College is finished...change has come and continues to come. So to, the blog has changed: an infrequently updated blog has become a blog medically declared to be in a persistent vegetative state. Nonetheless, the blog continues with a pulse every three months. Consider this the Q4 post.
Life has changed significantly since I've left Louisville. Florida has become my new home. The transition was not as tough as it could have been. Cumulating a year of experience down here made it easy to move and begin work. There are still aspects of the longest part of life (from age 22 to 65) to which I'm becoming acclimated.
Getting together with friends no longer happens spontaneously. These events must be planned days, sometimes months, in advanced. To ensure their success, they require multiple phone calls and personal visits to coordinate. It's almost like scheduling meetings at work, except no one has a "personal life" shared Outlook Calendar available.
Breakfast is the same: usually not eaten. Lunch is the same: hot crappy food is available for purchase. Dinner has changed: now have time to cook a decent meal.
Coordinating events is much more complicated than it was before. People have families, commitments, weekly events that they have been doing for 10 years of their life. It's hard to work with everyone's schedule. It's hard for them to "break free." Again, an Outlook calendar system would help.
Trips to the grocery, doing laundry, and washing the car have become "exciting."
Everyone is wiser. (Everyone is older than me.)
Louisville sports are not broadcast down here. There are too many better teams to compete for TV time- like the University of South Florida.
College isn't a big deal anymore. Everyone's done it.
Life does not consist of as much change anymore. Change occured every semester with new classes and new activities. Now, everyday is the same: Sleep for eight hours, work for eight hours, talk to Katie for two hours, eat and watch tv for an hour, and fill rest of time with other weekly activity: play soccer, church music practice, bible study, retreat planning.
Future life events: marriage, kids, retirement.
Did I say that everyone is older down here?
Work friends, church friends, soccer friends will never be as close as college friends.
Sense of accomplishment has dramatically decreased. College forces one to be productive: tests, grades, and extra-cirricular activities. It takes work, a lot of work, to find venues where one can feel productive and a contributing member of society.
I have a lot of time on my hands with not enough activities with which to fill.
I am now a friend / family member that "comes into town" for holidays.
Look for some photos of my daily life. Maybe it'll become a photo blog...
Friday, October 28, 2005
Friday, July 22, 2005
Fight 2
So it was time for another fight...
In began two weeks ago when Morris called while Katie and I were in Phase 2. He was asking me to help him with his flat tire in the back of Phase 2. As I approached his abandoned car, I noticed a note atop a lunch cooler which sat atop his closed trunk. I knew his didn't have a flat tire, but I was curious what was in the cooler. As I got closer, I noticed three familiar faces releasing a slingshot to my far left. The water balloon sped towards me and I got soaked. I read the note with yells of aggression in the background as they charged at me with backpacks full of water balloons: "You might need these. -Matt, Robb, Mikey" I knew what was in the cooler and prepared for battle. I think that I got each of them, maybe even twice. It was a good surprise.
Unfortunately, the ambush was meant for the four of us at Phase 2- Greg, Jason, Dave, and me. After the ambush, Momo, Robb, Mikey, Dave, Katie, and I all sat at Hiene Brothers planning the next ambush for Greg and Jason. That ambush happened tonight, after Robb, Greg, and Jason finished their final.
Preparations beagn at 17:00 with filling 180 "official water grenade balloons."
The Mole (Robb) was to call us when the package was in the open (Greg and Jason were done with their final). While those three were taking their final, Matt, Dave, Mikey, Katie and I went to the western parking lot of Natural Sciences building at 19:30 to await Greg and Jason. The bait was the same, a flat tire but this time we set up my car as the decoy.
(from left to right)
T-square, Bearclaw, Woodchuck, Raccoon
To make the story more believable we decided to have a spare tire out and the trunk open. We had 60 water balloons nearby the spare tire with a Haiku written by Dave addressed to them: "When engaged in war, proper ammo is prudent. So grab your balloons!" We had 30 balloons waiting for Robb outside of the door of WS Speed. Katie agreed to serve as an intermediary between the infantry (me) and the artillery (Mikey, Dave, and Momo)- I would give Katie the signal who then would give Matt, Dave, and Mikey the signal that Greg and Jason were coming. Everything was ready. Now we just had to wait.
The waiting was becoming unbearable since we had no clue when they would get done with their final. It started at 18:30 and could end as late as 21:00. We were persistent, nonetheless. To pass the time, we decided to practice with the slingshot.
All the waiting paid off, Robb, during the test, called Momo as the signal that one of them was handing in the test so we took our stations. In addition to Robb's call, we had visual confirmation that Jason got out of the test and walked across Speed to Vogt to wait for Greg to get done. Robb soon followed suit out of WS Speed and waited on the eastern side of WS Speed to watch for Greg leaving the building after he was done with his test. Soon afterwards, Jason walked back from Vogt to the other side of WS Speed to presumably wait by Greg's car. Greg then walked out of the western exit of WS Speed and was on the phone, presumably with Jason coordinating their departure from Speed in Greg's truck. Greg then walked around the southern tip of WS Speed to meet with Jason. It was time to implement the plan.
Upon seeing all of this transpire, it was my job as the scout to bait Greg and Jason to come over. I called Jason to tell him that I had a flat tire across the street of Speed. He mentioned that he had seen a white car across the street with the trunk open. I told him that it was my car that he saw and that I needed help getting the tire off. He said that Greg and Jason would be right over to help. I then gave the signal to Katie, who then gave the signal to the sling shot team. After giving Katie the signal, I noticed the sling shot team change within a second from a casual to a frantic appearance. I knew that they had gotten the signal.
At that time, Robb was walking toward Eastern Pkwy on the western side of WS Speed to retrieve his ammunition. As he was going to cross the street, I noticed Jason and Greg in La Maz (Greg's Mazda truck) at the Speed parking lot traffic light. I frantically signaled for Robb to move by means of the subterrain tunnel. He quickly ducked into the tunnel and crossed over below. At that point, Greg and Jason were pulling up to my car. It was show time.
From the bushes, I watched Jason get out of the truck and circle around my abandoned car to check which tire was flat. Greg was behind him also scoping out the scene. As soon as they had gotten on the north side of the car, there was a balloon hurtling towards them from the artillery. It hit next to Jason's feet. The war had officially begun.
I came out of hiding and started throwing balloons with Robb right behind me. Mikey, Dave, and Momo ran from their position with their balloons to engage the targets. Jason ran and got into Greg's truck while Greg ran the other way into the Natural Sciences building. Apparently they didn't notice the note or abundant ammunition left for them.
Jason had the door of the truck locked, but that didn't help him because the window was 1/4 open. Three of us pummeled the truck as the other two chased after Greg. I then got Jason's ammo and handed it to him through the window and he got out to fight. It was a fun, yet brutal skirmish. The water grenades proved to be durable as half of them didn't break upon bodily contact. The dent in the side of my car from a test grenade earlier in the day also attests to their durability.
Robb chased Greg into the building, got him from behind and ran out of the building. When Robb returned, he ordered all forces to converge on Jason. We threw balloons at each other until we were tired. When we were through, we gathered to laugh about the whole charade.
Then the cops came.
The cops, informed by a witness to the event, informed us that it's not legal to have such a large gathering on campus without prior approval from campus life. BS They then wouldn't let us take any pictures with them. We then departed at 21:36 having survived multiple grenades and a run in with the law. A glorious war to be remembered by generations to come.
In began two weeks ago when Morris called while Katie and I were in Phase 2. He was asking me to help him with his flat tire in the back of Phase 2. As I approached his abandoned car, I noticed a note atop a lunch cooler which sat atop his closed trunk. I knew his didn't have a flat tire, but I was curious what was in the cooler. As I got closer, I noticed three familiar faces releasing a slingshot to my far left. The water balloon sped towards me and I got soaked. I read the note with yells of aggression in the background as they charged at me with backpacks full of water balloons: "You might need these. -Matt, Robb, Mikey" I knew what was in the cooler and prepared for battle. I think that I got each of them, maybe even twice. It was a good surprise.
Unfortunately, the ambush was meant for the four of us at Phase 2- Greg, Jason, Dave, and me. After the ambush, Momo, Robb, Mikey, Dave, Katie, and I all sat at Hiene Brothers planning the next ambush for Greg and Jason. That ambush happened tonight, after Robb, Greg, and Jason finished their final.
Preparations beagn at 17:00 with filling 180 "official water grenade balloons."
The Mole (Robb) was to call us when the package was in the open (Greg and Jason were done with their final). While those three were taking their final, Matt, Dave, Mikey, Katie and I went to the western parking lot of Natural Sciences building at 19:30 to await Greg and Jason. The bait was the same, a flat tire but this time we set up my car as the decoy.
(from left to right)T-square, Bearclaw, Woodchuck, Raccoon
The waiting was becoming unbearable since we had no clue when they would get done with their final. It started at 18:30 and could end as late as 21:00. We were persistent, nonetheless. To pass the time, we decided to practice with the slingshot.
All the waiting paid off, Robb, during the test, called Momo as the signal that one of them was handing in the test so we took our stations. In addition to Robb's call, we had visual confirmation that Jason got out of the test and walked across Speed to Vogt to wait for Greg to get done. Robb soon followed suit out of WS Speed and waited on the eastern side of WS Speed to watch for Greg leaving the building after he was done with his test. Soon afterwards, Jason walked back from Vogt to the other side of WS Speed to presumably wait by Greg's car. Greg then walked out of the western exit of WS Speed and was on the phone, presumably with Jason coordinating their departure from Speed in Greg's truck. Greg then walked around the southern tip of WS Speed to meet with Jason. It was time to implement the plan.
Upon seeing all of this transpire, it was my job as the scout to bait Greg and Jason to come over. I called Jason to tell him that I had a flat tire across the street of Speed. He mentioned that he had seen a white car across the street with the trunk open. I told him that it was my car that he saw and that I needed help getting the tire off. He said that Greg and Jason would be right over to help. I then gave the signal to Katie, who then gave the signal to the sling shot team. After giving Katie the signal, I noticed the sling shot team change within a second from a casual to a frantic appearance. I knew that they had gotten the signal.
At that time, Robb was walking toward Eastern Pkwy on the western side of WS Speed to retrieve his ammunition. As he was going to cross the street, I noticed Jason and Greg in La Maz (Greg's Mazda truck) at the Speed parking lot traffic light. I frantically signaled for Robb to move by means of the subterrain tunnel. He quickly ducked into the tunnel and crossed over below. At that point, Greg and Jason were pulling up to my car. It was show time.
From the bushes, I watched Jason get out of the truck and circle around my abandoned car to check which tire was flat. Greg was behind him also scoping out the scene. As soon as they had gotten on the north side of the car, there was a balloon hurtling towards them from the artillery. It hit next to Jason's feet. The war had officially begun.
I came out of hiding and started throwing balloons with Robb right behind me. Mikey, Dave, and Momo ran from their position with their balloons to engage the targets. Jason ran and got into Greg's truck while Greg ran the other way into the Natural Sciences building. Apparently they didn't notice the note or abundant ammunition left for them.
Jason had the door of the truck locked, but that didn't help him because the window was 1/4 open. Three of us pummeled the truck as the other two chased after Greg. I then got Jason's ammo and handed it to him through the window and he got out to fight. It was a fun, yet brutal skirmish. The water grenades proved to be durable as half of them didn't break upon bodily contact. The dent in the side of my car from a test grenade earlier in the day also attests to their durability.
Robb chased Greg into the building, got him from behind and ran out of the building. When Robb returned, he ordered all forces to converge on Jason. We threw balloons at each other until we were tired. When we were through, we gathered to laugh about the whole charade.
Then the cops came.
The cops, informed by a witness to the event, informed us that it's not legal to have such a large gathering on campus without prior approval from campus life. BS They then wouldn't let us take any pictures with them. We then departed at 21:36 having survived multiple grenades and a run in with the law. A glorious war to be remembered by generations to come.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Thursday, May 26, 2005
College memories...
Yesterday, I was walking north on 3rd street from Speed to go to Phase 2. I tried to remember what it was like to walk that path over 3 years ago. The swing set was there to the left and so was the fountain. Usually kids were playing in it, taunting me to come join them instead of doing calculus homework. Jay-walking was still a fairly new concept but usually wasn't difficult at 9:15am. The lawn behind Ekstrom was green and had many trees, including the largest tree on campus.
As I rounded the corner, one memory grabbed my attention: me walking this path with two good friends one morning after a Calculus 3 test. I remembered the conversation we were having that fateful morning; it made me smile. I continued walking up to Center Hall and felt like my presensence there was fulfilling something- this very moment was meant just for me. It felt all too real again. In a matter of seconds, I again felt like a young freshman with too much time on my hands. I then suddenly became curious. My pace quickened to discover what lay hidden behind some trees. Could it be? It sure was...
As I rounded the corner, one memory grabbed my attention: me walking this path with two good friends one morning after a Calculus 3 test. I remembered the conversation we were having that fateful morning; it made me smile. I continued walking up to Center Hall and felt like my presensence there was fulfilling something- this very moment was meant just for me. It felt all too real again. In a matter of seconds, I again felt like a young freshman with too much time on my hands. I then suddenly became curious. My pace quickened to discover what lay hidden behind some trees. Could it be? It sure was...
Carpe Diem!
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Alternative sources
It has been almost a year since I was employed by someone who monetarily compensated me for my services. During this past year, my large reserves of money have slowly become exhausted. Now that they no longer exist, I have to resort to making use of the ole freshman trick of looking to alternative sources of money to pay for bills, namely food.
The first was during a morning visit to Heine Brothers which DLo described in bullet eleven of this post. That morning, I counted out the change to the barista and she laughed as she recalled how she did the same thing the previous night at McDonald's. After buying my iced coffee, I wanted a coffee cake to go with it. I was short one nickel and nearly resorted to searching the parking lot for the one coin I needed, but DLo saved me the embarrassment and gave me a nickel from his car. It was a great way to start the day.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Florida Five
Florida Five Finishes in Top Three!
We just got back from Ft. Lauderdale where UofL's Florida Five placed third among 27 other robots from around the States. The journey is not over and will continue until the end of the semester. To capture the spirit of the Florida Five, a DVD will be released late Summer 2005. To whet your appetite, here is a trailer of the DVD to come...
We just got back from Ft. Lauderdale where UofL's Florida Five placed third among 27 other robots from around the States. The journey is not over and will continue until the end of the semester. To capture the spirit of the Florida Five, a DVD will be released late Summer 2005. To whet your appetite, here is a trailer of the DVD to come...
Monday, March 21, 2005
Signing off / Porting over
I really like blogger.com. A lot of people use it and it provides a lot of customization. It has suited me well....until now.
I have found a new hosting service for me to place my musings: Diaryland.com. If you aren't convinced that this hosting service is far superior to any other, read on. These benefits far outweigh the problems it has. I can't wait to switch!
Dave, WordPress 2.0 can't even touch Diaryland and Adam, a diary is so much more manlier than a "journal." I recommend you both switch to this prime real estate as soon as possible.
Expect my site to change in the next month. Is anyone else with me?
I have found a new hosting service for me to place my musings: Diaryland.com. If you aren't convinced that this hosting service is far superior to any other, read on. These benefits far outweigh the problems it has. I can't wait to switch!
Dave, WordPress 2.0 can't even touch Diaryland and Adam, a diary is so much more manlier than a "journal." I recommend you both switch to this prime real estate as soon as possible.
Expect my site to change in the next month. Is anyone else with me?
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Best Spring Break EVER!
Everyone went to Florida this week... well, almost everyone. But it was amazing seeing about 15 of my best friends 800 miles outside of school. The weather sucked, but Area 51 prevailed and made it the best week possible. Here's a BRIEF rundown of what happened:
Sunday: Setup camp in an hour, hit the beaches
Monday: Moped gang takes to the streets
Tuesday: 20 hours of rain floods the campsite
Wednesday: Bowling, the Maze, and Putt-Putt
Thursday: Ruby dances in front of a human pryamid
Friday: Pack up and roll out
Sunday: Setup camp in an hour, hit the beaches
Monday: Moped gang takes to the streets
Tuesday: 20 hours of rain floods the campsite
Wednesday: Bowling, the Maze, and Putt-Putt
Thursday: Ruby dances in front of a human pryamid
Friday: Pack up and roll out
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Comedy Caravan
"Hey! Remember that comedian who talked about his kid not hearing his profanity, other kids being made to order in restaurants when they can't talk, and being out-drunk by a woman?"
"Yeah...I kinda do."
"You know who I'm talking about, the guy with the red shirt, blue jeans and a hat."
"I thought he had a black shirt on."
"No, it was definitely red."
An so it continues: the greatest debate this semester. What color shirt was that comedian wearing? A quick survey shows the following results:
Red Shirt- 6
Black Shirt- 5
White Shirt- 2
Dark Blue- 2
Gray- 2
Don't Remember- 4
It is a heated debate. Robb attempted to provide more evidence by making a seating chart from that night and labeling who thinks black and who thinks red. He found that those who think that the shirt was black were in fact sitting together and closer to the stage. He claims that since they were closer to the stage, that they would know more so than others sitting farther away. I must say that it is an intersting piece of evidence but his efforts, however, are in vain for yesterday morning in class Cleaver taught us that correlation does not imply causality. Apparently Robb wasn't listening to that part of the lecture.
Those who went to comedy caravan and weren't molested last night by our "Phone Survey Team," feel free to respond.
"Yeah...I kinda do."
"You know who I'm talking about, the guy with the red shirt, blue jeans and a hat."
"I thought he had a black shirt on."
"No, it was definitely red."
An so it continues: the greatest debate this semester. What color shirt was that comedian wearing? A quick survey shows the following results:
Red Shirt- 6
Black Shirt- 5
White Shirt- 2
Dark Blue- 2
Gray- 2
Don't Remember- 4
It is a heated debate. Robb attempted to provide more evidence by making a seating chart from that night and labeling who thinks black and who thinks red. He found that those who think that the shirt was black were in fact sitting together and closer to the stage. He claims that since they were closer to the stage, that they would know more so than others sitting farther away. I must say that it is an intersting piece of evidence but his efforts, however, are in vain for yesterday morning in class Cleaver taught us that correlation does not imply causality. Apparently Robb wasn't listening to that part of the lecture.
Those who went to comedy caravan and weren't molested last night by our "Phone Survey Team," feel free to respond.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Enjoy college while it lasts...
Life's Current Priorities (in an ordered disorder):
1) Robot Team
2) School (18hrs)
3) Fryberger Sing
4) E-days Coordination
5) Co-leader of weekly Bible study
6) 2-year Engineering Job Consideration
7) Seminary Application
8) Music Ministry
Please understand if I seem to be disconnected in the near future.
1) Robot Team
2) School (18hrs)
3) Fryberger Sing
4) E-days Coordination
5) Co-leader of weekly Bible study
6) 2-year Engineering Job Consideration
7) Seminary Application
8) Music Ministry
Please understand if I seem to be disconnected in the near future.
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