The Marathon

Tonight was the men's marathon of the 2008 Olympics. I was ready for Ryan Hall to put on an amazing show for the US and surprise a few of the world's best runners by taking a medal in the race. Hall demonstrated some amazing ability in his marathon debut's and at the US Trials. He is an amazing follower of Christ and an excellent runner. So I was pumped that the States might actually get a medal in the marathon. But things didn't seem right soon after the start. Hall was 1 minute back as soon as the leaders took off. He didn't have the usual stride that he does when he is running his best. He soon dropped to 3 minutes back before the half. The leaders just kept raising the level of intensity throughout the race and Hall could not keep up. He eventually finished 11th behind fellow a fellow American teammate. Both ran right around the previous Olympic marathon record but the winner from Kenya destroyed the old one. So I was a little bummed that Hall didn't run as fast as we thought he would. But he is young and has a good many years of great training ahead of him so there is plenty to look forward to.

Beginning of A New Year

This week was the beginning of a new year. Classes have started, the cross team has got things running at full speed, and life is busy already. I haven't even had stuff to read or write and I've already had some really late nights! It's crazy! But it's all good times. I am excited though about the year ahead. Things wont always be easy and it will be tough but I am excited about the places God will take me and the things that He will reveal to me. My fraternity has started getting things ready for rush and we are ready to get some really great guys in as brothers! The cross team is looking really good and we are fit and ready to get the season started. Classes are going to be good but I've got a ton of papers to write this year. I have to write my senior thesis and it's got to be at least 20 pages! On top of that I have 5 classes that have at least a 10 page research paper! So pretty much I will be writing a small book this semester. Look for it in all major bookstores. Right now I am sitting at the BCM Cookout running sound and doing all that jazz. It's good to be back at school and be with my community of believers and followers of Christ. We've already had some quality times of worship and praise and prayer and scripture study. I am blessed to have some of the greatest friends that you could possibly want! This week I have been nothing but surrounded with love and support and encouragement from all of them! I thank God for everyone who is a part of my life, I am truly blessed! But since I am at a cookout I do believe that I must go get a burger and some chips and a drink. Later.

In A Good Spot

I haven't written anything in a good while. And I probably should have but things have been a little hard for me these last few days. I don't want to get into too much detail about things but the girl that I have been dating for almost 2 years ended things this week. So I have been dealing with that this week and have not had the desire to write and all that good stuff. But God has graciously kept me in His wings and allowed me to grow in Him. A very good friend of mine who I consider to be one of the greatest men I know gave me a sermon to read. It's called The Expulsive Power of A New Affection and it was written by a guy named Thomas Chalmers. And it is one of the greatest writings I have ever read. One paragraph holds more spiritually sound doctrine than a years worth of sermons by most of todays pastors. You can Google it and find a pdf file pretty easily and read it if you want, which I suggest. So, as the title suggests I am in a good spot. I am in a vulnerable spot where God can direct and lead me in the journey that He has for me. Things are not always easy but I have a few good friends that are helping me find God and are helping through this difficult time. I am thankful for those who have listened to me cry, yell, and just talk about where I am. They are truly some of the greatest friends in the world and they know who they are. It's going to be a good year and I am sure that there will be much to write about. So, get ready. It's going to be good.

Yesterday

Yesterday I rode my bike. For 50 miles. It took a little under 3 hours so that put my average speed around 20-23 mph. It was one of the toughest things that I have ever done. We climbed a mountain called Fouche Gap and at the top you can see the entire area of Rome and the surrounding country! It is beautiful. I don't ride with my camera, I should but wait, I don't have a camera! But maybe I will try and go up again and take some pictures so you guys can see how high we were. Then we flew down the mountain and had rolling hills the rest of the way. Long ride short, we finally got back into downtown Rome to the bike shop and just sat down in front of the fan to cool off. I then went to a place in Rome called Schroeder's Deli. One of the best pizza places that I have ever been to. We had some good eats there. But after that I had to take care of the things in town like going to the bank, paying rent, and so on. So I rode my bike through Rome all afternoon doing the things that I needed to do. And I finally got back to my apartment a long time after I had wanted to and I sat down and felt good about myself. Instead of driving around in air-conditioning I rode my bike. I didn't do the convenient thing. And it was simple. Anybody can ride a bike or walk to get things done, it just takes a little more time. And that was the nice thing about it. It slowed me down and I wasn't in a rush to make it to the next light while it was still green or not be sociable with the people I met. I guess what I'm saying is that I think I caught a glimpse of what could be if people just slowed down. If we all just walked or biked to places how much more happier would we be? Our air would be cleaner, we would be more physically fit people, we might smell a little but who cares! We would not be so caught up in getting things done by a certain time but rather we would just be along for a ride or walk. I don't know if I'm just too much of an idealist but I think it would be an amazing transformation of the Western culture if it came to fruition. If we all just enjoyed life without the pressure of time or any of that it would be such a blessing. But anyway, that was yesterday.

My New Place

I have spent the last few days moving into my new place and getting things set. I'm trying to make the place fee like home. It's a little difficult at time because my roommate isn't here yet so setting an apartment up alone can be boring at times. I'll be living here for about a year and then moving on to grad school or something different. Don't have that part figured out yet. But for now I will be here. So I apologize for the bad quality of pictures but it's the best I can do with a camera phone. Don't complain. So here's the goods and enjoy! It's a little like Cribs but without the fancy camera shots and the sexy bathroom scene and awkward bedroom scene either!





Here is the extremely small T.V. that I got for my room. It's small but it will work for me. And the corner of the bed.



And here's the bed with the empty bookshelf beside it. Hopefully I can put all my books on here without it falling. Cross your fingers.

And another shot of the bookcase/desk. I didn't want to buy a desk so I'm using my Fender Amp and my Mesa Boogie cabinet. And I stole the chair from Katie. So, it's rigged but it works for me!


And we now have the dinning room. Complete with folding metal chairs! And it will also serve as a bike shop for myself. Don't make fun.








The best part! The half full living room! Complete with the most comfortable recliner in the world! But without a T.V. or any other furniture. Hopefully they will get here this weekend with my roommate.

And the back porch! Complete with camping chairs and Cutter bug repellent. My favorite part of the whole place. It's a great view of pine trees 4 feet from the deck! Ha!

Hope you all enjoyed the tour and all are welcome to hang out. Just call me.

Farting Bubbles and Losing Nipples

So. I spent the weekend up in Franklin, TN. And it rocked! We had some stinking good food and plenty of laughs to go with it. I got to meet some of the most amazing people in the world and share a road trip with a good friend! I really enjoyed the town and would love to move there and enjoy life! But back to the title...

We did a slip and slide on Sunday afternoon and it almost cost me my life! We had four 25 ft. sections going down what I would call a freaking steep hill. And to top it off we put a ramp at the end of it that would shoot you into the air to land not so safely into a kiddie pool. Needless to say it was crazy fun. But we put so much soap on it that it got all in everyone's shorts! And I said that it put new meaning to the phrase "farting bubbles!" I sweat that I had enough soap in my butt that I could really fart some bubbles! The slide was tons of fun even though I missed the landing a few times. One time I was flying down the hill and started to drift to the side. Everyone was standing there so I thought that they would catch me. WRONG! Everyone moved out of the way and I went in the air and then straight to the ground! But it made for some good laughs so whatever.

Now. Losing nipples. Not fun. We had been doing the zip line about halfway so that people could get used to it. A few people had gone and everything was going well. Someone asked who was going to do it from the very top and without missing a beat Shannon and Brock both said that I would. So I did. Not a good idea. I thought everything would be alright because we had engineered the thing to work perfectly. So I go flying down the thing and when I hit the bungee lines one of them snaps and hit me right across the nipples and chest! I screamed out that I lost a nipple! People didn't get it until I raised my shirt and has some pretty huge welts and bruises on my chest! Somebody has pictures but I don't know who. When I get a hold of them I will put them on here. But it's still sore today. But this past weekend was a blast and I had lost of fun! But now it's time to go nurse my wounds and get some sleep. Yes, sleep in the middle of the day! It's a blessing from God, naps that is!

Here's To You

So a few of my friends have complained that I don't write in my blog enough. And it's probably true. I just have a hard time remembering to sit down and write all the things that I do! I guess the reason is that I feel like I never do things that are worth people taking the time to read about them. But I give the people what they want, so here you go.

Today was day one at Brock and Auny's house. Shannon, Mallori, and I drove up to Franklin, TN last night. It was a pretty fun ride with lots of funny stories and laughs that come with them. We met everyone at Starbuck's and spent a good while talking and catching up with everybody. But back to today. We worked on Brock's zip line that he put up at his house last week. We thought we had it fixed but after 3 times we broke it! One of the bungee cables snapped! It was crazy! But we eventually got it fixed to where it will work and be fairly safe.

This afternoon I learned how to ride a dirt bike! We went to a local track and I learned how to ride. I didn't do any of the technical jumps or anything but I did a few loops around. It was a lot of fun! I looked a little goofy trying to learn everything but once I got the hang of it I was able to ride around fast and hit a few little jumps and got some air! I rode for a little while just in circles to get comfortable. But now I know can ride a motorcycle!

Tonight was a lot of fun with everybody! We had some AMAZING Thai food and then some AMAZING chocolate! It was some of the best food that I have ever had. Almost as good as Red Fish from Marina Cafe and Chocolate Stuff from Barbara Jeans! That's how good this stuff was! But it's late, I still haven't adjusted to Central Time at all. Tomorrow is going to be another fun filled day! Good food and dangerous fun! Look out!