Photo #25

Megan playing the piano.

Christmas Break

Sorry it's been so long between posts, folks. I guess doing nothing all break really sucked up a lot of my time.
Not.
Well, I'm back in Lawrence after a wonderful Christmas break from school. I spent all but three days of it in Minnesota (those three were spent with extended families in Iowa), and I had a blast!
I really didn't do a whole lot over break, but I will attempt to find some things of note.
My mother purchased a brand-new sewing machine over break, so that was her new toy to play with, and she even got to fix a mysterious hole in my dress shirt.
I received my first suit for Christmas and went up to St. Cloud to pick one out and get it fitted and all that jazz. Kayla came up with us to give her opinion and to spend time with my scary family. I then wore the suit on a date with Kayla to Pizza Hut to celebrate our 4th year together. Our anniversary is actually February 14th, but because I'm going to KU and she's going to UND up in Grand Forks, North Dakota, that makes things a tad difficult to arrange.
I also received a Chia Pet from my parents (since my sister has been whining about her deprived childhood of zero pets), which I actually began to work on today. It's actually a complicated process for such a....strange thing.
Kayla gave me a book called "Comes A Horseman" by one Robert Liparulo. It's the same kind of style as Ted Dekker or Frank Peretti, which we both really like. The book was very strange. Strange on a level with Dekker's and Peretti's collaboration, titled "House." Both are very strange and make you really think about spiritual and even ethical topics. Liparulo's book delves into the coming of the Antichrist and what circumstances could surround that event in the future. I would highly recommend both.
I came back to Lawrence a few days early to attend various meetings concerning my new job as a guest columnist with the newspaper on campus, the University Daily Kansan. So far, I am only going to printed for sure twice, once in March and once in April. But, since the job description mentioned something about filling in when another column can't run, I might be able to get printed a few more times. Who knows? I already have one piece written up for them: a satire piece against Apple Inc. I pointed out their incredible snootyness (sp?) and made up a few new products for them, like the iPillow, the iPencil, and of course, the iLaundrybasket. If it gets printed, I will be sure to let you all know via blog.
Well, I believe that catches us up to today. If I forget anything, please don't hesitate to add!
Sorry about the gap!

Annoucement

Last post was my first Kansan article....but not my last!! I just received word this morning that I got an opinion columnist position at the University Daily Kansan, effective next semester!!!
I will try to post links to the stories on this blog and the actual stories on the optometrist.
I'm hittin the big time!

I'm Published!

My first article in the Kansan was published today! http://www.kansan.com/stories/2006/dec/07/holidays/
It's an article about non-Christmas holidays celebrated around campus.
Enjoy!

November Rewind

Looks like I didn't mind the gap. Sorry for the nopost November, everyone. Stuff has gotten a little crazy with finals and breaks and whatnot down here.
So, to make it up, we'll have November Rewind:
The first weekend of November, I got to go home to see my sister in "Kiss Me, Kate." But I already wrote about all that, so moving on!

I had two weeks of classes in between that and Thanksgiving. They didn't exactly fly by, but they didn't go slow either. It might have just been normal time, or something weird like that. Not much exciting happened in those two weeks.

Then I got to go home for Thanksgiving!!! My dad came down that Tuesday after my math class, and we drove the long haul back to Hutch (thanks for driving a buttload, dad!). We got back, I danced with my sister in the hallway for awhile (it was late), and then went to bed.
Wednesday I pretty much just sat around. Kayla came back Wednesday night, so I hung out there and did a puzzle with her and her family (don't ask). Thursday we had another family from church come over for Thanksgiving Dinner, which featured my mother's magnificent turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, pumpkin pie, butterhorn rolls (kinda like crossaints, but much better), and a bunch of other stuff I probably forgot. It was delicious. Friday was another sitting around day. I went over to Kayla's again and she stole a bunch of my music I had on my computer (song count now at 2018) with my permission.
Saturday I went with Kayla to her dad's brother's house for Thanksgiving with them (thanks again for inviting me, Lahrs!) It was my first time meeting the extended family all together like that. Kinda scary, but they're a lot of fun. We played two or three board games and got pretty competitive.
Sunday, I went to church and then flew back to Lawrence.
This week has been kind of exciting. On Tuesday, I wore shorts. On Wednesday and Thursday, we had a large ice storm and then some snow (i'm sitting in the computer lab in my stocking cap on and my winter coat behind me). I even had to break out the ninja mask yesterday.
Dumb Kansas weather. Can't make up it's mind.
I also decided to write for the Kansan! They've asked me once before to write for them, but I turned them down. This time, I had a buttload to do (and still have that buttload), but I decided to go for it. I'm writing about non-Christmas holidays that students celebrate. If it's online, and I think it will be, I'll post a link to it.
Well, I think that about does it. Sorry again about the gap.

Photo #24

KU Campus from the top of Daisy Hill.
Also, check out the optometrist election special!

Musical

My sister is a STAR! An angry one, at that.
I saw my sister in our high school's production of "Kiss Me, Kate" this past weekend. She was the Kate of the title, so my parents were nice enough to fly me home for the weekend to see her (I also got to see Kayla!).
"Kiss Me, Kate" is a play within a play. The plot follows a group of actors performing Shakespeare's "The Taming Of The Shrew," and there are scenes from both "worlds." It's a little complicated, but quite entertaining. Megan played Kate, who is quite angry and yells a lot throughout the three-hour show. She also sang a hilarious song entitled "I Hate Men," which a few people have decided will be shown at her wedding dinner. Hehe. She was amazing, and sang louder and more intensly than I have ever seen. And got in way more fights.
It was a lot of fun being home this weekend. This was the first time I got to go back this year. Now I have two weeks until thanksgiving break, and then another two weeks before Christmas break. Yay!

KC Weekend pictures up!

I know it was like a month ago, but i finally have the pictures from the family weekend in Kansas City. They can be found at my Photobucket account.

Chill out!

At least that's what the weather is finally deciding to sort of do, lately. It is Kansas, and as a member of my church here put it, that means that "one day it's summer and the next it's winter."
Not much has been going on here in Kansas. There's a few midterm-type things left, and it's 11 days (seven hours, five minutes) until I get to go home for my sister's musical. I didn't have either journalism class this morning, and my psych lecture was canceled (hence me updating my blog right now).
I had a worship team picnic on Saturday, during which we also listened to the KU/Baylor game. Yuck. This is the fourth game in a row that we have lost in the fourth quarter. Argh. We can't seem to be able to hold a lead. In the first half, we held them at 35-17 or something like that, and then they beat us 36-35 in the last few minutes. Also, in the last minute, everything wrong that possible could go wrong did. Interception? Check. Sack? Check. Dropped pass? Check. Incomplete pass? Check. The list goes on. I think that KU should just not come on the field the first half. Let the other team score a few times, and then come out for the second half and play that like the first half. Argh.
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I updated The Optometrist today, also. "Football dad pulls gun on coach to get son in game." Good stuff.

Photo #23

The Kansas City Skyline at night.