If you walked into My Coffee right now you'd see the cash register and various coffeeish things infront of you. To your left is a wall with a partial window with the my coffee logo. Through that window you can see a young man on the computer. He's wearing a red beanie, a bushy beard and glasses. There's a leather jacket on the chair behind him and he's wearing a green and red plaid, short sleeve shirt. He's got a cell phone and a coffee cup on the table next to him and he's staring pretty intently at that computer screen. Your first impression is that he's hard at work on homework. Then you watch the screen.. He switches between reading blogs, reading message boards, and writing messages all over the place. None of this has anything to do with homework. You leave, content that this student is still in the grasp of procrastination.

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Just something random...

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Oh and I wrote three music reviews:

I just started one of those 11 cds for the price of one deals. I received my first three today. I’ve been listening to them all afternoon while I’ve been doing homework.

Michael W. Smith - Healing Rain

MWS is one of those artists that has been around forever. He went from synthy sounding music to light rock to worship. This is a cross between worship and light rock. Most of the songs have a worship theme to them. I think the song that really stuck out was Bridge Over Troubled Waters which is actually a Paul Simon song. Since I haven’t heard the original I can’t compare them, but I do like Smitty’s version. I also like Eagles Fly - a song talking about trusting in God and flying because of that.

I was prepared to be disappointed, but I was surprised at this album. I give it 3 and a half stars out of five.

Third Day – Wire

This is typical Third Day, with Mac Powell crooning in his deep voice. I wasn’t too impressed with it. With the influx of artists with that crooning type of singing, this album doesn’t stand out. That said, I liked the song that’s on the radio all the time, I Believe. I also liked Rockstar and Billy Brown.

So taking it as a whole: I give it 2 and three quarter stars.

MercyMe – Undone

Ever since I heard I Can Only Imagine on the radio and saw them in concert, I’ve always liked this group. So when I got the chance to get the new album, I did. It’s most definitely a Worship album with the songs focused on Christ. Here I Am has been playing on the radio and it’s one of those songs that just focuses on surrender. Homesick captures the pain of losing someone, but the realization that we’re going to be reunited. It’s a moving song. All in all, I can pop this CD in and get focused on God.

I give it 4 stars.

Now I have to figure out the next nine CDs to get. I’m thinking Cross Movement, Petra, Narnia (if they have them), Jars of Clay, Paul Spaeth (if they have him), and perhaps some Christmas music. Possibly Nickel Creek as well.

Randomness

• I've been watching the sunset out the window at My Coffee (the coffee house I use the wireless internet at) and I've been wishing that I had my camera. Lots of rays and clouds. Very cool.



• I did pretty good on my Hebrew Lit and Poetry midterm. Now to see how the next month goes...



• I have an Apologetics Midterm on Wednesday.



• Samuel would look good with a gotee...



• What dyes should I use in tye-dying that wouldn't fade and wash out? My shirts that I Tie-Dyed over the summer are really faded.



• I bought some new music the other day. The latest from Michael W. Smith, Third Day, and Mercy Me. So far Mercy Me is my favorite of those three cds.



• I need a hair cut.

Oh no! Another fad sweeping the blogs! I was tagged by Chera with this little survey thing. Since it's been forever since I've filled a survey out, I'll start it. Don't know when I'll finish it 'cause technically I should be doing homework. (Started at 4:20)

What were you doing ten years ago?
Wow... Ten years ago was 1995... I was 12. We were living in Eastern Idaho or had just moved there. I didn't have any friends 'cause we lived in the country and I didn't go to Public School. That was okay with me then 'cause I had my brother to pester and I had a lot of books to read. The library in Rexburg was cool 'cause it actually checked out CDs. I was introduced to the Beach Boys through that medium. We'd go down at least once a week. That's when I started reading a lot of Sci-Fi and Western books. Man... That was a long time ago..

What were you doing five years ago?

I was 17. 2000 We were living in Wilbur. That year was the year I really made some good friends. I hung out almost every day with the B's. Introduced every homeschooler I could to the RI. I started a youth Bible Study and met several people through that. Developed my first Friendationship (pseudo relationship). Learned a lot about friends and forgivness. Went through a lot of pain with all the different RGP contact lenses I wore to help my Kerataconas. Bought my first car for $50.

What were you doing one year ago?

One year ago in 2004 I was doing pretty much what I'm doing today. Studying and school. I was a Junior, RA in the Men's Dorm and working in the computer lab. Last year was a year of stress (dorms + 15 hours + sickness + Greek II), and I'm glad I'm over it.

What were you doing yesterday?

Well, in the morning I was still at the Oregon coast wrapping up a weekend retreat I got to go on. I got to scramble eggs! We cleaned and drove back home. I then ate dinner with my roommate and five girls that he had invited over. That was fun. A little homework and I went to bed at 9 so I could get up early.

5 snacks you enjoy

1. Jerky
2. Pretzels
3. Chips and Salsa
4. Carrots
5. Frozen cookie dough

5 songs that you know all of the words to

1. Jesus Loves Me
2. Forever
3. Agnus Dei
4. Badger Badger!
5. ??????

5 things you would do if you had a million dollars

1. Buy my Grandmother's old house for my dad
2. Invest
3. Pay off school loans
4. Start an EBC Scholarship Foundation
5. Give away a lot of money

5 things you like doing

1. Drinking Coffee
2. Surfing my list of Blogs
3. Playing Pente with my friends
4. Playing all kinds of games with my friends
5. Photography

5 bad habits

1. Nail biteing
2. Not washing dishes
3. Letting my room get messy
4. not cleaning my car
5. spending money

5 things that you would never wear again

1. Tights
2. tight shoes
3. tight anything
4. That Knight costume
5. ????

5 favorite toys

1. Talking Teacher
2. Legos
3. Marbleworks
4. Matchbox Cars
5. sticks

Tag:

Brother David
Josh
Patrick
Jowy

(finished at 5. with one break for homework)

I'm off to the coast for the weekend. My church is sponsering a College and Career Retreat and we leave at 5:30. I'm pumped. I'm also taking my homework with me so that I don't fail my classes. I have one midterm and two asignments due this coming week.

Well, tata!

Life is very strange. I'm in kind of a strange funk right now and really, all of the last few weeks. Somewhat related to friends and different situations, but mostly related to me and my world. I've felt like I'm in this glass bowl, watching friends moving outside, thinking they're ignoring me, thinking that I'm alone. You can see the splash marks where I've tried to get out, but I've become tired and have withdrawn. Now I'm waking up again and I see the staircase heading up. I am starting to peek over the edge and see that my friends are there and are willing to spend time with me, etc. Most of all I'm refocusing (once again) on God. The glass isn't obscuring my vision now. I've let it go.

Yeah, speaking metaphorically...

In other news, I made (with Adele's help) my first full-fledged meal. I browned the two roasts, and stuck them in the crockpot with carrots and some Italian Seasoning before church. Then we cooked some potatoes, biscuits, and served salad. All of this was for 8 people who were celebrating Reece's birthday. It turned out very good.

I wonder if the Rexius truck has moved from behind my car... Must go look.

Yes, this is a picture of Brian Jacques. Yes, you may ask why the author of the Redwall books is in my most recent post. I'll tell you. He was in Eugene on Saturday and I got to go to Barnes and Noble and see him. He gave a half-hour presentation and then signed books. I learned a lot about him... One, his last name is pronounce JAKES! I have always wondered that. Two, he has a delightful way with the kids. All the kids were sitting on the floor up front and he talked mostly to them. A few of the jokes were above their heads, but they enjoyed his story telling.

He explained that he originally wrote Redwall for a school of the blind kids. That's why there's such a richness of description in his books. He was painting a picture with words. To illustrate that, he quoted the description of Cluny the Scourge. Now that was a treat! He did a great job of acting the parts and doing the narrative (You've got to figure that he's done this hundreds of times, but still, this seemed fresh).

Think of a jolly old man who loves telling tales to kids and you've got a good picture of who Brian Jacques is.

Needless to say, I enjoyed that afternoon.

I am absolutely eating up Hebrew Literature and Poetry! What is there about parallelism that intrigues me so? Why did I enjoy my last homework assignment so much? Is the teacher, Brad (Mr makes him feel old), and the fact that he uses Power Point and shows us examples? Maybe, I'm also enjoying his Hermeneutic class as well. Or is that I'm digging into the Psalms and seeing more to it than just nice, feel good, words? Maybe it has something to do with structure? Whatever the reason, I am most definitely enjoying HL and P!

Hermeneutics is good too. My freshman year I had Bible Study Methods and learned about observing, interpreting and application. Hermeneutics is just more in depth. The biggest thing to remember is Context! Context! Context! Know what the author was intending to his original audience, try to place yourself in his shoes, but also in the recipient's shoes. What is the intension, the occasion? Observe themes, emphases, and other patterns. Are there any key words, phrases? How would you break it up? And various other questions to ask the text when you're interpreting it. Very interesting and very hands on.

Western Thought and Arts is an interesting class... It's taking WT and A from the Greek period all the way down to the 20th century. The teacher is focusing on arts, architecture and ideas, so the sections in the book about music and literature aren't as important to read. I'm going to read them anyways though. I like the big picture. The classes... The teacher is learning to use Power Point and that is taking up a large portion of the class time. Plus she's going to give us her outline and the presentations up in the library. I almost don't have to take notes... Not a good thing 'cause I learn from taking notes. hmmm... Maybe I'll do it anyways.

Apologetics is interesting... I'm taking this because it's a weak point in my life and I'm definitely noticing that in the discussions we are having in class. Yesterday we had three groups discuss and debate the merits of Inclusivism, Pluralism, and Exclusivism. Well, I'm an exclusivist (Jesus is the only way) but I didn't really have a good defense. All of us in the group were Exclusivists, but the one that could be defended the most was Inclusivism and Ryan blew us out of the water. Mainly because he likes reading about these things, but also because Johnny and I didn't have the grounding that we thought we did. Definitely seeing the need to have this skill.

I'm taking Romans Independent Study from Dr. B. Going to translate chapters 6 - 8 and 12, read a couple commentaries and take notes on the setting of Romans. That and discussion will be all I have to do. I'm pretty happy about it. I'm really looking forward to the discussion. There's a lot in those chapters.

Leadership Practicum is at 1 today. It's basically a time to talk about our small groups and how we're doing as leaders. I'm not expecting much today 'cause our small groups haven't met yet (well, besides the initial meeting at camp lane...).

I think that's all I have for academics this term... I'm signed up for 18 credits 'cause of the Summer Internship, but since that was a summer thing, and since I've written the paper and journal, I don't have to worry about it.

All of these classes are good classes. I'm excited to see how it all works out.