An era is over

This is not my 90 days entry. I am cool enough to separate my God-life from my real-life. ::Struck dead:: No, I just feel like I need to be able to share every aspect of my life.

So today is the last day of the semester for the classes I take notes for. What started as "gas money" in the Fall of 2007 has replaced selling dope on the corner (as if), and today, it is complete. I have mixed feelings for this. It is, after all, my job and my livelihood and I will no doubt grieve not collecting its paycheck. However, it has become mundane and, lets be honest, who likes going to class MORE?

This job had its advantages and disadvantages, like everything in life. It was pretty care free and I was able to call my own shots, but I got taken to the cleaners this April 15th because of my "contractor" status. Also, the office got to be a hassle to deal with. I did learn lots though. I learned more than my share about political science and history. And I learned the trials of running your own business (sort of) and being completely responsible for yourself. For example, I learned it is better to send your notes in before you go to the Fox and Hound on Thursday, because at 1 AM on Thursday night, you don't want to be editing class notes.

I also felt (partially) responsible for the education of tomorrow's youth. Hehe.

Today is my swan song of note taking. I will no longer be making humorous announcements, such as "My name is Patrick and I'm the Notes N Quotes guy. I sit in the back of the class and take notes on my laptop. So if you miss class because you broke up with your boyfriend or your flirting with the guy next to you so he'll be your boyfriend, we have the notes!"

My favorite professor I have ever taken notes for was Dr. Carney. This guy was a stud. There is no doubt that he has made one of (if not) the largest impression on my collegiate career (I also had him for two history classes, without a paycheck).

Day 1: Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 16:16

I know today has two posts, but that's fine. They are two related, but different posts.

Today I read the above passage. It was great. I went to Starbucks, got a tall Pikes Place, and shared a table with a freshman cramming for a political science test (I am a political science master, FYI). I busted out my Bible and I know I scared the bahjeezus out of him. I gave him a reassuring look like, "I can rescue you from Hell." Not really. That would have been cool though.

(Reading your Bible at Starbucks is Stuff Aggies Like. That's not a real blog, but I think I might go for it.)

God created our planet in about 35 seconds worth of NIV reading. It would easily, take three lifetimes to experience its total beauty. As someone who loves the Outdoors, I love reading the story of creation. This story has been told to me many, many times, but it never really hit me until going to Montana. Growing up in Missouri and Southeast Texas where everything is flat and "boring" it is hard to get an appreciation for what the Lord did. Only until I saw mile-tall cliffs, acres upon acres of glacier, grazing bear and moose, and indescribably blue lakes could I understand the power of the story.

With that said, I honestly feel sorry for the athiest backpacker. I have been told that worship is "our devoted response to God" and have had discussions with wonderful friends about how spending time in the Outdoors is a form of worship, because we are responding (enjoying, thanking, etc) to God's goodness by experiencing it. How can the athiest stand and watch the sun rise up, over the Grand Canyon for example, and think, this was chance?

Everything that the Lord made is good, pleasing, and perfect independently. However, the true beauty of His creation is similar to the Law of Increasing Marginal Return. Lemme explain LIMR. The more you have, the more valuable it becomes. The best example of LIMR is the telephone. What good is one telephone? It's worthless. The value of the telephone lies in the fact that everyone has one and you are able to use it to call someone else and have a conversation.

Knowing that, I can easily say the beauty of His work compounds when God's creations are concurrently enjoyed. A mountain range is more enjoyable with a beautiful sunrise. The ocean is more beautiful because of the fish that swim in it. The smell of a flower is more enjoyable when it is from a lover. Does anyone else think this way?

Intro: The Bible in 90 Days

So Becky and I are in the coolest small group ever. We really are. We have Aggie friends, cajuns, theatricals, engineers, deep thinkers, racers, singers, writers, and parents. Other than spending weekends with Becky, they are the cherry on top of my Sundae/ Sunday(pun). Our church pastor and staff went through the Bible in 90 days. What an awesome task. He described this to the church body and the Flicks, our small group captains, subsequently challenged us to read the Bible in 90 days. What an awesome opportunity to change your life.

This will, no doubt, impact the direction of the blog. Not that this blog really has a direction excepting my thoughts that are caught somewhere between the kiddie pool and the roped off deep end, but I hope to use this arena to share what the Lord is doing in my life through the reading of His word. I think that last sentence was a run on.

So, if I don't post about what I read that day, leave rude and disparaging comments about my lack of Bible reading. This isn't the best forum for discussion, but we could figure something out.

Also, JT said he likes to go to bars and talk about the Bible. I figured this should help me get to the bar to drink with JT.

Anticipation gets old.

OK. So in less than 4 weeks I'll be a college graduate. After that I'll be in the Grand Canyon. After that, last but not at all least, I'm getting married. So much happening so quickly and yet so much I can't really "prepare" for.

I like the idea of being a college graduate. However, life will be different. I'll be required to shave regularly, wear real shoes, and possibly comb my hair. Not that these things are bad, or that I don't ever do them, it will just be different. I'll have to take things more seriously.

Then I'm going to the Grand Canyon. Next to marriage, I don't think I have ever been so excited about anything in my life. I went to Glacier NP and Big Bend NP, and both were beautiful, but I really plan on being slapped in the face with God's grandness. And I'm ready for that. I'm torn between trying to look at photos others have taken (to get an idea for what I want to shoot) and going into it blind. I want to both minimize my exposure to the GC and both see how to best capture its majesty in film (really, digital media). I think I'll starve myself from looking at pictures of the canyon and wait to stand in awe of one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

My life will be a huge step closer to complete on July 5, when I take Becky as my bride and make a vow to love her completely as long as we are both breathing. This will, without doubt, be the greatest moment of my life. I have not seen her wedding dress yet (and I don't plan on it). We are planning on doing "First Sight", which is actually really, really cool. Becky will get all tooled up and I will have someone else make me look presentable. Then I'll go to the worship center and wait. Becky will walk down the aisle, and when she's ready, I'll turn around and marvel at her unspeakable beauty. And most likely shed tears of joy during this most-intimate moment. This, while untraditional, will allow us to spend these moments together. I might say something sweet or give her a flower or something mushy.

So those are the three things I am most looking forward to in the coming weeks. One will be met with mixed feelings (graduation), one will be awe-inspiring (Grand Canyon), and one will be completely indescribable (the first sight of Becky in her wedding gown). The anticipation of each, while different, is starting to get old. I'm kind of ready for them to happen.

new math equation: face+mt. aggie=pain

I went to downhill skiing today with every intention of being a good student. I got up on time, I washed my pants in the kitchen sink (will explain later), grabbed my trusty chaco sandals and drove to mt. aggie (a feux snow hill on campus). Apparently after the skills test has been completed, you sled down the hill. The last time they did this I skipped class because I was a little reluctant to wake up for a 9:10 class only to goof around (as if skiing isn't goofing around). This led to me overwhelming enthusiasm for barreling down a 100 foot long artificial surface on thin plastic material. It was fun until... CRASH! This hurt like a mother. I actually didn't realize it was this bad until I got back to my truck and reviewed mentioned wound.

I really feel like if the teacher had any medical knowledge he would have put me on the last chopper out of 'nam instead of letting me participate (read: dominate) the remaining sled races. I'm not trying to brag about ability to race downhill clinging to a child's toy (clearly, look at my face in that picture), but I am tough as nails.

On to washing clothes in the kitchen sink.... I must admit that I don't actually wash dishes in the kitchen sink. I might be the worst roommate ever, but I really don't do this often. I will load the dishwasher, but if I doesn't go in the dishwasher, it is meant to be dirty. However, after realizing that my fake ski pants weren't clean (and not having enough time for a wash cycle) I had to wash them in the sink. With Dawn. Desperate times call for desperate measures. This worked really well actually. So well that when I found my tumbling shorts in the dirty clothes I took them to the sink and gave them the same treatment. Don't get me wrong, I'm not abandoning my washer (which is older than dinosaur bones, fyi), but this is a very efficient means on clothing my self in clean duds. It's kind of like camping in your house. If that's possible.

News flash: 1/2 price cheeseburgers taste better than full price cheeseburgers

It's true and we all know it. Discounted food is naturally more satisfying than its regularly priced counterparts. Every Monday, for almost two years now, we have tried to go to Chicken Oil in Bryan to get 1/2 price cheeseburgers on Monday night. If you add fries and a drink, it totals $6.15. I like to order my burger without tomatoes and using an alias. Last night I was John Wayne. I don't think the lady believed that I was really John Wayne.

Another way to increase your level of dining enjoyment is to have a nice dinner companion. More specifically, one who is willing to fly all the way from Houston just to eat greasy cheeseburgers that move through you like a Kenyan in a marathon. Andrew flew his plane to College Station again for dinner. It was a beautiful day and I'm glad he did. I had been working on homework most of the day, so it was a welcome break.

I took some pictures of his plane as he was landing, doing his taxi, debriefing, and then again at sunset before he left. They are in the picasa, but are also embedded below. I got a few that I was really pleased with.



I'm thinking I will have to do something special as my college career comes to an end.... You'll just have to see.

spaghetti oxymorons

First, let me begin by admitting my dislike for spaghetti. It's not that it's a bad meal or anything, it just wouldn't be my first choice (or second, or third). However, if it was presented to me as a gift or something I will gladly eat it, but I will never cook it for myself.

With that said, what is up with this? New Traditional Favorites? Am I the only one with a problem with this?

Life with my Aggie Ring

The world is a much better place with 4 oz. of 10k yellow gold on your right hand. The air is clearer, people are nicer, the blind can see.... I wish. It is nice having an Aggie Ring, but that is all it is. It's an Aggie Ring. They say "It is the most recognizable symbol of the Aggie Network" and that is kind of sad. Why can't it be our love, our passion, our difference.... its only a ring?

Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud, but it just seems a little .... overrated. There, I said it. And I've made a bunch of people upset, but oh well.

However, the weekend's events were well. After camping out and being in Group 1, I went to get my Aggie Ring about 4:15 with my family. It was nice having them all there. My mother handed me my ring and it was beautiful. We took some fun pictures (embedded below, including Becky before Ring Dance).

Ring Dance was a lot of fun. It is more fun if you know the rules to Texas Hold 'Em, so for your convenience, I have provided a link to the rules. Once I knew the rules, I did alright.

Before Ring Dance we went out to dinner at Cafe Eccel. This was terribly disappointing. I'm giving them 1.85 Gillies (out of 5 Gillies). What gets 5 Gillies (so you can have a comparison)? Here is a list of all things receiving 5 Gillies:

• Montana
• Berger Cookies
• National Geographic
• Naps in hammocks
  
• Lupe Tortillas
• Hot Tamales
• John Fogerty
• Chacos
• Google

All things receiving 1 Gilly:

• Flat tire while it is raining
• Transmissions that go out on the way to Lupe Tortillas
• Cold yellow cheese
• Veggie burgers
• Breaking up with significant others
• Watching What Not to Wear while Survivor Man is on
• UCLA vs. A&M in the Sweet 16 (specifically, Donald Sloan not getting his call)
  
• This

All in all, I would give life with my Aggie Ring 3 Gillies. I hope this helps you understand. Having an Aggie Ring is exactly between a sinking ship and Montana. Becky is not listed because 1) she would probably refuse to partake in the Gilly-rankings and 2) she is way too cool for any amount of Gillies.

In other news, I went to Lake Bryan today to ride with Daniel. It was pretty good. We haven't been in a while and we are both slow and out of shape. I definitely need to pick up some movement since I'm getting married in less than 3 months and want to look good in my Borat-like bathing suit I'm going to wear at the beach!

Also, Becky and I went to Research Park on Sunday. It was a beautiful day and we had a good time at the park! I posted some pictures in Picasa.

Aggie Ring Day!

Whoop!

I get my Aggie Ring in about 2 hours... I am incredibly excited. I camped out with Brent last night so we could get our ring tickets in the earlier groups. We got up there about 10:30 and were numbers 13 and 14 on the list. I set up the tent, got everything ready, and we hung out. We went to bed about 3:00 and then got up around 5:00 when the 2%ers showed up (j/k, I really am a 2%er). It was awesome!

Here is a picture of our set up. It definitely looks like something out of a catalog:


These girls made fun of our tent, saying it was too small. However, I set it up myself in about 3 minutes, while she had to rely on these other guys to set up her huge Taj Mahal-like tent. I am secretly jealous of her large tent, but she definitely could not survive a bear attack.

I cleaned my room up a little today and got some other stuff taken care of. It has been a fairly good Friday, albeit rainy. I get to spend the whole weekend with Becky in College Station! It should be a whole lot of fun.

Next posts theme: Life with an Aggie Ring!