Out With The Old And In With The Sort-Of-New?

I finally got a chance to check out one of the college groups here on campus.  The group's name was His House and it's a nondenominational church group that meets every Wednesday at 7.  There is also a small group that I got invited to on Mondays (I figured I'd stray a little from the old routine by changing only the location of the groups I attend and the people in those groups.)  The group was cool.  They were all very welcoming and introduced themselves pretty much as soon as I walked in the door.  As soon as I took my coat off and found a chair, I was approached by a few people that noticed I was new and wanted to get to know me and get me connected with the church.  

I think the similarities between the new group and the high school youth group really helped me settle in and be more relaxed and open with the people I met there.  The group meets in the dinning area of the Quiznos instead of a church.  There is a full band and speakers set up all over the room.  The words to the songs and the text from the scripture being read is displayed on a screen via a projector.  Most of the songs were new to me, but there were a few songs that are always played at the church down home.  

Everyone was active in helping the church.  People were there a half hour early to help get everything set up.  While my friends and I were eating just as the restaurant was closing, 10 to 15 people were already moving tables out of the way and getting the sound system set up while a few others made sure the remaining tables all had bibles and info on the upcoming events.  They are also starting a campaign in all the residence halls and campus apartments to try to spread the gospel and a vast majority of the people in the group (which has about 75 or more people) committed to helping the movement.  One would be hard pressed to find a group of people around that are more in love with God than the people I met tonight.  I think this is exactly the support that I will need to help keep my morale up during my Mythology professors lectures on his views of religion.

Break

Hello again internet!  It's been a while since I've logged on to anything in the online world and I must say it was a very welcomed break.  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy reading everyone's blogs and all, but I prefer actually being able to spend time with people in the real world.  But being back at college means that proximity becomes a major hinderance for the whole real world thing, so it's back to the web.  

Break was great!  It was a much needed month of relaxation and fun.  I loved catching up with with old friends and even got to spend a lot of time getting to know some more recent friends much better.  I was even able to find the time to read World War Z, which was amazing! (Thanks Woodstock!)  I already miss rocking out at Zombie's house and chilling at The Red One's or Phil's apt.  

As far as being back at school, today was quite a productive first day back.  I purchased my books for my classes and found out that my mythology class might be a bit more time consuming than I had expected.  The class requires eight books!  Even so, I think it will be an interesting class at least.  I also began learning to play the guitar today.  I spent roughly three and a half hours practicing chords and even managed to memorize the intro sequences to both "Santa Monica" by Everclear and Jimmy Eat World's "In the Middle."  Not the most amazing feat, but I think I'm picking up rather quickly for my first day.

Well the whole sleep deprivation thing is starting to kick my butt, so it's off to the lovely dream world for me.  It was great seeing everyone over break and I will see you all sometime in March hopefully. 

Just Hold It

So I went to the front desk of the residence hall to get a fresh supply of the schools wonderful single-ply sandpaper textured toilet paper only to be told "Oh you know what?  We're out."  Out?  How exactly does a major university run out of toilet paper for the residence halls?  Why doesn't the school just stock up in bulk just incase, oh I don't know, some of the residents run out in the middle of the week.  I mean, it's not like toilet paper is a perishable commodity.  When I open a roll, I never have to check the expiration date on the package.  So yeah people, all I'm saying is always keep a backup roll on hand, otherwise you may run into a serious shortage issue.

Roommates

My roommate does not appreciate Bohemian Rhapsody, or any Queen what-so-ever!

What. The. Crap. 

Directions

I've been growing less and less confident in the career choice that I have laid out for myself.  It's not that I'm not good at it, I have been one of the top students in the electronics classes for the few years that I've been studying.  It has more to do with my interest in the subject.  I lack the passion that I see in other students.  Many of them have already decided what they want to specialize in, while I just slide by, hoping that what ever I study earns me a decent job after college.  I think I would be much happier with a career choice that deals more with people and less on the technical side.  

These feelings aren't all to recent.  It just feels like God was giving me directions and I took the wrong turn somewhere down the line.  I could have changed my major when I was still at the community college, and in fact I almost did, but I ended up talking myself out of it.  Rather than taking a chance, I continued down the safe road.  I stuck with the major that I was familiar with, instead of one that I am satisfied with.  Now I feel that it would be a waste to throw away everything and decide to start over.  I just wish I would have taken a risk and opened up to a new idea in the past.

On a side note, I have a new found love for very mellow music.  I have been cycling through Dustin Kensrue, Snow Patrol, Postal Service, A Fine Frenzy, and Lifehouse all weekend.  Being away from the metro-Detroit radio stations has really given me a chance to explore all the music that I have accumulated throughout the years and really redefined my musical tastes.  I just thought that was a pretty interesting effect. 

Ghost of Christmas Past

This is the first time in a few years that I am actually excited for Christmas.  Ever since my parents divorce, this time of the year has gotten me really depressed.  I can't help reliving the first Christmas that my family didn't celebrate together.  It was Christmas Eve, my brothers and I were gathered in the living room waiting to open our gifts and give our parents the gifts we had bought them, just as we had done for years.  This time however, my dad chose to stay in his room away from the celebration.  When I gave him his gift, I remember seeing how crushed he looked.  At that moment, I realized that it really was over for my parents relationship.   Soon after, the divorce proceedings went underway and they separated.  

The holidays just haven't been the same ever since.  There's no tree, no lights, no decorations at all at the house anymore.  My brothers and I are now stuck driving ourselves between the two sides of the family, trying to make sure we spend an even amount of time at both parties.  What used to be a happy family gathering turned to a mindless routine.  The conversations are always the same: 

"How are you doing?"

"Good."

"How's your mom/dad?"

"Good."

"Well tell them we said 'hi'."

"I will."

Today was different, though.  I took a walk down to the store and all the Christmas stuff that was out actually cheered me up.  I even found myself singing along to some of the Christmas carols being played over the speakers.  Even though I have absolutely no money nor do I have someone to be with for the first time in a few years, I can't wait for Christmas to come this year.  Maybe nothing's changed and this Christmas will end up feeling the same as the past few, but I'm going to stay hopeful.  

Zomb 2.7

Zomb 2.7 was such a fun time!  There was about a thousand people that showed up.  Discovery Channel was there along with a couple independent film groups.  There was a group of five of us from my dorm hall and we met up with Pat and his friends from GR.  I managed to have my gun jam up on me on the very first wave of attacks and got turned into a zombie.  Most of the humans ended up running away from the horde instead of standing their ground, which was incredibly lame!  

But anyway, it was actually more fun being a zombie.  I followed the leader of the zombies for the majority of the time.  He managed to organize huge groups to attack the surviving humans in a revolutionary war style wave.  When the first line goes down, the second line moves in while the humans were trying to reload.  

It was an amazing time that I am definitely going to repeat next year, hopefully with a larger group of friends.