm going to continue being the babe-magnet that I currently am, I need to do what's best for my magnetism. Facial hair is out...for now.

I am on a sorority Co-Rec volleyball team. That's right, our name is Alpha Phi Omega. I'm proud of it too. We are undefeated.

For all of you who are dying to know about my halo skill, I am now a legit level 37.

For some reason, since last January, I have lost a lot of weight. You read that correctly, LOST. In January I weighed an astonishing 190 lbs. I am now hovering between 165 and 170. This may be because I've been going to UREC consistently and staying active. I am also only averaging 1.5 trips a week to dhall this semester, as opposed to last year's amazing 7 times a week. I can also bench press 70 pounds now! That's actually a lie, I can almost bench the bar though.

Ellie turned 13 yesterday. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay! You did it Ellie! You're finally a teenager! *Blogger Edit* Turns out she is actually 17 :/

Person of the Week - Josiah Weaver, for picking two NFC teams to go to the Super Bowl. Way to go Joe, we're all pulling for you.

Post # 33 - Remnants of Ernesto

2006-09-01T14:18:00.000-04:00

It's 58 degrees and there is a blustery rain outside, courtesy of former hurricane and former tropical storm Ernesto. Harley just pooped on the kitchen floor and I stepped in it. I also have class in 28 minutes. I figure I have enough time to squeeze out another mediocre blog post.

Bad feeling: Stepping in dog poop.
Worse feeling: Realizing it a room too late.

Classes are awesome so far. I dropped my world history class (which would have been focusing on the oppression of women in Latin American countries, instead of world history), and picked up a course on the new testament. That means I have a class on the new testament, a class on the old testament, an easy statistics class, a U.S. government class, and a general philosophy course. Two of those classes are prerequisites to the political science major, which I might end up switching to. I am currently a religion major, and I might end up double majoring. Who knows.

I am no longer bussing at outback. I will be moving back to the kitchen tomorrow. Woot. Actually I was on the schedule to bus yesterday at 6, and they didn't tell me they changed it until 7:30...yesterday. I didn't go in, and in spite of their error, kept the pager I stole from them that I was going to return last night. It is still sitting on my desk, efficiently not being used.

The Braves were winners of 4 straight, before losing to the Giants last night. John Smoltz pitched surprisingly terrible in the 8-6 loss. The Braves are only 4.5 games behind in the wild card.

This hurricane season has been surprisingly, and blessedly calmer than last season. This time last year Katrina had already struck the gulf coast and people were still being rescued. Katrina was the 11th storm of the season. Ernesto is only the fifth this season. He is also the only hurricane, and was only a hurricane for a few hours. (Tropical storms have winds of 39 mph - 73 mph, and hurricanes have winds of 74 mph+). However, the statistical peak of the hurricane season is September 10th, which is my brother's wedding anniversary, as well as Rob McClelland's birthday.

Well I have to go to class, and then to UREC so I will abruptly end this post.

Person of the week - Stephanie Tigue, for having a "French" name and because she was embarassed by Ms. Wiles. HAHAHAHAHA (my imitation of Stephanie laughing)

Post # 32 - End of Summer, Beginning of Class

2006-08-28T11:43:00.000-04:00

Well guys, I've done it. I've finally made another post. This summer was lacking in updates because of my busy schedule (interning, moving into the TOOLBOX). That's right, I am now an official member of the TOOLBOX (no it's not toolhouse or toolshed or lunchbox). I live upstairs with Jeremy, Joe, and finally Barry. If any of you knew what the toolbox looked like a few months ago... it now looks like a palace. The following projects have been completed since moving in August 1st.
- power washing the porch
- painting the porce twice (including the door and trim around the porch)
- lattice work around the porch
- cleaning of the bathroom (including scrubbing the tub, the floor, the tiles, the toilet)
- mudding the holes in the upstairs walls from ninja stars and knives, courtesy of the previous tenants
- priming and painting the stairwell
- painting the upstairs kitchen and hallway
- getting a new dining table and chairs
- moving the fridge and pantry to another room to make the kitchen bigger
- washing and staining the deck

This list does not include removing all of the junk that was littering hallways and closets and rooms. It also does not include the new sidewalk and walkway in front of our house that the city put in.

The other day at work I wore a purple shirt, jeans, a black belt, black shoes, and I have red hair. I looked good. And by good, I mean elegant. And by elegant I mean absolutely ridiculous. Wait...you have a job, James? Yes, I got a job at a new restaurant business. Some of you may have heard of it. It's called the "Outback Steakhouse". It's basically American food with an Australian theme. I don't want to talk about my job anymore.

Everyone is back in town and it is awesome. J-Crew is back, and we are looking to defend our title as intramural volleyball champions. Barry and I visited Logan Hall yesterday, where a lot of people from Gifford moved and saw a lot of people we hadn't seen in 4 months.

The Braves are many games under .500...

My Super Bowl pick this year is Washington vs. Indianapolis.

Today, I am a sophomore in college. I am so much older and mature than when I was when I started this blog. I was only 17 and a senior in highschool. A mere boy. I am now 19, a man. Actually I think the only thing that has changed would be my age, as well as attempts to grow facial hair.

Sorry about the short update, the next one will be sooner...and maybe, just maybe I will update my favorite movie list.

Person of the Week - Jeremy Sheppard, for successfully and unknowingly campaigning for, and winning, Princess of the TOOLBOX.

Post # 31

2006-07-18T15:17:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is my birthday. Tomorrow is the 19th of July. Tomorrow, I turn 19. Today, I will give the last blog update as an 18 year old.

These past few weeks have been fast-paced and entertaining. I have been working at the church basically every weekday that I have been in town. The following is a recap of the trips I've been on:

Pennsylvania camping - I went up to northern Pennsylvania with all my brothers, my dad, Joe's friend, Will, annnd Bob. I left the following evening so that I could be home in time to go to church the following morning. We ate unhealthy food, played unsafely with fireworks, and slept in a 6-person tent with 7 people and two dogs. Fantastic. A few days after returning from camping, some friends from Gifford came into town. Josh, Barry, and Joe stayed at my house, and Laura came to hang out with us too. We even had a chess tournament between the four games. Both of my games lasted no longer than 25 seconds (Good effort Joe and Josh).

Myrtle Beach F.I.T.S. - This was a senior high trip called "Fun in the Son" and it was tight. We stayed in villas (timeshares) near the Embassy Suites hotel, which is right on the beach. Being an intern at the church, I had to pay nothing for this. There was worship, tournaments, (including volleyball, which our church got second place in with one of our two teams. I was not on the team that got second, but my team (First Pres. 1) was better than our other team (First Pres. Pansies). We lost to the eventual champions in the quarters by 2 points, whereas our other team lost to them by 8 in the finals. Case Closed. ALSO, contrary to popular belief, you CANNOT block a serve.) small groups, and a lot of beach.

Pennsylvania Family Reunion - The day after returning from Myrtle Beach I went back up to Pennsylvania for the annual "Christmas in July" Weaver family reunion. This year there was a tribute to my granparents, who have been married 50+ years, and are great-grandparents. I come from a very competitive family, and we played games like volleyball (of which my team won all 4 games I played in) Egyptian Rat Screw (of which I won all 7 games I played), chess (I lost twice but won 6), Settlers of Catan (I accused Darien of using steroids, therefore disqualifying him and making myself the winner), ping-pong (only Phil beat me once, 21-19, but I beat him like 4 times), and hearts (I won). In all fairness though, I made sure to only play games that I knew I was good at. I didn't play Scrabble with cousin Tara (1600 SAT score) and Uncle Ken (the only guy I didn't beat at chess). Yes, they are ridiculous. Speaking of ridiculous, there were 5 people TALLER than me there. My dad, Jeremiah, cousin Darien, cousin Chris, and Uncle Fred are all taller than me. I'm almost 6'4". My uncle Mike wasn't there, that would've made 6... crazy

*Facial Hair Update*

A week before F.I.T.S. I, James Weaver, attempted to grow a mustache to impress all the highschoolers. Lesson Learned - I can't grow a mustache in a week. There was some pitifal facial debris there Sunday morning, but by Thursday, it got to be a little more respectable. And by respectable, I mean dirty. Immediately upon arrival home I shaved it off. Chicks don't dig mustaches. But hey, I tried my hardest and have no regrets. It would be hard choosing one word to describe this incredible attempt at immortality. Words like "charming" and "beautiful" and "stunning" however accurate they might be, don't quite capture the atmosphere. I think the word to best describe it would be "heroic".

* Bartok update *

Still Black.

As I mentioned before, my birthday is tomorrow. I will be going to Kings Dominion with the youth group. This trip isn't FOR my birthday, it just happened to be scheduled on my birthday. I will also be traveling to New Wilmington, Pennsylvania for a missions conference July 22-29.

The BRAVES have won 6 straight, have scored more runs this month than last month already, and are 5 runs out of the NL wild card race. WOOT.

Erin Kiley was the first to wish me a happy birthday.

My mom is in Ethiopia for a month teaching kids how to speak English.

Persons of the Week - Sarah Henderson and Sarah Cupp (my fellow youth interns), for being the 5th and 6th "Sarahs" added to my phone.

Post # 30

2006-06-27T16:37:00.000-04:00

I finally have time to sit down and write a blog post. So much has happened in the last month. Here is an overview of what has been going on:

- Thumb Injury - Apparently playing football with your pastor is a bad idea. While attending my church's annual picnic, I decided to play catch with my pastor and some other guys. The FIRST pass thrown I jumped to catch and it tipped off my hand. Unfortunately, my thumb was retarded and was thinking "hey, I think I'll try to go in the same direction of the football, instead of staying attached to James' hand". Unfortunately for me, this was a painful experience. Right after it happened I knew something bad had happened, and I seriously almost fainted right there. It swelled immediately, I went to the doctors office, had x-rays, and it was dtermined I had torn a ligament. They wanted to put me in a cast for 6 weeks but I would have none of it. I knew I would be busy and active this summer, so I asked them if they could do something else. They sent me to an occupational therapist who made a custom brace for me that I could take on and off at will. After 3 weeks of wearing this brace, I had a checkup and Dr. Chappel told me I could take it off every now and then. Well, after that visit, I hardly ever put it back on, which in all likelihood was a poor choice. While I was down in Mississippi, I was dunking on this short rim, and afterwards my thumb swelled and turned a dark-blue. Although I think blue looks good on me, somehow I knew it wasn't good. I took it easy on the thumb that week. It is now more than a month from my injury and it still hurts occasionally. Whatevs right?

- Horse Racing - So like 15 minutes after my last post, a nightmare in the horse racing world happened. Barbaro, who was thought by many (including myself) to break the 20+ year drought without a triple crown winner broke his leg after about 200 yards in the Preakness. I was so distraught and sat with my mouth open at the tv for a while. I was heart broken. I didn't even end up watching the Belmont Stakes.

- Mississippi - I went down to Mississippi for the fourth time since Katrina and it was sweet. I met a lot of new people from my church and a lot of cool people down in Mississippi. The things I accomplished included:
- cleaning up a lot and bleaching a house (took a day)
- putting up a ceiling (a project where I was the leader, took us three days)
- cleaning and scrubbing a guys house (half day project)
This trip was sweet because I got to talk to all the owners of the houses/lots we worked on and they were all interesting people. The first house had a guy named Bob who was, in a word, interesting. He was a deeply conservative Christian, disliking Americanized holidays such as Halloween and Easter. They were all tools of the devil. He was also a conspiricist, believing that pharmaceutical companies were out to kill people, among other things. He believed there was a group behind food packaging companies, drug companies, and even water companies that were out to kill us (something about chlorine in water, chemicals in food, and side effects creating a snowball effect of side effects and more medication). These people were out to kill like 5 billion people in the world. He was also into alternative medicines. He heard of a story of a guy that went to 5 different doctors because he had cancer. Chemo didn't work, or anything the doctors tried. He then went to an alternative doctor and was cured in 30 days... a miracle! Actually this guy was major sketch. I learned of this sketchiness when he showed me his sword/big knife and how he could do sweet ninja moves with it. He also let us try some alternative vitamin he had. Despite our differing viewpoints on how to be sane, Bob was a cool person.
Mrs. Connie Davis was the lady whose house needed a new ceiling. She was black and loved to talk to us. She bought us donuts every morning from Krispy Kreme. Her grandson couldn't figure out why there were people from Virginia working in their house for free during the summer.
I also got to lead worship for the first time while I was down there. Rob left halfway through the trip to go to the Presbyterian General Assembly in Birmingham, so Laura and I led worship each night. It was sweet.

- Tennessee - About a day after returning from Mississippi, we left on a middle school retreat to Tennessee. Middle schoolers are intense. I will now list things that are hilarious to a middle school guy:
- holding James' fingers while they slap him in the face
- jumping on James' back every five seconds
- playing the "hey you've got something on your shirt *hits James in the face*" game every 5 seconds
- farting during prayer

I will now list things that are in fact not hilarious:
- holding James' fingers while they slap him in the face
- jumping on James' back every five seconds
- playing the "hey you've got something on your shirt *hits James in the face*" game every 5 seconds
- farting during prayer (actually I'm still laughing about that)

Actually I had a blast at the trip. It was fun to wrestle around with the guys and beat them every time. The worship for the week was led by a band called "Six Days from Sunday". They did a really good job, and whenever we were not worshipping they were always hanging out with the kids, which was awesome. The speakers for the week were Jim Byrne and Ben Glenn. Jim was intense and blunt. He was good. Ben was funny, and was a chalk artist. He did five paintings for us. When you hear chalk art you think"oh...chalk...", but this guy was seriously incredible. The first one he did was probably one of the most amazing things I've seen in my life. He did it all so fast and had sweet music playing in the background while he did it. We played a lot of sweet games in the afternoon and on our free day our group went to see Nacho Libre in the theaters. That was a good movie. The other leaders and I dressed up as pro wrestlers and ran around the dining hall where all the kids were eating (all 500). I had a beater on (which I got a sweet burn line from) a flaming bandana, flaming shorts, and a cape. Most people took me for a superhero... but when do they not? What struck me was how many of those kids were dealing with big issues. A lot of them had lost relatives, including mothers, fathers, grandparents etc... and dealt with other things like abuse, divorce, drugs, and alcohol. A lot of these kids had more faith in God than I do, and it was incredible. I haven't even had to deal with any of those things... I think I learned more that week than some of the kids.
Needless to say, after the week was over I was exhausted. I had to drive back home on literally less than 2 hours of sleep no LIE.

Well those were the major events. I'm trying to keep in touch with my friends from Gifford, but I don't really talk to any of them on a regular basis. This is mostly because I've been gone and busy. The guys from Leesburg want me to come up this weekend, but I may be going camping with my Dad and brothers. We shall see.

I'm starting a new small group with some middle school guys and hopefully it will start this week. I got to know all of them in Mississippi and Tennessee. I'm excited because they are all pretty fun guys to be around.

Person of the week: Jeremy Sheppard, for making me laugh after calling him a "flip-flopper" and him going "what the F?!"

Post # 29 - Summer

2006-05-20T18:06:00.000-04:00

Since saying the goodbyes at Gifford, I have since seen five of the eleven people I mentioned. I returned yesterday from an impromptu trip with Bob to Chesapeake, Virginia to vist Erin and Josh. The following is an account of that trip:

Basically I wanted to see Erin and Josh, because they are both beautiful people (not including Josh, sorry buddy), and I missed them both. I didn't have anything to do this week, so I found a traveling partner (Bob) and decided on Tuesday to head down Wednesday and stay at Josh's house for two nights. I kind of planned on staying there without letting him know first, but it all worked out for the best. We arrived at about 11:15 at night, went to IHOP with Josh, then went to sleep. Blessed with amazing sleeping abilities, I woke up two hours before Bob and Josh and had an intriguing and intense staring contest with the ceiling. I lost... and the ceiling is still there staring (what a dummy). The three of us met Erin at a quaint diner for breakfast and it was amazing. We then headed (along with Amanda, another girl from Gifford) to the beach. My first thought upon seeing the vast expanse of sand and water was "so...where's the shade". Sadly folks, at a beach, there is no shade. I then proceeded to lather myself in sunscreen for the next 20 minutes, and it was suggested to me by an anonymous 12-year-old (Josh), that I should just wear a wet suit. We skipped and pranced along the outskirts of the water because it was frigid. We got to the beach at about 10, and I didn't jump into the water until about 2, and that was for a torturous 5 seconds. However, the beach was amazing and I did NOT, yes you read that correctly, get sunburned.

Later on in the day we got free Chick-fil-A from one of Josh's dad's stores, and went back to his house to take a nap. I couldn't sleep even though I was exhausted, so I facebooked while Josh and Bob slept. Erin met us at Josh's and after making a trip to Coldstone, we returned to Josh's where we learned Erin how to play Spades. She basically never plays cards, and was able to go nil on like her 4th hand EVER, it was amazing. I had to say goodbye to Erin that night because she had to go to her pizza place work meeting the next morning. Josh left for the outer banks before we woke up the next morning, and his mom treated us with amazing hospitality. She catered to our every need and it was sweet. On our trip home I learned that 295 is in fact NOT a loop around Richmond. After taking 295 South to near the North Carolina boarder, I realized that somewhere, an error had been made in direction. It's ok though, we only tacked on an extra hour to the trip...

Jon Betz and Joe Weasel came down yesterday and we hung out last night and today... I also saw Laura after watching The Davinci Code. I wish there was more to write about our adventures over the last day...

My sisters had a piano recital today. They are amazing. They played "Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash for the last song (a duet), and my mom (who is the piano teacher) had planned for a few of the dads in the group to come up and sing. Unfortunately, after slouching low in my chair in the back, and avoiding any and all eye contact with her, I heard the word that sealed my fate "JAMIE!". Yes, I had to sing Johnny Cash with a bunch of middle-aged men at a mennonite retirement home. Many people in the audience were laughing, until I took off my shirt and began flexing in different poses. Then there were a lot of "ooohhhs" and "ahhhhs" and seductive whistling. ALRIGHT, you caught me, I made the last part up.

I saw The Davinci Code in theaters last night, and it did not live up to it's hype. There was little to no suspence one felt when reading the book, and all of the surprises in the book were revealed way too quickly in the movie. I also don't think Tom Hanks did that good of a job...which is hard for me to say because he is one of my favorite actors. It was still a cool movie to watch though.

The Preakness Stakes is today! Go Barbaro!

The Braves are at .500! They are closing the gap on the Phillies and the Mets.

*Important Announcement*

I have decided to get a haircut. An appropriate word to describe my hair currently would be "nuts". I have not decided whether I should get it short like I had it before college, or to just get a trim. I struggled with this same debate a few months ago when I got it trimmed in February...
I would like anyone's advice on this hefty issue. In the words of the fine eatery commonly known as Burger King: "Help Wanted".

Person of the Week: Erin Kiley. Not only did she go nil in her first spades game, she also beat me in the "most futuristic looking car" contest. Her car, which was aptly dubbed the "space pod", looks like it was taken from the hit show "The Jetsons".

Post # 28 - Farewell and Hello

2006-05-06T17:07:00.000-04:00

Classes are over. Exams are done. Everyone is gone. SUMMER is here! That's right, I'm chilling out here in my clubhouse, writing my first post as a college sophomore. Today is the first day of break, and I would like to dedicate this blog post to the following members of Gifford Hall.

Josh - who was also part of the honors program (and still is), moved in with me a day before everyone else. He was my suitemate and my first friend at Gifford. We went to church and bible study together, and he went to Mississippi with me over Spring Break. I basically used his room (his television, his fridge etc...) as my own, and it was tizzight. Josh and I were also lifting partners, along with...

Barry - who was one of 2.5 Asians (not Pacific Islanders) at Gifford (the other 1.5 were my roomates, I will get to that here in a second). Barry is one of the most good-natured people I know. He usually laughed at my jokes, and he will be living with me at the TOOLBOX. I'm also going to go to China with Barry in the summer of 2008 (hopefully) to see the Olympics.

Joe Weasel - who was the roomate of Barry, was quickly dubbed with the nickname "Weasel". His movements and actions were rodent-esque. He was hilarious in his many attempts to "pwn" other hallmate's facebook profiles and AIM profiles. We would throw and discuss baseball with each other, and he was pushed into a bush by...

Jon - Wow, his amazing hand gestures and finger pointing is one of a kind. He was a Cowboys fan/Steelers fan/whoever won the superbowl that year fan/bandwagoner (dude...I didn't mean it...), and...

Jesse - and I would love making fun of him for it. Jesse and I are Redskins fans. He was the only person that could beat me consistently at ping-pong (dang lefties). He was probably the guy I could identify with the most at Gifford, because we were alike in a lot of ways (for instance we had the exact same preference in movies).

Quang and Sean - Asian roomates. Quang was full Asian, and Sean was half. They were metros...which is cool because generally our room was kept clean. Quang was soft-spoken and cool to talk to. Everytime I would walk into the room I would hear techno blasting...and every night his snoring was like that of a champion. Sean....uh...well, I didn't know him that well, he was never in the room.

Laura - We had met before college, because she went to Broadway Highschool. She is one of the most generous people I know, constantly looking out for others' well-being. AND, she is an amazing cook.

Shruti - The girl I loved arguing/discussing with. Sometimes I would win, sometimes I would lose, but it was always fun no matter what. Shruti is very competitive, and would always have epic battles with Jon...and would get owned really hard.

Stephanie - Wow. She can make random noises with the best of them. I remember hearing her laughing from down the hall, and her door was closed. We will most likely be hanging out next year because she is best friends with...

Erin - Waking up suddenly 10 minutes before a GHIST test and standing there half naked and incoherent while you stared at me was amazing. I'm glad I met you and am reeaallly looking forward to seeing you soon. It was hard saying goodbye yesterday...

There were a LOT of other really cool people that didn't get something written about them that made Freshman year at Gifford amazing. Yesterday was tough because we will never live in the same building with all of those people again...ever. I almost wish we could start the year over again, except this time we would have established those friendships right from the start.

Summer plans - Working at my church
- hopefully finding a second job for some secondary income
- traveling to VA BEACH, chicago, pennsylvania, mississippi, tennessee, and leesburg "the other burg", and florida
- moving into the toolbox

The Kentucky Derby is TODAY!!

So today, after attending JMU graduation and watching Kate Sawyer graduate, I spent many hours organizing my things here in the clubhouse, rearranging things, and cleaning everything up. Just now, while writing this post, ALL of my clothes (winter clothes, summer clothes, dress clothes, clothes I never wear) on the rack on the wall fell off, because the rack came unscrewed from the wall. I have instantaneouly become filled with rage. This rage has left me momentarily paralyzed, and I can only stare in awe at the tragedy that has occured right before my eyes. Something will pay dearly for this, most likely a small kitten.

I must cut this post short to deal with this unwholesome condition.

Person of the Week - Barry Dai - Happy burthday, you should go a day without shaving to celebrate this joyous occasion.

Post # 27 - April Showers do not bring May fast Enough

2006-04-19T20:12:00.000-04:00

April 19, 2006. Today is Jeremiah's birthday. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Jeremiah, he is my second oldest brother, is taller than me, goofier-looking than me, and almost as intelligent as me. Today, he turns 21. Despite being older, it is quite obvious that he looks up to me.

These last two weeks have been pretty busy. Since the end of the year has almost arrived, teachers feel it necessary to assign AMWAP. That is an acronym for As Much Work As Possible. Next week I have a 4-5 page religion paper due on Oral traditions of Religion, a 4-5 page paper on "What is a Good Life" for Philosophy, A 30-minute group presentation about modifying the death penalty in GCOM, A 10-page reading journal for English, and then an 8-page term paper for English. I have started none of these. That is 28 PAGES, not including the GCOM presentation. Friends, I have concluded that general education classes should never assign this much work, ESPECIALLY when it's due the week before FINALS. My professors have to be nuts. On a side note, last week we had a pop-quiz on the assigned reading we were supposed to do the night before. Of course, it had to come the ONE TIME I was unprepared for class.

So here's the deal. I got the internship for my church over the summer. I believe I will be working with Sarah Cupp. She is dating me. Well, not me personally, but a guy I know. Actually I don't know him, BUT, his name is James and it's awesome. I will be meeting with Rob shortly to discuss my specific requirements and duties this summer.

I registered for classes next semester, and was unable to AGAIN register for a cluster 1 class, which you are supposed to have completed by the end of your Freshman year. Of course JMU intelligently does not put a cluster 1 class on hold for those who need them. Aside from that, my schedule is fantastic. Imagine going to school two days a week, while still taking 15 credits. That is right, I only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. After class on Thursday, I then look forward to a 4-day weekend, EVERY weekend. What can I say? I am that good. So far I am scheduled for REL 201 - Intro to the New Testament, REL 202 - Intro to the Old Testament, GHIST 102 - Global culture from 1650-present, MATH 220 - Elementary Statistics, and GKIN 100 - Lifetime Wellness. I'm trying to drop my GKIN class and getting a religion or a history class, or possibly fit in that cluster 1 class I need, but I will have to wait until July to try and do that. Either way, it is a sweet schedule.

Bob has pranked the girls at Dingledine twice. The first time, it was just Kaity and Erika. He tied a trashbag filled with woodchips to their door in a way so when they opened it all the chips would fall into their room. They were mildly upset. The next week, with the help of my suitemate Josh, he tied all the doors of the girls' suite together with rope, then set an alarm clock off in the middle. This was at 4 o'clock in the morning. I got four separate calls that morning accusing me of pranking them. I didn't get to sleep until 6:30 that morning. I knew it was a misunderstanding, and I was quick to forgive. However, the next day, they again wrongly accused me of pranking them after Sarah Chappel mistakingly called me out. They called me various names and later, after it was sorted out, I was quick to forgive. THEN, Sunday night, after walking my dogs for my parents, I get a call from my roomate, Sean, who had just talked to a police officer looking for ME. Apparently the girls in the suite had talked to their hall director, as well as the police, and instead of sending them to Bob's house, they thought it appropriate to send him to MY dorm, because that was where they thought Bob would be. Well, he was not there. The police officer told Sean that if I ever did anything to them again, I would be arrested. I'm a pretty temperate and composed guy, so I didn't flip out yet. I asked the girls in the suite about it, and the one who accepted responsibility was Kait. What really set me off was that she acted as though I DESERVED it. I was baffled, and I went nuts. I will now list synonyms for rage:

acerbity, acrimony, agitation, animosity, apoplexy, asperity, bitterness, blowup, bluster, choler, conniption fit, convulsion, dander, eruption, exasperation, excitement, explosion, ferment, ferocity, fireworks, frenzy, furor, fury, gall, heat, hemorrhage, huff, hysterics, indignation, ire, irritation, madness, mania, obsession, outburst, paroxysm, passion, rampage, raving, resentment, spasm, spleen, squall, storm, tantrum, temper, umbrage, uproar, upset, vehemence, violence, wingding, wrath (wrath is my favorite, it makes me sound powerful; I would also like to add "angry" and "soooo angry" to that list)

I don't know if I have ever been that mad. I really did not want to speak to anyone in that suite, because they were completely irrational in not only calling the cops on Bob (who by the way had just treated the members of that suite to a dinner at RED LOBSTER) because he jokingly threatened to strike again that night, but because they were comletely apathetic and unremorseful to how they had dragged me into all of this. I blocked Kaity on AIM and other things like that, and realized this retarded situation had to end when I got an email from Kaity calling me childish names, and several hateful IM's from a girl in the suite who will remain anonymous. I say hateful because the first thing she said was in fact "I hate you". Other memorable retarded and unfounded quotes from her ims include "thanks for making my roomate situation even more of a hell than it was before" as well as "please blame me for whatever is causing you to have a stick up your ass", and finally "do the world a favor, get over yourself". Wow. I will now list synonyms for irrational:

aberrant, absurd, brainless, cockamamie, crazy, delirious, demented, disconnected, disjointed, distraught, fallacious, flaky, foolish, freaky, incoherent, injudicious, insane, invalid, kooky, loco, loony, mad, mindless, nonsensical, nut job, preposterous, raving, reasonless, ridiculous, senseless, silly, sophistic, specious, stupid, unreasonable, unreasoning, unsound, unstable, unthinking, unwise, wacky, wild, wrong

Somehow, with all of the nothing I had to do with this entire situation, I had made her roomate situation a living hell, and without speaking to her in probably 3 months, she hated me. Maybe she hates me BECAUSE I haven't talked to her and she misses me... I am unsure. I am fairly certain she blocked me, and I have been unable to contact her. I will give 5 dollars to anyone who can figure this one out for me. Since Sunday, I have reconciled my differences with Kaity, because we talked it out like adults and we have both issued apologies to each other. Anonymous girl, if you read this, I do not mean the above story to be hateful towards you, and would love to talk to you about it. I know we didn't get off to a good start since we met, but hopefully one day, we will put our differences aside, and make out... I mean kiss and make up... or just make up and settle our differences...yes that's it.

Moving along I feel that I have matured in the area of self-control. Mostly, with holding my tongue. The other day in my Science class we were discussing invasive species and how they are detrimental to our society and environment. These can include different kinds of plants and animals. Amazingly, I held my tongue, and did not refer to Mexicans as an invasive species... out loud at least (as a joke people I'm not a racist). Also, in philosophy we were dicussing moral relativity, and the teacher asked "What about the countries that don't treat women equally?" My first thought was to blurt out a question as a response, "Yeah, why aren't there more of them?" Fortunately, I held my tongue, and am still in good graces with the females in that class. In fact, just the other day one of them facebooked me, most likely because I am extremely charming and have an incredible body.

Hopefully, the next time I post, it will be in the freedom that comes with Summer Break.

Person of the Week: Mark Mendez, for openly wanting my manly affection.

Post # 26 - The Anniversary

2006-04-03T16:35:00.000-04:00

This time last year, I was writing my first ever blog post. The first post was composed of few, yet powerful words. The answer to the lingering question I posed in that first post has been answered. "Whether or not I stick to a blog is yet to be determined." Ladies and Gentlemen, we know the answer. Today I would like to not only continue updating you on my life, but also recap the past year. I will be titling each "blog year" every April 3rd. This past blog year I have entitled "Blog Year 1, The Awakening". This symbolizes not only the beginning of my recognition of my love for writing, but also because I left high school, came to college, and did a lot of new and cool stuff in between. So let us look at the events that we have laughed and cried about together in the past year...

Blog Year 1, The Awakening:
- I did not get into U.V.A., William and Mary, or St. Josephs - I remember being really upset about this
- I was admitted into JMU - turned out to be awesome
- The stolen XBOX episode with my mother
- AP tests…
- Band trip to Canada - awesome
- Beach week - such a good week
- Solo audition for JMU drum line - successful, but proved useless because I decided not to do it because of work at Outback
- Mexico - I spent 10 days in Mexico working on construction of a seminary - such an awesome trip
- Missouri - I spent 10 days on a canoeing trip somewhere in Missouri; this consisted of little food, long days, sunburn, sleepless nights, and a 24 hour solitary fast - another awesome trip
- Josh and Erica got MARRIED
- I quit Outback… I spent a good portion of my life at that place…3 years
- Redskins and Braves in the playoffs, woot
- 3 separate trips down to Mississippi to help with Katrina relief (Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest, and THE most expensive hurricane on record)
- camp out at Chick-Fil-A with Matthew
- I signed the lease to live at TOOLBOX “The Renaissance” next year
- I got a new car, 2002 Hyundai Elantra
- Declared my major as philosophy/religion with a concentration in Religion

There are so many stories that go along with these events, as well as stories that I excluded in interest of space. I encourage anyone who has not read the earlier posts in my blog to go back and read.

Today is a special day, not only because it is the anniversary of my blog, but because the national championship game (Florida vs. UCLA, and by the way, March Madness was silly this year) AND opening day for baseball is today.

The only things to update you on is that the last few weeks of college will be busy for me. I have multiple projects to do (including a 30-minute presentation in GCOM) and term papers to write. I also have to take care of taxes before April 15...

In my last post I toyed with the idea of having a person of the year. This task has proved itself difficult for me to undertake. Look at my options:

Bob, Cole, and Mark - the three most influential of my friends
Geoff Skelley - The inspiration for me starting a blog
Joe Zarobila and Josh Burnette - The two most vocally loyal to the reading of my blog
Any member of the TOOLBOX next year
National figures such as Santana Moss or Andruw Jones
Rob, for being with me on 5 of my major trips (Mexico, Missouri, and all trips to Mississippi)
There are many others as well, therefore, I have decided against naming a Person of the Year. Blog Year 1, The Awakening, has hereby ended, and Blog Year 2 is set to begin.

Post # 25 - short and sweet tea

2006-03-31T00:39:00.000-05:00

I have realized the 1 year anniversary to my blog is rapidly approaching. To commemorate this remarkable milestone, I plan on doing nothing. I was toying with the idea of having a "person of the year", but I feel that the illegal campaigning for this position would get quite ridiculous. Thoughts on this idea are welcome, but remember the anniversary is April 3rd... and that is SOON.

Today it reached nearly 70 degrees. As I was outside, the sadness of James-burning season arriving was quickly conquered by the smell of a cookout. In the words of Josiah, this summer, I will be either "grillin', or chillin'". The first day that I am out of school, I want to have a cookout. If I think you are cool you can come.

Tomorrow will be team-Gifford's third game in slow-pitch softball. We are currently sitting at 0-2, but we have a solid line up this time, and it seems as though the team is slightly better organized than it was the first two games. I was the pitcher for the first two games, and will be pitching tomorrow as well. Last week I tried unleashing my 12-foot knuckle ball, with no notable success. Tomorrow hopefully I will bean a batter so people show me a little respect at the plate. I also plan on unveiling my newest pitch that I have dubbed "the sinker". I throw this by using a simple win-up, letting go, and watch the ball sail about 12-feet in the air, arc, and sink over the strike zone. It is virtually unhittable in my mind. We will see if this success is shared with reality.

I recently got a 30/30 on my test on Islam. Watch out Yousef, Tamr, Hamza, Arsalan, Wajih, and Fawad. I know all of your tricks now...

I figure since this is a blog about myself, I should start including specifics about myself. I entitled this post "short and sweet tea" because it is short, and I love sweet tea. It is tied with chocolate milk for my favorite drink of all time.

Person of the week: Yes, I realize that this is my second post this week, and therefore have had a person of the week already. I justify this partially because I'm averaging 1 post every 2 weeks for the past year, and therefore there is time to be made up. Mostly though I justify it by reminding everyone that this blog is a monarchy! I make the laws here! Anyway, the honor thusly goes to .......... Bob Stieber, for successfully telling EVERYONE about his surprise visit to Harrisonburg this weekend. Congratulations Bob, you have earned it.

Post # 24

2006-03-27T20:11:00.000-05:00

In the words of the writer of Bungie's weekly what's updates "This post will go down in mild obscurity"

Today marks the first day that Spring feels like Spring. The sun was out, and it got up to 60. Later this week it's supposed to breach the 70 degree barrier. With 5 weeks of school remaining, summer is in sight. After exam week, I have a week that I can just chill. Hopefully during that week I will do the following:
- make a visit to northern Virginia and Virginia Beach
- find a job if I do not get the summer youth internship at my church
- get all my homework done SIIIIIKE

I finally turned in my application for the summer youth internship position. Some of the questions were pretty hard to answer. For instance, how in the world are you supposed to describe yourself in one word. I'm pretty sure I could write an entire book talking about myself (not trying to sound conceited, but it's the truth). Another question was "What is your favorite animal? What do you think of Grizzly bears?"...... Yes those two questions were on the same line! That was the last question I answered, because I had never sat down and thought about grizzly bears for an extended period of time.

March madness has clearly lived up to it's title this year. I believe it was Geoff who told me that this is the first year a number 1 seed has not made the Final Four. James had three number 1 seeds in the final four. Those teams were Duke, Connecticut, and Villanova. My other team was Gonzaga... who also did not make the Final Four. George Mason, a team from the CAA (the same conference as JMU, made it to the Final Four). Only two people on ESPN had picked them worldwide. This means that James lost to such able-minded people as Quang, and many third-floor girls. They obviously spend a greater amount of time paying attention to sports and spent hour upon hour with their bracket. That statement was in fact false. Out of 1,965 people at JMU that participated in the facebook bracket, I finished 1,830th. I don't want to talk about it anymore.

After my "chill week" I will be heading down to Florida to chill with Bob and Cole and some other friends. Spending a RELAXING week on the Gulf Coast is not something that I am accustomed to.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a new car. It is a 2002 silver Hyundai Elantra. It was my brother Josh's old car. It already has like 72000 miles on it, but it is so much better than my '89 Accord (aka Judas II). This car also has reliable hubcaps, and my social life is guaranteed to sky-rocket.

Last week I finally declared my major. This, of course, is subject to change, but I am glad to have a goal in sight. I have declared Religion. I am enjoying my religion class I am in right now, and am already interested in the field. Hopefully, if I become a writer, I can somehow use whatever I learn... possibly write for a Christian magazine. I was thinking about minoring in history, but I've always been interested in meteorology. Perhaps I will instead minor in this new program JMU has that involves meteorology.

Recently I have been creating many facebook groups. In most of them I am the only member, and I am ok with that. However, another group has decided to hate, and is entitled "James Weaver needs to stop making facebook groups". All I want is to be happy. Is that too much to ask? In response, I have created a facebook group called "Love". Anyone is allowed to join. Blacks, whites, yellows... hot girls.... all are welcome.

I cut myself shaving last night. I was pissed. Foolishly I was using Barry's advice on how to shave, and sliced open that annoying area behind the jawbone. It was then that I remembered that Barry does not shave, and therefore knows no shaving "techniques". Actually I'm just retarded and didn't use any of Barry's advice, I just wanted to use him as a scapegoat. Seeing as he is Asian and is used to being oppressed, I chose him.

This brings us to the issue of the TOOLBOX. We now have eight people. Rent (if it stays at 1500 a month) will be 187 a month per person. That is amazing. The eight people are, James, Matt, Jeremy, Joe B, Ryan, Barry, Larry, and this kid Brandon whom I have never met. Somehow I get the feeling that the "if the house explodes" clause of the lease will be put into effect next year.

Person of the Week - Larry "the Legend" Kile. Everytime I think of him peeling off his nasal strip in the middle of the night, having it stick to his finger, and then finding it on his pillow (as if it were a band-aid) the next afternoon, it makes me laugh.

Post # 23

2006-03-12T18:10:00.000-05:00

Today is Sunday, the last day of Spring break. Last night at about 11:30 I returned from my third trip to Mississippi to help with Katrina relief. 7 weeks remain of my freshman year in college.

A couple of weekends ago I participated in a Christian conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, aimed towards college-aged kids. As I have written before this conference, which is held annually, is called "Jubilee" (not Jewbilee, Wease). I had an awesome time there, meeting some pretty sweet people. I got to meet Tony Campollo and Dr. Arthur Lindsley. Tony Campollo was the main speaker, and as he was leaving for the airport I stopped him and asked him a question. My question was basically "If, as Christians, we are supposed to love our enemies, show mercy, and not to judge, is there room for a justice system, and more specifically the death penalty, in today's society?". His stance on this is interesting, and would take me a long time to write out. However it was sweet because my question caused him to stop and talk to me for a while, which generated a pretty good crowd around me. It was intense. I also got Dr. Arthur Lindsley's phone number because he wanted to talk to me more about supposed contradicting creation stories in the book of Genesis (After one of his lectures I went up to talk to him about this, and we didn't have enough time, so he gave me his flippin' PHONE NUMBER). This guy has published a whole lot of books and has friends in high places (i.e. US senators).

The following week consisted of me catching up in my classes before spring break. This included a risky speech I gave in GCOM discussing flaws in the theory of evolution. I say risky because my professor is really far on the left-end of the political spectrum, is atheist, and is the coach of the JMU debate team...

Spring break began Friday afternoon, and I arrived at my church the next morning at 5 AM. We drove down and got into Mississippi late that night. Everyone that went on that trip was super cool. Mark Mendez, Nicole Budzius, Josh Burnette, Matt Norton, Jeremy Shepherd, Jim Stevens, Claudette, Margot, Joe Barnes, Sarah Chappel, Sarah Cupp, Landry Bosworth (those are just the chill people that were my age, there were older people as well, and they were all awesome). Since there were incredible people with me, the trip was sweet. We got a lot of work done, and met a lot of cool people (I even met a lot of highschool girls that came to the church the night before we left, and I got a lot of beef for that, even though they were only like a year younger than me). Along with getting work done, meeting new people, incredible fellowship and other awesome things, there were some amazingly sad times as well.

This was my third trip down to help since Katrina hit, and there was still incredible devastation. Granted, a lot of progress has been made, but the area is still in a poor state of condition. Let's be honest, a F.E.M.A. trailer would be ok to live in for maybe two days. Any longer than that would suck. The area inside of it takes up about as much space as the average American bathroom. In this space, there is a sleeping area, a kitchen (fridge and stove), a shower, and a tiny "living area" which would be impossible to hoola-hoop in. We met one lady who had to live in one with two dogs. Her name was Naomi. She has three adult sons, who have done nothing to come help her out in her time of need, and offered no assistance in the rebuilding of their mother's home. She doesn't know very many people, and is very lonely. We insulated her house and put up drywall, but it was most important just to spend time with her and be her friend. There are so many instances of people like Naomi down in that area.

Rob McClleland, who was supposed to be the leader of the trip, had to go to Texas to attend the funeral of his wife's grandfather. Rob has been one of the biggest influences in my life, and took a big part in shaping me into who I am today. After the funeral, which took place on Monday, Rob drove to Mississippi and met up with us Tuesday night. Everyone was stoked when he got there. Thursday morning, Kelly, one of the leaders on the trip, got a call from Dave McClleland, Rob's little brother at 6:15 in the morning. She didn't get to the phone in time, but told Rob he needed to call Dave. Normally we gathered at about 8 o'clock to pray and head off to our worksites, but today Rob said we needed to meet at 7:30. We gathered in our usual circle, and Rob proceeded to tell us that his father had passed away that morning. Seeing a grown man in tears, especially one that was so close to all of us, was hard. None of us took it well, and Rob left that day to drive to Texas, again, for the funeral of a family member.

Rob's father's passing, along with the ever-present devastation, combined with sad news regarding a few happenings back home, made it a tough week in one respect. Having the sweet crew that was there (all of whom I got closer to) and accomplishing as much as we did, made it a pretty successful week in another respect.

This week involves getting many things done, including my church internship application done, a 10-page English paper, and an intense letter to the Residence Hall coordinator guy, who is making Laura and I pay 156 dollars for damage to a wall. There is more to get done, but I will most likely forget to do it.

Person of the week - Andy, a guy from a different church that we met in Mississippi. This guy was intense, and was easily the MVP for getting things done. He did so much work. He also had red hair. (Walt, another guy from a different church, was a runner-up for this coveted position)

Post # 22

2006-02-23T02:56:00.000-05:00

Well guys, tonight I had a solid night in volleyball, and to celebrate I decided to post on my blog. There were some intense games, and I nearly lost my voice from yelling whenever I did something remotely excellent. Tonight, I did that a lot.

On Monday, I discovered (I admit, I do not think I was the first, but I may have been the third or fourth) an internet based music-sharing phenonmenon called "itunes". This is a program where you can find almost any song on someone else's computer and copy it to your own, in only a matter of SECONDS. In just three days of use, I have 481 songs. If you don't have itunes, which I assume is the majority of this reading audience, I recommend you get it immediately. You don't want to fall behind the times in this fast-paced and ever changing technological society.

This weekend is jubilee, the conference I wrote about in my last post. Before Friday at 1 PM I must do/complete the following:
- Write an overdue paper for philosophy (I think the teacher likes me and is letting me turn it in late. She is probably turned on by my wild hair and burly appearance. She is 50)
- I must make 5 posts on the class (philosophy) discussion board online
- something about a GSCI 103 project due Monday, this will probably not be accomplished. I will claim ignorance.
- Prepare 5-6.5 minute (no more, no less) informative speech for GCOM (general communications) on Hurricane Katrina, or the relief efforts because of her

Instead of tackling these tasks tonight, I played volleyball for two and a half hours, talked to people around the dorm, then wrote a blog post...

Attention any and all girls around my age (preferably older than 10 and younger than 50) and you want to ask me out. Invite me to a late night visit to IHOP, where they sell an order of biscuits and gravy for 2 dollars. Yes you read that correctly.

So I went to my church's Thursday morning men's bible study (breakfast at 6:30, bible study 7-8) with my dad last week. Other than myself, out of the 60 or so people there, my dad was probably the next youngest person. Everyone clapped when they saw me, a young lad of 18. However, it was not a joyous event. The leader of the bible study, our senior pastor Dr. John Sloop, was there. This was surprising because two days earlier, his older brother passed away. I guess he didn't have to leave for the funeral yet, so he still led it. He got choked up many times, and hammered the fact that we need to reconcile relationships with those who are close to us. If you're in a feud, solve it as soon as you can. He didn't get along with his brother until the last year or so. I would also like to call on everyone here to settle differences with someone they know.

Since we're on a serious note, I urge anyone who is reading this to do one thing. If you do not believe in God, ask yourselves "why?" If it is because of past human experiences and events (such as the crusades, the inquisition etc..) understand this. You cannot judge a God who is omnipotent and omniscient based on the actions of fallable and sinful humans. If you have any questions, or would just like to discuss this issue, I would love to talk. I will go ahead, if I may be so bold, to declare that there IS in fact a God. He is a God of love, mercy, GRACE, and many other adjectives. I also will be so bold as to say this is an issue that is relevant to anyone and everyone's life. You know how to reach me if you have questions, comments, concerns, or whatever.

Moving along, I have been thinking a lot about what I am going to do about a summer job. I will be applying to be one of the two summer youth interns with my church. A lot of good friends are applying as well, all of whom are incredible people, and the youth program will be fortunate to have any combination of them. It pays $2000 for the summer. The interns spend a lot of time at the church, memorizing scripture, aiding both the youth pastor (Rob!) and the assistant youth pastor (Larry!), and going on some sweet trips with the youth. If I am not accepted, I will probably re-apply at Outback, or possibly work at the rock quarry with Cole (assuming he is also not accepted to be a youth intern).

Sean's presence in this dorm is increasingly scarce. Quang is almost becoming my official roomate. Either way, he is still Asian.

My GSCI 103 professor recently spent about two weeks of class time disproving the "theory" of intelligent design, in favor of evolution. It was interesting because he could not explain where life originated, and could not show that macroevolution relied on many assumptions. Basically, I feel that it was wasted class time, even though it was fun and interesting.

I'm going to ask my sister to go with me to get a haircut next week. I think I have decided to get it trimmed (this entails, most likely, that the mullet will be gone). I feel as though, without the mullet, there will be less girls calling at my door. I see this as an advantage though, because then it will be an easier decision which one to date.

I will end with a story I will entitle "The Loss of the Last Hubcap"

As I have discussed in previous entries, I have a sweet car. Last summer I bought these hubcaps from Wal-Mart that, to an untrained eye, looked like they costed me hundreds of dollars. I cannot tell you how many people envied my car because of those hubcaps. My popularity sky-rocketed amongst gangsters. Unfortunately, these hubcaps basically clipped into the tire, and were not very secure. Sure enough, one by one, curb by curb, these hubcaps fell off into hubcap heaven (scholars have concluded this is located on the side of the road). Eventually, there was only one left. The car still held an air of prestige with that one hubcap, but it was dwindling fast. Over the weekend I attended HHS's presentation of "Seussical" (it was awesome) which is a musical about Dr. Seuss's stories. On the drive home I took a sharp right turn, which unfortunately sent about 10 cd's falling onto my face and lap (My sisters had intelligently placed the cd holder backwards on the passenger sun-blocker thingy, causing the cd's to hang in a perpetual state of potential energy, aimed straight for whoever was driving). Shocked, I quickly tried to put the cd's back into the holder, without keeping my eyes on the road. Almost instantly there was a sudden jolt on the left side of the car. I had in fact driven halfway onto the median. Feeling like a woman driver, I watched in horror as the last hubcap sailed into the opposite lanes of traffic. It got like 8 feet of air. My car is now without hubcaps, and gangsters around the world dis-'spect me. The End.

Person of the week - Tamr. For those of you who don't know this stud, he is Yousef's older brother. Even though I have not been on XBOX Live, I can still hear his voice chanting my name... oh the memories

Post # 21

2006-02-15T15:21:00.000-05:00

As many of you know already, in the year of our Lord 2006, my subscription to XBOX Live ran out February 13th. My famous gamertag, Barty Bartok, which was named after the coolest and blackest dog ever to walk the earth, will most likely be forever retired, never to be used again. Many hours were lost mourning and lamenting about my loss. There are two possibilities that will evolve from my current position. Either I never have a live account again (would somebody PLEASE think of the children?!!?), or I will create a new account with a different gamertag sometime in the future. I have met and kept in touch with many friends/family through XBOX live. This loss will affect many, and the repercussions of this date in history will reverberate in people's minds for the rest of time. Many people will likely die as a result of this, but this is the lesser of two evils because many more would have died had I kept my account... Get it?

Anyway.

Yesterday was Valentines day, and JMU did not have classes for underclassmen because the upperclassmen had to take assessment tests. I cleverly woke up around 2:30, meandered around the room for a while (probably with a blank stare and a cold sweat due to withdrawl from Halo), and went to lunch around 3:30. I got back around 4:30, and played a not-so-fulfilling two hours of hearts. After effectively wasting the afternoon, and in essence the entire day, I went to my church league basketball game with Josh, my suite mate (yes the short stubby kid who looks like your typical basketball player). Our church got crushed by whoever we were playing, but I scored 10 points off the bench (including a 3 point shot). Immediately following the game we went to EPIC, the college bible study at my church. We then proceeded with Larry, Sarah, and Landry, to Barnes & Noble until it closed at 11. Upon returning to my dorm, we talked for about an hour, and I decided I should begin working on my English paper (which was due in 10 hours; I had a week to work on it, and I had done nothing...so out of character, I don't know what's gotten in to me). I ended up finishing it at 5 this morning, hampered by the many distractions in my dorm. After spending an hour trying to fall asleep amidst Quangs sweet sleep lullaby, I smacked him in the face to shut him up. He doesn't remember this, which is probably for the best. AND I of course set my alarm for 9:40 PM instead of AM, so I slept through my English class...sooo unlucky... (fortunately I was still able to turn in my paper).

I've signed up for Jubilee, which is a conference in Pittsburgh for college Christians. It should be really cool. This will be taking place next weekend (Feb. 24-26 I think). Then the following weekend is SPRING BREAK, which I will be spending with a lot of cool people in Mississippi helping Katrina victims. It is going to be SWEET.

I think now that I don't have the option to spend mindless hours swearing at the tv (as a result of Halo unluckiness), I will hopefully begin reading again. There are so many books I need to catch up on.

My hair has been a hot topic of debate the past few weeks. I think I've made up my mind to get it cut before spring break. The question is though, should I trim it, or cut it short again. It's so much easier to manage when its short... not that I attempt to manage it when its long... Anyway, feedback is welcome regarding the do.

I recentely re-watched 2 incredible movies. Forrest Gump (top 3) and We Were Soldiers (based off the book We Were Soldiers Once...and Young), and they were incredible. Also, with the release of Bambi II last week (no I have not seen it yet), I plan on doing a Bambi marathon. Those who are interested come see me in 218. Due to the probable popularity of this event, please set up an appointment with me ahead of time to avoid confusion with an immense amount of people. Someone could get trampled to death, and neither Bambi nor I want that on our consciences.

Persons of the week: My sister Ellie and her boyfriend Jason. They celebrated their 1 year anniversary yesterday.

Post # 20

2006-01-29T06:38:00.000-05:00

So here I am at 2:30 in the morning with nothing to do. Josh just kicked me off the XBOX so he can play a game on PS2 with his friend. I believe the game is called "hockey game with crappy graphics". Anyway I figured now would be as good a time as any to update my blog (instead of starting another ill-fated free-cell face off with Joe Z. (in which I'm 0 for 2 now)). I have recently become addicted to free cell and re-addicted to hearts. Over Winter break Mark, Geoff, Eli and I played a lot of hearts games for money. I was the winner of 4 out of the last 5. On that note, let's do a recap of the last few weeks shall we?

The Redskins, after winning the first playoff game in Tampa Bay, ended up losing to Seattle the following week. They had a very successful season, winning 6 straight before falling to the Seahawks. Next year is looking amazing despite the probable loss of both Sean Taylor (jail, what an idiot) and LaVar Arrington. We signed Chiefs O-Coordinator Al Saunders to be our O-Coordinator. The Chiefs have been one of the top offenses in the NFL the last 5 years. Gregg Williams is also back as the D-Coordinator. I'm excited.

A couple weeks ago some friends and I went to Massanutten and I went snowboarding for the first time. I fell so many times. The hardest part was getting off the lift. Theres a hill you're supposed to slide down right after you get off, and they expect you to do this with one foot strapped to your board. That's a sick sense of humor people. I nearly killed Quang because he clipped my legs when he fell and I fell right on top of him. To this day I don't know how he is living because I fell on him, elbow first, with all 185 lbs. of me square on top. Another annoying part about the bunny hill (the hardest trail there... yes I'm a risk taker), was that it slanted to the left, so all of us noobs ended up at the left side of the hill. Not only do noobs go down there, but melted water trickles down there and then re-freezes, creating an impossible surface to board on. There were six poles about halfway down the slope that were probably there saying "don't pass us because there is a 100 foot drop about 10 feet from here". Only four of those poles remain standing because I knocked two over trying to stop myself. Someone will most likely die from my incompetency. After falling down to the left end for the 8th time out of 8 runs, I got so frustrated I took off my board and walked all the way over to the right side. After putting the board back on and spending 5 minutes trying to stand up and thinking to myself "wow this powdery snow will be much easier to board on than that wretched ice", I promptly fell down 5 feet later and yelled an unintelligible obscenity. I left Massanutten without going 50 feet without falling, but was consoled by the fact that no one has ever made it down the bunny hill fall-free. It is a feat considered impossible by most, but is probably like the 4-minute mile, and will take some maniac like Roger Bannister to finally make it all the way to the bottom without falling.

Matt Norton and I camped outside of Chick-fil-A to be one of the first 100 customers. In doing this (in freezing cold weather with wind blowing swiftly and steadily) we got 52 coupons for free entree's from Chick-fil-A that expire 1/26/07. It was totally worth it. One notable event on this 15 hour sojourn happened in the new bathroom. The following is based on a true story:

Setting: New Chick-fil-A bathroom. There are only two people present, Matthew Norton and James Weaver. James is at the urinal and Matt is in the stall.

Plot: James (before urinating) yells to Matt, who is in the stall "hey Matt, remember in elementary school when you would walk in on those noobs with their pants all the way at their ankles while they were using a urinal?" Matt replied "Yeah man, I hated that". James thought to himself "I wonder what that would feel like..."

Climax: James, his actions occasionally faster than his brain can process (bless his heart), pulls his pants down and immediately, IMMEDIATELY, as if the green light just went on to go in to the bathroom, a man walks in. James whipped his head around to see a guy with long dark hair, a goatee, and a hat that couldn't hide the eyes that were filled with horror and shock at the scene he was witnessing. The man runs out of the bathroom, James pulls up his pants. Two seconds later the man returns and James attempts to explain himself "Uh elementary school... pants at their ankles... noobs". The man, who was quickly recovering from shock, intorduced himself as "Jack". After discussing the possible repercussions of letting people know what occured in the bathroom, Jack and James decided not to tell anyone what happened (James couldn't hold it in though). Matt, who was in the stall, couldn't believe what had just happened. To this day, James brags about how he was the first to moon someone at Chick-fil-A.

Anyway I apologize for the heart attacks caused from last post's story about my "girlfriend". It may or may not happen again. I will say one word though. Pwn3d.

Classes are really good. On Tuesdays-Thursdays my first class is at 2 PM, which is glorious.

I learned that I will be living in a room with Joe Barnes next year in the toolbox. It's gonna be sweeeet.

In case you didn't notice, I cut my sideburns almost all the way off. However, the hair is still growing long and strong. I'm thinking about growing a mustache and a mullet, then getting a job at Chick-fil-A (Ben Folds anyone??)

Which reminds me. I got this sweet tent at Wal-mart for 30 dollars which sleeps 4 semi-comfortably and 6 VERY comfortably. There are gonna be some awesome camping trips in the summer.

Well that's it for now.

Person of the week: will NOT be David Champagne (my RA), for busting the wrong kids for being disruptive at 3:30 in the morning, and then not being around to do his real job of helping us when we need him (aka getting locked out of your room). Instead, the award goes to (yes, this will be his second) Jesse Saunders, for loving his volleyball dearly.

Post # 19

2006-01-09T17:20:00.000-05:00

Well guys, here we are at the beginning of second semester. I had three classes today (American literature, Religions of the World, and a science class entitled “Discovering Life“ - yeah…). Tomorrow I have Philosophy, and GCOM (the day starts at 12:30 - schwing!)

Recap of the last month+

- Well exams were alright. I got two A’s and two C’s. For the semester I only got one A, bummer. This semester I hope to do really well…

- The Redskins won 5 straight games to make the last seed in the playoffs, then won their first playoff game! They play again on Saturday against the Seahawks. .. Two more wins and they’re in the big game.

- I went to Mississippi for the second time to help out down there. It was a really good trip. I spent lot of time with Tara, a friend from church, who I don’t get to hang out with very much, so that was cool. There was so much progress that I saw, even though it still looked crappy. It was pretty encouraging that this trip we did more constructive work (fixing up houses) rather than clean-up work. I learned how to take off/put on a roof. I learned how to put up insulation and drywall. AND I can hook up an electrical sockets. (Remember, the black wires are the hot wires, and the white ones are neutral)

- I finally have a girlfriend. We met over the summer while on a trip to Missouri with the church. Then I called her up over break and we hung out a few times and went on a couple of dates. One thing led to another, I kissed her, and it became official. That entire story was a lie.

- Anyway, I’m leaning towards majoring in religion because I looked at the course requirements for that major, and they looked sweet. A minor in history would probably compliment that, because I already have 6 history credits.

So I would make this longer but I have to go to a birthday dinner for KAITY…who is also the person of the week for being the first person on Earth to have a birthday in 2006

Post # 18

2005-11-29T11:02:00.000-05:00

Well guys, Thanksgiving break has come and past. Before break I've done several things. I am no longer an employee at Outback Steakhouse. This means no more really dirty laundry, and I'll only have to do laundry every other month, instead of every month. Now I'll be able to wear clothes like 7-8 times before they become unbearable. This also means I won't have a steady inflow of cash as well. I picked up my last two paychecks last night :(

My car broke down last week and it was mildly irritating. I couldn't get it out of Gifford's parking lot. I'm getting close to calling it "Judas", because it betrays me so often. Howevs, I've only known of one other car that has had the right to that name, and that belonged to Josh Link. My car is definitely trying hard though. This Winter could be disastrous on my party life if my Judas keeps this up.

Bob and I went up to visit Cole at St. Johns College in Annapolis, MD. The curriculum at the school is pretty sweet, but it's so boring there. The student body was less than that of my high school (1200 people), and the campus consisted of like 10 buildings. Imagine spending all of your time in your dorm room, with cigarettes and beer as your only form of entertainment. Oh and the people there were weird too. Some gay guy asked me to sleep with him twice. TWICE. He was probably from Canada.

Anyway, Thanksgiving break was sweet because all my brothers were in town. Josh and his wife Erica came in from Philly, Jeremiah came in from Oklahoma, and Joe came in from Florida. I had to take the perilous trip home from JMU, and I made sure to look both ways when crossing the street. We had dinner at my house with everyone, and it two Muslims were invited to eat with us. Tamr and Yousef luckily didn't blow up our house, but we're keeping a close watch on both of them.

A lot of friends from highschool were in town that I hung out with, including Geobb, Eli, Cody, Bob, Cole, Mark, Rachel, Emily, Jim, and I saw a lot of other people as well.

So anyway there are 2 weeks left of regular classes, and then one week of finals. I would say I'm stoked.

I got written up in my dorm for launching laura down the hall from my deskchair. I got a running headstart with her in my desk chair and flung her down the hall where she clipped a part of the wall that was sticking out. She flew out of the chair, and rolled about 10 feet. I proceeded to say "Woah, look what you did to the wall". She got up and said she was "fine". Unfortunately, running down the hallway in a deskchair and crashing into a wall sounds like a freight train, and everyone was peeping out of the doors to see who had died. Laura and I got written up for the damage to the wall. I need to quit drinking so much...my better judgment is always impaired.

So I'm in my psychology class today and we're discussing in-group favoritism verses out-group negativism. Dr. Saville says "What do you think of a person that slips and falls on the ice". The class responds with "They're clumsy", whereas if it had been them that fell on the ice, it would've been the ice's fault. So he keeps giving these examples, and he says "Say there's a driver in front of you that's driving slow and keeps cutting you off and you get really pissed off...what do you think of that driver?" Before anyone responded I instinctively shouted "She's a woman". Somehow I ended up being the only guy sitting on my half of the classroom that day. All the girls turned around and glared at me. The lesson I learned was that I'm probably not going to date any of those girls.

Anyway that's it.

Person of the week - My roomate Sean. He turned off his alarm clock (after being in a deep slumber) after 2 BEEPS! Do you realize how incredible that is? He becomes conscious after the first beep, and then aware enough to turn off the alarm after the second. That's under a second ladies and gentlemen. That's impressive.

Post # 17

2005-10-24T23:29:00.000-04:00

This past week I went down to Mississippi with my church to help clean up. We went to the coastal areas that were devastated by hurricane Katrina, and it was in fact devastation that we encountered. It looked like a giant hand just swiped the area by the coast, toppling every house, store, etc... Debris was everywhere, and it will take years, yes years, to clean up. Houses that looked good on the outside were hardly worth salvaging, because on the inside, everything was destroyed. When water gets inside the house, everything has to be thrown out. We threw away so many things... For instance an antique grandfather clock from Rome, a grand piano that took one man 19 years to restore, all of a womans tangible memories of her late husband of 50 years... stuff like that. Needless to say it was emotionally draining, as well as physically taxing.

I got back into town Saturday morning after about a 19 hour drive home at 5 AM. That evening I went to homecoming with Taylor Wenos and had a really good time. Being at the highschool was kinda weird though... I didn't do anything after the dance because I was exhausted.

I was gonna wash my clothes yesterday, but I don't have any blasted quarters. Oh and because I missed a week of classes, I have 2 midterms on Wednesday (to go along with my regular classes) and a paper due. I also have to take another midterm sometime this week in Psychology (which is also a make-up). There are also countless hours of homework to do as well...Bother

This is sure to turn some heads... I gave Outback my 2-weeks notice last night. Yes, I'm quitting. I posted it up on the office door like it was my personal 95-theses. The Weaver saga at Outback will finally be over. I've worked there a sixth of my life (over 3 years), so it'll be weird not having that as a part of my life.

The Redskins are 4-2 and scored 52 points this week! Please tell me a good age has come for football in D.C.

Person of the week - Lloyd Christmas

Post # 16

2005-10-12T22:41:00.000-04:00

Currently there are a few things that are weighing pretty heavily on my mind. Let's start with Outback.

I've worked at Outback for more than three years now, and the food industry is not something I will be pursuing after I'm through with college. Also, there is a lot of stress and hassle getting to and fro from work 3-4 days a week. Beginning homework at midnight is not something that is healthy for a good sleep schedule. Right now I'm considering resigning my post at Outback. I know I know, it's like a constant in everyone's lives "there's always a Weaver working at Outback", but maybe, this will not be true for the first time in like five years. I've been thinking about getting a different kind of job, like maybe work for WHSV or the Daily News and work in the sports or weather departments. I'm dirty when it comes to covering a sporting event, and I'm always looking up the weather online. Pretty much I just want to get a part-time job that focuses on things I am interested in, and will gear me towards a possible profession in the future.

Honors Program - It seems like the honors program here is specifically designed to add a new element of stress to my life. I'm not getting anything out of it, and I don't think it matters whether or not I graduate as an honors graduate. There are so many extra things you have to do as an honors student, it just seems like a waste of time.

Fantasy football - I suck.

Atlanta Braves - Their season ended after a loss to the Astros in a marathon 18-inning game. Of course it was their bull-pen who blew it, allowing the Astros to score the last six runs of the game (The Braves were ahead 6-1 in the eighth inning).

Washington Redskins - 3-1, can I get a "woot woot"

Attention all - No I have not grown taller since the last time you saw me. I'm just really stunningly good looking, and a fine specimen of a human being. I'm the typical "tall, dark, and handsome" kind of guy. Oh, and if you see me wearing wrinkled clothes, it's because my wardrobe has been sitting in the dryer downstairs for about 7 hours now. I'm sure some people are pissed off now because they can't find an empty dryer. I don't know if I'll find the motivation this evening to go and get them.

I'm going to Mississippi next week to help rebuild down there after the hurr-i-cant (it's a joke people, like Mexican and Mexican't.) Whatever. So I'm missing a week of classes, which will probably affect my GPA. Another thing about the Honors program...I have to keep up a 3.25 GPA, and if I'm missing classes a week at a time, it's not going to happen.

I didn't see my parents on parents weekend

*Notice - Classes are fine and occassionally interesting. That is the default answer for when people ask me "How are classes?!?!". My default answer for "How is college?!?!" goes like this - "It's fun". And yes, the whole "You remind me of Ron Weasely" is still funny when I hear it 5 times a day, every day. People are so clever and original :)
I'm lying

Anyway, I'll try to post a more interesting blog next time. I was just under so much pressure to post a new one... Oh and PENN STATE is ranked #8!

Person of the week - James (myself) - I set a new personal record by taking a 6-hour nap yesterday

Post # 15

2005-09-16T16:26:00.000-04:00

It has been two months since my last post, and there is much to catch you guys up on.

Since July 17th I have turned 18. My birthday was July 19th. As an adult I purchased a pack of cigarettes (Marlboro 27's), a lottery ticket (I won a dollar), and a cigar. I smoked the cigar with Bob and somehow lost my pack of cigarettes within a day. I don't know where they went. I still have not bought porn...

From July 22-31 I endured the longest and toughest 10 days of my life. I went on the "No Wimps" backpacking/canoeing trip in the Ozark Mountains. We drove down on the 22nd, and by the 23rd we were out on our own with two facilitators. We canoed and hiked all day, every day. The food was awful. Well, it wasn't awful, but it was all very similar, and there wasn't very much. Imagine eating a cracker (with no salt) with peanut butter and honey on it every day for lunch. There was also this bread that tasted like playdo. I've never craved home food so much in my life. I had a serious craving for Burger King every day. Oh and we drank river water all week too. We put some chemicals in it so it wouldn't kill us...but it was still river water. We also didn't get to shower... On the Thursday before we left, we did a 24 hour "solo". On this solo we had water, a tarp, and a bible. We had no food and no company. It got really cold that night and it rained a little bit. Needless to say I was miserable. It was weird though, because the solo was the time that I thought about food the least. Anyway on Saturday we left and ate at a steakhouse that night. I ate so much food and drank so much tea. I was finishing off everyone elses plates. I weighed 163 before we left Missouri, and when I got home I weighed 172. I gained 9 pounds on the 18 hour drive home (we also stayed at a hotel with a complimentary breakfast).

So the next couple of weeks I started preparing myself for college. I met with friends that were going to be leaving etc... I also went on a sweet trip to Chicago with Mark, where we stayed with some friends that he met at work crew in New York. We saw Chicago and Wrigley field and met a lot of cool people. The girl we stayed with had 5 siblings, just like Mark and I. How sweet is that. Oh and how sweet is the name Maddie Deegan??

I have since moved into my dorm where I have 2 roomates, who are a combined 75% asian. Yeah, I got the shaft with minority roomates! Classes are good, and there is a lot of homework. I work 3-4 days a week at Outback, and I have to walk to my house everytime because that's where my car is. Oh and another thing, I've been sick since Day 1 of classes. How gay is that? I sneezed in my car today and snot was everywhere. I swear it was the apocalypse. I don't have a girlfriend yet, but with 2500 girls in the freshman class, I would say my odds are good.

My brother Josh got married last weekend to Erica. They are on their pleasant honeymoon in North Carolina where they have to constantly deal with some girl named Ophelia.

Anyway that's it for now, PEACE

Person of the week - Jesse from down the hall...He beat me in ping-pong, but only because he's left handed like its his job.

Post # 14

2005-07-17T13:19:00.000-04:00

I returned yesterday from a 10-day mission trip to the Yucatan in Mexico. While there we spent arduous hours of masonry/construction in the hot sun. The trip was a great success because we completed more work than was expected of us, and the Mayan workers that helped us at the seminary got a payed day off. They came with us to the beach (which was beautiful) on their (as well as our) day off. Despite the fact that there were cold showers, we couldn't flush toilet paper, there were no toilet seats, we had no beds (hammocks), insects were everywhere, and I fought exhaustion for about the last 4 days, it was one of the greatest trips I've been on. I've never had to wring my shirt from sweat, and I've never been so dirty and so tired at the same time, but it was still an awesome trip. I stayed in a room with Cole, Jason, Andrew, and Big John. For those of you who don't know Big John, he is 6'6", 250 lbs., and has a black belt. He showed us some sweet stuff, and my life was in his hands on more than one occassion. When I got home I almost immediately fell asleep.

The entire trip I was working with Mayan workers who didn't know ANY English. I picked up some Spanish and I could say a few sentences pretty well. It was pretty sweet though to meet a French couple at the airport.

I turn 18 on Tuesday, and leave for Missouri on Friday for another 10-day trip; this time a back-packing trip.

I am pleased to inform everyone that the Braves are now only 1.5 games behind the Nationals in the NL East. They are 52-50, Tim Hudson is back, Mike Hampton is back, Thompson is on his way back, and Chipper will be back soon!

Lance Armstrong is the man.

Hurrican Emily is on her way to no other than the Yucatan. She's currently a powerful category 4 hurricane (the most powerful storm this early in the hurricane season since record-keeping began in 1860) with winds sustained at 150 mph. That's more powerful than any of the four storms that hit Florida last year, and it's headed right toward our worksite. This storm is dangerous, and still has room to intensify before it makes landfall sometime late tonight.

For all of you who are wondering, I am currently leaning towards not doing marching band at JMU next year. My reasons are :
a) only 2-credit hours for 1.5 hour practices, 6 days a week, not including games
b) Rehearsals are from 5-6:30, Monday-Saturday. I would never be able to work at Outback, which is a well-paying job.
Any questions/concerns/suggestions are welcome concerning this topic.

Person of the week - "Hola Chel!" Panseano - a Mayan worker with whom I talked to every day, and neither of us understood each other.

Post # 13

2005-06-21T14:29:00.000-04:00

Beach Week -
Beach week was pretty sweet. Our house was a stones throw from the beach, which meant we could walk there whenever we felt like. I was one of the few that did NOT get sunburned (yes miracles still happen today). Highlights of the week included
- Joe getting dry-raped by Dusty
- stealing clothes from skinny-dippers
- making it through Thursday on 11 dollars
- Bob running away from people while intoxicated on the beach (this got slightly agitating)
- I read 2 books

Today we're going to visit Kyle Sherman in the hospital. Yesterday Kyle had back surgery to help correct his terrible case of scoliosis. I'm not sure how many are going, but should be a lot at UVA today.

The Braves are doing terrible. They've had so many injuries they are starting 5 rookies a game now. 5 ROOKIES.

The Redskins will most likely take another blow when there first-round draft pick Sean Taylor goes to jail. He is under arrest for aggravated assault with a firearm. Now, do you really need to go around picking fights with random people when you're making millions of dollars a year? Not only do you pointlessly go to jail, you piss me off, and that just isn't worth it.

The last two movies I've seen have been pretty sweet. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" exceeded expectations when I saw it last Friday. People misinterpret the previews thinking it's a movie about a husband and wife trying to kill each other. This is incorrect, because they only do that for like 10 minutes of the movie. It's good and I recommend it. "Batman Begins" , the prequal to the "Batman" series, was also really sweet.

Person of the day - Angelina Jolie..... so hot ....

Post # 12

2005-06-01T11:51:00.000-04:00

It has been a while my former-faithful readers. However, I am up early in the morning and find that this is the best way to be spending my time. Currently my mother and I are working on some Marching Royal Dukes stuff. If we have to attend an away game on September 10th, I will not be able to do marching band, because that is the date of my brother's wedding. Attendance to all games is required, but I don't know if this condition adheres to away games. Therefore I have emailed the drumline director and am anticipating his response.

I attended the Harrionburg v. Western Albemarle soccer game on Monday, and even heckled some. I'm assuming my readers read Geoff's blog, so you guys should know how the game went. I hope to attend the game this evening, but I have to work at 6 so... I'm quitting my job...

In other news this morning was the first day of my new bible study that consists of Jill, Tara, Rob, Larry, and I. This bible study will be hardcore-esque, in that it will be at 6:30 in the morning (yes during the summer), and there will be scripture memory. It is definitely a smaller version, seeing as there are 5 people rather than 11.

The Atlanta Braves are looking terrible after a great start. They have 2 injured starting pitchers, Chipper Jones is unhealthy, and Adam LaRoche is hitting clean-up. Andruw Jones (my favorite player) is failing to live up to his potential, (stupid Curacaoians).

I am trying to get Luke Pelican to take my spot on the upcoming beach-week extravaganza. He wouldn't have to pay full-price, which means I will be down some money, but I really don't think all that partying is my kind of thing.

Poker- have been playing well as of late, and am still using money from last weeks 80 dollar win. I have my own chip set now, so I will hopefully be playing well and often this summer.

Outback - I'm going to be trying to work more now. I wish I could have a consistent scehdule, but I have a week-long family vacation this month, combined with two 10-day trips to Mexico and Missouri with my youth group in July. These lengthy sojourns will likely prevent me from getting any kind of consistency with my work schedule.

Golf - Yes golf. I went golfing yesterday and managed to pull out a triple bogey on one of the holes. I played Tom Robinson a dollar a hole (9-hole course), and ended up down 5 dollars (which means he won 7 and I won 2). I think I should stick to gambling on things that I am good at.

My attractive girlfriend - n/a

Graduation party - My graduation party will be held at my house on Friday, June 10th, 2005. For more information you may contact me, but if you are reading this, you are invited. I have mailed out personal invitations to people outside of Harrisonburg, and hope to personally hand you guys invitations (hopefully I will see you within the week). If I don't get one to you, don't worry, you are invited. My mom makes sure there is a lot of food and drink (soda pop guys come on).

Movies - Star Wars Epidsode III was awesome. I don't care what people say about the acting or whatever, it was good, and kind of sad. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is coming out on December 9th, and I plan on being the first person to buy a ticket. I am really anticipating the release of this movie, even though C.S. Lewis claims that putting books to film takes away the imagination that only books can provide. Although this is true, I'm excited about the possibilities (with special effects, graphics etc...) that modern technology will make happen. I hope to see Madagascar sometime this week, anyone up for seeing it?

Writing - I plan on complimenting Cole's blog with an essay of my own. It will be titled "The other Universal Backwards". The subject matter of this essay will be disclosed at a later date. I must find the motivation for writing it before I delve into further details.

Mark and I plan on attending the Atlanta Braves v. Washington Nationals on Thursday. If you are interested you may contact me on my cell phone.

Person of the day - Bob Stieber, after almost killing someone with what could possibly be dubbed "the worst drive" or "the drive that got away, far away" or "it looked good until I hit it" or "it just kept going towards the wrong hole" yesterday while golfing.

Post # 11

2005-05-09T12:19:00.000-04:00

It is Monday morning and I am currently not at school. I will be missing AP Stats and AP English this morning, and then go to school at 11. I will then attend classes in the mathematical field of "pre-calculus" and the language class of "French". The AP tests are done for me....oh wait... I have to take the English one on May 20. However, since most everyone has taken the exam in that class, it will be cake. This goes with all of my other classes as well. If you take out my AP classes I have 4 "real classes" left. These include band, study hall, pre-calculus, and early release. Both the French exam and the Statistics exam went poorly for me, so I'm hoping I can make up ground on the English exam.

I have returned at last from the mysterious island of Canadia. The trip overall was pretty sweet. I got to view one of the natural wonders of the world in Niagara Falls (which was incredible), as well as the great metropolis that is Toronto. These two happenings were the highlights of the trip. Other events we participated in, such as playing at a high school in Aurora, or frolicking in an amusement park (Paramount's Wonderland), were just not all that exciting. Niagara Falls was beautiful, and we got to ride a boat right up next to it, with the cold water spraying us in our faces. Four of the five Great Lakes eventually drain into that waterfall, so you can imagine how much water flows over the edge daily. We took a cruise Saturday night on Lake Ontario, where we had a dance on the upper deck while witnessing the spectacular skyline of Toronto. You wouldn't believe the view we had of this city, which was only more beautified by the setting sun and eventual nightfall. After the cruise we took a short tour of downtown Toronto at night, noticing how clean it was in comparison to large U.S. cities (New York). The tour guide noted this cleanliness and pointed out that Toronto alone ships 46 tons of garbage to Michigan each day. Joel Ornstein cleverly chimed in "And we dump it into the ocean!"

Last night, upon the arrival of the busses at like 9 o'clock, I was informed that today would be a "B" day and not an "A" day. "B" days are my hard days, and even though my AP classes will be really easy now, I still have make-up work to do, and I haven't been to school in 10 days. I was confused because the Wednesday before I left (the day of my Stats exam), was a B day, which should have made Thursday an A day, Friday a B day, and the Monday would be an A day. However this was not to be. We were originally supposed to have Friday off, but since we had school that day, they made it another A day. So what I'm trying to say is, the band trip caused me to miss two consecutive easy days. If this had been at any other time before last week, I would've been FURIOUS.

Prom is on Saturday! After practicing some sweet moves in Canadia, I'm ready to get DOWN. Supposedly there is introduction rehearsal today after school, where we will all intently listen as to how you're supposed to hand a rose (or something like that) to your date, and then (yes there is more) walk down the aisles in a straight line WHILE attached at the arm to your date. This entire process will be mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically demanding, which is why we need this practice.

The teaser trailer has been released for "Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe". I am mad excited about this, seeing as I am a huge "Chronicles of Narnia" fan and even bigger Clive Staples Lewis fan.

Baseball fans, we are trying to put together a trip to go see the Nationals play the Braves sometime this month. If you're interested let me know. There will be more updates on this exciting proposition.

Person of the day - Dad, Happy 46th birthday

Post # 10

2005-04-28T03:30:00.000-04:00

So I'm hoping I have a prom date now, since I asked Tara yesterday. She said she would go with me, but she has to talk to her parents first, so hopefully that goes over well. Tara would be a sweet date, and if she's my date I'll start looking forward to prom.

Things are not going well in French, seeing as I have a D on my report card... I'm assuming I have a C in English... This is all because of work I haven't done, be it because I skipped school and never made up work (like the 3, yes 3 tests...and there were only 3 tests last six weeks in French) or like 2 English essays... my work ethic needs work.

Tom's last day was officially tonight at Outback. Because of this departure, I am now moving up to the top of the scheduling list. This means that I will have worked at Outback longer than anyone who works coldside. My being behind Tom was merely a technicality, seeing as he began working on coldside, whereas I prepped for like a year. My 3-year anniversary at Outback will be on July 27.

There's this guy, Matt, at Outback, that's pretty much a jerk most of the night. However, by about 9:15 he takes like a 10 minute break, and he comes back and is really giddy and happy. I'm pretty sure he goes and smokes like a joint or something during his 10 minute absense...

Story of the week - One of my favorite past-times is dropping deuces while on the clock at Outback. (Getting paid while dropping a deuce is amazing). However, on this particular night, a fellow-worker Dick Clark...aka "Ricky"... walked in on me during my precious deuce time (gosh darn Outback bathroom doors). Due to the fact of the extreme surge of adrenaline incurred by Dick's entry, I can't remember what exactly I said, but I know it was along the lines of "Dick, I don't think I've ever felt this close to you before".

AP tests are next week, beginning with French on Monday and Stats on Wednesday. Because of my band tri to Canada I will be missing the English test, which means I have to make it up on MAY 20! I'm shooting for 1's on the French and Stats, and hopefully a 5 on the English. This will be tough but hey, it's good to shoot for high goals.

I'm now planning on going to "Breakaway" which is a retreat our youth group puts on annualy. This retreat is Friday-Sunday, which means I will probably not be going camping Friday night...sorry Cole :(

Craaabes (pronounced Cra-base)

Person of the day - James Weaver (he was persistent in telling me how good I looked in the mirror while posing in different flexes while naked)

Post # 9 - Movies

2005-04-18T22:45:00.001-04:00

I was asked to make a list of my top 10 favorite movies. I had to make a top 15 (sort of) because there are so many good movies. This list is subject to change.

1) Braveheart
2) Gladiator
3) Simon Birch
4) Forrest Gump
5) Donnie Darko
6) Dumb and Dumber
7) Saving Private Ryan
8) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
9) Exorcist (Prequel)
10) Jurassic Park
11) The Land Before Time
12) Castaway
t-13) Matrix (original and Revolution)
t-14) Bambi and The Lion King
t-15) Patriot, Full Metal Jacket, Pirates of the Caribbean

Honorable Mentions - Mission Impossible, Star Wars, Count of Monte Cristo, I am Sam, The Wizard of Oz, It’s a Wonderful Life

This was very tough for me to do... recommendations for changes is welcome.

Post # 8

2005-04-17T01:04:00.000-04:00

It is official. I will be attending JMU in the Fall. I will be living on campus because my mother graciously did not offer her home.

XBOX update - Returned.

Bartok update - Black. Content. Leaning to the gay-side.

Last night, after closing the night before at Outback, waking up early and attending "choices" at JMU for 8 hours, and working at Outback again, I drove to Dulles airport to pick up my brother (gay) Jeremiah. This was a surprise for my mother, who called me about 5 times on my trip up and back, wondering where I was at such a late hour.

I'm ready for the warm weather to start.

Person of the day - Bambi. You're always there for me <3 <3 <3

BTW anyone who reads this take a look at the word "you're". It is a contraction of the words "you" and "are". It pisses me off when people spell stuff like "your welcome" and don't realize their error.

BTW anyone who reads this take a look at the word "their". "Their" is used when it is a sign of ownership. For instance "their football". There, is usually a sense of direction. "We will be eatin there for dinner". And "they're" is, obviously, a contraction of the words "they" and "are". People commonly write stuff like "Their coming to dinner with us" as if it's some sort of ownership. The correct way would be saying "They are coming to dinner with us", or "They're coming to dinner with us. COME ON people!

Post # 7

2005-04-13T02:17:00.000-04:00

Hardcore: An intense bible study led by Rob McClelland every Tuesday morning focused on scripture memory and the following of a designated book (a new book every semester). Books we have studied include, Classic Christianity, Mere Christianity, Out of the Salt Shaker - Into the World, Ruthless Trust, Just like Jesus, (I know there's another, but I can't think of it). There is a final at the end of each semester to test Scripture Memory and close reading of the assigned book. I began Hardcore at the beginning of my Sophomore year, which makes this semester my 6th. I am part of the second generation of Hardcore that originally consisted of myself, Tara, Brian, and Lindsey. Lindsey dropped out near the end of semester 1, and Brian graduated last year. After our first two semesters we joined the first generation of Hardcore (Cole, Jill, and Doug). After a couple of semesters we had a lot of new additions to the group (Mark, Nicole, Ellie, Halie, Sara, Sarah, and Amy). With only the loss of two graduates (Doug and Brian), the group is now pretty sizeable. Sadly, seeing as Hardcore is easily the highlight of my school week, this is my last semester.

I got new shoes on Sunday, and I can walk without the bottoms of my shoes flapping because they are no longer connected to the rest of my shoe. I also got sandals, which is cool because I don't normally wear sandals.

*Bartok update* - Bartok is still one of the blackest dogs known to man.

Person of the day - Rachael Fovargue (winner of Most Distinguished Senior)

Post # 6

2005-04-09T22:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday and today I was out on a spur-of-the-moment road trip. Cole, Rachael, and I drove to Boone, North Carolina (the setting of ASU) to visit our friends Doug and Dustin. After walking around campus, eating some pizza, and playing some cards, we partied until about 2. The ride home was interesting, considering Cole got a speeding ticket. When I got home, there were some pressing issues that needed some attention...

XBOX update
- After completing the tasks required of me to receive my XBOX back, my mother has refused to return my "toy". Instead of responding in anger (like a child), I responded like any rational person would. Currently in my house there are no working T.V.s. Either they have disappeared, or they have been disconnected enough that my mother wouldn't be able to figure out how to get it working again.

I feel like I didn't get much done this weekend, seeing that I just got home and have to go to work in like half an hour. I'll be at church pretty much all of tomorrow, so I won't have hung out with most of my friends. Oh well, school will be easy from here on out, so I'll have plenty of time for fun this Spring.

Post # 5

2005-04-07T03:13:00.000-04:00

Today I received a letter from the "Director of Marching Percussion" at JMU. Basically what he said was that I could do a personal audition with him... how sweet is that?? I didn't do any homework for my hard day, and the day went by really smoothly. I did some English and Pre-Calc homework during Stats, which helped me get through the day. As it turns out there really wasn't much French work to do, and we're basically reviewing for the AP test all during class. This reviewing, surprisingly, has made me a lot more confident. Today, brightened by the beautiful weather, was a pretty good day.

The other day my mom stole my xbox. I'm on my second straight day without playing Halo2. My mom says that I need to spend more time thinking about my future and cleaning my room. I'm thinking to myself "that really doesn't make much sense". Immediately following the realization my xbox was gone, I promptly took initiative (mother would be so proud...initiative) and stole my mother's television out of her room and hid it.

Braves 2 - Marlins 1 ...13 innings...enough said

Today I received a paycheck (about the normal amount), as well as a tipshare of 38 dollars (I worked for Bob last Saturday as a busser). That 38 dollars was for merely 4.5 hours of working. Combined with the extra 2 dollars an hour for being on the clock, that's more than 10 dollars an hour for doing easy work. I still hate bussing though, seeing as it's monotnous and I don't get to eat all the time.

Person of the day - Tom Robinson

Right before we closed, Don (manager) asks Tom to do some extra sidework for being late. Tom exclaims "Late?!?! I was only 5 minutes late today! That's EARLY for me!" (one can only comprehend the validity of this statement if one works at Outback). 10 minutes later Tom says "James, I forget what Don told me to do, so I'm gonna try and sneak out"
Tom takes 5 steps and Don spots him (take note Tom is 260 pounds and... huge ... easy to spot)
Don : "Tom did you do what I asked?"
Tom : "Actually Don I forgot...what was it again?"
Don : "I need you to fill that lexan with grease." (Don walks away)
Tom (speaking to me now) : "Man, I didn't even use that grease tonight, I'm just gonna try and sneak away again."
Tom gets as far as the corner of the kitchen, where he literally runs into Don
Tom: "FUCK!"
Don then makes Tom fill up the lexan with grease as he watches. Tom leaves that night sulkily.

Post # 4

2005-04-06T03:05:00.000-04:00

Stress in my life seems to have become a dominant presence. One of the main upsides of attending JMU (being in the sick drumline) has just about fallen through the floorboards. Why? you may ask. Well I'll tell you with two quick statements.

James will be in Mexico July 7th - 16th.
JMU Drumline auditions will be held Saturday, July 9th from 10AM - 4PM.

It seems as though this soon-to-be college boy can't catch a break. I have emailed the drumline director to see if there is anything that can be done. After informing my mother of this predicament, she ignorantly states "well maybe you shouldn't go to JMU". We then proceeded to get into a slight verbal altercation; something I do not do very often. My plans have completely changed from what they were at this time last week. A week ago, I was optimistic about my future, and excited about what lay ahead of me...

Moving along I'm still glad I have the oppurtunity at a college education. A degree is a degree, and one's success is determined only by how much they desire it. I desire to be successful and aspire to be more like say...Abe Lincoln. Since things haven't fallen into place for me, I will take matters into my own hands and do something with my life. Sulking about unfortunate circumstances is retarded, and is the state of mind my mother is currently in.

The Braves lost their opening game 9-0 to the Marlins. John Smoltz was awful in his first start since June of 2001. Illinois lost to UNC and Eli no longer owes me 6 dollars. The HHS baseball game this evening went well. Steve Craun had 3 RBI's in a 4-1 victory over Stuarts Draft. I haven't started on my homework yet, and it's 12:02. I don't need to do a lot of it though, seeing as I'm a senior nearing the end of the second semester.

Post # 3

2005-04-04T21:37:00.000-04:00

After staying up late finishing Fielding's practice AP exam (2:00), and after being sick for a while, today wasn't all that bad for my hard day. I didn't even take my books to French and she let it slide. Since this blog is new, I will inform any readers of my schedule for the remaining two months of school.
A days:
Band
Study Hall
Pre-Calculus
Early Release

B days:
AP Stats
AP English
Pre-Calculus
AP French

As you can see, my B days are stacked, and I have aptly dubbed them my "hard" days.

This evening is the national championship game (NCAA Mens Basketball: Illinois vs. North Carolina). If Illinois wins, I will have picked the national champion correctly 3 out of the last 4 years.

Highlights of the day :
Geoff's hair
Yudi's hair
Reading Nixon's speech while being oblivious to Lineweaver
My grade went up 7 points in Pre-Calculus over Spring Break... wtf

I conclude with an animation that most of you should've seen by now:
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/endofworld.html

Post #2

2005-04-04T03:13:00.000-04:00

My college situation:

Saint Joseph's (Philadelphia) - Wait Listed
William and Mary - Wait Listed
University of Virginia - REJECTED
James Madison University - Accepted

The whole process of applying to colleges, waiting for the news, and then accepting whatever news they give, has been emotionally draining. Spending long hours on application fill-in-the-blanks, essays, and even SAT II's (while being mentally draining and time consuming at the time), seemed to have been for naught, seeing as I only got into my safety school - JMU. To put it eloquently, I seem to have been "given the shaft" by UVA (not as much as Alex, he is more deserving than I am to be a student at UVA).
My credentials are there:
680 verbal SAT
670 math SAT
1350 cumulative SAT
740 U.S. History SAT II
690 Writing SAT II
3.9 GPA
Years of band (marching, symphonic, honors, district etc... while being the best most of the time (no conceit intended))
Church youth group, handbell choir, youth choir
Missions trips (Mexico, Tennessee)
National Honors Society
Young Republicans (includes campaign volunteering etc...)
Swim Team
Academic team (A team senior year)
Work - Outback for almost 3 years now
The list goes on.

Yet, even with my accomplishments backing me, as well as numerous essays written to display excellence in writing (which include detailed descriptions of who I am and what I've done), I was only offered admission to JMU. At least UVA had the balls to flat out reject me. I respect them more for that, as I don't like the wait-list. After months of waiting, to receive a letter saying you have to wait longer, with no assurance of acceptance, is insulting in my opinion. What the top dogs at the given college are saying is "You're not quite good enough to be accepted outright, but maybe some better people may not choose our school, THEN we will want you". I, James Weaver, take offense to that. Either you want me or you don't, and by playing games with me like that, it's obvious you don't want me, and that you disrespect me.

Anyway, without further bashing and ravings at prestigious schools, I will proceed to my other
dilemma, my mother. She is disappointed at seeing me go to JMU. She feels that I am way too qualified to be attending that school. Her biggest concern however is that I will not get to experience what it is like to live on your own, seeing that I live about 5 blocks from JMU campus. She adamantly stated that I "will not be living in this house". So even though I would not be living at home, I would still have the familiarity with my job, church, many friends etc... I understand her concerns and am also somewhat frustrated with the situation, but hey, I'm going to have a college education, and JMU is not a bad school. I sense she is somewhat disappointed because her 4th and final son won't be "pushed from the nest" like his predecessors. Joshua went to Pennsylvania, Jeremiah to Oklahoma, Josiah to Florida, and James to... Harrisonburg??

Moving along I want to list some benefits of going to JMU:
- being a marching royal duke on the drumline will be sweet (Geoff thought I might feel this way)
- if I go into real estate with Cole around the area, I will already be situated
- I know my way around everywhere
- I have a job
- I will be able to succeed and rise above the pack easily (barring I will stay lazy because of senioritis)

That was just an account of the unfolding events of the last couple of days.

Post #1

2005-04-03T23:23:00.000-04:00

Whether or not I stick to a blog is yet to be determined.