i tried to be a good boyfriend and give erica a special date night tonight, but im pretty sure i failed miserably.
first we went to a quaint little tea room for dinner in romantic main street bethlehem. when we got there, it took about 10 minutes for the waitress to take care of us, even though she was only taking care of one other table. first, she told us we couldnt use the coupon we had, because it wasnt valid on holidays, and their holiday lasts from thanksgiving to new years. oh, gee, thanks. next she tells erica the sandwhich she wants isnt available. so we order the same sandwhich - swiss cheese, turkey, mustard, and tomato on a french baguette. 25 minutes later, our sandwhiches come out. they are long baguettes with big chunks of turkey, no mustard, cheese on the side for whatever reason, and the only tomatoes are on the salad. we put our salad dressing on our sandwhiches to spice it up a little. the sandwhiches were 10 dollars each.
next we went a romantic horse and carriage ride through the town. it was romantic except for the fact that there were a total of 6 people squeezed into the carriage - 2 mothers and their daughters were sitting squished beside us and facing us - practically sitting zipper legged - and they talked the entire time. and the ride lasted about a grand total of 10 minutes or so.
then for fun we went to the moravian christmas putz. erica didnt exactly enjoy that because she was having an asthma attack from the horses.
then we took our free movie tickets to see stuck on you. incredibly dull movie, extremely too long, not very funny at all, and i fell asleep on several occasions.
what a night.
tomorrow we are venturing into the unknown and trying our luck at skating at rockefeller center. holy moly lord help us.

in 10th grade my english teacher had us collect letters from our friends and from ourselves and she saved them and promised to mail them in 5 years. i got mine today and geez what a shocker. it was fun to read the letters but im a little nervous about what i wrote to other people. from the letter erica wrote me and from what other people said, i thought erica and i were dating for a year or two...then i read my letter that said "i've been dating erica for 3 months." that was kinda funny. anyway, it was cool. ummm. yeah. bye.

ps, i woke up at 6:30 in the morning just to post on my blog. SO ENJOY IT.

the day after
another christmas has come and gone. they always seem to sneak up and fly by.
christmas eve was nice. we had a good service at church...it was some unique perspectives that were effectively done and it was enjoyable. some good music. good to see friends. after the service we had our shorb-family-christmas-eve-traditional meal consisting of fondue and shrimp. this year we also were blessed to have 7 dozen hot wings which is what most of my meal consisted. my brother weighed himself in before and after the meal, and gained 5 pounds. it was a very merry christmas eve. we also played a rousing game of apples to apples. have you played it yet? see what the craze is about.
christmas was pleasant. it was one of the first years where i wasnt the first one up having to sit on the couch staring at the presents waiting for the rest of the family to finally roll out of bed at 7:30 in the morning. i must admit im still a little kid when it comes to that.
i got a polaroid camera which im very excited about, and a tascam 4-track recording system which i am excited yet intimidated about. perhaps my little recording of hymns will be a reality in the near future. and i will release it and sell it along with an original polaroid photograph. but that polaroid will jack up the price cuz film is expensive.
i also go the dark days dvd and lots of kids books. erica spoiled me this year and got me a ton of cds. between her and a few others, i received damien jurado's ghost of david and holding his breath, denison witmer's safe away, appleseed cast's low level owl 1, death cab for cutie's transatlanticism, coldplay's parachutes, and godspeed's yanqui u.x.o. wowzers.
but now that i say all this i must admit i am beginning to get a little disconnected (poor word choice, i know) from the whole christmas thing. it was making me a little sick this year...everything it's turned into...how it has been so warped and twisted over the years...and now it is turning into a holiday that cant be properly celebrated because of being politically incorrect. when i was listening to christmas music on the radio, i was kinda weirded out when i took the time to think that all of these songs are about christmastime...does it strike anyone else as odd that we commit whole cd's to the time of the year and everything that comes along with it? not the christmas carols and stuff...but the "its christmastime im so excited lots of gifts and goodies if you're good christmastime is so merry ho ho ho" kinda songs that are actually and only about christmastime. i dont know. and the whole pop stars making money off of christmas carols where they probably dont have the slightest idea of what they are singing, and the wasted money, and the obligation, etc etc etc. call me ebenezer...but...its pretty sad what it has all become. and us christians are quick to throw out the cliches to make ourselves feel better...jesus is the reason for the season, wise men still seek him, blah blah blah...trying to convince ourselves that we arent forgetting christ in all this. but lets be honest, who is really caring when it comes down to it? very few of us. its more about making sure everyone's happy and everyone likes what they got and if this fits or if i like this or if so and so got me something i better hurry out and get something for them and hopefully our house has more lights and looks prettier than theirs next door and dont let the little ones know that daddy actually ate the cookies and not santa and and and and and.......
dont get me wrong. there are few things i like more than the christmas season. particularly just being with family and having fun. but you must admit...it's pretty sick in the end.
sorry for being such a downer. yikes. but think about it, i suppose. enjoy the rest of your break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i forgot to mention i went to see mona lisa smile the other night. it was pretty good.
i was excited to see julia roberts in a movie that wasnt a chick-flick cheesy romance...but then she has this little fling which was disappointing...not only that, but it was a little fling with a complete scumbag. not only was he a scumbag, but girls (ie: erica) cant see that he's a scumbag and think he's the biggest hunk of sweetness around. then his scumbagness is exposed a little later, which helped my case and i was able to say "i told you so"...but for some reason girls are still on his side. i just dont get it.

hi.
im home.
not much to talk about.
it's christmas time which is very exciting.
my cousin is visiting for the break. we'll just say it's interesting and leave it at that.
i've been discovering recently that i have incredibly poor fashion sense, and it's really discouraging. it'd be nice to have good fashion sense.
whatever.
merry christmas.

if you know how to post pictures in blog posts, please let me know how. that would make things a little more fun around here, dont you think?

so, have i mentioned it feels great to be done?? im pretty pleased with my finals week. i worked hard but didnt stress out and it look like i may have nailed straight A's this semester. and although my finals schedule was packed and rigorous, it worked out to the best possible schedule i think. get them all done as quickly as possible in a spaced out manner.
it was good to say goodbye to transitional mathematics, especially, but i must admit that when it comes down to it, that will be one of my favorite classes of my college career. which, after reading the posts here, here, and here, you may find it surprising. but in my mind there are 3 types of college classes. the kind you enjoy because it is laid back and discussion orientented: it's not hard but you learn a lot from discussing and get an A for putting your time in. then there is the kind that you hate because it's a lot of work and really rigorous, but you end up enjoying it because it's worth your time: it's what a college course is meant to be and you learn a lot. and then there's the kind you hate because it's lacking either one of those. trans was definitely a class that i hated because of all the work and because of how challenging it was...but to look back, knowing i got an A or B, i tried my hardest, and learned a lot, it gives you a pretty great sense of satisfaction. dr. case has it going on...he knows how to teach college kids. he expects a lot and has high standards...and in the end it feels good. will i use any of the stuff i learned in there? probably not...but im smarter for it and that's never a bad thing.
this is what im going for.
the treat of the week: 1 mug of coffee, 1 pack of hot chocolate mix, and a candy cane.
im packing up for home and packing up for ft. wayne and we are leaving around 1:00 or 1:30. hopefully the trip wont take too long. we shall see. i cant wait to get home, that's for sure.
have a super day and a great christmas break. things are good. rejoice.

imagine the following being said in small, high-pitched, squeaky, twangy voices, complete with a deep indiana-hick-drawl:

linda: (to me) will you help me beat up on her?
gracie: (tattletale-like) she's manhandling me!...er...whatever...you call...it.

merry christmas from me to you.

noah would like me to issue an official apology for the BK holiday link having the naughty f-word in it. he showed me a clean version and i didnt know the address and found that version but did not notice the vulgarity. it is neither of our faults so please dont think we are bad people. thank you.
im working the desk and there are people making out inside the front door and it's a little awkward. i think they are wrapping things up now though.
lord of the rings starts tonight...HOORAY. thats mostly sarcasm, seeing as how i still havent seen the first two. but if you like lord of the rings, i dont hold it against you. anyway, it's making the dorm really quiet, including the main lobby, which is allowing me to get some quality studying done at the desk. which is why im wasting time posting on here. what? whatever.
i found out i got an 85 on my final this morning. a little disappointing, but i suppose deserved for the amount of studying put in...i got an A in the class so it doesnt matter much. yippe. ok bye.

my right eye ball has been profusely burning out of its socket as of late. i finally decided that i think it's because my hair is poking me in the eye a lot.

"i've been known to woe the women with my poetry."
-david blomgren
(he meant woo)

im fairly proud of myself...ive been studying for finals more this year than all of my years in high school and college put together. its a pretty big pain...all of my finals are incredibly easy but for some reason require a large amount of studying. i dont really get how that works but thats the way it is.
i talked scott into going with me to an education study break tonight in order to get free pizza. we went and ended up having to sit there for an hour looking over handouts and listening to the people in charge speak about different seminars they went to. somewhere along the line they forgot it was supposed to be a study BREAK. it was pretty funny and ridiculous.
speaking of study breaks im gonna get pretty fat this week cuz of all these "study breaks." last night we had one at our floor-hook-up's house and i had 6 pieces of pizza. tonight working at the desk, guys were getting pizzas delivered from their parents as little study care packages, and i weaseled 2 pieces out of the deal. then, an hour and a half later scott and i went to this study break and i had 3 pieces. there's another study break in the DC tonight, and im sure there's more pizza there, but im skipping out.
back to studying. hooray.

i pick up the phone and dial...
confused kid: hello?
front desk nate: is kyle there?
confused kid: yeah, this is jon.
front desk nate: uhhhhh....well this is the front desk, there's a pizza down here for kyle.
confused kid: alright
a few minutes later a kid comes down and looks through the stack of pizzas.
confused kid: mine's not here.
front desk nate: well i guess you didn't get one then.
confused kid: you just called my room and told me i had one.
front desk nate: i told you kyle got one.
confused kid: oh. (as he takes the ones for kyle)
front desk nate: is that your roommate?
confused kid: yeah.
front desk nate: whatever.

im pretty sure i destroyed my trans math final.
time to start studying for my 3:00 children's lit final.
finals are awesome.

studying soundtrack for the night:
sigur ros - ( )
coheed and cambria - in keeping secrets...
unwed sailor - unreleased
ester drang - infinite keys
further seems forever - how to start a fire
interpol - turn on the bright lights
radiohead - hail to the thief
pedro the lion - control
the strokes - room on fire

if thats not a lineup to keep you studying, i dont know what is.
studying has gone well, i think. i think im prepared to finish off transitional math. havent even touched children's lit, but that's a make-it-up-on-the-spot final so im not too incredibly worried.
im just ready for break.
word.

last night consisted of wasting time, watching a guy who used to live in morris win 178,000 dollars worth of stuff on bob barker's 80th birthday prime time special of price is right, which was pretty incredible, consuming 6 krispy kreme donuts, making prank calls, wasting more time, watching saturday night live, and going to bed way too late without doing any studying at all.
studying is getting off to an even slower start today. we'll see how things turn out.
have a pleasant day.

i just "went" to erica's graduation, which consisted of me laying in bed, waiting for her to call, her cell phone being put in her pocket, and hearing her name over the loudspeaker as she walked across stage.
it was almost as good as being there, but not really.
i date an amazing woman - a college graduate! - who i am extremely proud of!

noah wants me to put up a link to this. dont hold it against me.

forget it, i no longer endorse nyquil...i am beyond "having some problems shaking it off"...i am groggy and falling asleep at the desk like nobody's business.

i whole-heartedly endorse nyquil for a good night's sleep...although...i am having some problems shaking it off this morning.

christmas open house is over and that is a good thing cuz now it will be easier to get some sleep. i feel better today than i have the past few, so, hopefully i am recovering. i guess i never explained christmas open house on here. i dont really feel like it at this point. but every year our floor puts on a huge open house where we completely transform the floor with tons of cardboard, wood, plastic, paint, and lots and lots of duct tape. this year's theme was hawaii and featured a volcano in the lobby with working water pump, a surf shop, a pearl harbor battleship, a dock with a pool at the end complete with goldfish, a working water in the north hallway leading to a volcano cave. it was a success.
yesterday in art as experience we listened to some of shoenberg's twelve-tone compositions. towards the end, after bashing it a bit, our professor asked what this music had to do with christianity. i was hoping - naively hoping, wishfully hoping, i suppose - that he would say, despite it being incredibly different and displeasing to most listeners, it was an artistic expression of god given creativity...the composer's expression as a person made in the image of god, in the image of a creator. instead, i was greatly disappointed to hear him arrogantly say that it was an expression of someone without joy and without hope because the music is terrible. i was puzzled...and appalled. maybe there's more behind the writing of the music that i dont know about, the composer's motives, etc, but to say that art you find unpleasant must be an expression of someone without the hope found in christ is incredibly myopic and immature. am i making sense? i dont know. there's more to it than that...but...it's not worth it.
1 more day of classes...hard to believe. all the big projects i've been worried about all semester are finally over and everything wasnt so bad after all.
i have stuff i would like to talk about but i dont feel like it at this point. um. so. have a good day. bye!

there's a freshman on the floor who is my long lost brother. we are both tall and skinny (well, he's skinnier than i am) and lanky, we are both musicians, we both have big nipples, and we both have unibrows. seriously, i saw the size of his nipples the other night, and i got really excited thinking his were bigger than mine. everyone was arguing about it, so we got out a ruler. mine are .6 cm bigger. i was disapointed. oh well. but he's a good kid. he's much cooler than me though.

i have never tasted anything so incredibly awful in all my life. oh my goodness. oh man. you have no idea. and a can of gatorade isnt even taking the taste away. why in the world would you stop making that stuff in pill form?!?

i finally caved in and went to the health center for medicine. the good news is i got 4 cans of gatorade out of the deal. the bad news is the medicine they gave me is syrup. i swear, just smelling the stuff will clear my sinuses just fine. i'm about to take my first dose. i'll let you know how it goes.

its a blah of a day. lots of homework, still feeling sick, open house prep going slowly, feeling a little lonely, just cranky in general, and the father of a kid on my floor died suddenly today. all of that's adding up to a pretty crappy day. i dont know. i think i may go to bed really early tonight.

today was a really great day.
i slept til 11:30 and had a snowy saturday morning...i showered and put on my comfy sweatpants and sat around the room doing homework and stuff.
at 3:00 i left with jared and steve to jam at jared's house. that was really great. we had a drummer which made things fun and i played some accordion and some bass both of which were enjoyable and things sounded pretty fun. jared played his super sprite funmaker 3000 or something like that...a super cool wurlitzer organ. but, yeah, that was a good time. its just fun when a song evolves...one person starts out playing something and slowly everyone joins in and it builds and builds and fades and fades and builds and builds and fades and fades. and then there's always that post-jam silence when the song finally ends..where everyone's just like "wow...what was that?" and it's too beautiful to say anything and ruin it.
the original plan was to have some of mrs. cheek's home cooking..but she was out of town. so we had a feast of frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, breadsticks, cheese-filled pretzel nuggets, doritos, dr. thunder, and fresh strawberry smoothies that were out of this world.
then we went to the josh garrels cd release concert. it was good but we had to leave early so i could work the desk which was a real bummer. one of the songs included an accordion and it was quite beautiful.
ummm yeah so party harty see ya later.

instead of studying for a quiz i have to take in less than 10 minutes, im posting on here.
it's snowing and it's really really nice. it's a good wet snow which makes for lots of fun snowball fights between classes. scott and i went into chapel and then decided to go back outside and pelt the other el ed guys coming from class. we didnt really pelt though...i have terrible aim and throw like a girl. it was fun nonetheless. the sidewalks are 3 inches of slushy water, though, which makes for some wet vans and wet socks.
i suppose there's a chance for the boxer run tonight. im pretty sure i wont be participating this year after my experience last year....nearly passing out and puking my guts out.
off to math. if you're getting the snow, be sure to enjoy it. but be sure to be fully clothed. rolling in the snow in your boxers does weird things to you.
penthouse christmas open house prep also begins this weekend. im a jaded junior and am not really looking forward to it..but hopefully my attitude will improve.
its a pretty great day.
hooray.

it's snowing and it's pretty great.
im working the desk for the 3rd time today. i live here.
that's it basically.

bands of the day are hey mercedes and the album leaf.
temperature is up and doesnt look like snow will be happening.
math is coming along.

just had a little IM chat with brian becker. i miss that kid.
losing touch with old friends is one of the biggest bummers of life.
i saw a kid from elementary school/middle school when i was visiting erica. it was just in passing and erica pointed him out to me and i was much too scared to say hello. maybe out of shame that i didnt care for him in the past - keep in touch, check in, etc - as much as i had wanted to...maybe out of fear of awkwardness...i dont know...there was just a boundary of comfort in not talking that has been moreless established and i didnt feel up to crossing it that day. and it stinks.
well. that's that.

you know it's a good day when you sit at the lunch table for an hour and a half telling stories and laughing. there's not much that is better than that.

weather.com says:

... WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING...

SNOW MAY ACCUMULATE 1 TO 3 INCHES TONIGHT... WITH ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS EXPECTED ON FRIDAY. STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 6 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE.

A WINTER STORM WATCH IS ISSUED WHEN SNOW MAY BE HEAVY WITH SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS. ROADS COULD BE DANGEROUS AND TRAVEL DISCOURAGED....

we went to krispy kreme. we got there at 11:10. they closed at 11:00. we told the lady who was kicking us out that we had driven 45 minutes. it didnt work. we went to steak and shake instead. but it was fun. i guess all in all i was proud of myself for going. lets just hope math homework gets done tomorrow. i finished off a roll of film that has been in my camera since like, the summer, so, it's gonan be a lot of surprising pictures and it will be fun. you dont need to know all of this. im tired. goodnight bloggerland.

so bryce came to pay me a visit just now.
he wants to go to the krispy kreme factory in ft. wayne with yoder and noah.
i've wanted to go to krispy kreme for 2 and a half years.
bryce moves to montana in a month.
ive been tired and sick all day and have been waiting to go to bed since 7:00 AM.
and i have a lot of math homework to do.
but they talked me into it. here we go.

this morning for some reason i decided to try and "be natural" or something like that.
i didn't drink any coffee and i didnt take any cold medicine.
i ran to my room in between classes to get sinus medicine because i could no longer handle not being able to breathe and i was falling asleep miserably by my 12:00 class.
in conclusion, it was a bad idea.

as i was getting ready to go to my ifc meeting, i bent over to tie my shoes, and i pinched a nerve or herniated a disk or cracked a vertebrae in my back or something. honestly...im in a lot of pain. its kinda funny.
i went to the ifc meeting. it was cancelled.
i wasted some time with the boys.
i got excited cuz i thought i was finally gonna get some music from jared, ie: pedro the lion christmas vinyl, coheed and cambria, unreleased unwed sailor material, jared's meeeean christmas mix, and karl blau's reggae version of the nutcracker, but he misleadingly led me out to the parking lot only for me to find that the stuff was in his jeep and his jeep is in muncie and i was left there alone with no music.
then i came back and laid on yoder's couch while he lectured me about stupid sociological family counseling mumbo jumbo stuff.
im thinking about taking the night off from here on out.

taken from amazon.com...

Are you a nervous reck over the constitution?? I was!, December 13, 2001
Reviewer: A reader from Turlock, Ca United States
Hi! I am a twelve year old girl from California and i was verry nervous about the constitutioin test.This book helped me a lot on the test. I was so woried and nervous, but once i read this book, along with If You Were There When They Wrote THe Constitution,I knew i had studied to my full capability! I was so overloaded with information i didn't even need for the test! But all of that studying paid off because ,with the help from this book, I got***********100%*********************! My family was so proud of me. well i didn't just write this review to brag i wrote it to tell you that this book was a great investement for me! also if you are anything like me you will still think you need to study more so you should also buy if you were there when they wrote the constitition.Good Luck!

Sign of the Beaver, November 2, 2003
Reviewer: A reader from Hilton Head Island, SC
This is by far one of the worst books I have ever read. one star is the lowest I could go but I would give it negative ten. I was forced to read this atrocious book in the 4th grade, 4 years later I am still repulsed. Who really wants to read about a boy and a indian tribe.

Yuck! This is the dumest book EVER written, DON"T BY IT!, August 13, 2002
Reviewer: A reader from Richmond, VA USA
I hated reading this book, boring, dull, stupid, pointlessly depressing, and may I add HORRIBLE grammer is what this book is! I can't believe i actually WANTED to read this book. DO NOT READ IT!


kids say the darndest things. i havent laughed so hard in a while.

still feeling pretty sick. didnt get much good sleep last night. trying to prove for the 4th time around that the square root of 3 is irrational and the set of prime numbers is infinite. need to do some other catching up in math class. working for amy this afternoon. groggy. cold. tired. but christmas is coming soon.

holy moly it's cold outside. i dont like winter. give me one good blizzard and get on with spring.
im sorry, but honestly, tasteful christmas decorations is something that indiana still hasnt gotten the hang of. honestly.
on a different note...all these cheezy church signs kinda make me angry...but while i was visiting the lavatory i found out that it's a righteous anger:
matthew 7 from the message says...
"dont be flip with the sacred. banter and silliness give no honor to god. dont reduce holy mysteries to slogans. in trying to be relevant, you're only being cute and inviting sacrilege."
yes! thank you!
and the cheezy step-by-step devotionals to make you the next billy graham:
"dont look for shortcuts to god. the market is flooded with sure-fire, easygoing forumlas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. the way to life - to god! - is vigorous and requires total attention."
yes! thank you!
thats all.

im writing things on my hand so i dont forget them. but i wrote "CD" on my hand and i have no idea why. i cant remember. this is pathetic.

ummmmmmmmmmmm
a kid just came to the front desk and asked if we sold toothbrushes. i laughed. he was serious. i said no, sorry. he asked if the union sold them. i said, i doubt it. he was surprised and disappointed. i was baffled.
happy december hooooray.

tonight's front desk soundtrack, in this order:
the strokes - room on fire
denison witmer - safe away
unwed sailor - the marionette and the music box
ester drang - golden west
damien jurado - where shall you take me?
godspeed you! black emperor - yanqui u.x.o.
elliot - song in the air

2 hours left...i want to take a nap...or, i guess just going to bed for the night would make more sense.

trip back went well and quite fast considering the conditions.
i started out quite groggy and finished 3 cups of coffee within the first 2 hours. it hit me, and holy moly i have not thought i was gonna pee my pants that bad since the 5th grade. i honestly thought i was gonna be changing my pants at the rest stop. luckily i made it in the nick of time and holy moly what a relief. seriously, though, you have no idea.
if you want cheap gas, go to dayton ohio - 1.27 at the speedway. and the cashier named julian is a mix of snoop dogg and barry white and he was pretty much the coolest guy ive ever met. i knew his name was julian because it was tattooed on his neck. when i walked in to pay he said in a low sexy voice, "whazzup, my man?"
im ready for christmas.
my stupid art as experience prof gave a quiz on tuesday just to hurt all the people that were skipping. listen buddy, half those students were already being penalized for too many cuts...its our choice fair and square to take our skips...if you want to reward the people that came to class just give them extra credit for being there. seriously, it's a pretty big cheap shot if you ask me. oh well.
im working the desk til 1AM which may or may not be cool.
the subway at the gas station down the street gives TU students quite a deal...you can get ANY footlong for 4 bucks if you buy a soda. so i bought a foot long BMT, regularly 5.50 or something like that, and a 32 oz. drink for 4.50 something or other. what nice folks.
the lady who rang me up was a sweetie. she was a depressed small town hoosier stuck with a lame job doing her best to keep a positive outlook on life. i know that because of a conversation she had with the customer in line before me. she was really nice and i think i was blessed by her. yeah, i was.
so. yup. back at school for 3 weeks. i really do hate wishing away these days/weeks/months/years. they are some of my best and theres a lot to be thankful for and a lot to take advantage of. but most of the time i just cant help but wish for it to be over. im sorry.
goodbyes are tough and so is 650 miles.
the colts choked BIG time and everyone is angry. the eagles won. SPORTS!
oh, we had a heck of a pizza party last night. we had lots of different kinds of homemade pizza: plain, bacon, sausage and ham, peppers and onions, peppers and onions and sausage, ham and pineapple, and southwestern shrimp. i think that was it. it was great and a fun time too. i won our little game of apples to apples. i got really excited. there was question to whether or not i should have won, though. i may have cheated. but not really. not a lot anyway. apples to apples is a fun game and you should check it out.
this has been long enough.
it was a good break. thanks to all who contributed. back to school.

pss
i have never been a fan of hip hop, but i am strangely drawn to and obsessed with outkast's new single "hey ya." i dont know why. i love it. its catchy. it sticks in your head. i spent the majority of my trip home last week scanning the radio until finding it. and when it was over i would start scanning again until it was being played again. im just really obsessed with it. is this strange?
ok im really leaving now. bye.

ps
i dont think i ever told bloggerland that my book came back from the binder people and it turned out really great. im pretty excited about it.
its been getting rave reviews from friends and family. after reading it out loud to erica, i really wish i wouldve read it out loud before sending it in, cuz there definitely would have been some changes, but oh well.
the general consensus is i should send it publishers. im not sure what i think.
i have to go to the bathroom and do some other stuff which is making me want to cut this short. but perhaps i shall continue on this thought at a later time.

how was your thanksgiving?
it is hard to believe i have been home for a week already and will be returning tomorrow. needless to say, im not ready.
thanksgiving was normal. the relatives were here which was nice, the food was good.
yesterday consisted of sleeping on the couch and hanging out with heather and mark who were here for the day. it also consisted of watching a tape of some people we know who appeared on dr. phil. that made for some amusing impersonations for the rest of the day.
this morning i had to wake up for a meeting about going to paris june. looks like things may pan out which is pretty exciting. and hopefully mr. nate diehl will go along too which would be fun.
looks like we may have a pizza party tonight. we'll see.
i am inspired this week to make a cd of some funky arrangements of hymns. now all i need is a way to record it. but i want to make something that reflects the beauty of hymns set to their original tunes. just some creative instrumentation and natural beauty. im sure i'll end up bringing out their natural ugliness, but if it pans out, we shall see. let me know if you know anything about recording stuff.
its been a good break. things always work out in such a way that you feel like you are wasting time and not doing as much as you originally wanted to, but in the end, it doesnt really matter i guess. its been good to see the family and just spend a week not thinking about school and being with erica. im growing more and more thankful for erica and the amazing woman that she is which is a wonderful feeling...she's a good catch. but i dont talk about this mushy stuff on here so we'll leave it at that.
i dont know. i know these next couple years are going to be a whirlwind of big events and big decisions and growing experiences....missions trips...student teaching...whatever...but god has an amazing plan and it really is exciting to know that whatever happens will be good because he has told me so and it's an exciting adventure.
whatever. im weird sometimes. have a super day.

cool crisp air, christmas songs on the radio, busy traffic in town, running last minute errands to the grocery store, long lines at the cash register, church service tonight....ive had to remind myself several times today that it is thanksgiving eve and not christmas eve.

so lately ive been thinking about that really long waste of time survey i did and "the dumbest thing i ever did." this was included in the first thing i said...
it was a sleepover. or something like that. dale, wes, tim, and me were at schroter's house. dan schroter was a big fella. probably double my weight and pretty muscular. not ripped, but tough. but lets face it, it really doesnt matter how muscular someone is, they could probably beat me up anyway, and that's the point here.
we were watching a movie. probably mystery men. as always i couldnt stay awake. and i mean i was REALLY tired. REALLY REALLY tired. like cant keep your eyelids even halfway open. and schroter kept yelling at me across the room. "SHORB! STAY AWAKE!" he would wake me up and the next second my eyelids would drift downwards and he would yell again. i dont know why, but i got really really furious. he yelled again.
in a moment, i decided i wasn't going to stand for this anymore. schroter thought he as such a tough guy that could boss us around, yeah, well, im gonna prove him wrong. im sick of being pushed around. im going to stand up for myself.
so i grab the pillow next to me, and chuck it as hard as i can at him, mainly to divert his attention, then i jump up and charge across the room at him.
halfway across the room (you gotta remember this all happened in an instant but i can remember thinking all of these things very clearly) i said to myself "shorb...what are you doing...you are weakling who has never been in a fight before. you dont know how to punch someone. you dont know how to hurt someone. you dont know how to defend yourself. and this kid is huge and tough." but i couldnt just back down in the middle of the room. i swear this was probably the most awkward thing ever, and the laughter that came from wes and dale and tim afterwards proved that point...but i reached him and just kinda...pushed him around and flailed and i dont know...probably bit and pinched him or something. before he could do anything to me, to this day none of us really know what happened, but one of my flailing body parts - a knee or an elbow - hit him somewhere where it hurt, i forget where, perhaps a charlie horse or something. he stopped all defense and just said "GET AWAY FROM ME" i knew not to mess around with him and so i got away from him. he had a look in his eyes like he was going to punch me in the face. i stared him down and he didnt punch me and i was very grateful for his mercy on a little twerp like me. he was pretty mad for the rest of the night. i was pretty embarassed for the rest of the night. but the bottom line was, i hurt him, it didnt matter how, it only mattered that i did, and there was nothing he could do but keep himself from absolutely destroying me, which he very easily could have done.
and that, folks, was probably the dumbest thing i've ever done. it was also the scariest moment of my life. and probably the most adrenaline at one time i've ever experienced.

speaking of dale, he stopped by to visit yesterday and i missed him. im really bummed. but he dropped off a cd of the NYC band and it sounds pretty rad thus far.

hello.
i spent the past few days visiting erica at school which was quite pleasant.
on sunday night we went to see damien/rosie/denison/sufjan which was really great.
sufjan stevens was a pleasant surprise. i dont think erica liked him but i was in love. i thought his voice was incredible. erica disagreed. i described it as a nice mousse soufle dessert...light and airy and delightfully sweet and leaving a taste for more.
it was really great to see denison witmer again. the sound man had his vocals up wayyy too loud and he didnt play any of the songs i wanted him to, but he's a funny fella and it was fun to see him.
damien was great. i didnt like his set as much as the one at taylor.
rosie closed and she was also fun. she is pretty much the most joyful person i've ever encountered i think, which is really great. i think the greatest witness a christian can have is to be someone who is genuine and someone who likes to laugh. rosie is both..and her music is dang good too. erica liked her.
and she did her stand up eye of the tiger routine which was even more hilarious than when she did it at taylor.
we saw the saxon boys which was nice. and it dawned on me after we paid 25 bucks (with the ticket surcharge crap) that i really shouldve schmoozed with damien and rosie a little more when they were at taylor so i could have worked my way on to the guest list. what was i thinking?!?
monday i went to class with erica which was funny and we went to the quaint little town of wayne and walked around some. monday night we went to her friend's apartment. this friend is of the male persuasion and he cooked an entire thanksgiving meal for 10 of us all by himself. and it tasted really good. pumpkin and pecan pie and all. you gotta hand it to someone who goes out of their way like that just to make some great memories. i think it was well worth it for him.
after that we went to see elf in the city because of the rave reviews we've been hearing. i paid 8.25 to sleep through it and i was really really mad at myself. what i saw was really good though.
today we went to see erica's friend's piano recital at temple. he is incredible. i didnt know a human being could move his fingers that fast. it was great.
i love the city so much and being there these past few days was the first time i regretted going to taylor. i just love everything about the city. the trains. the wind. the run down buildings. the diversity. the people. i dont know. i just love it. so, guys, when we get back to taylor, we are going to indy more often. thanks. but yeah, being at temple was really cool and i want to transfer. not totally. but i do wish i went there.
after skipping two days of school i've been freaking out and really paranoid that im missing something important. i know im not but im just a really big wuss when it comes to missing class and im spazzing out about it. ive been having dreams about remembering big projects that are due and all kinds of stuff. but so far its been worth it.
the wild mountain sandwhiches at wendy's are INCREDIBLE.
great harvest bread is also really good.
and philly soft pretzels.
goodnight.

the trip was really great and actually quite enjoyable. traffic moved fast, it was an enjoyable day, no tickets, made great time even despite the fact i made 6 stops total - 4 of them because of my bladder choosing a miserable day to be overactive. and if you've ever taken a trip with me, you know bathroom stops are a big road trip no-no. but yeah, it went well. didnt even fall asleep once.
its good to be home.

i think the key might be trying your hardest to forget that it's an eleven hour drive. bon voyage.

it's 1:15 and the assignments are done and given to the respective hander-inners. i must admit i get a little nervous knowing that my assignment is depending completely on someone else now...it is out of my control. so, frenchy, i am counting on you.
i found people to work my hours at the beginning of next week as well as next sunday.
i called my previous ride and told her i dont need a ride.
i told the other girl i can give her a ride home.
i tried calling su but there was no answer so it looks like i will save a visit for another time.
i forgot to turn in my time sheets
i have yet to obtain money for the trip. if i were smart i wouldve done that and filled my car up with gas still tonight. i guess i still could, but im tired now. oh well.
and i just remembered now that i have to pack.
and im starving.
and i know i am gonna set my alarm and i am going to want to sleeeeep and sleeeeep so we'll see what time i actually get on the road. i just wish i had some music to listen to.
the the immortal words of lloyd christmas, some people just werent cut out for life on the road.

the week is over. i am feeling very drained at this point...just really tired on all levels...and at this point would rather sleep all weekend than make the drive home.
im working on my child psych paper that is due on monday, the last thing i feel like doing after this week, but, i know it will be worth it to finish it and get on the road home.
my math test was pretty tough.
my generation night was pretty lame all in all last night...joe and the gang performing the pixies' where is my mind and kat with ace of base's i saw the sign were both highlights. maybe im just becoming cynical and jaded about taylor's poor attempt at humor by using the same jokes over and over agin, but the skits and commercials in between acts were pretty weak. it was a little frustrating to see a revolving door of performers on the stage, nearly everyone who performed, performed in at least 2 different acts. also sick of seeing people get in because they are friends with the people in charge, or, in the case of 1 act, THE person in charge. but enough complaining. all in all it was a fun night, but not a very thrilling production.
geez, i sound pretty negative tonight, huh? it'll pass.
have good weekends.
see you at home.

im starting to feel like im a pretty big idiot and i apologize.

so i really enjoy reading people's survey thingers. but ive always hated filling them out. but im gonna attempt it. its a good way to waste time, i suppose. we'll see how it goes. i have a feeling i'll end up deleting half the questions. mad props yo to dale for the survey.

Biography Stuff
you know this stuf....*delete*

Favorites

Color: of all time, grass green. at the moment, brown. and that greyish blue, too. and black.
CDs: unwed sailor - the faithful anchor, pedro the lion - control and winners never quit, ester drang - golden west
Book: raggamuffin gospel - brennan manning
Vacation Spot: hilton head, i think. it's been a while though, so maybe not.
Number: 3?
Movie(s): dumb and dumber, mystery men, punch drunk love
TV show(s): cosby
Favorite Holiday: i always tried to have a favorite holiday other than christmas cuz im like that...but...christmas.
Foods: sloppy joes and perogies.
Day of the week: friday
Song: at the moment, movie script ending by death cab for cutie
Restaurant: perkins
Fast Food Restaurant: cheap: mcdonalds, expensive: arby's
Flower: hmmmm berger daisies perhaps, im such a girl
Least Favorite Subject: history
Favorite Subject: english or science or math or music
Soda: cherry coke
Sport to Play: basketball
Sport to Watch: basketball
Sesame Street Character: cookie monster
Computer Font: andy, maybe.
Conversation Topic: music, i guess.
Magazine: im bad at this.
Stores: i should be hip and say salvation army, and not old navy, but i get all my clothes from old navy, so, yeah.
Thing to Wear on a Normal Day: jeans, tshirt
Thing to Sleep In: my bed at home with jerzee sheets and an egg crate
Disney Movie: lion king
Music Group: dont ask.
Season: spring
Summer Activity: sweating
Winter activity: sleeping
Inside Joke: favorite inside joke? poor question.
Ice Cream Flavor: chocolate chip cookie dough, cookies and cream
Clothing items: cowboy shirts
Possession: probably my car
Best Hug: hmmmmm (erica)
Female Singer(s): pat benatar
Male Singer(s): the guy from mineral, i forget his name

Love, etc
unnecessary and embarassing, i love erica and that's all there is to it. *delete*

Friends, etc

Best Friend of the Same Sex: tough question.
Best Friend of the Opposite Sex: erica
Knows you the best: erica
Best quality in a friend: someone who laughs and makes me laugh
Fondest memories of you and your friends: laughing really hard, like band trips and iron cobra practices/shows
Lives the farthest away from you: pretty much everyone, although, wes lives in australia at the moment, that's far
Friend with the best vehicle: i like noah's jeep...driving it, that is.
Funniest Person you Know: golly im not sure...probably shadow...or neville...or wes or dale...or jared...ummm...nevermind
Person(s) you talk to most online: hmmm
Favorite thing to do with friends: laugh a lot, go out to eat

Deep Thoughts

What do you wanna be when you grow up?: a teacher and music person of some sort
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? who knows
One thing you wish you could tell the whole world: think
One thing you hope you do before you die: fill out a survey like this a little better than what im doing now
Thing you want to be remembered for: golly....being likeable because of the joy inside of me.
Best Advice Ever Given to You: i have a poor memory...mark's given me a lot of advice about interacting with people that has helped along the way.
Person you admire most: su
Thing you most regret: i had a list last week, and i forget it already.

Random Questions

What color is your bedroom's carpet? multicolor puke to hide lots of dirt and hairs and other unwanted filth
Color of your bedroom: off white
Ever fail the test for your Permit and/or Driver's License? not that i remember, i forgot to signal for parallel parking though...and i hit the curb...but...he let it slide.
Have you ever been convicted of a crime? no
Which single store would you choose to max your credit card? a good record store
What do you do most often when you are bored?: surf the web mindlessly
What words or phrases do you overuse? right now, "seriously!" previously, "awww phooey."
Most annoying thing is: wanting these years to fly by cuz you're sick of them but not really wanting to wish away these years even though you do...did that make sense?
Best thing: laughing and playing music
Dumbest thing you've ever done: losing my temper a lot about stupid little things and feeling really stupid afterwards. or trying to cheat in computer applications that one time. oh man that was really dumb.
Last movie you watched: finding nemo
Last show you watched on TV: parts of conan.
Thing you're picked on most about: large nipples
Link to your favorite website: eh...decapolis.com?
One place you want to go to: italy
Your theme song(s): the power of your love...come thou fount of every blessing...bob marley "dont worry about a thing..."
Size of your bed: extra long twin i think
Last phone number you called: yoder
Last thing you had to drink: water
Last book you read by choice: howie helps himself
Thing you actually want to be doing right now: GOING HOME
The saddest memory: hmmmm
Craziest month: july 1995, is that right?
Best year of your life: eighth grade, maybe?
Worst year of life: 10th grade, maybe? ...they've all had their ups and downs.
Best present: the guitar my parents got me was pretty thoughtful and started a new page of music for me.
Best surprise: ok so i am REALLY bad at surveys
Worst thing someone has said to you?:
Worst thing you said to someone?:
Worst thing that's ever happened to you?:
Ever run away from home?: yes. an old lady sent me back home.
Scariest moment in life?: choking on a mozzarella stick at TGI Fridays
Have you ever walked home from school? no
Earliest memory? being carried to bed by my father
People you hate: well thats not nice now is it.
Biggest waste of time: high school
Are you spoiled? we are all, i guess, when it comes down to it. yes.
Are you self confident?: ummm, im getting to be more, but, well, yes, i think so. im self-realistic.
Do you feel you are a strong person (mentally): probably not
Do you drink eight glasses of water a day?: no.
How much money do you have right now: not enough
Do you drive?: yes
How often do you cry?: once every 2 months.
Ever woken up from a dream crying or screaming?: no
What are your dreams usually about?: i can never remember...today it was about my boss being mad at me for playing pool while i was working.
Been in a car crash?: a pretty bad one with my mother, and a couple fender benders

i sincerely apologize for wasting both of our time with that. and i wish i had a better memory.

ok...so...up to this point i havent been sure if im going home early or not for thanksgiving break.
but today i am freaking out and i think i pretty much deserve a full week's break. and im listening to denison witmer and i really want to see him on sunday night. so. as long as i crank out my child observation paper and my take home test and a few other things, im coming home early. we'll see.

i found out yesterday that novels by john grisham and stephen king are written at a 6th grade reading level. whaddya know.

things are going ok at this point. friday afternoon will be a little better when my lesson plan and presentation is done with and my math test is over.
jake armerding and katie bowser played tonight. they were both very pleasantly surprising and really enjoyable. good bluegrassy folkish stuff. and i drank a free grande coconut mocha and finished my cursive which means handwriting is completely done with.
i have a good start on my lesson plan, hopefully i can finish that in the morning, and then get my math studying done the rest of the day.
tomorrow night is my generation night which is always enjoyable. ben and joe are playing where is my mind which i cant wait for...and kat is doing i saw the sign which i am also excited for, but i still wish she was doing all that she wants so that i could play bari sax.
band of the __________ has been changed. check it out. and buy me their cd for christmas.
goodnight.

ok, yeah, so NOW i'm officially stressed out.

so i was hungry. so i reach for a tastykake butterscotch krimpet. it's covered in mold. so i reach for another. it is too. so kyle and i split the last two, and they are pretty terrible. the date said 0902....so that's either september 2 or september 2002. either way they are old and terrible. so i got for a tastykake kandy kake. man oh man are they ever bad too. i guess tastykakes dont last too long these days. yikes.

i accidentally set the curve in art as experience. whoops. sorry guys.

my alarm clock hasn't been waking me up lately. it's pretty annoying. i don't know what to do about it, but perhaps going to bed at a decent hour would work.
a kid in indy died on a school bus...he stuck his head out the window and got struck by a tree. maybe there's a purpose to all those rules after all.
please give me thanksgiving.

it's really fascinating how so many people call me "nate shorb." i think i kinda really like it.

so i overslept this morning and didnt get to shower and threw on jeans a t-shirt and my hat. then i remembered i had a presentation in psych class. so i gave a presentation looking very professional in my sweaty grungy clothes and a backwards hat covering my ugly greasy hair. oh well.
dr. gyertson (taylor's president) delivered a killer message in chapel today, complete with a performance of wipe-out on the drums. the guy is like 60 years old and he played the drums for us. i swear this guy has done everything...he ran away from home and lived on the streets, was in rock and roll bands, has been in movies and on the radio and stuff...the president of a bunch of colleges...i think he traveled with the circus somewhere in there too. but anyway, it was a great message and the performance on the drums made it that much better.
so it's campus visitation day. at lunch amy and bryce (admissions folk) told a guy and his son to sit with me. they didnt. after lunch they wanted me to go introduce myself to them and i guess make them feel bad. they thought it would be funny, i knew it would only be awkward, and i was right. but anyway, bryce and i went to talk with them...they were sitting with 2 other students. after meeting me, the guy does the "loud whisper" to bryce so that i can hear and says. "he's not THAT goodlooking...we only have 1 lunch here, we decided to eat it with a better looking guy." so first, he calls me ugly...but not only that, why is he so interested in eating with a good looking guy???????? hmmmm. i was offended. so then i yelled "YOU KNOW WHAT SIR? YOU'RE SON ISNT EXACTLY HANDSOME EITHER! AND IT'S OBVIOUS HE GETS HIS LOOKS FROM YOU! AND I HOPE HE GETS REJECTED FROM EVERY SINGLE COLLEGE HE APPLIES TO SO THAT YOU REALIZE YOU'RE A FAILURE AS A FATHER!" ok so i didnt say any of that...but...seriously...he's lucky i wasnt a girl or i'd be anorexic from here on out after that comment.
in math today my professor said "we did this in september, but, we all had tans back in september, too." it struck me really funny, just cuz it was pretty odd and matter of fact and out of nowhere...and i started laughing pretty hard and loud...but NO ONE else was laughing...he kept going but i knew he was waiting for people to laugh and the longer no one laughed the more i laughed and he kinda chuckled at me laughing but kept teaching and it was really quite humorous.
today my hair is randomly doing the rob thomas (of matchbox 20 fame) flippy thing in the back, which, i guess is kinda fun. it only ever lasts for one or two days though, and then it grows out of it again.
it's a beautiful spring day...without the leaves and green grass and stuff.
thats enough. have nice days.

ps
remember a while back when i mentioned my lava lamp is really faded for some reason? well, kyle insisted on turning it on today and it is absolutely hideous. it's all pukey yellow and stuff. i cant bear to look at it. it's terrible. and it's really quite saddening.
pss
the new death cab album further illustrates ben gibbard's absolutely incredible ability as a lyricist.

today has been a good day. i kinda did a combination of both of my options..i relaxed a lot, while casually getting a lot of work done. im not sure what got into me, but i was motivated and i decided to take full advantage of it while it lasted. here's everything i did...
completed a quiz due tomorrow
completed a journal entry due tomorrow
finished up a theater review paper due wednesday
did one of two handwriting lessons due friday
finished up a concert review paper due next monday
did a writing assignment due next tuesday
geez louise what's gotten into me. i dont know but it was nice. and now it will help me out and i will either be able to come home early or will have a stress free week.
so i kinda wish i hadnt let the church sign generator out of the bag so quick. everyone on the floor knows about it already. i shouldve had some fun with it before letting everyone know. oh well.
i just did a search on google for nate shorb...iron cobra and the dialtones came up...and man oh man there must be a lot more people named shorb than i thought. and to be perfectly honest, im a little jealous. i guess im possessive of my last name or something. i guess i just thought that my family were the only people with it and i feel a little threatened to find out otherwise.
thats all...have super weeks.

im not sure if ive mentioned, but the new strokes album is pretty baaaad in a really really good way.

this is pretty ingenious: church sign generator
pastor guy preached a heck of a sermon this morning. he has an excitement that is contagious and 1 john is pretty packed full of awesomeness.
i dont really have anything due tomorrow...so i will either get a head start on things today, or keep the sabbath holy for once and relax for a change. jamin and i may go out and be artsy fartsy. we'll see.
have a good day.

long before he laid the earth's foundations he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love to be made whole and holy by his love. long long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through jesus christ...what pleasure he took in planning this! he wanted us to enter into the celebration of lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved son!

so i cant get lunch today cuz my shift is 10-2. so my stomach was growling really bad. a kid whom i dont know came and asked how much honey buns cost. i told him 50 cents. he said what is 25 cents. i said oatmeal pies... he said i'll have two of them. he gave me 75 cents and walked out the door before i could count how much was there and call him back. so, i considered it a gift and bought myself an oatmeal pie as well. sorry pal....but thanks.

um, yeah, so, ive got 4 hours at the desk this morning to get paid for doing homework, but of course, i dont feel like doing an ounce of it.

last night was a little more eventful and fun than expected.
at 6:00 i went to the first basketball game of the year. we destroyed them. the other team looked like a middle school jv team or something...their tallest guy was no bigger than 6'2". that was pretty enjoyable, but not a very exciting game. and surprisingly not one dunk, either.
at 8:30 bryce and i went to wal mart. that was nothing too exciting but it was enjoyable. i talked bryce into buying a 1 million candle power spotlight and we had some fun with that later on.
we wanted to go to la bamba's - the place that has burrito's as big as your head - but we were both out of gas. no one else was around. so we called jared cuz he's never been there after living in muncie for 22 years and he's been wanting to go, but he wasnt around. so we went to dot's diner night in the union.
it was really hot in there and there were lots of popular people and we stuck out like an awkward sore thumb and there was an old man that nobody knew doing karaoke one song after another, i think he thought he was elvis, and just the whole scene was kinda confusing and shady. well well well who showed up but none other than jared cheek. he was down for la bamba's so we went.
la bamba's is in the ball state village where all bars are and stuff, and it was a friday night, so, needless to say, things were getting pretty interesting. it was after 12:00 at this point.
i got a regular steak burrito and i forgot how good they were - i havent been there since my freshman year. everyone likes to complain about la bambas food, but i think it's pretty great. granted, i smell like a walking giant fart bag today, but thats not such a big deal and so far the bowels are doing fine.
we saw some people we knew and jared saw pretty much every kid he went to high school with and they all didnt recognize him and thought he was a drunk bum from the streets or something.
then, just as we were about to leave, a girl comes up to us and asks us if we could take her and her friends back to her dorm. she didnt act very drunk, but that's the natural assumption. i dont know, im such a lame-o when it comes to stuff like that...bryce and i were trying to weasel our way out of it...but good ol' jared pulled through with the chistlikeness. it turned out to be only her boyfriend and her, so it wasnt as interesting as we were expecting. but the trip was kinda funny.
she asked, "so what are you guys doing tonight?" and we said "oh, just getting a burrito at la bambas." and she said "oh...ok....so where all did you go tonight?" "just la bambas." "you didnt go to any parties?" this is where jared eloquently and enthusiastically says, "a burrito's all the party you need, baby!" (yes...he was successful in calling her baby....and we all laughed.) then we told her we were from taylor. "you drove all the way to muncie for a burrito?...and you didnt even party?" at another point she was asking where all of us went to high school...i told her i was from philadelphia. "PHILADELPHIA?!? then what are you doing here????" (i would think there are a few students out of 30,000 at ball state or so that arent from indiana....?) i answered plainly "i thought taylor looked like a cool school so i came all the way out here for it." she wasnt impressed. the boyfriend was pretty quiet the whole time.
so that was fun and funny. they were really grateful for the ride and we wished them a nice night and we were fine. high five to jared for not being a fraidy-cat-loser like me.
i could type more but that would make this post soooo much longer and you're already tired from reading so goodbye and have a nice weekend.

apparently it takes a little while for this simply sleep stuff to wear off. i am quite a bit groggy and tired today. gee whiz.

welp, it's 10:40 and i want to sleep so i took some "simply sleep" pills from a care package thinger the bookstore was giving away and i'll let them work their wonders. dont worry mom, they're non-habit forming. see you in the morning.

ok...so...i am willing to put aside my arrogant elitism and say that i dont mind if you like dave matthews. that is OK. he can even be your favorite band and i wont mind (too much). that's acceptable.
BUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND THE CREATIVITY HE PLACED IN YOUR SOUL PLEASE LISTEN TO SOMETHING ELSE! i dont care what it is, just at least ONE other band!! im not saying you cant like dave matthews im not saying he cant be your favorite band if he is that is fine and acceptable but i just want you PLEASE to realize that there is OTHER music out there that IS good and it is your duty as a citizen of america and the world, as a consumer, as a member of culture, to PLEASE broaden your horizons at least a little bit and see what else is out there.
and who knows, you just might find something else you like!!!!!
im begging!!!!! not so you can like music i like but just so that you interact with culture intelligently or just see the beauty in ART or for your own good or SOMETHING!

amen?!?

thank you, i'm done.

so sometime last week, during a meal, with a table full of guys, one guy referred to someone being uncooperative as being "so jewish." everyone gave him a surprised look of disgust and he was quickly reprimanded for being ignorant, insensitive, rude, and distasteful. he felt ganged up on, and rightly so, and he took it as a personal attack, which, it may have been. and while i agree that he needed to be corrected (although he probably wasnt being corrected for the right reasons or in the right manner), i couldnt help but think how often all the people who were doing the correcting refer to things as being "gay." and it was pretty sad. the whole speck and the plank kind of thing. and i shouldve spoken up but you know me.

iLuvPatBenetar: yo dude
NERDVOMMIT: whats going down
iLuvPatBenetar: my health
iLuvPatBenetar: how bout you?
NERDVOMMIT: my attitude about life

the concert last night was really great and i highly recommend you check out both saxon shore and damien jurado/rosie thomas on tour. PA people, that means saxon shore on the 22nd (with the always amazing reels of white) and damien/rosie (with the always amazing denison witmer) on the 23rd both in philly. im thinking of skipping monday and tuesday before thanksgiving so i can go to both, but im sure i'll wuss out.
saxon shore was massive. just when i thought they couldnt get any more mammoth they went and ripped that out and man was it mammoth. i definitely missed the poppy songs, and i dont think it was the best set i've seen them play, but it was very enjoyable. and a broken bass string at the end. whollllly moly who do you know that breaks a bass string?!?
rosie thomas was the bomb diggidy. she's like 20 million times infinity times better than norah jones. and she's the nicest lady ever. she has a funny little mousey quiet voice when she talks, and then when she sings the cute/ugly catepillar of a voice turns into this beautiful full mature butterfly of a voice and it's incredible. i really enjoyed her set.
and damien jurado is also the bomb diggidy. seeing him live makes me like his cd's a lot more. he's just a really great songwriter and his voice is unique and glorious. and he's a funny guy, too.
then rosie did her standup act and the guys in the band played eye of the tiger with her singing and dancing and it was pretty hilarious.
a good size audience was in attendance...the recital hall was full which means i think about 250 people or so. 5 of which went to taylor. its just a little discouraging cuz this will probably be the best concert of the year, and probably a TON of people from taylor wouldve really enjoyed it but no matter how we publicize and tell people about it, people dont come. oh well. and they are all like "nobody has ever heard of them...blah blah blah" and i am all like "hellloooooo they just toured in europe and now they are in little old upland and there are people driving 1-3 hours to see this show" and they are all like "3 dollars is a rip off" and i am all like "helllooooooooooo this concert would cost 12 dollars anywhere else - 20 if you buy the ticket through ticketmaster." oh well.
ive really come to appreciate good songwriting. i never really knew what that meant but im beginning to. damien's songs are incredibly easy, rosie's too, for that matter. they are all just G, C, and D chords. but with amazing lyrics and melodies they are turned into some pretty amazing songs and thats not easy to do. but you think you have to be an amazing guitar player to be an amazing musician...well...you either need to be an amazing guitar player or an amazing lyricist/melodicist (is that a word?) and being an amazing lyricist/melodicist is a lot tougher to do. not sure if that made sense but it did in my head.
after the concert i went with jared to get them some food and it was like 11:59 at taco bell and the drive-thru closes at 12 so of course they told us they were closed. so we had to drive all the way to the taco bell in marion. then we took it back to the hotel. and all along i was under the impression that we were invited to hang out with them, but it became pretty apparent that we werent and it was all quite funny and awkward. and it was like 97 degrees fahrenheit in damien's room and i was wondering if anyone else noticed how hot it was or if i was the only person sweating buckets. and they all made fun of jared for buying candy canes for them. we thought it was a nice gesture, but, i guess they thought otherwise. so finally jared pulled out the "i have a paper to write" card and we left and laughed all the way home.
oh and i asked stone's girlfriend who drove from philly to see them if she was going home tomorrow (today) and she said something like "no, i have to be home tomorrow." which didnt really make sense. "are you going home tomorrow?" "no, im going home tomorrow." "oh, of course." and i was planning on wishing her safe travel but her weird answer totally caught me off guard and im not exactly sure what i said after that...something like...."um...wow...great." it was funny and jared and i laughed.
it was a fun night.
thats all. i think.
saxon shore
rosie thomas
damien jurado
sorry, that was too long.

kinda a rough monday morning. lack of sleep may have something to do with it. everyone's annoying and im supernaturally burdened. haha. i dont know what that means but i think it's actually a good way to describe it. off to art as experience.

a good weekend. nice and relaxing. big concert tomorrow night. damien and rosie and saxon shore. be there. 7:30. recital hall. party on.

last night waited up til 3:00 so i could wash my sheets. i even washed my comforter and my pillows. and then i took a shower. and climbed into my clean bed with unwed sailor playing in the background. it was wonderful. and then jared cheek rudely awoke me at 11:30. my only day to sleep in, and i get woken up at 11:30. thanks a lot jared. but then we went to walmart and i got a shirt for my gift machine patch and i got paint to start being artsy fartsy and we went to a flea market and it was in an old warehouse place and if i ever get a polaroid camera thats where im headed first to take some pictures. then we stopped at mcdonalds for a 1 dollar double cheeseburger and man on man its been a while since i had a mcdonalds hamburger and i love them a lot. then jared had coupons for free BK french fries so he treated me to some of those. then we got back to school.
my eyesight is getting ridiculously bad and my eyes get really super tired when i dont wear my glasses.
im going to see the play tonight.
have good weekends.

i came back to the room to find a note from my roommate who just left for a cross country match:
"you had a long week. :( catch up on your rest. i'll be back late sat. night. -kyle."
what a sweetheart.
ladies: he's single.

remember how my cd player died on the trip? well, it wasnt working cuz of the tape adapter. so i went and bought a new cd player with the tape adapter and all. and it doesnt work. so it's my tape player that is broken. so, now im musicless. and it's terrible.
remember how i said i was relaxed and i would get stuck with all my work to do tonight? it's happening. and im really really tired and i dont want to do any of it.

so, jared and i took a bucket of some girls sidewalk chalk, and we used all 20 pieces in a little over an hour and drew big signs all over campus about monday night's concert. it was fun.

i got in a really relaxed mood last night, which is good, cuz, im not stressed or freaking out or anything, but, i'm still not realizing i have a lot to do for tomorrow, and it's gonna be like 2am, and i'll be relaxing, and then i'll realize, nate, you havent done anything for tomorrow, you've got math homework you cant understand, you've got handwriting to turn in, and you've got a test you havent studied for, you're an idiot, and then i'll be like, relaxation? what's that? and it will all be downhill from there.

im listening to explosions in the sky right now...an amazing CD...and it's making me really really miss being involved with instrumental music.

i just took the time to save all my blog posts from the last year to my hard drive. i suppose my computer would crash before the internet does, but, hey, you can never be too safe. one of these days i'll save them to a CD or something. or publish them. april was the winner i think, coming in at 19 pages long.
in related news, november 11th is my one year blog anniversary. so throw me a party or something. ive been helping you waste time for a year.

the government is making the postal service change their name, which is pretty ridiculous, and kinda funny, but sad and pathetic...nothing better to do than pick on indie bands? whatever.
my body is shaky and weak today and my eyes are burning and tired so i am going to take a nap. i am more sleep deprived than ever this semester, and its really nothing i can prevent. coffee is doing amazing things for me this semester, but i doubt that's healthy.

oh, and, not like you care, or understand what im talking about, but, i would be a much better bass player if i could just get away from that darn 5th...but it's just too dang catchy and i cant escape it's catchiness.

it's been a long and tiring and humbling day on many many levels.
i asked god to humble me before i played for worship tonight, and i kinda had a feeling that was a dangerous thing to do, and i guess it was, cuz i ended up dropping my pick and playing lots of wrong notes and my amp was buzzing a lot for some reason. it was frustrating...but humbling...which is what i asked for...and looking back, worship was amazing anyway...and i think i even saw a broken string on steve's guitar, so he had must have had a rough night too...but god still used it all anyway...and i guess that's an important lesson...we can be absolute idiots up there and he'll still honor it if he wants...cuz it's not about us...it's an important lesson...but one that comes so slowly on these cold prideful tainted hearts...god's chasing me...like he always does...but im still running...hopefully one of these days i'll get tired of running...or i'll get swallowed by a whale...or something...i'll break my leg on the mountain even after the mountain goat says "this mountain isnt for little sheep, you better stick with the shepherd" and i'll wait with my broken leg with embarrassment and the relentless shepherd will come and be so excited to see me...so excited to see me ready to be back in his arms and head back home with him...but im a stubborn little sheep...a stubborn little sheep who has a lot of work to do still tonight and needs to end this blog post immediately.
but it was a beautiful day today. absolutely perfect. a good way to end autumn.

here's some useless teacher ed talk for you. i think the hardest part about teaching will be getting stuff accomplished in a short amount of time. for example, im doing a lesson plan on the fact that when a vowel is between two consonants as a word or a syllable, it is usually short. when you teach that in college, it takes a minute to teach. when you teach that in first grade, you have to do a big activity to make it meaningful to the students, and it takes like an hour. whatever.

spring
Frog ran up the path to Toad's house. He knocked on the front door. There was no answer.
"Toad, Toad," shouted Frog, "wake up. It is spring!"
"Blah," said a voice from inside the house.
"Toad! Toad!" cried Frog.
"The sun is shining! The snow is melting! Wake up!"
"I am not here," said the voice.
Frog walked into the house. It was dark. All the shutters were closed.
"Toad, where are you?" called Frog.
"Go away," said the voice from a corner of the room. Toad was lying in bed. He had pulled all the covers over his head. Frog pushed Toad out of bed. He pushed him out of the house and onto the front porch. Toad blinked in the bright sun.
"Help!" said Toad. "I cannot see anything."
"Don't be silly," said Frog. "What you see is the clear warm light of April. And it means that we can begin a whole new year together, Toad. Think of it," said Frog. "We will skip through the meadows and run through the woods and swim in the river. In the evenings we will sit right here on the front porch and count the stars."
"You can count them, Frog," said Toad. "I will be too tired. I am going back to bed."
Toad went back into the house. He got into the bed and pulled the covers over his head again. "But, Toad," cried Frog, "you will miss all the fun!"
"Listen, Frog," said Toad. "How long have I been asleep?"
"You have been asleep since November," said Frog.
"Well then," said Toad, " a little more sleep will not hurt me. Come back again and wake me up at about half past May. Goodnight, Frog."
"But, Toad," said Frog, "I will be lonely until then." Toad did not answer. He had fallen asleep. Frog looked at Toad's calendar. The November page was still on top. Frog tore off the November page. He tore off the December page. And the January page, the February page, and the March page. He came to the April page. Frog tore off the April page too. Then Frog ran back to Toad's bed.
"Toad, Toad, wake up. It is May now."
"What? Can it be May so soon?" said Toad.
"Yes," said Frog, "Look at your calendar."
Toad looked at the calendar. The May page was on top.
"Why, it IS May!" said Toad as he climbed out of bed.
Then he and Frog ran outside to see how the world was looking in the spring.
(- Frog and Toad are Friends, Arnold Lobel)

ive been a magnet for stains lately and i dont know why and i feel like an idiot. this morning i kinda missed my mouth and got a whole bunch of coffee down the front of my new shirt. as soon as im done here at the desk, i will shout it out. but its annoying. and a little embarassing. thanks for caring.

i guess im not used to having a car on campus. i walked from the library all the way back to the dorm and as i reached for the door it clicked in my head that i had driven my car to the library. so i had to walk all the way back and drive back to the dorm. oh well. live and learn.

pedro the lion's winners never quit is one of the most well-crafted albums all around ever i think. furthermore, a mind of her own is pretty much the best rockingest song ever written. if only the album was a teensy bit longer. thats all.
in related seattle indie scene news...damien jurado, rosie thomas, and saxon shore, taylor recital hall, november 10th, be there and be the coolest person i know...jared and i are thinking about making a sidewalk chalk publicity campaign...so look for graffitti at a dorm near you come this weekend.
in unrelated news, laffy taffy really doesnt make me laugh at all.
in what school do you learn to greet people? hi school.
how do you start a flea race? 1, 2, flea, go.
NOT FUNNY.

chapel went well this morning, i think we did well, which is enjoyable. i was nervous but it was fun.
but here's the thing. i figured i kinda had to dress up if im on stage. so i wore a collared shirt and some khakis that are kinda too tight for me. presentable but not too fancy. well it's like 90 stinking degrees out, so i started sweating in all my classes and everything. so now i decided to change into a t-shirt and shorts cuz thats what kind of day it is. but when we play tonight, im gonna have to change again, but i dont want to wear what i wore this morning, cuz it's kinda uncomfortable. so bottom line is, im gonna change 3 times in one day and i hate people that do that and it makes me feel really quite weird. thanks for sympathizing.
i said goodbye to the parents this morning. it was nice to have them here.
theres lots i could talk about but nothing i have time for and nothing you want to hear anyway so have a great day and enjoy this pleasant weather.

the highlighter juice came right out. i wholeheartedly endorse shout for getting out those tough stains.
im studying this morning for a quiz i didnt study for yet. we'll see how that goes.
then i play in chapel which im a little nervous about.
and then i say goodbye to my parents and get on with my day and week.

ok, so instead of a highlighter exploding in a full load of laundry...i had another highlighter in my jeans during sound check tonight, and i guess i was wiggling around with my bass too much, cuz the cap worked it's way off and i got a huge green spot on my brand new jeans. but i think i may have shouted it out, i just put them in the dryer and they look pretty good. we'll see. thanks for your concern.

oooooooh man so today i couldnt find my highlighter and tonight i do my laundry and i open up the washer and there is a highlighter sitting on the top of my clothes staring up at me and i take it out and take off the cap and highlighter juice spills all over the floor. a kid next to me looked at me and said "that couldve been bad" and i said "yes it sure could have"...good thing that cap didnt come off in the washer..i think god was looking out for me on that one..cuz he knew if it wouldve come off my stressful night wouldve turned suicidal.

i went to see steve green tonight with my parents. while i wasnt too excited about it, and while i didnt exactly enjoy the music, the theme of his set and what he spoke about between songs was well worth the time spent. his thoughts and theology were challenging and thought-provoking and right on. and while the contemporary christian music scene is mostly a disgrace and an embarrassment, steve green is a light of hope shining through the rest of the industry. did i really just say that? yikes.
im still tired. trying to write a paper.
goodbye.

i am dead tired today. the parents arrived safely and it is nice to have them here. unfortunately im not in the best of moods for them. general apathy about school, not to mention being overwhelmed with it, being overly tired, and other issues, are all getting the best of me. we went to the music dept collage concert tonight, and it was actualy really really enjoyable and impressive. i came back and did some creating...a little interpretation of ecclesiates' "he has set eternity in the hearts of men." im not sure what i think.

well, i found another guy and watched him die, it wasnt exciting at all. it just said "your time has expired." oh well.

audrey is right, the guy already died, which led me to discover the little ticking clock is a farce. if you notice, the clock ticks about 3 times as fast as a normal clock - 3 of its seconds equal one of ours. this means the clock runs out a considerable amount earlier than when you actually die. so if you go by that clock, you can actually relax a little bit and take your time in doing the last things you have to do. but dont worry, i already emailed the guy about it.

last year, joe wallace dressed up as a pedophile for halloween. plaid flannel shirt, trucker hat, aviators, and a painted on fumanchu.
this year, joe wallace dressed up as michael jackson dressed as peter pan. black pants and coat, white glove, green hat and little dagger sword.
for some reason, joe wallace obviously has a fascination with child molesters. the scariest part of this is, he has substituted at an elementary school on several occasions.

with regards to the death clock linked below, noah and i found a guy who is gonna die tonight at midnight and we're gonna watch to see what happens when he dies. if you are a nerd like us and are interested in doing the same, here are his stats:
14
June
1972
male
sadistic
40
smoker
type that in at 11:59 and you're all set.

when you go to a small christian school and have nothing to do, you get excited about these things. it will definitely be the highlight of my week. besides sleeping every night.

this is pretty interesting. apparently im going to die on Tuesday, April 17, 2057. hmpf.

I hate (and God hates?) that Christ and Christianity are becoming (and have become):
A means for popularity
Fashionable
Formulaic
Trite
Feelings without thought
Thought without feelings
A philosophical discussion
Comfortable
Irreverent
Modern
Self-serving
An easy rhyme in a poorly written song
A best selling marketing ploy
Cliché
A routine and habit
Lacking God-given creativity
Lip service
Graceless
Love without judgement
Judgement without love
Misunderstood
Heartless
Near-sighted
A performance
Unbalanced
….the list goes on

(theological side note: by saying "christ is becoming" these things, i mean what christians are turning christ into, not that he is actually becoming these things, cuz if he were, that would pretty much make me an atheist. duh.)

honestly. this semester would be stress-free, enjoyable, and almost relaxing if i didnt have this stupid math class. and its not cuz of the work load, cuz lets be honest, i dont do any of the work. and its not because im getting bad grades, cuz lets be honest, all in all, im doing ok. its just that each day i dread going into that classroom and listen to the prof who enjoys making us feel stupid, doesnt care if we get it or not, doesnt care if we are frustrated or stressed out, and sit in the classroom with a bunch of math majors who dont need to take notes and understand all thats going on, and laugh at the stupid jokes the prof makes, and make even stupider jokes to accompany them, and i dread not being sure if i understand something or not, getting behind, trying to figure it out on my own, getting help from people that dont actually know what they're talking about but they think they do, spending all day thursday completing one lousy homework assignment and so on and so on and so on. i really do enjoy all my other classes...but this math class is sucking the life out of me.

but its really not as serious as im making it sound. but i do hate it.

tonight i skipped homework and went to beatniks coffee shop in marion with yoder and had the best cup of chai tea i have ever had in my life.

its a rotten feeling when you realize you dont really know a friend anymore and you cant really change it.

i just read a book from 1992. pretty recent book, right? thats what you'd think. but it's ELEVEN YEARS OLD! dang man...time flies.
furthermore, ee cummings is the bomb diggidy, hence, i posted one of his poems i just read.

o by the by
has anybody seen
little you-i
who stood on a green
hill and threw
his wish at blue

with a swoop and a dart
out flew his wish
(it dived like a fish
but it climbed like a dream)
throbbing like a heart
singing like a flame

blue took it my
far beyond far
and high beyond high
bluer took it your
but bluest took it our
away beyond where

what a wonderful thing
is the end of a string
(murmurs little you-i
as the hill becomes nil)
and will somebody tell
me why people let go

-ee cummings

i take great pleasure in throwing away post-it notes once the note has been accomplished.
and the new death cab for cutie is w-o-w-z-e-r-s wowzers.

"Ironically enough, they are often dismissed as 'too negative.' but this is always the case with apocalyptic expression. it tells us what we're trying with all our might to forget. it shows us the multifaceted ways in which we've become morally bankrupt and emotionally numb. we've fallen a considerable distance when we can only recognize such work as depressing. What could be more depressing that entertainment that serves as a king of soul anesthetic, broken cisterns that will hold no water, sentimental bubbles that distract us long enough to make us forget whatever it was that had us wondering (for one saving moment) what was wrong." -david dark, speaking about radiohead and other pop culture icons he refers to as "apocalyptic" in his book everyday apocalypse

and i just realized that that last sentence should really end with a question mark. but i think he got so caught up in his run on sentence that he forgot and ended it with a period. oh well.

my day shaped up pretty well after all, i think. this morning i woke up and was really tired cuz i didnt get to bed til 2:30 and havent slept much in the past week and i felt kinda sick and every one annoyed me a lot not for any particular reason but if someone looked at me it annoyed me and i was just really tired and cranky. but things got considerably better. i took a little nap and worked the desk and got some work done and stuff and things are shaping together quite nicely. so. yeah. thats all. goodnight.

just opened up an email with our math assignments for the week and im pretty sure im going to cry. it's 5 pages long. just for this week.

im back at school. the trip was ok.

a half hour into the trip, i was first in line to be cut off by two state troopers who proceeded to escort us for the next 5 miles going 15 mph while a clean up crew ahead cleared body parts of an obliterated deer that were strewn across the highway.
an hour into the trip, frustrated at going only 60 mph in the left lane, i chose to take a single lane "expressway" thinking express usually means fast, only to get stuck behind a truck going 50 mph.
an hour and a half into the trip, pedro the lion's control ends, insert the get up kid's something to write home about, and the cd player randomly stopps working.
3 hours into the trip, rain begins.
6 hours into the trip, i get stuck in a traffic jam with no apparent cause and go 4 miles in 40 minutes and the next 5 miles at an average speed of 45 mph.
8 hours into the trip, rain begins again.
keep in mind i had no music for all of this.
8 and a half hours into the trip, i tap the brakes and my passenger side airbag randomly deploys, scaring me half to death, and filling the car with a cloud of white powder causing me to not see anything for a few seconds until i quickly open up my window and air everything out.
i dont remember anything after 9 and a half hours due to drifting in and out of sleep. it really is amazing how well you can drive while sleeping.
i came back to school only to find that my paper didnt save to my disk correctly and now i am retyping it and staying up wayyyy too late.
it was an enjoyable fall break. i dont want to go back to school tomorrow.

i am home, and it is nice.
last night erica and i went to see lost in translation at a theater in allentown. the movie was pretty good, i think. it was really different but really intriguing and all in all i think i like it a lot. we were by far the youngest people in the theater and it was filled with old people who reaked of cheap aftershave and laughed at everything that wasnt very funny and all of this made the experience a little less enjoyable but it was still fun.
today i went to visit my grandparents and it was good to see them and spend time with the fam. taylor is bigger and funner than ever and logan is big too and quite cute. it was a good day.
there is something about old pennsylvania-dutch men that is heroically admirable...it is a breed of men who are hard working and honest and authentic and humble...a breed that will soon be lost and america will be worse off for it. but i am honored to be a part of the heritage and maybe i'll be able to carry on a little bit of that breed in my own way. i just wish i had the accent.
tonight erica had what i have lovingly entitled "a harvest party." it was mostly fun but kind of awkward due to a lot of different groups of people and it also included a mother-forced birthday party for someone who didnt really know anyone there (its a long story) which added to the overall awkwardness of the night and made everything quite funny. it was good to hang out with erica's friends from school and get to know them a little better though.
thats all for now...im gonna start writing a paper for this stupid prof who thinks its cool to assign papers over breaks.

the day is turning out well, thanks for asking.

before the throne of god above i have a strong and perfect plea
a great high priest whose name is love, whoever lives and pleads for me
my name is graven on his hands my name is written on his heart
i know that while in heaven he stands no tongue can bid me thence depart
when satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within
upward i look and see him there, who made an end of all my sin
because the sinless savior died my sinful soul is counted free
for god the just is satisfied to look on him and parden me
behold him there the risen lamb, my perfect spotless righteousness
the great unchangeable i am, the king of glory and of grace
one with himself i cannot die, my soul is purchased by his blood
my life is hid with christ on high, with christ my savior and my god

new band of the ______ is karl blau cuz he's a genius and a super nice guy.

ok..so i am having a SERIOUS problem focusing today to get any studying done. it is definitely not a week for focusing.
the concert last night...well...im not sure what to think about it. but ive definitely come out of it even more disappointed with the christian subculture at large than i was before. we'll talk about it another time. i'll have a lot to say when i have the time. not like i dont have time now cuz all im doing is sitting here staring at a notebook. i think one of the problems is i have to go to the bathroom really really bad but we're not really allowed to leave the front desk area so i cant go but i really really have to so im trying to hold it for another 14 minutes but it's really distracting me.
what?

i sure hope it's the holy spirit telling me not to worry about this test, cuz if it is otherwise, im in trouble.

here's what burnttoastvinyl.com said:
Some bad news...Ester Drang were in an accident while on tour. Apparently, a car rear-ended their van/trailer, the trailer came off, and then a semi smashed the trailer. Quite a few things have been damaged or destroyed.

unfortunately, ester drang got in a pretty bad van accident and they wont be playing tonight. i guess 95% of their gear was damaged, which is really ashame, especially because they just started a 2-month tour. keep them in your prayers if you think of it...cuz they are a bunch of great guys that play some amazing music and deserve the best.
today is a stressful day. i think i did pretty poorly on my theater test last period. im really tired and my body is just worn out for some reason and just have a lot to take care of figure out.
but as soon as i make it to tomorrow at 3:00, things should be alright.
we'll chat later.

tomorrow marks the first day that we are not allowed to bring food or drink into my first class. look, education department...making sure el ed majors have 8:00 classes is one thing...taking away our coffee is a whole nother ball game.
looks like i got a ride hommmmmmmmmmmmmme!

the following conversation was held last night in the van driving to the music building. it was right after dinner, and i had just run all the way up to the fourth floor, and came all the way back down with my heavy bass amp. i was out of breath.
nate: i am so out of shape.
steve: me too man. you should come over to my floor every night, we all do push ups.
nate: oh, guys have been doing push ups on my floor for 3 years now and i refuse every night.
steve: really? well...you don't need to...you're a good looking guy already. ive got a really big gut though.
nate: ive got a big gut too! im known on the floor as the skinny fat man.
steve: really?? why?
nate: cuz i look skinny but im actually really fat. i just hide it well.
steve: i dont believe it.
nate: (lifts shirt and shakes stomach)
steve: holy cow!! that's awesome!! i never wouldve expected that!

my lava lamp has always been blue liquid with green lava stuff...but for some reason it's changed to green with yellow lava stuff and it's really quite ugly and really disappointing.

the nice people at the post office delivered my package of tassia's illustrations for my children's book to campus safety so i was able to get it today. timmy helped to scan them all and i think it will turn out just fine. the pictures are absolutely wonderful and i am quite pleased as i knew i would be. if any of you ever write a children's book, call tassia for the illustrations.
ive gotten absolutely nothing done today and im a little frustrated with myself but its ok. tonight at practice we had a little jam session with steve on the piano and it was the most beautiful slow moody grooving song i've ever heard or played in my life and it was like i was walking on clouds and i want to record it.
for some reason i am not stressed out about this week yet. i know that it will end eventually and that hopefully then i'll be able to spend time with the coolest and prettiest girl in the world and the cutest 3 year old and the cutest 9 month old i know and the best family ever and not to mention i'll get to see ester drang my favorite band tomorrow night and i'll finish my children's book that i am really quite happy with and if i sit back and enjoy all this it will actually be pretty pleasant when all is said and done.
i sent some mates of state CDs to rata and she was really happy and it felt good to make someone happy so this is me telling all of you to do something nice and surprising for someone else cuz it will make you feel good inside.
dang. where in the world is this good mood coming from. let's keep this up, god. thanks.
have a super duper week.