the end of something.

Last night I worked my final event at Epic. It was pretty classic. A 21st birthday 80's dance party. But it wasn't really a birthday party, it was much more straight dance party. People were dressed in all levels of dress from clothed to not so much and 80's to 2010 (according to Sasha). I had SO many crazy dressed people put on my team in the first 5 minutes of the even that I lost from there on out. I also had the pleasure of moping up after someone who threw up. I thought I might make it out of there without having to do that. The evening (or night really) was good, and it didn't feel like it was my last thing there until I was heading to my truck. Maybe a little bit too when I gave Sasha my key.

I'm not really sure who knew that I was leaving. I didn't tell all that many people, it was pretty sudden. It was, however, my decision. I could have stayed a bit longer, but it became obvious quickly that now was the time for me to go. I feel really good about that decision too. It was of course weird at first, but as I finished out my last week, I knew all the time that it was more right than I had imagined. And I'm sure that I'll be continuing to learn why that was such the right move over the next few months.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to be doing over the next few months. Coaching everyday for sure. I'm sure that my throwers will love that. They keep giving me a hard time for leaving early or, like this week, missing meets and their throws. I've also already gotten two housesitting jobs, and one of them is for three weeks. I'm a little bit nervous about not having a consistent pay check, but I know that will work itself out in time.

Thankfully there is some good news that I get to share. Two weeks ago (roughly) I was hired on at Ponderosa Pines Christian Camp in Running Springs to work there this summer on their program staff. I am so excited and I cannot wait to start! I wouldn't complain one bit if summer started now. I start work at the very end of May and will be up there until the beginning of August, for the most part. I have wanted to work at a camp for so long and I am so thankful that it worked out to be this summer. I'm sure that I'll have a lot to say about it as the time to head up there approaches. In the mean time I'll try and be patient.

I also got my Diana F+ Mr. Pink. I haven't had a chance to take any pictures on it yet, but in time I'm sure that I'll take lots of shots with it. I am going to have some more time coming up now, so I'm sure that I will get around to it.

That's really all for now. It was actually quite a lot. Ah well, that's what happens when I write once a month. Maybe I'll get better about that.
Or maybe not.

stoked!!!

So, I realize that it has been forever since I've written anything in here, but I have something that I am so excited about that I had to put out here. After years and years of going to camps (24 since 4th grade), I am now going to be working at one!! I applied to work at Pondo, a camp that I've been to lots of times, and was hired this morning. I'm so excited about it and I can't wait to see what will come out of it. I'll be starting up there the end of May and I'll be working through early August. Every day I'll get to work with middle school or high school age youth, lead/work super fun activities, and share about God. Could there be anything better? Possibly, but for me right now, no.

Anyway, that's all I've really got in the way of new news. It's spring, and I'm coaching track again. It's great as always to be involved in track, and spending time working and teaching the throwers is exciting. We have a really good group of throwers this year, who I think are going to do really great things. The group is also HUGE. We have over 30 throwers. It's hard having that many but it's also really great seeing an event group grow rapidly. Next year we may actually have to cut some people, which will be sad.

I'm keeping really busy though, which is good. Between Epic, track, Catalyst and EPC middle school youth groups I have my hands full. Plus I have lots of fun meetings and appointments that go along with all of that. It's a good day when I get to come home for a few minutes, or an hour or something. With all the busyness I'm getting to do lots of fun things. Like, the other day I got to go down to LA with Sasha and pick up a refrigerator for Synapse. It was so much fun. We hung out in traffic and talked and caught up a bit. That same night I also got to hang out with Nat, eat dinner (which she kindly prepared), and have frozen yogurt at Wild Cherry. So much fun! Also, my friend Mark and I are getting these super cool film cameras. I'm getting the Mr. Pink Diana F + and he is getting the Scarecrow Diana F +. I can't wait until they come, which will be a bit longer until than we expected, but they'll be so cool. And yes, the Mr. Pink is actually a pink camera. Who'd have thought I would get one but I did. It's awesome. Along the lines of film cameras, I've been taking lots of pictures with my LCA+ (the free one I won from the Kaiser Chiefs), and having a blast with it. I'm still figuring it all out, but having loads of fun doing it. Some of the pictures aren't all that bad either.

Alright, that's it. I wrote considerably more than I thought I would, but that always happens. More to come sometime.

top 5. updated.

I just finished retaking the Strength Finder sorter and I have a new top 5! Well, they aren't totally new but I do have two new ones. Here is what they were and now what they are.

Old Ones:
Context
Individualization
Harmony
Adaptability
Arranger

New Ones:
Adaptability
Context
Maximizer
Individualization
Devloper

I'm not yet sure how I feel about my new ones, mostly because I don't know much about them yet. I do still feel like the two that are no longer included in my top 5 would still be in my top 10 though. Anyway, it was interesting and kind of fun. We'll see how I feel about my new ones after some more study and which ones are really more me.

top 5.

So, at Greenville everyone had to take this personality sorter called Strengths Finder. I took it my junior year and got my top 5 strengths, which I actually like. Now we are taking it for work and I may get a different top 5. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. Also, I'm going to have to be careful not to take the test to the strengths that I want. We'll see how it goes. Perhaps I'll share my "new" top 5 after I take it. Anyway. This was kind of lame, but I wanted to put it out there.

traditions.

I’ve been talking with friends a lot lately about their holiday traditions (or lack there of), and thinking back to some of mine. My favorite so far, is one of my own that I don’t do with the rest of my family. It’s watching the white glow of the waves as they crash against the shore on the drive home from Santa Barbara. And for at least this year it has continued. We’re almost back to Ventura now, but it’s been really beautiful. Until next year…

seriously?

As i sit inside my house on a lovely rainy day watching Anthony Bourdain No Reservations I am accosted by a random/ridiculous commercial with Harrison Ford about how when a portion of the rain forest is ripped out, wherever it may be, we feel it here. Not a bad thing to learn about, you know, conserving the rain forests and the effects that it has on our world. I can get behind that. What I can't (and won't, and frankly would rather not have seen anyway) is what Mr. Ford does while discussing the effects of chopping down the rain forests. He gets a swatch of his chest hair waxed. Yep. Waxed. It's not even his whole chest. Just the portion right along his breastbone. What does that have to do with cutting down rain forests? I mean really? And if it does have anything to do with cutting down rain forests, then why did I have to witness it? When he connects with the rain forest that way he should really do it in private, without cameras. If you care to view this silly silly commercial about a serious topic pleas feel free. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r87wJ1QmyYw.

Thankfully that was all redeemed during the next segment of No Reservations when Anthony gets tasered by the LAPD SWAT team, voluntarily of course. Good times.

december. thus far.

December doesn't really feel like December this year. I'm not really sure why, but I've been having trouble getting it into my head that it's December and that Christmas is quickly approaching. Christmas is next Thursday, and in no way does it feel like it should be here yet, at all. Some of that I'm going to attribute to how the stores have been playing Christmas music for the last month. I've been phased into it for so long that it's like it should already have been here, or that it should never come. Not that it shouldn't come or that it won't come, but you get the idea. I also have done no Christmas shopping. I don't even know who I'm going to shop for. Family obviously. But what to get them. I think I know what I'm going to get for one of my grandmothers, but so far that's it. Some of my friends don't even want to exchange gifts this year, but spend time together instead. I don't mind that at all, and in fact this year makes my life a bit easier. Although, I really do like to give gifts to people. I haven't done it much lately, but I think that some of it has to do with the fact that I haven't been out much looking at stuff recently. And that's okay too.

I've decided that my band of the winter is Elbow. I recently got their new album Seldom Seen Kid, and the more I listen to it the more I love it. I bought it on an impulse on iTunes and am stoked that I did. It's also nice to have a new seasonal band. My favorite band of summer and fall was Kaiser Chiefs. And I still love them, but there's only so many times you can listen to three albums without longing for something different. They could have burned out after summer but they released their third album in October and that in conjunction with their concert that I attended in LA November 11th propelled them to band of fall too.

Speaking of that Kaiser Chiefs concert in LA... It was pretty much the greatest concert that I've ever been to, and not only because of the show that they put on. Let me go back a bit. When I found out that they were going to play LA I got my tickets right away. I was so excited. As the show approached I got an email newsletter from the band that had a link to win tickets to the LA show. So although I already had tickets I thought that I would randomly enter, it's not like I would win anyway. Well, as it turns out I won two more tickets to the show. I was floored. I found out the Friday before the show while I was up in Oregon. My mom called and said that there was a message on the answering machine from someone in New York saying that I had won and they needed my address to send me the tickets (as it turns out I had an email to the same effect). So I sent him my address and received the tickets the day before the show. So Julianne (who was out for a visit from MN), Sasha and I went down to the Music Box in LA for the show, and we had a really good time. We ate dinner at this little pub next door, walked right into the show, and stood within 30 feet of the stage. I was stoked. The band was wonderful (even without Peanut who had his appendix out in Brazil), but the crowd was a bit lame. (That's LA for you.) Fast forward a few days after the show I got this email from UPS saying that I had a package shipping. I hadn't ordered anything that would be coming from them but noticed some code that had kaisers in it, and I went back to find that original email about the contest. It turns out that with the contest you not only got the tickets but other stuff too. I happened to be getting a Lomography LC-A+ camera. I was super surprised, and stoked. I had been stoked enough on the tickets but then to get something else I was floored. The camera came and it's super cool and I've taken a few pictures on it but need to finish the roll still. About a week after I got the camera another small package came from NY and it had a copy of the new cd, and a gift card to insound (one of the sponsors of the give away). I couldn't believe it. I got so much, it was amazing. I could have cared less about the stuff after the tickets but I'm stoked that I got it.

That was a really long story. Sorry. I'll try to update more frequently. No promises though. I get the urge to update more than I actually do it, and then it all builds up and it's hard to know what to mention when so much has happened. That was only a small small fraction of what I could go on about from the last month and a half. And most of it is from the last two weeks. Ah well... such is life.