12 comments Wednesday, November 30, 2005

This is hilarious to me and probably to those of you who remember my horrible "case of indigestion" (diarrhea, if you want to be technical) that occurred before I departed Germany to return here. So now, technically, someone could give me Salmonella. I already had it though. So, please, don't give it to me again. It was a horrible experience that I never want to relive. And sometimes, at the strangest times and especially at debate tournaments, I can still feel the cramps of doom!

Was that too much information?

Update: If you click on the comments be ready for some real "potty-mouth" discussion. By clicking on the comments you enter at your own risk!

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As you've probably noticed, I tinkered with the flickr photo badge. Originally I had a Macromedia flash badge that dynamically displayed numerous images. However, in realizing that my blog is usually very image intensive (which means it takes longer to load), I decided to remove the flash badge and re-replace it with a simple html badge to make loading my blog quicker.

Later this week I plan to change the masthead and, possibly, the template colors. I'll keep you all posted.

The first REAL snow of the season finally hit tonight, causing the temperatures to drop and the roads to be icy. Joy!

0 comments Monday, November 28, 2005

Earlier today I had the joy of playing phone tag in order to get things set up and scheduled. When you take a week away from the world and relax unfortunately the world doesn't break with you. Needless to say, I got things in order after being on the phone for the grand total time of an hour. Reasonably so, I guess, since I had five appointments/items to take care of.

The most interesting one, though, was the one with my travel reservations. I've been calling travel reservations for the past week and a half and only now did they just get things fixed up. My return flight from Germany to here at breaks end was originally very messed up. In order for it to have worked, I would have had to time travel. Which, of course, would not do since I'm not John Titor...nor am I fake like Mr. Titor. Haha! But that's besides the point. While I was waiting on the line during the 27 minute phone call, I noticed that every time I said "OK" they agent would reply "Thank You" or "Thank You VERY much" just to spice things up a bit. Originally I thought it was just a common courtesy thing, but she always said it after I said "OK," even when it was just to say "Ok, I get you." While it was pleasant, it was kind of strange. I don't think I've ever heard that many "thank yous" in one single conversation ever. Well, except for those lame soapbox thank yous that stars give when they get their awards. I guess it's just interesting to me that customer service practically demands that you be robotic in replies. Either that or the agent just felt it was necessary. Either way, it was good, just strange.

On an even MORE random note, I've been listening to Tristan Prettyman lately thanks to Lacey's CD collection on the road trip. Tristan Prettyman's "twentythree" is an awesome album. I especially like "Love, Love, Love" and her duet with Jason Mraz, "Shy That Way." If you like up-beat mellow semi-folk alternative pop-rock (yeah, that's quite a mix of descriptions there!), you should check her out.

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The Rules of Anime!

This was on a car I found on campus. It says "The Rules of Anime" with a picture of Goku from Dragon Ball Z (DBZ). Check it out, it's clickable.

2 comments Sunday, November 27, 2005

Thanksgiving Break was a blast! There is no other way to describe it, honestly. It embodied everything a good break should embody. Originally I was going to write a long post about everything, but most of it can be seen in my pictures (slideshow) on flickr. When Lacey uploads her pictures you can see the other half of the trip too. If you are counted as a friend of mine on flickr you will be able to see more pictures, by the way.

It was great to visit with Chace again after not seeing him for two years. It was also good to finally meet Sasha, his girlfriend of a year and a half. Hanging out with both of them awesome. We had such an amazing time. Thinking back to it makes me smile and laugh at all the random, but hella' fun things we all did together.

Victor and the Tetons were amazing too! I've never seen such a naturally beautiful place in my life. Everything was so scenic! Plus, it was very relaxing and calming. There was no stress at all over break. Seeing the tetons and looking down at the valley made me realize the grandeur and grace of mother nature. Truly amazing.

Check out some of the select pictures below (clickable to my flickr account) or click the link above to look at the slideshow and see all of the pictures.


The Snake River

Register Rock

The Tree In The Rock

My Shoes and the Grass

Chace Trying To

Ripley!!!

In The

The Tetons, Again

A Shot Of The Valley

Lacey, Me, and The Tetons

Natural Tetons

Carshot of The Snow-capped Mountains

2 comments Sunday, November 20, 2005

Now that Thanksgiving break is finally here, I'm free to relax and breathe. I'm going to be out of town and down in Southern Idaho for most of this week. I'm sure it will be fun. We'll be visiting my good friend and old roommate Chace and then hanging out with Lacey's extended family during Thanksgiving.

Sounds eventful, huh? Well, I'm sure it will be once things get going. That's how everything has been for most of this semester: eventful.

Speaking of eventful, on Friday night Nancy, Lacey, Glenn, and I saw Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. Having read all the Harry Potter books, I wasn't entirely impressed with the adaptation to the big screen. It was very well done though. The shading and special effects were very well done. The most interesting aspect of the movie, though, was how they portrayed Voldermort. The makeup people must have had a fun time with that. He was similar to how I pictured him for the most part, except I didn't picture him prancing around the ground like it was hot.

We also saw an extended preview to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. It looks amazingly awesome and I can't wait to see it. I have a friend here who is close friends with the people who created NarniaWeb (which is based in Boise) who is lucky enough to see the sneak preview showing. Apparently NarniaWeb is the largest fan-based website dedicated to Narnia, and that's why the creators and maintainers are getting free tickets to see the sneak preview. Lucky!

Which reminds me, Lacey's trying to tell me that I need to see RENT (or as I like to call it "Everyone has AIDS!") with her, but I don't think that's going to happen. Besides, there are many way better movies coming out that are worth seeing, like Aeon Flux.

Aside from that, I judged at a high school speech tournament yesterday. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was surprised at how well most of the competition was prepared. I remember going to this same tournament last year and seeing people unprepared and running around dressed as Frodo with a green cape and leaf brooch. Talk about accessorizing! Yeah, it was kind of disturbing. However, as I said before, most teams were prepared. It was great to see debaters who were well versed in their material that spoke very well (except for Policy debate, because POLICY DEBATE IS THE SCUM OF DEBATE). Even the novices were good, especially in good ol' L-D Debate. It's good to see that form of debate starting to thrive with excellent competition.

Needless to say, it's been a good weekend so far. I'm sure the week will be even better once we make it to Southern Idaho.

In the meantime, download and listen to Jack's Mannequin's new song: The Lights and Buzz. Available on iTunes. It's an excellent song, full of strength, catchy beats, and emotion. Worth the $.99!

Have a rock'n good time this Thanksgiving, everyone! Be thankful! I know I'm thankful for many things: Family, Friends, Music, Money, Food, Video Games, Jenna Jameson er Kristin Kreuk or Michelle Branch or BOTH! You get the picture! ;) If I'm near a computer during break I'll be sure to type up a post and let you know what's been going on. Rock out, ya'll!

3 comments Friday, November 18, 2005

Questionable Content


Haha! Questionable Content is hilarious. Everyone should read it.

5 comments Thursday, November 17, 2005

I finished my Abnormal Psychology test in roughly 20 minutes and I feel very confident that I did well. Thank God for a good memory and note cards. I don't know where I would be without either of them. Seriously, I don't.

I'll post a weekend in review later today or tomorrow so you can hear how we did at the tournament and whatever else went on. I've been busy playing the catch-up game this week, though.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Well, it's more like one of those propeller planes. Anyway, I'm out until Monday. Hopefully this will be an eventful, fun, and worthwhile weekend.

0 comments Thursday, November 10, 2005

Tautology /Tautological:

A)Needless repetition of the same sense in different words; redundancy.

B) An instance of such repetition.


Aftre reading about Intelligent Design (ID) for the last hour I think my head hurts. This is one of the words I came across numerous times in critical analysis of ID.

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I wish I had something more interesting to write about, but things have been mellow lately. Classes are good and everything seems to be winding down as Thanksgiving break is on the horizon in a week.

Our last tournament of the semester is this weekend, possibly my last tournament for this academic year (pending some much needed downtime to think about everything). After all, when I finally was able to think about everything without freaking out I came to the realization that it was the center of all my stress. So some time away from speech and debate will be very welcomed.

The nerd in me wants to get Dragon Quest VIII because that's what the nerd in me does--play video games. From what I've read, this is supposed to be the biggest game on the PS2 for the end of this year. Should be interesting. Apparently it's so big in Japan that they release the game in segments so no one can pirate it as rapidly.

Aeon Flux looks awesome. Though, I have to say that Charlize Theron looks strikingly similar to Trinity from The Matrix. It looks bad ass though. Sci-fi and high tech, my kind of movie. I wonder how similar, if at all, it will be to the original cartoon that was on MTV. Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire comes out next weekend, which I'm entirely sure they butchered the hell out of in comparison to the book. But hey, I already have reserve tickets and I'm going with my fellow nerds. After which we will theorize about what else is to come in the final tome.

And, finally, I've been meaning to update this template as I usually do every month. However, I haven't found a song that really strikes me. So, the template will stay like this until I do.

2 comments Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Tales of an Enlightened Fellow is a photo blog consisting of photos largely from the Czech Republic. I stumbled upon the blog while blog-hopping as I tend to do every now and then. Seeing the pictures of Prague immediately captured my eyes and instantly took me back to the my numerous visits there. It's such an amazing place. In my opinion, Prague and most of the Czech Republic is a real hidden beauty among Europe. Most people think that Paris, Berlin, Rome, Vatican City, and England are these beautiful and excellent places, but they really pale in comparison to the scenic beauty of Prague. It has a fusion of old Europe and new Europe that meshes together against a backdrop full of shades of green. It seems subtly beautiful at first, but when you're in the downtown area there is so much culture and life. Oh how I long to return again in the near future.

5 comments Saturday, November 05, 2005

[Background: My Western World Literature class, discussing Lysistrata and it's cross-implications today. Our Professor asked our class what would have happened if a woman would've been president instead of a man on 911. Earlier during the discussion I pointed out that we should look at it from a Communication standpoint primarily, then a situational standpoint. Most people, however, debated otherwise.]

50 Year Old Woman: Well, I personally think that had a woman been president in light of 911 she would've done things differently. For starters, she probably would've thought things through and discussed things with her cabinet. Now, her cabinet would probably be full of women, or mostly women, and I think they'd sit down and discuss everything before taking action.
Me: (leaning over to Brianna, my friend behind me in class)Yeah, it'd be just like "The View," only now they'd try to discuss politics along with shoes, hair, cosmetics, and sex! Could you imagine?
Brianna: (laughs loudly) Oh my god, that's hilarious! They can barely function as it is!
Me: I know! They'd be like, "I think Tony Blair actually has more makeup on him than I do!" "Me too! But, oh my god, did YOU see what he was wearing during our meeting?" Blah, blah, blah.
Brianna: Yeah! Just imagine if there was a "Monica-gate Scandal" again?
Me: Now that'd be interesting.
Brianna: Yeah it would!
Me: Well, I mean it would be interesting if it was woman on woman action.
Brianna: Oh jeez! (laughs) Yeah, well if a certain somebody was in office we just might see that.
Me: Well, rumor has it that she has a penis.
Brianna: Would that be "girl-on-girl" action then?
Me: Hmm. From the waist up, yes; from below, no.

0 comments Friday, November 04, 2005


After being terribly stressed out and beyond EMO-depressive, I can finally say that things are better. The last few days, which I originally termed "diarrhea" because it was like shit was everywhere, are now more of a point of reflection than anything else. I look back on them and still wonder how I let so many things get to me. It was like one thing piled upon another until I felt like I was trapped, burdened. The slightest things were trigger points, each like a pin pressing into me. I couldn't sort things out, I couldn't set things straight. Instead, I let everything become some sort of issue that was beyond my control, which seemed to make things harder and harder because I wanted to have more control.

It wasn't until I talked to my mother, after practically having a nervous/emotional breakdown, that I came back around. She humorously reminded me that sometimes these things happen for a reason. Particualrly, when I told her that my brother had broken some of my things, My mother noted that sometimes things get broken and our savings has to be used to replace things. In which she jokingly talked about how my brother broke a wired German window (which are VERY expensive) when we were still kids and how my dad and her had to pay to replace it instead of going on a vacation to Italy:

"Here I thought we would all have a nice vacation under the sun, enjoying delicious food, playing at the beach. Instead, our vacation was turned into the lines and broken glass from the window. I remember telling you dad, 'See that line, that's us on the beach.' So, see, it's not so bad. Maybe it was meant to be? Maybe, because we didn't go we were together as a family more or less because that was what was nessisary at the time. Sometimes things are as they are and you just have to learn to let them go and know that somehow everything will work out in due course."
It made me laugh to think that so many things happen "out of course" (the course here being the desired path of things) but still happen for a reason. It was then that I realized that it was time to just let everything go.

Today, I feel like all that weight has been lifted. Sure, some things aren't as I want them. Not everything is supposed to be, though. And I'm fine with that because I realize that sometimes in the lack of control there is control, in letting go there is still holding on. So, maybe this weight was a gift, like I had to see what I could lift.

Image compliments of ssilence at deviantart.com

2 comments Wednesday, November 02, 2005

I must admit that things haven't been so good these past few days. They haven't been horrible or earth-shattering, but they have been annoying and generally bad. I was saying that everything was "half-good" for awhile though, so at least I was being optimistic until today. Most of this started after being in Oklahoma when I was basically irksome and tireless, waiting to return to college after a not so challenging tournament. After I got back, it was like being thrown back into school full force. There was no break time, no time to "self-situate." This phase usually involves either "recovery time" for lost hours of sleep (which thereby means ignoring the world for multiple hours at a given time) and/or playing video games and watching TV like a raging fat ass (in which, I stay locked up in my room only to come out to eat, drink, and use the bathroom). Granted, this wasn't the first time that I wasn't able to "self-situate," so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, it wasn't problematic last year when, after returning to Idaho as Spring Break began, I was driven back to the airport eight hours later to fly to South Dakota and visit the grandparents.This time, however, I realize that I was mistaken.
 
Returning in full swing has, by no means, been the death of me. It has, however, been difficult, especially when many other things seem to have started caving in around me. Grades, for example, haven't suffered but they've taken a nice hit I'm sure. After tests and papers, I'm sure they're what anyone would say is great. And they are, really. I want them to be better though. Aside from grades there have been plenty of little things that have happened to make things not so good. Recently I found out that my good ol' debate partner and dear friend, Hillary, is officially quitting the team at the end of the semester. This was somewhat expected, of course, especially since she's been hearing wedding bells since Jonathan (her missionary boyfriend) returned. I know this sounds incredibly odd, but in the debate world a partnership is almost like a marriage or a really close friendship. When you leave or your partner leaves, then, it's basically like a divorce (seriously!). Granted, you don't have to divide the assets or go to court about who gets to keep the kids (I guess trophies would be like kids though?), but it is still a bit tumultuous, especially since Hillary and I were amazing together. As such, I've had to obtain a new partner who is, as Lacey says, "green." I'm not sure that's a term I would use myself though. He's intelligent and has decent experience, but he isn't up to par with Parli just yet. Combine that with the fact that we, as debate partners for the next tournament once again, have a great deal to figure out in terms of style and content compatibility. Needless to say, that's been more than slightly rocky. Yet, as I've been reminded by numerous people, they have the potential to get better (doesn't everything though?).

To add to this string of grief (yes, there is more), my appointment time for signing up for classes for the spring was during work hours. Which I originally thought would not be a problem, but it soon became one. Although the testing lab was nearly empty when I signed in to sign up for classes, the door slowly filled with students. There must have been at least ten students I had to sign in which, in turn, took away from time to sign up for courses. What's worse is that I was unable to get the Communication courses I wanted as they were entirely full. I was lucky enough to get the history courses that I wanted to take, though. Still, getting those classes is not consolation as I intended to get them anyway.

Next, after buying a brand new microwave and coffeemaker yesterday evening, I come to find that the coffeemaker doesn't work at all. This after I've woken up earlier than usual to make sure I'll have a nice cup of coffee before class. Yeah, nice to drag ass through class on an already gloomy day. And since I didn't get my coffee this morning, I decided that it was beyond essential to go to Starbucks and buy at least a grande in order to compensate for my loss. After obtaining the coffee, however, it was great to have a good fourth of it spill on my new jacket and singe my hand as I crossed the street on my way to work.
 
So, here I am at work typing an entry incognito through my e-mail account just thrilled at the potential prospects that today has yet to bring my way. Which, of course, are certain to be uplifting and enriching to my life as everything else in the past week seems to have been.
 
And still, I'm learning some lessons. The primary one being that I'm starting to see that I need downtime, break time, any time for me time as the time passes. Of course, the notion of the cyclical nature of things biting you in the ass is obviously prevalent as well. Perhaps the most interesting lesson, though, is that of movement and motion. I still keep moving even though all of these things have been "half-good," mainly because there is no stopping, but also because there is no point to sitting and waiting.