smooth start in a rocky place

5:45 am... woke up, grabbed my stuff, and went to LAX... i wasn't really awake, so not too much detail there.
plane ran a bit late, but still managed to arrive on time. now, with this plane, looks were most definitely deceiving. i flew frontier, and when i got in the plane, i was pretty impressed. three seats on each side, pretty good amount of room, and tv screens in every seat. i immediately to a liking to frontier airlines...
until the pilot started to move the plane.
you know how when you take off, your just sitting on the runway, then the jets just start and the plane begins to drive down the runway super fast before it pulls up and lifts off (my favorite part)? well, why we were still on ground and going very very fast, the pilot had trouble keeping the plane straight. he swerved 4 times.... 4 times! i'm telling ya, not a good first impression. i slept on and off during the flight, but didn't really do much else. then comes time for landing. i think it's pretty typical for a bumpy landing into denver, but this landing was a whole other extreme... worst landing i ever experienced... i was gonna either pass out, or throw up, or both. you know how sometimes the plane will hit a pocket and drop a little bit, causing that weightless sensation and kind of making your stomach drop? well, on our landing the following happened three times: the plane would drop for 10 seconds straight, causing that feeling i just described, only magnified a couple of times and prolonged for 10 seconds. then to compensate, the pilot would pull up for about 5 seconds, putting my stomach, which made it's way to my throat during the drop, back in it's normal place and then some. oh, and with about 5 minutes left to do in the landing, all of the sudden you hear a click. i look up to see that my overhead bin had opened on its own amidst all the jostling. all i could do was hope that my bag wasn't going to fall on me and knock me out... actually, looking back on it, i think not being conscious for the landing would have been preferable.
so that was my flying experience for today. the denver airport is sweet... i like it a lot.
then was time for the drive to snow mountain ranch (about an hour and a half away) with the 'home james shuttle'... a 12 passenger van with 5 of us in it--one from idaho, one from oregon, one from ohio, one from illinois, and me... one from california. one of my favorite sights was when we first drove out of the airport... about ten minutes out. you look out and you can see downtown denver--a cluster of sky-scrapers and tall buildings. but the bigger picture is what made me chuckle.
think back to the cartoon tom and jerry for a bit. every once in a while, there were scenes with the little puppy and his big bulldog father. more than once, tom was found in the following predicament. here's a very general recap: jerry would hide by the puppy, and tom, knowing jerry is under the puppy, would get that sly look on his face, knowing that it would be no problem taking care of this puppy and getting jerry. however, now comes the infamous shot... while tom is ready to pounce and is looking down at the puppy, the puppy, jerry, and the audience see the big massive bulldog father standing behind tom. tom may think he's all big, but dude, he doesn't know what's behind him. and then when he does turn around, his face is at belly-level on the huge bulldog, letting tom know that he is in for a pounding.
so, back to denver. cities filled with skyscrapers definitely stick out, dwarfing all other houses and buildings. but, dude, in denver, behind this "sky scraping" landscape stand the rocky mountains... massive, beautiful, and WAY bigger than that little cluster of cement. it was almost ironic... here, we humans build modern marvels that reach "high into the sky," but just behind it God has built up this massive mountain range that could crush the city (if mountains had fists, of course). so, no one tell downtown denver what's behind it, cause if it turns around and sees those mountains, it will know it will find itself staring that the belly of the rocky mountains.
so out of the van, only i was headed to SMR... and luckily, my stop was first. for those of you who know me, my biggest fear is having to go to the bathroom while being a passenger in a car with multiple people. i thought i would be fine, but about an hour in, i had to go. i decided that i could make it and braced myself for the ride... but, then came the switch backs. why would switchbacks be bad? well, lets see: when the driver takes the hair-pin turns at 20 mph, there's this law of physics that comes into play-- centripetal force... you know, the ol' water in the pale, swing it super fast and nothing falls out. so, when you apply that to a full bladder, it's not fun. plus, you know how once you see the bathroom you have to go even worse? well, driving in the wilderness might as well have been driving through a city of outhouses cause thanks to wilderness orientation, i have no problem using the b.i.f.f.... bathroom in forest floor. needless to say, i made it to SMR and through a half hour tour/check-in without having an accident. ya, i know, i'm a big kid now. yay
so.
now for some good news, and then for some bad news... i'll just mesh it all in at once. well, i know that i won't have any issues with my roommates... oh, that may be because i don't have any. instead of being placed in blue ridge (where i requested and would have had roommates), i was put in "the bays." what are the bays, you ask? well, in the bays, everyone has their own room. nice, yes i think it is. however-- the rooms are under the basketball courts and roller rink. oh, and ya, they don't have any windows. i know, it's kind of stupid, but i have found the light in this dark situation--no really, if you turn off the light and close the door... you are literally in a box with absolutely no light... that's dark. anyway, here's the good side--one, i won't be in my room very much cause i am going to be working/exploring a lot. second, it makes me spend more time in the wonderful outside. for instance, i've been here half a day, and i've only spent about 5 minutes in my room. i dropped my stuff off, slightly unpacked, then packed up my backpack, slipped on my converses, and headed out for a little hike... i was set on finding "my spot." so, 20 minutes at a leisurely place brought me to my spot. it's pretty sweet. then i went to eat after i got back, and now i am sitting outside on my laptop... i think this will all work out okay.
now i know that was a MASSIVE post, but i had to... my blog has been lacking lately, and i finally have new stuff to write about, so, ya, you get a super long post.
but, for being so good and making it to the end, i am rewarding you with pictures. only three, because the internet is super slow, but they should sum it up kinda nice.
1. rocky mountains here at SMR... sweet, i know. 2. so there's this pine beetle thing, and it's killing all the trees... super brown, skinny, dead trees, most with the fate of this one. 3. the view from my spot... at least in one direction.
so there you have it.
tootles for now.

two things

first: i don't know why i haven't mentioned this before, but i'm finally remembering. while at calvin, my roomie and i happened upon the ellen degeneres show because it was on at 10 every morning, and so we'd watch it for about 20 minutes before we had to leave for our 10:30 class. anyway, so i've been watching it back here in california, and i just can't get over how good this show is... it's hilarious, informative, and she always gives away so much... she has games on the show all the time for audience members to compete in... and she always ends up giving the prize to both the winner and loser... awesome. so, if you happen to be watching daytime talk shows, i recommend watching ellen at 4pm pst.
second: after much stress and frustration with registering for classes for next semester, i think i've finally got things figured out. on the way to doing so, i've had to chose a minor... and i am kind of excited about it. i wanted to do something completely unrelated to pe (most pe majors minor in health), so i looked at many different things until i came upon my final choice that i am looking forward to... i am officially a journalism minor. cool? i think so. so i am registered for a journalism class next semester. i'll be sure to keep y'all in on the happenings with that.

'tis all.

surf surf surf

well, jenny and i went to bolsa chica beach yesterday to give a shot at surfing... it was our second time for both of us. the waves really weren't there, but we had fun paddling around and trying to ride a few in. i got up on one, so i was pretty excited. so...here are some pics. enjoy.

a week has passed

sorry it's been a while since i've posted... so much has gone on, at the same time so little has been going on. in the past week, i've finished my first year of college, drove to greenville, OH, and flown back to bellflower, CA. exams finished well, and it was really hard to move out of our room, but we made it. i went to greenville, OH (where my roommate is from) and stayed with her for a couple of nights. i'm keeping my car and most of my stuff at her place because it doesn't really make sense to be driving back and forth from michigan to california. greenville is pretty cool... i mean, you know me, i love open country, and green.

so this is my roomie's place... isn't it amazing! so much land, and their house is beautiful (they designed/built it). the weather was amazing while i was out there.

we even took the convertible out... this is what the roads look like... isn't it beautiful? very different from bellflower.

oh, and this is just on the way to ohio.... i like how the highway was surrounded by green trees.

so that's about it. i've just been hanging around out here. i went to manhattan beach yesterday, so that was fun.
i'll try to keep y'all posted on what's going on, but as of right now, there's not much to let you in on.
ta-ta

blue moon

i am convinced that if you keep your eyes open long enough, life will show you something. i am also convinced that if you open your mind enough, the things life shows you will teach you something.
today's a great example of that.
with two exams tomorrow, i needed to really get down and study hard core. i was being drawn off campus, so i headed down to gaslight village and made myself a study spot in starbucks. i actually ended up staying there for four hours. i know--intense. after i had enough studying, i walked down to the lake. i sat down on a bench and, well, i just sat there. funny how life can be very literary... cause i quickly realized that i had walked myself into a full-circle ending (an impressive touch in books, but very difficult to pull off). so what was my sitting at reeds lake after studying in starbucks a reference to? let me take you back to july 3, 2007... a little over 10 months ago... and this is a direct quote without edits, mind you:

afterward, i went to gaslight village, got some starbucks and a treat and then walked down to reeds lake and just sat there. you know what, i liked what i saw... and you know what i saw? a lot of people go there and just sit there... even alone. i loved the fact that i didn't feel akward at all just sitting there, watching the sailboats on reeds lake, and relaxing in the beautiful weather. i think i have found my new favorite spot.

what was july 3rd? that was my first day on my own in michigan. it honestly didn't click until i found myself sitting in the very same bench. so once i realized the coincidence, i let my mind do its thing and run off on some pensive and profound journey towards a conclusion that wasn't reached until i saw a little girl twirl--and then throw up.
yes, gross. let me explain, and then i'll come back to the conclusion.
there is this ice cream place called jersey junction... great ice cream, lots of fun choices. there is this one ice cream called "blue moon," and it's, well, very blue... like almost neon blue. as i was sitting on the bench, i saw this little girl with blue all over her mouth twirling very quickly. a few steps away were her parents each holding an ice cream cone. it was this little fact that led me to consider that this girl had just had herself a nice scoop of blue moon ice cream. however, it wasn't until i saw the girl suddenly stop twirling, put her hands on her stomach, and proceed to throw up blue moon that i was positive she had eaten a scoop of blue moon. gross? very much so. but don't worry... she seemed to be okay... after realizing what happened, the girl walked a couple of paces away from her mess and proceeded to twirl more. she barely got two full revolutions in, though, before her parents scooped her up.
before this blue fiasco took place, i had been sitting in the bench looking out at reeds lake. it was a bit windy, and the lake was super choppy. i began to compare the two times i found myself there. being the end of the year, and mere days away from leaving, i found it not only appropriate but necessary to take a moment to sum up and process what has just happened--i've completed a year of college (well, almost... two more exams tomorrow, and then that's it).
here's how i sorted things out. in july, i was sitting on that bench without a clue as to what the heck i was doing. as i sat there and took in this new place, i had no clue what was in store for me. i sat on that bench without any ties to michigan... no memories, no longings, no friends, no family... although i didn't admit it back then, i was scared out of my mind. so much so that thoughts of going back to california crossed my mind. i sat there, and i felt so young and not so sure of who i was... i was confused, and my mind was racing a mile a minute. as i sat there, i was a self contained person... i was just kind of there, but still existing very much as my own person that hadn't mixed at all with the surroundings... it was just me in this new place.
today, i sat on that bench, wearing a calvin college t-shirt, and i had my backpack next to me. the sight of reeds lake was not a new sight but a familiar comforting sight. although i sat on the bench alone, i felt far from it. i sat there knowing that i'd go back to campus and see and hang out with my friends... some of which feel like my family out here. i sat there, looked behind me to a spot where a bunch of us had come one night to lay out and look at the stars. i could sit there and think of tons of memories from this past year. no longer was the line between me and my surroundings (michigan, grand rap, calvin) a harsh and distinct one... in fact, i'm so assimilated to this place that i don't think there is a line any more. to use an analogy, i'd say that in july, i was a drop of oil in a glass of water... no mixing whatsoever. now, feel more like a scoop of kool-aid stirred in to a glass of water... you try sorting the kool-aid from water after mixing it... let me know how that goes. so, i sat there, and i realized, my heart is here. looking around, i thought, this is where i want to be--it all feels so right.
that's when the blue-mouthed twirling girl caught my eye, and that's when it clicked--never eat blue moon ice cream and then twirl. well, what else did you think i was going to come up with? i'm sorry, did you expect some great connection? did i build it up too much? i'm sorry.
no, but when i realized that i was excited to go back to calvin and tell my friends the story, it was clear that had i seen this event on july 3rd, i wouldn't have known what to do with it.
then i got in the car, and no joke, the mamas and the papas came on singing, "for every season, turn, turn, turn." ironic because of the "turning" in reference to the twirling, but also because the summer season is coming up, and i'm gonna be doing a bit of turning myself. again, you pay attention enough, and life will teach you something. i listened to the song intently, almost taking it as advice, telling myself i am going to have to realize the changing and learn to go with it.
but then again, if i took everything that happened as a sign or as a way of life telling me to do something, i would have had to make some very major lifestyle changes after the mamas and the papas got done turning, because "get down tonight" was the song that followed. i don't plan on doing little dances and etc anytime soon.

ok, that was long, but there ya go. that's it in a nutshell. hope this wasn't too long, but it's gonna have to last you until thursday night, because the next two days are going to be quite busy.

'tis all from michigan...

for now, of course.

some humor for you

you know how sometimes you've just gotta laugh at yourself... or even at the situtions you find yourself in? this week had a more than usual amount of those, so here are a few stories for you... hopefully you'll at lest get a chuckle out of them.
first one... my personal favorite.
packing is crazy... my roomie and i have been worried about fitting everything in our two cars, and so we have just been packing like crazy and have been figuring out what stuff we are going to store here. lets just say large tupperware has been seen a lot in this room, and we've even managed to pack some of it up in my car already on saturday. you see, on saturday, i had to run to meijer to get all the pasta stuff for sunday night. so as i left, i asked my roomie if she needed to get anything... a large tupperware for bedding and sunchips were her request. as i walked away, i repeated the items multiple times in my head so that i would not forget.
so i go to meijer... i do my shopping... even grab a few things that'll help make studying a little more bearable.
i get back and park in short term parking in front of the dorm so that we can load up the car a bit. i proudly showed off what my shopping produced... her large tupperware and chips... and i also got water and a real simple magazine and a movie... these things are highly valued in our room. so we were all excited. we take the stuff up, make a few trips of carrying stuff to my car, and then i leave to go park my car in the regular parking.
so i get back to our room, and we're just hanging out for a bit. i got up to go in the bathroom and wash my face when i hear from my roomie, "hey roomie... quick question." i looked at her and was like, "ya?" what i heard next made me realize that i am officially the ultimate forgetter...
she asks, "so, where's all the pasta stuff?"
the pasta stuff... the very things i went to the store for in the first place... the things that brought me to meijer.... the very things that, without them, i wouldn't have been able to pick up some extra stuff. instead of forgetting the couple of things i needed to grab for my roomie, i forgot the sole reason for going to meijer.
incredible.
i couldn't get over it. i am SO horrible at remembering things... so bad. and the fact that i didn't even realize it, and that my roomie had to point it out to me. i must say, it was quite hilarious.
second story:
so sunday, i had to go back to meijer to get the pasta stuff (for real this time). what happened in that hour i was gone would have to be the strangest hour of my life. i am going to sum up the minor things: no fresh basil, a can of tomato sauce fell on my head, it was raining outside, got in line without the noodles but then quickly remembered... strange things. but, then, on my way back home, i was sitting at a red light, just waiting there. it was raining, so i had my wind shield wipers going. i'm just sitting there, at a red light, watching my windshield wipers go back and forth... and then a dead bird falls from the sky and lands on my windshield, and gets caught in my windshield wipers. a dead bird... on my windshield... going back and forth, back and forth.
what the heck? i know, that's what i thought!
so i turned off my wipers, and accelerated fast, thankfully causing the dead bird to roll of my car. it was a little fellow, but still... what the heck?
so there are two stories. strange ones, but still, quite the entertainment.
tootles

winding down

it may be time for exams, but that doesn't mean that there's no time for fun. so here are some pictures from the last week or so. we had our floor picture (its not all the girls, but most of us) on tuesday, so that was kind of fun. Lets see... then on friday (no class), i was fortunate enough to have some visitors--allison and tessa. good time... got to show off my room, although its a bit bare compared to how it normally is, you know, cause we've been packing things up. they did get to experience the infamous futon though. and tessa kept sticking her tongue out at me all day... it was hilarious.
then tonight, i made pasta with my mom's recipe (sauce from scratch... my first time EVER) for some of my friends on the floor. i was super nervous, but it all turned out fairly good, if i may say so myself. so now i super full and about to get back to some studying. i don't have my next (and last) two exams until wednesday, so the studying is pretty laid back right now.
well, enjoy the pics.

pizza orange luau

mmhmm... those were the major events of the past week... a group of us went out for some pizza (and "dressed up" to do so... even though it was just big bob's pizza). then there was steph's (our AC... activity coordinator for the floor) birthday. turns out, her favorite color is orange, so we all wore orange... boy was there a lot of orange... and it was awesome! i personally think like i look like waldo's cousin or something...
then was the NVW luau, where someone actually brought a pig from their dad's farm... a 300 pound pig! they started roasting it at like 5 in the morning. the luau is where all the leaders/staff for the dorms pass on special gifts to next year's leaders. pretty cool.

may day, eh?

may? already?
hokey pete
i can't believe it
sorry for the lack of updates... in no way is it an indication of lack of things going on... cause there are a lot of things going on. with tomorrow being friday, we're looking at only one more week of class, and then it's finals. crazy... i know.
one year of college down? i can't believe it. it went so so fast.
you remember how i was so ready for school to be done last year in high school? i was rushing through everything so i could finally get to this place known as college. now, if you have a really good memory, you'll remember my socks-on-linoleum analogy. i thought that since i was rushing so fast to get through high school (running really fast on linoleum while wearing socks), that by the time i finally got to the place i wanted to stop, i would just keep sliding by, unable to slow down (the immanent consequence of stopping really fast on linoleum while wearing socks).
i have no problem saying that i was wrong. yes, the year flew by really fast, but not a single moment of it was rushed. in fact, where as i am usually running ahead trying to pull time up to my fast pace like my dog pulls on his leash when i take him for walks, i find myself reluctantly being dragged along, and i'm wrapping around and holding on to the ankles of time as if i could slow it down (i did that to my brothers all the time as a kid). i am enjoying every moment of this, and it's a life i've grown to love... one i look forward to continuing. i get all choked up just thinking about how happy all this makes me... and even more so when i realize that i have to leave two weeks from saturday to go back to bellflower and then to winter park, colorado. the only thing that makes this remotely okay is the fact that i know i get to come back here in september.
is someone getting attached to michigan??? i think yes, very much so.

but that's all for now... i won't keep going on this topic. on to something else more exciting... like the fact that i only have class on monday wednesday friday for my schedule next semester (minus a jogging class in the morning on tuesday thursdays... but that's okay, cause it will only help with our training... training? for what? i guess you will have to wait and see). plus, all my classes fit in the 9am-3:30pm time frame... so no 8am's (which, despite my morning person personality, i have found to be very difficult... never again), and no night classes. wonderful.

so that's about it that's going on here. i hope all is well for you.

PS. tulips all over the place! they are amazing. they came out of no where too, so they're definitely a nice surprise.

ta-ta