Just Over The Border

So after a brief [not quite a] week, its time for me to once again bust this joint, this time headed south.

As long as i can remember, travelling always required this little annoying preprocess known as packing. Typically crammed into less time than ideal, packing vitally impacts the amount of enjoyment you have on the trip. No one wants to ge to that last day and stare horrified into their luggage at nothing at all. No shirt, no underwear, no socks. If only the packing process had been taken a little more seriously, the last day would have been spent in fun rather than in stench. Travel hot spots clearly realize and capitalize on the disregard we all show packing. "Oh, you forgot your deoderant...sure we have some...its only 10 dollars for a travel sized stick.." Hmm, yeah, well i guess there isnt really a choice is there...i mean BO is no fun.

All that to say, in less detail than i intended, that packing is annoying, but necessary. Also, i havent started yet, so i need to get on that. I'm sure much will be posted when i return.

A Word Concerning Our Favorite Boy Wizard

Don't worry, no spoilers here (paul). I just thought i should address why i never posted the many opinions and emotions that reading HP&tHBP instilled in me. I really just don;t want to give anything away for all my readers (and we all know that there must be hundreds of them) who haven't read the book yet (losers).

Please don't doubt my dedication to the series. I had the book polished off with in 32 hours of making it home from camp, and all the interviews and fanchat the book has caused is high entertainment to say the least (wander through the HP links on the left if you are interested).

JK Rowling is a master of her art. I loved the book, and i will be more than willing to talk to any of you about most anything about Harry Potter.

On a side note, there is a new countdown ticking away down there!

Summer Blast: Antichronologically

Summer blast was really great times. Realize that i loved it. These pictures are in reverse chronological order, but it really doesnt matter...so read on, comment on, and (art thou angels? nay, we are but men)ROCK ON!

Why are we all sitting on the lawn, apparently bored? Truth is, waiting is a pretty integral part of summer blast. Whether it be at Lambert's (home of throwed rolls), at the lake, for food in general, or for the interns to set up games, nothing satisfies me mroe than a nice long wait, usually interrupted by captain video or some other camera-bearing nag trying to create nonexistant photo ops. (haha that sounded really harsh, and only partially true...the captain video part is definitely true...can captains be female?)

The interns...so hot right now. Doug happens to be sporting the pose he displayed to all drivers passing the people mover (kind of like a short bus...shuttle...whatever) on the whoel trip. Usually kissing of the bicep accompanied the pose instead of that boyish grin. Great kids for the most part (mikey is single...the one in the cowboy hat...mmmhmmm...)

These are my boys who shared room 9 with me during camp. Composed entirely of seniors and graduates, out room was once again a sure sign that Leenerts (our youth pastor) uses no subtlety when stacking out his room. I mean seriously, he could have thrown in a junior or somehting, but certainly not an underclassman.

Those three teeshirts are reminding me of the mexican flag. That powerade matches Andrew's shirt. I like these three kids..a lot. College will be rough.

Andrew and i are trying to be happy whle jac and suz act hardcore. Thats the difference between the White Knights and Red Warriors (the two competing teams at Summer Blast...hopefully u can figure out who's on which team. Otherwise, i'll have to send Tommy back there with a tackhammer...well you know the rest): red warriors have fun, white knights win...choose wisely.

Don't yo want to join our youth group? I know i do. (dont worry, they're not really hardcore)

I don;t know what to say...my girlfriend rocks...too bad she's part fo the darkside. Alas, there is hope for us all.

LJ and I=Original Gangsta...thats really all there is to say

Waiting (surprise) at the laser tag/putt putt/batting cage place after Staci suffered an accident that sent her to the ER for a couple stitches i nthe ole bottom lip. If only you could zoom way in and see how ticked jac and jana really look in this...o my.

Go Cart time! Bumper cars cause lots of back pain to lots of people. Thankfully, i am not included in that group

On the way down. we all got a little bored. Surely mikey and doug can't sleep through a sucker being stuck in their mouth, or to their lip. Oh how wrong we were. These studly kids slept on, awaking with the dry taste of watermelon jolly rancher and thick mucus lingering in their throats

EDIT: stole this from susanna's photobucket.

Nightgames rock/dressing up for them rocks. Nate, Suz, and i snagged these vampire teeth at the Track for a mere 10 tickets...what a deal. Good thing i rock at skeeball.

Oh, The Hypocrisy!

As the ticker counts below 3 days 2 hours i feel inclined to make a confession. I won't have finished the 6th harry potter book until monday at the earliest. In fact, i won;t even have the book in my hands until sunday night, a full 40+ hours after my fellow die-hards. I even feel guilty including myself in the fellowship of die hards. if my friends over at the leaky cauldron found out about this, i may just get banned from the message boards for a few days, which i woudl be ok wiht since i'll have to avoid all human contact for a couple days as i pour over the 500+ pages of teen wizard adventures that Miss Rowling has so kindly released for all the world to enjoy, even (so i hear) Katie Congdon (weird).

What's keeping me from the biggest literature release of all time? Summer Blast. That's right, i apparently love Jesus, barnswinging, tubing, go carts, and cold lakes more than harry potter. Some of that appearance is probably factual. I actually know which parts, but prefer to let you decipher it all for yourself.

May you all be jealous of Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Driver as they orally delve into the HBP while pacing corridors and halls of a Hogwartsesque boardign school in scotland (and oh yeah, the british open is this week...go tiger).

Wish me lots of fun at summer blast. Go red warriors!

Jo Dee and Me

Glancing around the smaller-than-expected space, i felt obligated to purchase one of the many 4 dollar lattes on the menu. Temperature called for the iced variety. Sucking on that, i lapsed into boredom. Lack of seating and environment spurred me through the door. They got my money, what more could they want? Fellowship? Let's not get carried away.

Options:poker, free country concert, anything else. Ordinarily, this would be a no-brainer. Extraordinarily (as in this case), it was also a no-brainer, but one calling for cowboy hats, strut, and twang. Not only did i proudly attend Jo Dee Messina's kick off to Fiesta Mexicana, i absorbed it. I almost lost my voice screaming for some musician i have little to no respect. I sang songs i didnt know with enthusiasm. I temporarily engulfed myself in (gasp) country music, and like it, but only because it was so bizarre. Cutoff-clad, deeply tanned and even shirtless (males only...gotcha) couples kissed around me. Apparently something was romantic.

Why not to be a cop: walking up and down the same sidewalk getting the same people to move off of it for 2 hours is part of your job decription. Also, you have to attend bad concerts for free.

The Complications We Could Do Without

As most of you know by now, i sorted all that Apple drama out with a little bit of work. I now have to return a printer that they had shipped me and the whoel order got delayed a few days. And by whole order i mean the iBook, naturally the only really useful part of the order (as all other parts rely on the iBook for usefulness).

Oh cell phones, how i already hate you. So two thursdays ago (June 23rd) i hopped on the cingular website and ordered up my new phone and plan, expecting the "free priority shipping" to deliver my order in the first half of the following week. That week passed wit hno communication from cingular until Saturday brought with it mysterious tidings in the form of an email which i will paraphrase: "Yeah, about that order you made...we canceled [cancelled can be spelled with one l or two...crazy] it. We know that seems weird since we really have no reason or motive. Our computers apparently just choose orders to cancel and yours, due to your last name, was apparently picked. Sorry. You can reorder if you want. And if you do call customer service, don't expect any real help. The computer cleans up any trace of your order whatsoever so the early-rising tech guy will just type various information into his feeble order search engine and timidly admit to you that he sucks at his job [i tried this anwyays...their warning was accurate]."

So naturally i replaced my order and it all seems to be working. I should have a phone by the end of this week. I don;t know if i should post my # here. I do know what it is though, so if you wish to know how much i like you, you can ask me for it. If you don't want to risk it, i will probably distribute it to the people i want to have it, and if you expect to get it, but don't, then convince yourself that i just haven;t had the chance to give it to you, regardless of the factual basis of your belief.

It's been raining a lot. Lets hope it lets up for the 4th, cuz i am excited about going out to watch the fireworks at Lake Shawnee out at Anna's (you rock buddy).

Props to nate for returning his iPod when the new ones came out. I'm workin on the speaks.