Clayton

Help me win a free Guitar!!!

2009-11-19T14:29:00.001-06:00

By clicking on the link below, you will help enter me into a contest to win an autographed guitar from Kris Allen! Please let me know if you have any questions :)

Taking a Step Back

2008-04-07T12:31:00.003-05:00

I feel that it is sometimes good to take a step back and really evaluate what is going on in my life. I am about to graduate and I am currently in the middle of some very important life decisions that, to be completely honest, are kicking my butt. I have been praying for guidance and direction for some time, and while I don't think that I have arrived at a definitive revelation for God's calling for my life (afterall, I would never claim to fully understand God's intentions) I do feel that He has given me some peace about the whole situation. I will simply step out in faith that He is going to provide for me. So yesterday, I was able to spend the day with friends down in Forest Park, goofing off, rolling down hills, playing random camp games, you know that normal college student stuff :) ...and I did it all without a thought of the stresses of graduation...God is good.

Ode to Blue

2008-03-31T08:43:00.002-05:00

There once was a boy named Stu
Who tipped over his girlfriend's canoe
She flailed and she thrashed
But he was not rash
Because she was actually a dude

It's Snow Fun when School is Cancelled

2008-03-07T11:32:00.003-06:00

(This picture has nothing to do with this post, I just like it and wanted to use it)
So...I'm not going to lie. I have rather enjoyed the past few months here at Mobap. The fact that we have probably averaged a day off of school once every two weeks or so due to this wonderful Missouri Weather doesn't hurt my mood much either ;) Take Tuesday for instance. I woke up and the sun was shining, got dressed and went to breakfast...it was pretty much an average Tuesday morning. Then the clock struck 9 and heaven broke lose...literally. Show was falling faster than I had seen it fall in quite some time, and before we knew it the ground was covered, and still falling steadily. I wasn't too surprised when at 1 O'clock school was cancelled, many of my friends were suprised they waited that lon.

That evening was full of mattress sledding, wet feet, and ice ramps. All-in-all it was a great night. One piece of advice, however, if you are ever sledding down the hills by the softball field, there is a manhole type opening in the ground that fills up with some sort of magnetic water that draws your legs right to it :)

A Tale of the Expanding Waistline

2008-01-23T12:45:00.000-06:00

So...heres the scoop. I came into college teetering around the 190lb mark, which I was satisfied with for the time being. Then over the next 3 semesters I wound up gaining the "Freshman 15", not from excess drinking like most college freshman (actually I don't drink at all...that seems important to add here) but from all of the extra food that I was eating at random times because of my new freedoms. So, in the spring of my sophomore year, I decided to combat this evil. I stopped drinking soda as of January 2005 (thats 3 years for you non-math majors ;)and began eating smaller portions. Running also became a new hobby of mine. Well, I saw the affects of my labor by that summer when I was down to 175...whoot whoot!!! Alas, I once again fell into the trap of eating too much, while at the same time running less and less, which has caused those pounds to be packed back on. It is once again my goal to work on shedding those excess pounds and get back down to where I was two years ago.

Roadtrips and Kumquats

2008-01-16T23:30:00.000-06:00

So I have come to a conclusion...never again will I volunteer to drive for a roadtrip. Now, I love to drive and all, and I don't mind offering up my vehicle...there's just one problem-I drive a stick. Now, I love my car, and even more so, I love that it's a stick. I think that it just makes driving that much more fun. However, I have the unfortuneate ability to attract riders that don't know a clutch from a kumquat. Take the last roadtrip I went on for an example. We left from Kansas City to head out to Denver for a Christmas Conference with Campus Crusade for Christ at 2 in the morning. I groggily drove the entire way while my passengers enjoyed their naps...naps are nice. Well, we all made it safely to Denver and enjoyed an amazing week of spiritual renewal, which definitely improved my mood. There's just something about worshipping with over 1000 other college students that can really humble you and remind you of your place in the universe. I am definitely looking forward to seein what the Lord has in store for me the rest of this semester...hopefully it will include more roadtrips with great friends...just in someone else's car :)

Close only Counts in Horseshoes and Hand Grenades...

2007-10-18T15:46:00.000-05:00

Oh how I love my friends! So, last Sunday our choir had a concert at the First Baptist Church o St. Clair, which was pretty good...especially the amazing assortment of homemade brownies that the ladies had prepared for us...amazing! Our bus ride home was full of random TV theme songs of the 90's, Disney sing-a-longs, and arguements about which Disney princess would when in a fight (Jasmine would definitely take Ariel, even if Ariel can trout slap her)...you know the normal college student banter. Well, after the concert, everyone started making their plans to go grab some food or hang out at the dorms. Not all of us! Two of my friends--Matt and Andrew--and I decided to get the horseshoes out of the back of my car and set them up in front of the Administration building at 10 at night! We played for like 40 minutes in the dark. The best part was that we were still in our tuxes from the concert...great times...great times :)

Old Friends and New Horizons

2007-09-04T15:36:00.000-05:00

First of all, I would just like to apologize for the two-and-a-half month silence. Internet time out in San Diego was hard to come by and our schedules were pretty full. The summer ended sending me from San Diego back to the good ol' STL, where I was greeted by an all to familar friend: humidity. I had spent the last two months living it up in a breezy 75 degree climate, only to return to the humid midwest where the high was 98 degrees with a heat index of over 100 on my first day back. Not exactly my prefered welcome home present, but a welcome all the same ;)

I had one week to catch up with family, friends, find a place to live, move into said place, renew my expired drivers license (yes I drove across country on an expired license), renew my plates, go to the eye doctor, order new contacts, file a police report for the $324 of debit fraud that I had experienced over the summer, and buy textbooks, all before school started. So all in all, it was a pretty normal week for me ;) I made it through all of that though, and now I am sitting pretty in the 3rd week of my senior year, wondering how time is flying by so fast. I am really looking forward to what God has planned for me on campus this year, and what ministry opportunities he is going to send my way. I am really looking forward to the bible study that I am going to be leading this year as well as being more intentional about sharing my faith with fellow students.

P.S. The pic is from the day before we left when a bunch of us went snorkeling in the Pacific

Cali Boy

2007-06-20T14:16:00.000-05:00

So, I wrote a blog a week ago and the internet shutdown causing me to lose it all...sorry :) I will try to keep these more regular for the rest of the summer. The other guys in the pic our Brian and Douglas from Illinois State and Andrew from Missouri State.

Anyway, things are great out here! The weather is warm with little humidity, and the ocean is beautiful! There are about 120 of us college students out here all living in very close quarters, trying not to annoy our neighbors too much with our many voices at night ;) Its kind of difficult to keep things to a minimum when 50 or so people are all talking at once ;) Its been interesting getting used to my new surroundings, especially having to learn the names of the other students on project as well as the 30 or so staff (mostly upper classmen college students) who are out here to disciple us. Its been about two and a half weeks and I almost have everybody down!

God is doing amazing things out here! He has pulled me out of my comfort zone and placed me in situations that have forced me to come face to face with my faith and have really helped me to encounter Jesus in a whole new way! Sharing my faith with a complete stranger that I met at the beach had never been on my to do list prior to coming out here, and now I do this almost on a daily basis! God has shown me that all power rests in him and I just have to realize that and allow Him to work through me for His glory!

Please keep me in your prayers, that I will continue to grow closer to God while growing in wisdom and faith. "The fear of the Lord is the beginnning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" Prov 9:10

Until next time!

How Time Flies!

2007-04-18T23:46:00.000-05:00

Wow! I haven't blogged in almost a month! Time really has flown by these last few weeks while trying to prepare for finals, which by the way are next week...what other school do you know that gets out in April?! Oh the joys of being a Mobap student.

On a side note, I am becoming apprehensive about going to San Diego...for those of you who don't know, I will be moving to San Diego for ten weeks this summer for a summer project with Campus Crusade...now I am second guessing whether or not I should go. I really just want to make sure that this is what God wants for my life and that I am not just doing it for myself. Oddly enough, I had two family members approach me about the trip while I was working on my fund raising to make sure I had fully checked into everything before agreeing to go, and neither seemed too ready to help support me--very uncharacterisitc for both. I hope that I am just reading too far into this and everything will be fine...please pray that the Lord will make the decision very clear.

Thanks,
Clayton

Spring Break

2007-03-20T18:36:00.000-05:00

So this was the first year that I actually went some where for Spring Break...a group of us went to Jacksonville Florida where we camped about 5 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean! Our trip down there may have been the most eventful part of the trip. An hour or so outside of Nashville, Pat's brakes began to cry out to us, letting us know that they needed to be replaced. Of course this didn't happen until around 10 at night, so the 7 of us had to hole up at the local Days Inn--all of us in the same room mind you--for the night and wait for the Brake guy to show up the next morning. When we finally got to Florida around 9:30 the next night, we got to set up our tents in the dark while the girls went in to town to get food, which was actually a lot of fun.

The next morning we set out for the beach, just a short walk from our campsite, where we spent the entire day in the sun...a few of us getting more sun than we should have. My friend Boz was about the color of a tomatoe and spent the rest of the week adding sunblock to his burn, which just made me laugh.

All in all, the week was great; hanging out with close friends far from home and playing in the ocean. I would definitely reccomend doing something with your spring break rather than wasting it away. The picture is of us the night we went into downtown Jacksonville and checked out the city

PS...playing the license plate game on long roadtrips is not just for little kids...us college folk can have just as much fun--and we did!

Sirens and Hallways

2007-03-01T09:09:00.000-06:00

So apparently there are tornado warnings everywhere...everyone at Mobap was sent to the basements where we had to wait for around 20 minutes. I'm not going to lie, it was kind of exciting. I really didn't know that we could get so many people in the downstairs hallway of the field building. If only I had been in class at the time so that I would have got to leave then the morning would have been complete

Sprinting From My Comfort Zone

2007-02-28T18:14:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I was a bible study leader for a Disciple Now weekend at Fee Fee Baptist Church. At first I was a little apprehensive about leading a group, because I had never really had an opportunity to do that before. Then I remembered that I wasn't in control-God was. From that point on, I was able to relax and just let the weekend flow. By relying less on myself and more on God, the Bible studies seemed to run so much more smoothly. I really enjoyed the opportunity to chat with and hang out with high school guys again, and see things from their perspective. We had a great time between sessions too. Our activity on Saturday was a scavenger hunt that required us to go "shopping" at a nearby mini-mall on $2.50. With the money we had to replicate an immunity necklace that had already been made. It was a lot of fun and helped our group to grow more unified, mostly becuase we spent the better part of an hour sprinting from store to store in the rain.

The night before, we left our host homes around midnight and drove over to a few of the homes where the girls were staying, snuck around to the basement door, and...had them come outside and then serenaded them-what did you think I was going to say? ;) The girls really liked this and it was a lot of fun to do.

My favorite part of the weekend was the fact that I really had to leave my comfort zone and get to know new people. This isn't always easy for me, but I really enjoyed the opportunity. So, if you haven't had the opportunity to assist with youth recently and hang out with them, I recommend that you try it out. It never hurts to learn something new.

Sick, Drugged, and Wanting to Roll

2007-02-12T08:04:00.000-06:00

So I have been sick for what seems like an eternity, though in all reality it has only been like two-and-a-half weeks. Its one of those "I'm not sick enough to stay home, but I still feel like poo" kind of things where almost every part of my head/throat has hurt at one time or another, often all at once. I just can't seem to get better. As I am a very active person, it is hard to be so groggy and achy all of the time and I am really wanting to overcome this soon. Part of the reason that I am still suffering could be due to the fact that I haven't visited the doctor yet, but in my supreme wisdom I have decided that I don't need his help and I will get better on my own. Ok...so this probably isn't the best advice I have ever given myself, and I am beginning to think that paying a visit to my doctor is actually a good idea. Hey after all, maybe he can prescibe me something that is not a year-and-a-half past its experation date like the cough medicine I went to take last night...whoops. Until then, Dayquil is my best friend ;)

Snow Fun at All

2007-01-27T17:12:00.000-06:00

Well, I realize it has been a full week since the activites of this post occured, but I want to share them with you anyway. So last weekend, I heard that it was supposed to snow really bad...again. We seem to be getting quite a few winter storms this year. Anyway, so being snowed in at the apartment by myself did not seem nearly as entertaining as being snowed in at the dorms, so I drove over to Mobap to see what was happening at the dorms. As it turned out, the RA's had planned to play DDR and Guitar Hero II all night...yeah you could say that I was excited. Afterall, I rarely get to play either on my own. Before too long, Jon and Lisa--two of the RD's--showed up to partake in the festivites. We all hung out in the lobby until about 3 am (for those of you wondering, yes this was after the regular time that guys are supposed to leave the girls lobby, but as I said, Jon and Lisa were there so we were good to go) when we all finally decided to call it a night. Of course, as soon as we walked outside, snow began flying from every angle, making everyone "slightly" wetter than they were to begin with. Upon reaching the guys dorm, it was decided that we should be "friendly" and chuck snowballs at the window of our friends room. Well, he wasn't exactly awake, and I don't think he was very happy about his abrupt wake up in the middle of the night. This all occurred on Saturday. On Wednesday, I was driving back from church with Arthur--the "friend" previously mentioned--and we decided to take what was left of the snow and throw it at the Hessel's window while they were trying to conduct an RA meeting...good times, good times.

Pomp and Random Circumstance

2007-01-12T11:10:00.000-06:00

Well, I am very excited to say that my sister has officially graduated from Allied College. The ceremony was Wednesday night at 7:00 at the Sheldon Concert Hall off Washington and Grand downtown. I had never been to the Sheldon before, so it was kind of like a treat. Anyway, Allied College is a small tech school for training in health careers (man does that sound like a pitch or what...it wasn't meant to be) and she got her degree in medical billing and coding. She is currently working in the South County area in a pediatric's office and she really seems to enjoy what she's doing, so I am happy for her. The really random thing was that I just happened to run into a girl that I went to school with years ago who just happened to be graduating as well. It's kind of fun running into people out of the blue like that.

Passion '07

2007-01-06T12:32:00.000-06:00

Well, I just returned from Atlanta from the Passion '07 conference where I spent a week with 23 thousand other college students in passionate worship to God. We heard from great speakers such as John Piper, Louie Giglio, and Francis Chan who brought the Word to us in edifying ways, challenging us to seek communion with our Creator. Worship, too, was amazing. Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, and other incredibly gifted people led worship the entire week. I bought Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman's new CD's and I love all of the new music. I was challenged to grow in, and step out in, my faith by loving others. I am looking forward to the opportunity to be a light on my campus this semester. The picture above is of my family group. Throughout the week, we met with our family groups to discuss the topics of each session and it also provided us a chance to meet other students from across the country. I can't wait to see what God does on each of our campuses this next year.

Old Friends and New Beginnings

2006-12-31T17:35:00.000-06:00

Ok...so this is probably going to be the shortest post I have ever left. I am leaving soon to go to a New Year's Eve party and then I depart with a group from Mobap for Passion '07! I am really excited about this opportunity for growth and renewel...more on this when I return.

So yesterday I got a chance to catch up with a friend of mine that went to Mobap last year, but transferred out to California. I hadn't seen him since April so it was a lot of fun. Another friend and I surprised him by showing up at his girlfriend's house where he was staying with her and her family. We then "borrowed" him for the afternoon and went bowling...it was a lot of fun. We had a chance to catch up and have a good time in the process...and, I would like to add that I bowled very well for myself...while a 136 doesn't sound impressive to you, it was quite good for me.

He's Still the Christ of Christmas

2006-12-23T09:57:00.000-06:00

I love Christmas time...unfortunately like most others, I tend to enjoy it for all of the wrong and selfish reasons most of the time. Therefore I am going to throw in my plug right here: Christ is the reason for Christmas. We need to remember to put Christ first at all times, especially at this time of the year. This can come out in our actions too, by showing compassion to others and assisting those in need. Lets try to make Christmas Day less about what we received from our friends and family and more about what we received from our saviour, the gift of salvation through unwarranted grace. Repay His love with love for others. For they will know we are Christians by our love for one another. Have a safe a Merry CHRISTmas and a Happy New Year!

Finals Finale

2006-12-15T16:17:00.000-06:00

Well, I am officially finished with school for the semester! I have three whole weeks of not having to worry about any papers to write, projects being due, or tests to study for. Three weeks of relaxation...or something like that. Generally for me, breaks are not all that relaxing as I spend most the time in my car driving from one place to another. This year, however, I will be staying at my apartment for most of the break so I won't be doing as much traveling. But I digress. What I really wanted to talk about was the Christmas Party that I attended yesterday. The Math and Science Club got together and had our annual Christmas Party. Everyone brought food and we ate, which always makes a party that much better. Food was followed up by a fast-paced game of "rob-your-neighbor" where we took turns rolling dice to see if we could steal a present from a friend. The most contested present, the one wrapped in metalic silver wrapping which found it's way in to almost everyone's hands at one time or another, wound up being a necklace box full of pencils. There was also a box of macaroni in the mix somewhere. The party concluded when a few of us discovered the half-full bucket of ice and decided to "dispose" of the contents. We went around campus throwing pieces at peoples windows...the admissions office thought that ice was still melting and falling off the roof. Good times...good times!

Oh and I want to thank those of you who are leaving me comments...I haven't quite figured out how to reply to you other than in the blogs themselves. So keep the comments coming and I will attempt to blog on topics of your interest.

Once Upon a Mattress...

2006-12-03T15:14:00.000-06:00

If you live anywhere near the St. Louis area, then you know that we were hit hard by some good ole winter weather on Thursday and Friday. I think Dave Murray was calling it the worst winter storm in St. Louis is over thirty years! That kind of shocked me because I remember some bad ice storms in the past, but, of course I was younger at the time so things seemed much greater back then...but I digress. Anyway, so Mobap closed early on Thursday so we could get home before the weather made it to dangerous to go home. Being the "immortal" college students that we are, my roommate and I decided to head back to school later that evening in the middle of the storm. This decision wasn't completely unwarranted; we knew that things would be jumping at the dorms and we didn't want to miss out on the fun. So we arrived around 7 o'clock and started recruiting friends to enjoy the weather with us. I want to give a shout out to the Resident Directors for their assistance in providing plastic mattresses for our enjoyment. Jon and Lisa even took part in the festivities. The hills around the dorms were filled with close twenty-five or thirty students surfing on mattresses, dog-piling on other mattresses, forming human sleds, playing ice-football, just plain having a good time. The real fun began when the mattress sledding moved to the hill that ends abruptly in a creek. Not to drop names, or anything, but a certain RD previously mentioned was the first to try this new path. The real thrill of the game was to get as close to the creek before bailing out as possible. My friend John (not to be confused with Jon) bailed out just a second too late and went flying into the creekbed. He was alright, but he come out just slightly more wet than when he went in. The arrival of lightning and a heavy batch of freezing rain ended our outside fun do to our extreme wetness, so we headed in for some hot cocoa and some movies. College life is amazing! p.s. I will add pictures once I am able to download them.

Thanksgiving: The Fowlest of Holidays

2006-11-25T19:30:00.000-06:00

So Thanksgiving has once again come and gone. I never really do much traveling for the holidays because most of my family lives in a radius of about 100 miles of St. Louis. Wednesday night I went out to O'Fallon Illinois for a guys night. Everyone was back in town from school and some of us had not seen each other for quite awhile. I am rather new to this group of guys, having only known most of them since early this past summer, but it's great how I have been welcomed in so quickly and how I have become a semi-member of the crew. We spent the night playing Guitar Hero 2 and MVP Baseball 2006 (or was it 2005, I don't really remember). I steared clear of MVP because the last time I played I lost to Pat with a score of like 32-0. If you haven't tried Guitar Hero you should cause it is actually a lot of fun, and kinda challenging. For those of you who are in the dark, Guitar Hero is DDR with a guitar. You have to hit the notes when they pop up on the screen. We ordered pizza using coupons; for those of you who have ever tried to make multiple orders for pizza delivery using coupons know how challenging this can be. We had to have one of the pizza's delivered to our Youth pastors house to make sure we could use the coupon, and Lance almost didn't leave in time to get them. As the night went on we got a little rebellious. All I have to say is that fireworks and bare skin were involved (I promise no one was hurt). We stayed up pretty late and then got up and played football early the next morning for the church in the annual Turkey Bowl; the youth versus us college students and adults. We pretty much dominated the youth. I look forward to adding this to my Thanksgiving traditions right after the consumption of Turkey and pumpkin pie. Oh and for those of you think I abandoned my family, I didn't. I headed home after the football game and enjoyed a great meal with my family and some close family friends and stayed there all evening visiting with my family. I guess I should get started on my Christmas shopping now...

Habitat For Humanity

2006-11-22T10:28:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, a group of us from school went downtown and helped with a Habitat for Humanity project. The house we helped with is part of a set of 20 houses that are set to be completed on December 16th. The homebuyers, Lamont and Wendy were there with their kids helping us the entire time. It was truly a blessing to see the look of excitement on their faces as they saw their home coming together. Granted, the house was mostly complete when we got their; our primary job was to add the baseboards and some touch up painting, but it was a joy to be there working along side them. We had a crazy group from Mobap which made the day that much more interesting. I got a chance to get to know some of the freshman that I haven't talked to much this year. Hopefully I will get another chance to help out with Habitat; it was definitely worthwhile.

Why Soar with Eagles When You Can Trot with Turkeys?

2006-11-13T11:36:00.000-06:00

So Saturday was the city of O'Fallon Illinois' annual Turkey Trot. The Turkey Trot is a three mile race fund raiser to raise money for the Special Olympics. I had went to bed the night before with every intention of running the next day with Pat, his brother Josh, and some friends of ours Lance and Bryan. However, I found out that Lance and Bryan had decided not to run because they had other things planned for that morning. I knew there was no chance of keeping up with Pat or Josh seeing as they both run fifty to ninety miles a week, and with Lance and Bryan out, I didn't want to run with a group of people that I didn't know, so in the end I backed out. I definitely regret that now, but it's in the past now and all I can do is start preparing for next year. Well, in the end, Pat wound up winning the race and Josh took 4th over all and 1st in his age group. The grand prize for the event was a 10 pound turkey which Pat still has to go pick up. I think his parents are going to use it for their Thanksgiving meal. Oh, and a piece of advice for anyone planning on watching a friend run; if you are going to watch a race, make sure you know the race path and where the finish line is. I missed Pat finishing because one of the race "officials gave me bad information. Oh well, Pat will get over in time.

After the Turkey Trot, we got ourselves involved in a pick-up game of football in a local neighborhood with some of Pat and Josh's friends from back home. Very little blood was shed, and all of it that was came from the same person so I think we did well overall. Pat accidentally a guy in the face with his shoe as he was going down causing some blood to flow from his nose. It soon stopped, however, and we were all back to roughing each other up. It was bitter cold but we played on anyway. I think our team lost, but not by much, and it was probably mostly due to my inexperience...sorry guys.

Perk Up!

2006-11-13T11:15:00.000-06:00

So, the 11th anniversary of the Perk has come and gone and I would have to say that it is was quite a success. The talent really stepped up to the plate this year and delivered some great performances. I had the honor of emceeing with Pat so we spent most of the evening (and early morning) back stage, but we were able to hear everything and even watch the videos, though we had to view them as mirror reflections from backstage. Getting the opportunity to relive some of the past Perk videos was exciting. We had all of the best from the last few years or so: "MBU Promo" with Ben Settle swimming in his bath tub, "Bad to the Bone" starring Officer Todd ticketing everyone and everything in sight, "Security" starring Officer Walt stalking an unsuspecting student, and who could forget the "Wazzz Up!!" video starring our very own President Lacey with Pastor Fred and Mr. Killebrew. These videos really show off the professional sides of our fine faculty and staff, or something like that. I was slightly offended that none of the amazing duct tape videos from the Fall of 2004 Perk were showcased; I starred in a number of those and would have really liked to reminisce those memories from my Freshman year. Oh, well, there's always next year. Until then, I will have to brush up on my jokes so that I will have a little more material the next time I am given the opportunity to "host" an event.

Random Observation

2006-11-06T21:00:00.000-06:00

So, I was merging onto southbound 270 tonight from hwy 40 after leaving school and I noticed that Modot had apparently taken the time to repaint the lines on the entrance ramp. I was quite excited to see that this had finally been done. I had noticed recently, from many trips on this stretch of highway, that the lines had been very confusing. Three lanes somehow became two right before merging onto 270, and I always thought it was kind of dangerous. Tonight, however, I noticed that the lanes had been repainted to make it very clear that there is only one lane coming from hwy 40 now. So, while I might be the only person in St. Louis that cares, I thought I would share this random observation with you all.

World Series Champs!!!

2006-10-29T11:18:00.000-06:00

So to continue from my last post, I did go downtown on Friday night to watch the game from the streets with a few friends. For some reason, word must have gotten out that the Cards were going to clinch the series that night because the streets were packed...we could barely get close to the fence where we had been standing just 3 nights earlier for game 3. The crowd was excited, we were pumped, and everyone's eyes were glued to the screen. During the ninth inning, the gates opened and they let everyone into the stadium which led to a stampede of people trying to get a better view. We got in and found a view of the field just in time to watch Wainwright strike Inge out to end the game! We all went crazy! Strangers hugged strangers, everyone was high-fiving, and confetti was flying everywhere. Unfortuneately, they had the SWAT team out and they wouldn't let anyone on the field. Since we couldn't get on the field, we headed up to the next level to get a better view. After celebrating for a while in the stadium, we headed out to look for some of the vendors that were selling the stadium edition newspapers on the streets and we loaded up on those cheap souviners...hey they only cost 50 cents each. We celebrated on the streets for awhile with a few thousand of our closest friends...Pat even ran through the streets without his shirt on-granted he did warn us before the game that he was going to. We finally headed home, honking and screaming all the way out of the parking garage and town. Go Cards!!!

Conference Champs!!! Oh, and Don't Forget Those Cardinals!

2006-10-27T15:31:00.000-05:00

I meant to write this post earlier this week, but due to one reason or another I had to keep pushing it back...whoops! Anyway, so I just want to take the opportunity to congratulate the mens Cross Country team for winning their conference meet for the third straight year! My roommate Pat took 13th place and topped his own personal record (PR for those who are familiar with the "running" lingo), and as the fifth and final point scoring member of the team, ensured the teams victory. I don't think that I need to add that he was pretty pumped when he got back to the apartment that day. Make sure that you congratulate the team if you happen to run into them, or if you don't go to school here yet but are really fast, come here next year and help the team clinch for the a fourth straight year ;)

In other sporting news, the Cardinals are now up 3 games to Detroit's 1 in the World Series! If it doesn't get rained out, the game tonight could, and will (I'm an optimist, what can I say?), make our St. Louis Cardinals, World Series Champions for the first time in 24 years! And the baseball world said that the Cards had no chance...we'll show them! I don't know about you, but I will be at the stadium tonight watching from the fence, the street, a nearby parking garage, or anywhere with a partial view of the field, and when the Cards win I will celebrate with 50 or so thousand of my closest friends.

P.S. I will add some pictures from the game tonight/previous nights as soon as I can get them ready

A Pictures Worth a Thousand Words...

2006-10-20T02:03:00.000-05:00

So I just got my first digital camera today, which means the disposable cameras that I have been used to using will be gone once and for all. My friend Keri helped me pick it out online and helped me get a good deal. I had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of my package all week when the box finally popped up today. Ok, so that sounds a little lame; I was just trying to overly exaggerate the process to make it sound more intense. So anyway, back to the story. I really wish that I could have gotten a camera a lot sooner, cause right now, the only pictures I have to remember my college years are those of other people. Its been kind of fun playing around with the different functions all day and getting used to how to use it. Unfortunately, cameras can be kind of expensive. Not only do you have to buy the camera, but you have to buy the case, and extra battery, and another memory card because the one that came with it only holds like 8 pictures which doesn't get you too far. I may have to cut back on my Applebees visits for awhile!

Pulling an All-Nighter

2006-10-16T18:17:00.000-05:00

So, I was definitely a lot groggier this morning than I am most mornings, but for good reason. I was up til 4:30 in the morning the night before studying. This was officially my first all-nighter of the semester. I had put quite a few things off due my busy schedule of the week before of midterms and 8 week class finals. On top of my heavy workload, the Cardinals are in the play-offs, so I spent the weekend down at Busch Stadium watching the Redbirds through the fence as only a poor college student could enjoy; Saturday night was amazing but Sunday night was a bit of a disappointment. After spending two hours watching the birds get slaughtered, we headed back to the apartment to begin a long night of studying and paper writing. Pat, our friend Chelsie, and I sat in the living room of the apartment studying til the wee hours of the morning. It would be an understatement to say that we got a little slap happy--we were down right loopy! We kept taking breaks from our work to watch Chris Farley skits on YouTube, which added to the craziness. Somehow I was able to finish writing my paper and submit it via Blackboard right around 3:30 leaving me an hour or so to study for my Anatomy quiz. Chelsie left around 4 leaving me and Pat with the decision to stay up and watch a movie or try to get some sleep...yeah so we chose sleep. It was pretty difficult to roll out of bed the next morning, but hey, my paper was done.

Friday the 13th

2006-10-13T22:56:00.000-05:00

Well today is Friday the 13th. To most, this means watching out for black cats and broken mirrors, but for me it is just another day. I am not really superstitious or anything like that, so I really just enjoy laughing at others stupidity, because its fun to watch others make fools of themselves. I actually find amusement in walking under ladders, spilling salt, and breaking mirrors in front of others, just to see their reactions. Oh the bliss.

So today, in honor of Friday the 13th, my boss and his wife invited everyone in the office over to their house for a Baptist style party, and by Baptist I really just mean we were all eating because there was food. I made my first ever pot of chili in my very own crock pot and brought it as my contribution, and it wasn't bad if I do say so myself. So we all ate and watched the Cardinals game but the highlight of the evening was the couples pumpkin carving contest. As I am single, I did not participate but I did enjoy watching all of the married couples/Faith and Arthur work on their orange canvases. All of the pumpkins turned out great, though we were all leary when Aaron told us he and his wife were doing "The Last Supper"; none of us were sure how this was going to work , but it actually turned out pretty sweet. We were all amazed that the little holes he was making transformed into the picture of "the Last Supper". Aaron and his wife won of course. I never knew that someone could be so creative with a pumpkin.

Somehow I progressed from superstition to Christ and the Last Supper in this post...yeah I'm not really sure how that happened. Oh well...stay safe everyone!

Finding time to Sleep

2006-10-10T21:59:00.000-05:00

So I was definitely falling asleep during class today; not to say that what my professor was talking about was boring me, I was just tired. I probably run myself to ragid, but that's what college is about right? Making the most of every second of every day? Well that might be exagerating a little. Anyway, back to today. So I was sitting in class and I kept nodding off during lecture. I am very glad that my professor didn't catch me because I know she would have been disappointed in my lack of attention. So as soon as she got to a stopping point, I bolted out of class in search of a place to "lay my head." I had to take a break from my search for shut-eye when I came across some friends throwing around a football in the quad; it's kind of hard not to be distracted with the ball flying towards you, so I caught it and tossed it back. I slowly made my way over to the tree near the flagpole to determine whether or not it would be adequate for resting but unfortuneately there were too many people running around and I was afraid I would be stepped on or annoyed here so I moved on. I finally decided that the couches in Bywaters would be the ideal resting place so I moved in and found an empty three-seater, just long enough to stretch out on without having to take on a position that would lead to the cramping of my legs or neck. I had just planned to rest my eyes, so I laid there, listening to the conversation around me, relishing the time not spent working or studying. I was very relaxed...so relaxed in fact that my eyes slowly closed and the conversations faded away. I suddenly opened my eyes to find that everyone that had been sitting around me earlier had dissapeared and someone else was sitting near me. Naturally I assumed that I had been sleeping for hours and that I was quite late for work. Fortuneately, I was not late which was a relief, so I slowly gathered my things and headed for the office. There is just nothing like a mid-afternoon nap to make you feel ready for the rest of the day.

"I Like Smiling, Smiling's My Favorite!

2006-10-07T15:08:00.000-05:00

So, we had some friends over last night to watch a movie. After about 25 minutes at Hollywood video, it was decided to just stay put and watch Elf, which by the way is my favorite Christmas movie of all time. Halfway through the movie, a couple of us decided we had cravings for Frosty's from Wendy's so as soon as the movie was over, all six of us headed out for a late night dairy fix. To our dismay, our neighborhood Wendy's was closed "due to technical difficulties"; it was an upsetting moment for all us, and the guy's idea of mourning was to remove our shirts and run around the parking lot shirtless while the girls just shook their heads...why we thought this was a good idea I am still not sure but somehow it eased the pain of not getting our chocolatey treats.

We decided to go to Steak N Shake instead, where our waitress was quite flirtatious (is that how it's spelled? Wasn't sure)..."Tulula" is now our friend on Myspace. While waiting on our food we decided to play "Heads up Three up", as their were only six of us. Theres nothing better than sitting in a crowded restaurant and reverting back to grade-school games with your friends. All in all, it was just another crazy night as a Mobap student.

Cardinals!!!

2006-10-05T16:08:00.000-05:00

WhooHoo!!! Our Cards made it once again! I for one am very excited to see the Redbirds in the post-season, no more excited than my sports crazed roomie Pat. He has been yelling at the TV for the last month or so, during the *cough* slump *cough* that the Cards entered for awhile. I am slightly apprehensive to view his reactions to the post season games, but it is actually kind of funny to watch him get all riled up over the games. I am looking forward to watching the games myself and cheering my team through to the Series...I am an optimist after all! Oh, and for those of you out there that happen to have acquired tickets to any of the games, give me a call...I would gladly be your friend for a night ;)

Fall Retreat

2006-10-03T22:51:00.000-05:00

So I just got back from a weekend of camping and bible study in central Missouri with Campus Crusade for Christ. We camped at Turkey Hill Bible Camp and our theme was "Epic" as related to the epic story that God is writing and that we are characters in. Our study was focused around John 14:6, where Christ tells his disciples that he is "The way the truth and the life". We were asked to reflect on this statement and how Christ should be in the center of our "story", while encouraging each of us to rely on each other for growth. I learned a great deal from the speakers, but I really enjoyed the chance to hang out with some of the new freshmen and get to know them. I look forward to the opportunities of discipleship with them to come.

2006-09-22T13:54:00.000-05:00

As requested, here is a picture from our party the other night. Doesn't Pat look very focused in this picture?

One Friend, Two Friends, Old Friends, New Friends

2006-09-22T13:25:00.000-05:00

So, I went into this school year with the mind set that I was not going to actively seek out new friendships because I have enough relationships with current friends to keep me occupied, right? Well that turned out to be completely wrong. I have met some truly fascinating people this year that have really made this school year stand out from past semesters. I won't go in to naming names as that is a very good way to get myself into trouble very fast, but let it be known meeting new people isn't completely scary.

It has also been exciting to get to know old friends on a totally new level than I have before. Humbleness and service to others are great ways to break down the "protective walls" of a friend's personality and get to know the real the, the them that they reserve for themselves. So, get out there, make friends, and truly invest yourself in these relationships.

Party like it's 19??

2006-09-10T09:09:00.000-05:00

My roommate Pat and I wanted to invite some friends over Friday...so we did. We threw this together Wednesday at the last minute. We also decided that we wanted the party to have a theme but we couldn't decide what decade we wanted to go with so we made it a "Pick-your-own decade party". We told everybody to choose a decade and come dressed to match. I personally decided to go with the 770's BC so that I would have an excuse to wear a toga (if I ever get a hold of some pictures, I'll add them). Of course, there were the more recent decades of the 50's and 70's among others, but the most common decade represented was the 00's, meaning most people didn't get dressed up but hey, no one really cared. DDR was the main event for the majority of the night and there was plenty of food and soda. After a few people had left, we broke out "Battle of the Sexes" and played for quite a while. I would have to say that the guys won despite not getting a chance to finish the game; it was getting late and most people still had to drive home. I was a little worried that we had been making too much noise but no one complained so I guess we were ok. Until the next party...

Small Groups

2006-09-06T18:31:00.000-05:00

I went to a small group last night on campus and it looks promising. I have never really had the opportunity to invest my time in one before and I am glad that I was able to make the time for this one. I had actually been searching for a group to become a part of when I noticed that Campus Crusade for Christ was starting up a few small groups. The group is for Mobap guys and we meet every Tuesday night at 8pm in PH (the guys dorm) upstairs in the 300's lobby. There is also a group for the ladies as well as a coed group but I am not sure of there exact start times and locations. I am really looking forward to the opportunity to grow in God's Word with other believers and share in each others' struggles. I would like to invite any guy that has Tuesday evenings free to join us for fellowship, fun, and God's Word. This is a great opportunity to get to know some new people on campus at a more personal level than you would, say, in the cafeteria. I look forward to seeing you there!

PS...I added the picture so that you could see a picture of me where I didn't look like a complete dork

Bringing Home the Bacon...I Mean Bread

2006-09-06T18:16:00.000-05:00

I never would have thought in a million years that I would get into arguements-granted tame ones-over bread. Growing up, I never really noticed how often my family bought bread, and while living in the dorms I never cared to purchase it, because it would mold before I could eat an entire loaf on my own. Now that I am living with two other guys away from the dorms, however, we seem to go through bread like it is water; at least two or three loaves a week! This is where the arguement comes in to play: who is going to buy bread next? When one of us gets desperate enough, we will make the extra trip to get it, grumbling the entire way. I got smart though, I went to the day-old store and bought it for $.62...that'll show 'em! As long as our arguements stay focused on bread I think that we will be doing alright.

Going with the Flow

2006-08-29T17:21:00.000-05:00

Well school is officially in full swing...I am not sure whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. Granted, I am elated to finally see other students back on campus; it just seems so dead with nobody else here. Getting back to class is going to be pretty hard after having close to 4 months off. So far I am actually enjoying my classes. Usually, I will have that one class that I just cannot stand and dread going to each and every time, but so far I haven't come across a class that I don't enjoy.

Oh, and I went on the "float" trip this past weekend and had a great time. Of course the actual floating part of the trip was canceled due to thunderstorms, but we all went back to St. Louis and spent the day at the pool together instead where we played a very competive game of pool volleyball. It was great to relax after the first week back.

Apartment Life

2006-08-25T12:24:00.001-05:00

So, I just moved out into my first apartment and it has definitely been a different experience. Take the other night for example...I was leaving my friends apartment and was heading home on 270. I get to the intersection of 270 and 40, and did I keep going on 270 to reach the exit I take to get back to the apartment? Oh, no...instead I took the all too familiar exit onto 40 to lead me back to the dorms. I wound up taking all back roads and shaking my head at myself in disgust all the way back. One day I will realize that I don't live at the dorms anymore; until then, I will just have to get used to taking back roads ;)

Male Bonding

2006-08-15T17:16:00.000-05:00

One aspect of college life that I have really enjoyed has been the chance to bond with other Christian males, something that I was not able to do as well in high school. Having the chance to surround myself with other Christian males that our solid in their faith has allowed me to take part in many aspects of life that I just skipped over during my teenage years. Earlier this week, there was a hall activity for the guys in the dorms where we played ESPN scene it, ate popcorn, and drank Gatorade and soda. No one had class the next day so we all sat around yelling out answers and just generally being obnoxious. I really enjoyed this chance to bond with my roommates and the other guys in the hall for a few hours. I hope that I will continue to have opportunities to spend some quality “guy” time with my friends this upcoming semester.

Night on the Town

2006-08-10T19:30:00.000-05:00

Recently, a group of friends and I went out for a night on the town. We were celebrating our friend Keri’s birthday. This was to be a formal affair; prom dresses and suits were a requirement. The ladies spent the better part of the week trying on each other’s dresses so that they could find that perfect one for the evening. They even spent hours on their hair so that it was just right. The guys had other plans. We wanted this to be a memorable night so we took the word “suit” very loosely. Two weeks before the event we headed out to the local Goodwill and bought our “outfits” for the evening. Pat found his right away; it was a three piece corduroy suit and shoes to match (well they weren’t corduroy…that would just have been odd). My outfit took a little longer to put together. I ended up with a pair of powder blue pants and a sort of grey jacket that is almost impossible to explain with words. My shirt was a silky yellow and my tie was purple and about a foot-and-a-half too short. We topped it all off by giving ourselves comb-overs. Personally I thought we looked good, and apparently the girls did too because they couldn’t stop laughing. The twelve of us dined at Bahama Breeze and then traveled to Brio’s Tuscan Grille in Frontenac for desert. The best part of the night: I spent a grand total of $35 on clothes, dinner, and desert…what a bargain!