Plans Change

I wouldn't say that I changed my plans, per say. I would say that they were changed for me. The Army decided that February 2009 was too long, so now I am off to the Basic Officer Course on June 8th of this year. Quite a change. Now there isn't enough time! I have about a month to do something. I don't yet know what that something is, but it will be epic. Maybe. Or maybe I'll just kick around Nampa and watch the NBA playoffs. Who really knows? Because I sure don't.

Huge discovery #2: I found out what my permanent duty station is going to be! Drum roll please...(no pun intended)...It's Fort Drum, New York. Fort Drum is in the northern part of New York and is located between Syracuse and Ottawa, near the Canadian border. It is situated near the thriving metropolis of Watertown, NY. Watertown is right on lake Ontario. Sweet. I have never actually been to the northeast, so this will be a good chance for me to see what all the fuss is about. People keep telling me there will be a lot of snow. I say "bring it on". That's all for today. Expect a big Mexico post very soon.

Sacrifice

Sacrifice...it's what makes life worth living.

It makes you healthier...in time.
It makes you happier...in time.
It hurts.

It makes you love deeper...in time.
It makes you smile broader...in time.
It hurts.

It makes you feel better...in time
It makes others better off...in time.
It hurts.

It has to...or it isn't sacrifice.

- Inspired by true events that took place today.

Waiting...

So I just learned some interesting news. It turns out that I won't be going to BOLC II until February of 2009. What this basically means is that after I graduate, I will have nothing to do for 9 months. No job, no place to live, no school to go to, and most of all, no military commitments. I'm not going to enroll in a grad school for one semester and then stop. That would not be beneficial. Plus, when I actually do commission into the Army (next February), I will have the GI Bill at my disposal, which means that I can go to grad school for free. So paying for grad school makes no sense. So what should I do with myself for 9 months? Maybe I will become like Chris McCandless and just travel around for a while. Maybe I will go work on a fishing boat up in Alaska or fight some fires. Maybe I will get a work visa and just go to another country and work for a while. Who really knows? Because I sure don't.

Lent is here

Lent is here. Everybody knows what that means. It's time for Catholics and non-Catholics across the world to give up those unnecessary habits in favor of spending more time praying, reading the Bible, and meditating on the things of God. It is a remembrance of the 40 days that Christ spent in the desert in prayer and fasting, all the while being tempted by the Devil.

What does this mean to me? Well, I thought about giving up cookies or pizza. But seriously, cookies and pizza? Am I going to spend the time that I would have spent eating cookies and pizza meditating on God? Probably not. So what shall I do? Nothing? That is always a viable option. Maybe I'll go to a Catholic church and see what that is all about. Maybe I will go out to the wilderness and just soak in all that jazz. I know: I'll give up the internet. Except for school-related work. And maybe to update my blog and check in on my fantasy team. I've got it: 30 minutes of non school-related internet usage per day. I'll do it.

I'll do it. But I can't do it for the sake of doing it. That won't work. I should do this to better myself. No, not even that. I should do it as a sacrifice to Christ, who sacrificed everything for me. I will have to fill my life with spiritual things then, I guess. I will pray and read the Bible in this time. And I will write Christian music. Not explicitly Christian music, either. No FFH garbage. Not just that. I will try to be a kinder and more sincere person. Good stuff. This is a big undertaking. Anyone else in?

Passion? What for?

So, I have not posted in a long time. In order to write, I need to feel passionately about something and the Blazers is the last topic about which I harbored that sort of passion (not really, I was just bored enough to blog). Lately, however, I have been feeling passion again. This passion is did not stem from anything that I can put my finger on and I’m not sure that I am channeling it into anything productive. Well, at least not until today. Today, me Andrew and Alex dropped some clothes off at the Nampa Lighthouse Mission and filled out applications to volunteer. I have to say that it is good to have roommates who are interested in helping people. Not just the kind of “help” that leads to a work and witness trip every few years and a leaf-raking each fall, but the kind that actually desires to better the lives of other people. That’s what I’m after, at least.

I’m actually not sure if I feel passionately about working at the Lighthouse Mission or not, but it is something that will push me out of my normal routine. Also, I hope that I can make this a habit so that when I get out into the real world, I will still have the desire to help others. I can’t imagine a life devoted to myself. It seems so pointless.

I have not yet found that thing that I feel intensely passionate about. It’s not working, not learning, not going to church or reading the Bible, not having fun or hanging with friends, not love (not like I’ve experienced it or anything), not music, not family, and not doing nothing. Maybe passion is learned; hmmm…interesting concept. Who really knows? All I know is that I want to develop some good habits and I hope that it will start at the Lighthouse Mission.

Boston and Oregon and Loving Life when Times are Good

In the sports world, times are god in Boston. Nobody is denying that. The Sox won 2 World Series in the past 4. The Patriots are looking for their 4^th Super Bowl in 7 years and are staring an undefeated season straight in the face. The Celtics have only 3 losses in 29 games behind the “Big 3” of Pierce, Allen, and Garnett. The Bruins are even having a winning season and Boston College won its bowl game. Boston sports teams are winning and fans ecstatic fans can finally express their “Celtic Pride” (a mere C film in my book).

But let’s talk about something that hits a little closer to home: Oregon sports! The Ducks dominated South Florida in the Sun Bowl, despite losing their last 3 games. This is the first win of the season by the Ducks without their star quarterback Dennis Dixon. Justin Roper, a red shirt freshman, led the Ducks to the win, forecasting a bright future for the Ducks. And maybe (fingers crossed), Jonathan Stewart will return for his senior year. I’m not a Beaver fan (the sports team), but even they had a better-than-expected season, defeating the Terps in their bowl game.

But how ‘bout them Blazers? Preseason expectations were drab, with the Blazers losing their first-round draft pick Greg Oden for the season due to a then-seemingly untimely knee injury. It looked like another disappointing season, as Portland got off to a 5-12 start. Many had given up on the Blazers, but they had something different in store. They would go on to win their next 13 games. This streak is current. The Blazers will try to make it 14 in a row with a(nother) win over the Jazz tonight. So why the sudden shift in momentum? The Blazers are a young team and generally tend to outrun and outshoot the opposition. I was privileged to witness win number 17 against the Timberwolves. Brandon Roy was a huge part of the win. When the momentum would start to turn in the direction of the Wolves, Roy would score or make a big play. Anybody can score when a team is on a roll. Scoring when times are bad is a feat that is reserved for Jordan and Kobe, which is why they score(d) 35 points a game. Roy has the potential. Blazers have a bright future this season and it will be even brighter next season when Greg Oden joins the rotation. The success could also be attributed to their dropping bad-news, no-defense Zach Randolph, but that’s a whole different topic.

Times are good. I am now wearing my Blazers hat with pride; something that I could not do a year ago, or really since the Sheed-Sabonis era. It’s funny how when your team is winning, you are happy. I know it’s bad to place my happiness something that I can’t control, but I can’t help it. It’s engrained in me and probably will be until the day that I die. Skies are blue in Oregon, literally (dang, no more snow) and figuratively. Keep winning Blazers!

Oh, and uh...Happy New Year!

A Few Christmas Words

It’s Christmas. Have a ho-ho-ho holly jolly happy holiday everybody. It’s the birth of our savior Jesus Christ and we should never forget that. Now that that’s out of the way, I can get down to business.

First, it snowed today...in Portland. That hasn’t happened since the 1930’s. I always wished for a white Christmas and it never happened, until today. Well, kind of. It didn’t actually stick, but it snowed for like 3 hours solid and it may still snow later tonight. And it will be colder, so it might actually stick. Awesome. I’m not exactly 10 anymore, so I don’t know what I will do if the snow does stick. Well, I guess that I could steal some garbage can lids and go slide around at the golf course with my buddy Sam, but even that is pretty juvenile. Just as a side note, I’m eating cherry pie watching the Suns run over the Lakers right now and my sister is hounding me to change the channel. I would consider slide tackling her if she hadn’t given my “Frog and Toad are Friends” for Christmas. And if she wasn’t sitting down right now.

I put on some weight. I was at Sam’s house yesterday and he always puts me up to little competitions against him like seeing who can curl more, and seeing who can win at NBA 2K6, both of which he won. He also put me up to the “Biggest Loser’ challenge and forced me onto his scale. Now, in my defense, I was wearing a lot of clothes and I’m pretty sure he rigged the scale. Anyways, for the first time in my life, I broke the plane of 200 big ones. I have some serious running to do this next semester.

Finally, the sophomore girls have announced that they have something new to bring to the collective this next semester. Well I do too. But instead of keeping it a secret and making a glorious entrance at the next jam session, I’m letting the cat out the bag. Yeah, I left “of” out on purpose. I’m a thug. My parents asked what I wanted for Christmas, and since this would be my last Christmas break, they wanted to get me a sweet present. My first inkling was to get a snowboard, but I realized that I would only use that a few times a year. I want something that I can use every day! For at least 2 hours a day until I can perfect it! Which will take at least 3 months! That’s right folks, my parents got me a MANDOLIN! Now, in addition to plucking on guitars and a violin, we’ve got a mand-o too!

Well that’s enough for this post. I’m going to go annoy my mom the 3 cords that I know. Everybody have great day of eating and visiting with family and friends, and more importantly, watching the nationally televised Blazer game tonight! I know I will. Have yourselves a merry little Christmas! Peace!