"Goodnight Hollywood Blvd, goodnight"

Today I missed church, did homework, babysat with Lisa and watched the Oscars. The Aviator won like 5 of their 11 nominations (not 9), but none of the major ones. Million Dollar Baby took Best Pic, Director, Actress and Sup. Actor. It was the big winner. Shannon and Lisa and I watched most of the Oscars together. It was pretty fun.

Lisa's mom took us to the library after lunch today, which was cool. I got another book on Marilyn Monroe's death and some cd's I've been interested in listening to.

Now I'm watching Lost in Translation as I get ready for bed. The first time I saw this movie was while I was in Lithuania. One day in Lithuania Regis, Agata and I went to this cool place overlooking the Baltic Sea. It was like a really nice forest with the trees spread out and a moss floor. A very pretty sight. A very nice memory. The view of the Sea was beautiful as well.

Song of the Day: Scarborough Fair - Simon and Garfunkel

"Got room for one and a suitcase maybe"

I've been really tired yesterday. I went home this afternoon to eat lunch and see my niece, and I fell asleep on the couch for a couple of hours. I took a two-hour nap yesterday too. We played Halo 2 for a long time tonight, because we started our clan Ezekiel 23 20. It is named after a hilarious verse in the Bible. There is some really interesting things in the Bible. And it's all true. A very good book, that I need to read straight through sometime.

I was hoping to hang out with Lisa this afternoon and watch the Sopranos, but she ended up having to work all afternoon and evening. So now I'm going to do some homework so I can hang out tomorrow and watch the Oscars. Million Dollar Baby and The Aviator will be duking it out. With 7 and 9 nominations, respectively.

Overall, it was a quiet and relaxing day. I ran this morning and burned like 400 calories. That was kind of cool. I need to do that everyday so I can actually lose a few pounds.

Song of the Day: It Ain't Over til it's Over - Lenny Kravitz

"Maybe you've forgotten the heaven lying at your feet"

It was a long Friday. Stayed up late last night. And I've been up for quite awhile, although I did have a 2 hour nap. So now I go to bed.
3 Good things that happened today.

I got some white castle. Got to hang out with friends, including Brian who is back from the dead. Got to play some games and relax. Got to take a nap. Okay that was four things. Well, goodnight.

Song of the Day: Don't Panic - Coldplay

"This is as clear as it gets here"

Tonight I went to see a Madison Greene concert at a church in Greenfield. It was an okay show, not as good as the two I've seen in the past, but only because there weren't very many people there. The music was good. Psalters was the opening band. They were interesting as well.

The singer from the Psalters had some interesting things to say. Specifically, that America is bombing villages to liberation. His point was that our brothers and sisters in Christ are being bombed, and we should suffer with them. He went on to say the other option is to suffer with them as a dictator tortures them. It is a sticky situation America finds itself in. As Peter Parker says "With great power comes great responsibility." At least I think that's what he says. Anyway, I suppose I am proud that my country believes in freedom and follows through on this belief by attempting to free others from tyranny, dictatorship, etc. It is amazing how people apparently respond to freedom. Iraqis voted despite attacks and threats of death. They must believe in something. Not to say, it was necessarily the best choice to go to war, but simply that America is willing to invest in others. I do not believe this is a "war for oil." Were spending Billions of Dollars fighting! It may be a "war for revenge" but whatever the true motives are hopefully freedom will come from it. Freedom to worship whomever one wishes, freedom to choose, freedom to live as one pleases.

Song of the Day: El Elyon - Psalters

"This is going to sound a little obsessive"

Well, I got all 3 tests back today. 88, 89+5 Extra Credit, 94. Overall I was very pleased. Better than I thought on a couple of them. So as a reward, I decided not to do any homework tonight (mostly). So instead I went to play Scrabble with my Dad and Patty Rogers a family friend who is currently working through chemotherapy. After cleaning their clocks in Scrabble I came back and played Halo most of the rest of the evening.
We played a 1.5 hour Blood Gultch game on Halo 1. It was just like old times. Then playing a little on live I got in this game with Ninferno who was absolutely hilarious. Phil pointed out that he sounded like William Hung and he kept saying High Five after anything funny. One of the most fun times I've had on Live.
So overall the day was long, relatively unpreductive, but fun.
Right now I'm trying to be on a diet. I want to lose 12 pounds by July. My goal is to work out a few times a week and eat better. But I think I need to step it up if I actually want to make it. The thing is though, I'll be pretty skinny if I actually lose all that weight. It's a family thing. We're all going to Myrtle Beach and a bunch of people signed up to at least lose 10 pounds. I'm consciously eating poorly now, instead of unconsciously. Hey, you gotta start somewhere.

One of my recent dreams was that I was on Survivor, but only because I applied so that I could go to an exclusive Better Than Ezra concert. Another was a live Halo match. We were all Spartans battling each other. I remember Phil and Jon Ross got really violent with each other, putting hooks through each other's ears. Wait a second, there's no hooks in Halo...wierd.

FLL for the Day: "Where is Dublin? I'm writing a freaking paper, and i have no clue!"

Movie #22 Dumb and Dumber
I appreciate this movie simply because I find it hilarious. Haven't watched it in awhile, but boy does it have some funny and memorable scenes. A great flick to sit back and remember laughing about it in Elementary or Middle School. Those were the days.

Song of the Day: Girl on the Wing - The Shins

"I'll have to learn to stand my ground"

Last night we lost our playoff intramural game and I realized shortly afterwards that I have lost a little bit of my previous competitiveness. I make no apologies (normally) I like to win in anything I compete in. However, when I lose depending on the game (sport, cards, board, video) I would have different reactions. In sports, I hate to lose. In games of luck, I am not nearly as upset.
Whatever the case may be for me, some people say intramurals, sports, games etc. are meant to be fun. That is their opinion.

Some people have the mindset that they are meant to be fun, others have the mindset they are meant to be won. Competition drives persons, business, politics and a great deal of other things. Each is looking to win. I guess I subscribe to the philosophy of winning, but I try to have fun either way. The game is fun (hopefully), but the feeling your left with depends on whether you won or lost. When I lose anything there is mild disappointment.

I think it is beneficial to have a competitive spirit. To want to be ahead. To want to be the best. If you are striving to be the best, you are most likely doing the "best" that you can, and I think that is always admirable.

If you are competing to have fun, this is admirable as well. Nevertheless, personally, I hold the person in higher esteem who competes to be the best, but only if they maintain the proper attitude, win or lose.

So I guess, maybe I haven't lost my competitive nature, just part of the sucky attitude that came along with it.

Tonight, Lisa and I watched Scrubs and Sopranos (another favorite S show to complement Seinfeld, Saved by the Bell, South Park and Scrubs). Then I did homework for 2-3 hours. A pretty good stretch for me.

FLL from today: when Barabbas (from the Bible) was mentioned. Lisa: "I thought it was Barnabas?" Andrew: "That was Paul's friend." Lisa: "What about Barnacle?"

Song of the Day: The Captain - Kasey Chambers

"In this bright future, you can't forget your past"

We lost our first round in the tournament game tonight, which sucked terribly. However, we were missing 3 guys whom we needed and the other team played well. But since we were the number 1 seed it was definately disappointing. That's the end of Junior Year Intramurals. Man the year's fly by.

Alex and I had a nice time last night. He's a cool guy. We watched Saw with Philip who is very sick by the way. There is some crappy stuff going around. I am fortunate to seemingly have a strong immune system. I credit it to the Yogurt I eat all the time and the bacteria in it. But the grace of God is perhaps where the credit really goes.

So instead of going to Club tonight our house went to Dairy Queen. We just weren't in the mood for club I guess, but we were sure in the mood for Dairy Queen. It was tasty. Then we played some Halo together. It was a nice evening. Now its time to do a little studying and listen to some Bob Marley.

I was remembering today one of my favorite college memories so far. Fall or Winter of sophomore year we were playing Hide n Seek in Fine Arts. Well after everyone else was found we finally discovered that Phil and I think Scott Cox were stuffed together in a locker. Shannon twisted the knob upon finding them and the locker locked as combination lockers do. There was no solving the code, so the handle would have to come off. As shock and laughter settled in and someone went to call security, Phil told everyone to remain calm. Fortunately he had the tools he needed in his pocket to succesfully take the door apart so they could escape to the amazement of all. I wonder what else he carries around for magical escapes; pocket knives, revolving bookshelves and trapdoors, no doubt.

FLL (Funny Line from Lisa from Last Week: "I wish we had British chapel speakers everytime. Their voices are more soothing for sleeping."

Movie #23 That Thing You Do
What could be better than a light hearted tale of a band rising to the top and plummeting to the bottom in a few months time? Let me tell you. It takes place in the 60s, stars (my favorite actor) Tom Hanks and the beautiful, mesmerizing Liv Tyler. A great movie with some funny lines and a lot of heart underneath. I need to watch this one again soon. The song's pretty catchy too.

Song of the Day: Get Up Stand Up - Bob Marley

"Maybe a greater thing will happen"

Sunday's are nice days. Went to church and Hacienda as I customarily do on Sundays. I probably make it to church about 80% of the time, which really isn't that great. I don't know why I should ever miss. Usually when I miss its because I stay up late enough on Saturday that I feel it is excused, but really I have no excuse for staying up that late anyway. Well today I actually stayed awake too, so it was a really good morning, I guess.

Now I'm studying for my test before my cousin, Alex gets here. He came during Christmas break and we had a good time. It's always good to see extended family. I have a small family so I love spending time with all of my 3 cousins during holidays. I may see them all over Easter, but otherwise not until Myrtle Beach this summer! That's going to be a blast. Alex was born on my 4th birthday. I remember it vividly because there was a tornado and my birthday party had to be moved into the cubby hole under the stairs where one of my friends wet his pants. So we have like 10 kids stuck in a 6' x 4' space with one kid peeing all over himself. I had to give him a clean pair of my undies probably with Thundercats or He-Man on them. I used to love those Thundercats.

Funny Line from Lisa (FLL) for the weekend: "Were the Romans, Italian?"

Movie #24 Shakespeare In Love.
The first time I saw Shakespeare in Love I was on a plane flying to London. Based on the writing of Romeo & Juliet the greatest love story in my opinion the movie stars Gwyneth Paltrow as William Shakespeare's inspiration for the writing of his tale. The movie mixes comedy, drama and a moving love story into a great film. I think it won some awards, too.

Song of the Day: Beautiful Love - The Afters

"A river in the time of dryness"

Lisa and I spent the whole day together not really doing too much. We did watch the first 4 episodes of The Sopranos. Seems like a pretty good show. Each episode is like watching half of a movie though. It was a nice relaxing Saturday. Got Pizza from the Haven and Taco Bell. The hours just rolled by as we relaxed. I'm pretty tired again, but I need to start studying for my Biology test on Monday...It never ends. We've now been engaged for 1 week. Took the ring in to get re-sized today. Lisa's ring finger is a size 4.5 which sounds pretty small to me. They originally sized it at 5.25 after measuring.

Movie #25 Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
The first Austin Powers movie may be the greatest simply because there isn't the perception that the makers were trying so hard. The second and third may be funnier on the first or second watch, but the first makes my list representing the best in a hilarious series that I hope gets back on track and makes #4. Austinpussy, Dr. Yeah Baby, or License to Shag anyone?

Song of the Day: All I Want is You - U2

"Andy, you're a star"

Today was a good day. I think I did decent on both of my tests. We went to Applebees for dinner, Ritters for desert, before coming home to get our butts kicked in Poker by Jenny and George. Then we watched Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle before topping the night/morning off with some Halo 2.

Overall a nice night. Now, I'm pretty tired. One funny moment in Poker was Jenny taking George out of the game early and him getting pretty angry. He later bought back in and ended up profiting, but his frustration and the comments he made were very funny. Goodnight.

Song of the Day: Where the Streets Have No Name - U2

"Close your eyes and count to ten"

The Movie List:
The following list is my 25 favorite movies. These are by no means the 'best' movies out there, but they're the ones that I really like and enjoy watching every couple years or so. (I mean really is Napoleon Dynamite a better artistic achievment than Fight Club? No, but I'd watch Napolean Dynamite a few times in a year, but Fight Club is more of a every 2 years movie.)
Over the next month or two, I'll briefly comment on each movie and why I like it so much. Obviously, this list will change over time and the order past the Top 10 or so is somewhat debatable.
1. Shawshank Redemption
2. It's a Wonderful Life
3. Back to the Future
4. Gladiator
5. Les Miserables
6. Garden State
7. Catch Me If You Can
8. Blow
9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
10. 12 Monkeys
11. The Mexican
12. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
13. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
14. Back to the Future II
15. Kill Bill Vol. 2
16. First Knight
17. Almost Famous
18. Napolean Dynamite
19. Signs
20. Fight Club
21. The Insider
22. Dumb and Dumber
23. That Thing You Do
24. Shakespeare In Love
25. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

So there they are.

Song of the Day: Normal Town - Better Than Ezra

"Remember Rio and get down"

The Ampersands (our team) had a great intramural game tonight. We were playing the team that was moved down from the Pro league and they were pretty cocky and annoying in the first half especially. Here's a rundown of the game. The game is made up of two, 20 minute haves. ie. 20:00 = twenty minutes, zero seconds....0:13 = 13 seconds etc.
First Half: 19:55 - We're up 3-0 after your's truly made a quick 3. A good start and a sign of things to come...almost everything I shot went in especially in the first half.
Halftime: We're up 29-15. A great first half.
2nd Half: 15:00 - We're up 29 - 25...maybe. Basically they got right back in the game and took the lead shortly afterwards.
2nd Half: 1:oo or so - We're down 6 and about in launch shot / foul mode. I
make a 3 to bring us to within 3. I guess they miss their shots or something because we get the ball back with 25 seconds or so.
2nd Half: 0:25 or so - Down three Brian Roberson gets the ball and forsakes the expected 3 point attempt and drives baseline, puts up the jumper ...it goes in and he is fouled! He makes the free throw. Tied Game! Our team accidentally fouls them.
2nd Half: 0:13 - they make the first shot and miss the second. Jeff gets the ball and dribbles inside eventually shooting and getting fouled with 3 seconds left. He makes the 2nd shot. Tied Game! They miss a half court shot...OVERTIME!
Overtime: Brian Roberson gets two or three rebounds in a row and eventually
makes a lay-up. They miss a 3 and on a fast break, I pass to Josh who is slashing and gets fouled and makes a lay-up. We're up 5 in a 3 minute overtime with a running clock. We end up winning by 6 or 7. A very good victory for our team.
We end up 6 and 2, with the playoffs next week. We are tied for first with two other teams, so we'll be one of the top 3 seeds. Lets hope we win a game or two. It's been a fun 8 games.
Unfortunately, I now have to study for 2 big tests tomorrow. For the next 3 hours I'm hitting the books. The good news is the weekend follows shortly. Overall a great day...let's hope I manage to pull out good grades on these tests.

Song of the Day: On Top - The Killers

"So much wasted in the afternoon"

Well we didn't have any classes today, so it was a SIFE day. Students in Free Enterprise is the business club on campus that I'm involved in. What we do is try to 'change the world' by spreading free enterprise concepts.
It actually is pretty exciting. This is why I got to be on tv in January and why I'm interested in starting a company someday or be involved with others starting companies. The whole concept is very interesting to me. That you can fulfill a need to the city/country/world and later become a millionaire because of it. I honestly hope that my calling is to make money. I think it would be great to do good to others with money. A lot of good can be done with just a few dollars.
Our SIFE team may be one of the best in the country this year, which is pretty exciting. There is potential for us to present our program in front of 200 top executives from the country and thousands of other students. We just have to finish strongly what we've started.
Lisa got me Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind today for v-day. An excellent movie. I really like the message that I get from it that the journey of developing a relationship with someone is what is so special about it, even if you have your problems...the good times and the bad form your relationship. Definately one of the 'top 25' for me. I really need to work on that list.

Song of the Day: The Lonely Shepherd - Zamfir (from Kill Bill Vol. 1)

"It's been a long day"

I got my haircut today. I really like getting my haircut. I almost fell asleep. I really like the feel of the clippers going through my hair. And the fresh feeling the first time you shower after a haircut and it drys so fast.

Tomorrow is Assessment day and I have a SIFE meeting in 6.5 hours so it's about bedtime for the Berg. I've had a hard time studying this semester. I need to get focused. There is nothing worse than underperforming due to a lack of effort.

Tonight playing Halo 1 I got a Killtacular in a 3 player game, meaning I killed both other players twice within a total of 16 seconds. It was pretty funny/cool. Killtaculars are really rare also in Halo 1. It was probably only like my 3rd Killtacular ever.

Time to go to sleep. Tomorrow will be another long day.

Song of the Day: 3 A.M. - Matchbox Twenty

"You get accustomed to the sound"

Today was a very nice Valentine's Day. Since Lisa and I had our big date on Friday we kind of just relaxed. Rented Honeymoon In Vegas because it had Sarah Jessica Parker in it and got a stuffed crust pizza, my favorite.

Then we went home for a little bit to show my parents her ring (and play with Baby Noel). It was relaxing and nice.

We have off of school on Wednesday and unfortunately I found out that I have a bunch of SIFE stuff to do. I have to be somewhere from like 8:00a.m. to 10:00a.m. and then be back at like 3:00p.m. Who schedules meetings at times like these when you have off of school? What a terrible idea.

The Grammy's were yesterday and I kind of forgot about them and played Halo 2 instead. It's interesting because I love music so much, but I would much rather watch the Oscars, Golden Globes or any other awards show for actors than an awards show for music. I am enthralled with actors. I would love to be a part of Hollywood. I'm one of those people that loves reading about Actors and watching stupid shows on VH1 about celebrities. Have I written this before? Boy, I'm really going to sound like a broken record in a few more months.

Song of the Day: Mr. Brightside - The Killers

"It's a dreamlife"

Well thanks everyone for all of the support. Obviously, you can read some of the other congratulatory remarks under Comments. It is a great feeling to know that friends care for you. Lisa had two messages left on her phone when she work up from Kyla and Eileen, and I had 3 IMs when I woke up from Eileen, Jason and Parliment. Later got one from Wilbe and Amanda Schneider. Anyways I expected responses from the news like "it's about time" etc. which you are all probably thinking, but your comments are very nice.

Here's what IMs I had waiting for me when I woke up:

From Eileen: Congratulations!!! You two are a match in Heaven and I'm so excited for you!! I am so glad Lisa said YES!!! :-)

From Parliment: Hooray! Congratulations... man, when Clod told me, I was totally floored.

and one of my favorites
From Jason: hey i came to your freaking house at 3 AM put me on the blog.....but hey anyways Congrats man!

The effort is noted, my friend. I had just gone to bed and our door was locked, so I missed him.
Well we are indeed set to be married in June of 2006. So that's about 16 months. Seems like a long way off now, but I bet it will go fast. Of course that means my whole senior year will probably go fast. As much as I hate homework, I really do like college in general.
Life will be full of the sober thought, that every memory made won't be repeated, no matter how hard we try. This weekend has been memorable for Lisa and I.

I had Lisa's ring in October. We had gone shopping together during the summer to see what sorts of styles she liked and stuff. Well, she got her heart set on a certain one that was relatively expensive, but really pretty. So I went to take a look at it one day and wound up buying the thing. Anyways, here's where it gets entertaining (hopefully). The very next week, Lisa and Shannon go into the store and find out that it's on sale. The next thing I know, I'm back in the store asking questions to an associate about the ring, I had already bought. Thankfully, the jewelry store people were either unobservant or kind enough not to even pretend like they recognized me. The day was a good excuse to find out what size she needed though. And I pretended like I was glad to be finding out more about it. Since that time, I just kept telling Lisa I was saving, but it would be awhile. I had to make it a surprise. That is the story of the ring.

Song of the Day: Girls on Film - Duran Duran

"Two drifters off to see the world"

Miss Lisa Ann Rogers and Mr. Andrew Donald Rosenberg are engaged to be married. The wedding is set for June 24, 2006.

That's right we got engaged tonight! I took me lady out to a fancy restaurant in Indy. First we went on a carraige ride actually. So at the restaurant, Chanteclairs they have a violinist who asks if you want a request. I mentioned to Lisa that we may be able to request a song, and she said right away Moon River. She went on to explain that it may be her favorite song.

Imagine my delight, upon realizing that what may be her favorite song, is the first song on a Mix CD I made that I was going to play while we danced and then I proposed to her. It went perfectly. She was very surprised. I did sort of flub my words, but she was taken aback, so I don't know if it would have mattered what I said. I lit about 30 candles for the dance as well. All in all a wonderful engagement evening.

After sending text messages to a few people here were some of the responses:

From my Dad: "Hope you had a great evening love you both dad as you can tell i cant do punctuation" (just learning the whole text message thing, gotta love him)

From Amber: "Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg!!!! thats wonderful!

From Ricker: "AWESOME!!! SO COOL! You will definately have tell me the details later! Congrats to the both of you!

From Lisa's Mom: "Cao i come home now?" (she had kindly agreed to be out when we came back from our date, so that I could propose, she also miss-texted "can" to say cao)

From Brian: (via phone call; among other quotes) "That just made my night...You have a date set? I better be sure that I'm invited cause I'll be there with bells and whistles. How much did you drop on the ring? I bet you did good...I have faith in Mr. Rosenberg, that you did good. Did she scream slash cry?"

From Shannon: (via phone call from Lisa; among other quotes that I couldn't here very well, because she was talking to Lisa) "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh. I've been waiting for this phone call all night."

Thanks for all your support friends. We are very excited. A very exciting and fun evening. I had led Lisa on for quite some time, saying that I could not afford the ring for awhile. I had agreed to go shopping next weekend with her for a cheaper ring. She was quite surprised. Keep us in your prayers everyone in blog-land.

Song of the Day: Moon River - Andy Williams

"It goes on and on and on and on..."

A very fun Friday. Tonight was a nice evening of hanging out with friends. Perhaps one of the best Friday's in awhile. We all went to the 1+1 Buffet for some great Chinese food, before hitting the lanes for 2 rounds of bowling. Shannon taped some good footage. Later we went to Steak & Shake before returning for some nice conversation at the Lounge. Phil and I relaxed in our robes, we put on some jazz then later Journey and had a nice time.

Tomorrow is a pretty big day, so I'm headed to bed. Pretty early for a Friday, but I've got a lot of things to do tomorrow. Lisa and I are having a nice Valentine's Date tomorrow night, which I'm looking forward to.

Philip is working on moving into the garage. He has a nice water bed and carpet and is working on heating and stuff. So tonight while in our robes we went out to view the area with Brian and Shannon and we realized the room looks like a porn studio. The contents are as follows:
*A obviously unoccupied waterbed.
*Two bright lights shining on the bed.
*Two men in flashy robes.
*A clock with a scantily clad mountain woman and a motorcyclist on the wall.
*A room that is furnished on one end, with junk and tools on the other end (the carpet even only goes halfway).
It definately looks like what a porn set would look like. I was laughing very hard at the thought of it. Put Dancing Santa in there and let the fun begin.

So the Dux are doing a service project tomorrow, and I decided that I wasn't going to go, because I have a lot of stuff going on tomorrow (Noel in town, get ready for date, FSB work, possible homework). But my fortune from the fortune cookie says "This is a good time to consider formally helping others." Boy if that isn't convicting. Nevertheless, we're not supposed to listen to fortunes anyway, right? Doesn't mean I don't feel guilty. I think I've been learning recently that I really don't have to do everything.

Song of the Day: Don't Stop Believin' - Journey

"Oh the night, here it comes again"

Today was a nice long day it seemed. Lisa and I are planning out some stuff about getting married. We're not engaged yet, but we want to make sure we can have the places reserved, because we know we want to get married after graduation.

So today, I had to decide which pastor we wanted. Pastor Stork, our youth pastor in high school or Pastor Lyon, the senior pastor. I know both fairly well. Obviously, I know the youth pastor, but I am also friends with one of Lyon's son so I used to spend time at their house and even went to Paris and England with their family. So it sort of was a tough choice. Ultimately we decided that Pastor Stork will be nice to have. Lisa knows him a little bit from when she came to youth.

I am excited to be coming to that point in life when I get to start a family. I look forward to all of the little things that will take place over the course of our lives together. Children, pets, holidays, homes, jobs, friends, vacations, anniversaries, and waking up next to her every morning. It is a good feeling to see what's ahead. I feel like we will carve out a beautiful life together.

It's sort of wierd planning the wedding and stuff and not telling anyone. We aren't engaged so we don't really want to tell people the date and stuff. I'm really tired. 5.5 hours of sleep, here I come.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Today was the Sex Lecture in Biology 1000. We honestly had chocolate, candles and Nat King Cole playing in the background. A very memorable and fun class.

I'm 30 for 48 in the Halo 2 Rumble Pit. Very exciting for me. Pretty good win percentage.

Song of the Day: Honey - Bobby Goldsboro

"Sleep now and your angels will come, dear"

We had a fun Halo night, this evening. Wednesday night is Halo night and a good time was had by all. We hadn't really played for about a week so it was pretty fun. I feel really tired, but I don't really want to go to bed.

So Lisa got a tatoo last Saturday. A small little cross on her second toe, right foot. I normally would be against tatoos, but it seems so small that it is pretty harmless. And it can be covered up anytime she wants, except for at the beach. Plus its a cross, so its hard to argue with that. She and her sister went together to get tatoos together, which seems kind of cool.

If I remember correctly, my sister and I were planning on sneaking out of my bedroom window one night when we were pretty young and sleeping on the roof. Unfortunately, I think I told dad or something and he said that was a bad idea. I don't think we could have gotten my window open anyway, but it probably would have been pretty fun, if we could have. Over the years we have come to realize that raccoons like to leave their excrement outside of that window anyway, so who knows we could have been sleeping in a pile of raccoon crap if we had tried it.

So the other day Clodfelder mentioned that some movie was in his top 25. I thought that sounded cool so sometime I'm going to make my Top 25 movies list. I know the top 4 are:
Shawshank Redemption, It's a Wonderful Life, Back to the Future, and Gladiator. After that it gets a little sketchy. Probably Les Miserables (Liam Neeson), Garden State, or Catch Me if You Can would be the 5th. Blow and The Mexican would be on the list. This will take some thought, but I'll do it one of these days.

Man the week is flying by.

Song of the Day: Wild Flowers - Ryan Adams

"Go west, paradise is there"

A couple of nights ago I put my Natalie Merchant cd in as I went to sleep, and to my surprise it was great sleeping music. I probably hadn't put this album in for 2 or 3 years, but it is pretty good.

Last weekend was Little Sib's weekend on campus. When my sister went to school here and lived in the dorms I went bowling with her on Little Sib's weekend. I remember I had just gotten my guitar around that time, so it must have been 7th or 8th grade. Anyway, I spent the night in one of her friends rooms, Mitch I think his name was. He put on Natalie Merchant as we went to sleep. Strange how stuff like that sticks with you.

Julie has always been a good sister. She used to do things that just showed she cared about me. When I went to Camp Challenge one summer, maybe the first year I went even she sent a box of goodies with me like baseball card packs and snacks. We got along pretty well for brothers and sisters. With a 4.5 year spread it wasn't until she was gone that I was old enough to wish I spent more time with her.

Right now, Beloved Wife is playing on the Natalie Merchant album. It's about a wife that is dying or recently died and the person doesn't know how they will go on. I remember listening to this song when I found out my Mom had cancer when I was young. It never really sunk in I think that my Mom could have died so many years ago. I was too young to understand. No one close to me has ever died. Two of my former teachers have died. A few childhood friends have passed away, but no one current. Death is an avenue I have yet to visit. My grandparents are quite old and all still alive. I have a lot of pain to look forward to in life. I can't imagine myself being depressed or mad at God. Maybe I'll get the chance to see what those things are like. Or maybe I really do have a sense that life is life and when it ends eternity in heaven awaits for each of my grandparents, where they can go and wait for me.

Song of the Day: San Andreas Fault - Natalie Merchant

"Don't try to call when I'm on-line"

When I click on Internet Explorer there are a series of Websites I almost always go to:
First I go to Yahoo and I look for news updates.
Then I go to the Better Than Ezra Message Board. They have been my favorite band for quite a few years now and they're board is very active for a group that only releases albums every 3 or 4 years. http://www.betterthanezra.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi
Then every day I check out my friend Phil's blog. It was because of his Blogging that I began doing it myself. Usually an entertaining read. http://www.philllip.blogspot.com

If I have time, I check out the Halo 2 boards at Gamefaqs.com and Zach Braff's blog to see if he has updated it. Other sites I like to frequent are www.dmband.com (Dave Matthews Band), www.zach-braff.com, and www.mikegarrigan.com (writer of the not so good song I.O.L. or I'm On Line). He's the former lead singer of Collapsis that has a series of solo albums that I enjoy. On Sunday's I check the Box office report and occasionally I check out the websites for the following musical groups: Gin Blossoms, Lifehouse and Jem. Of course I check out www.bungie.net to find out Halo news and check out my stats.

My exploring habits aren't too exciting, but that's what I choose to spend my time reading about when I could read about anything in the world simply by pushing a few buttons.

Song of the Day: The World Owes You Nothing - Lunar Event

"We can make this last a lifetime"

Ray LaMontagne's first album Trouble came out in September. I bought it the first week after it came out after listening to a few songs online on the recommendation of Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra on the BTE message board. Luckily enough I was going to Chicago the next week for the Kemper Fellowship (which had sent me to Lithuania) and Ray was playing at a bar there called Scubas or Schubas, I can't remember.

So my first Chicago exploration by myself to me to Schubas Tavern where Ray LaMontagne was playing about 1 week after his first album came out. I don't think he is very popular yet with the masses, but now 6 months later he has sold out shows in places like LA and London so word of mouth has certainly gotten around. I knew I had made a good choice in going to the show when his manager from RCA records introduced him. The manager had flown out that day from New York just to introduce him at his first time playing in Chicago. The label thinks that highly of him. I also managed to snag a poster.

Anyway, the man is an amazing singer/songwriter who is great to put on when you're in a mellow mood. Zach Braff of Scrubs has since mentioned him on his Blog twice. Fortunately enough he is coming to Indianapolis one week from tonight, Valentine's Day. I think Lisa and I might go. We are celebrating Valentine's Day on Saturday the 12th so it just might work out. I am pretty excited about seeing him again. I love live music.

Besides what can be more romantic on Valentine's Day then words like these:

Forever my friend / Forever my love / Forever the woman that I'm thinking of / I just think if we keep our hearts together / Just think if we build on this trust that we have for one another / Baby we can make this last a lifetime

Song of the Day: Forever my Friend - Ray LaMontagne

"There's a football in the air"

Today was Superbowl Sunday. There was a party at Josh's house with tons of food. A huge Mexican spread and also an ice cream spread. Overall it was a fun time.

I've been very tired today, thus I was unable to do my homework. Homework is something I really hate. I look forward to the day, when I come home from work with no more work to do. People say that the 'real world' is so much worse than school, which may be true. But I would still argue that students that are involved and work for good grades work as many hours or more than many or most working adults. Some days I go from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. with something on my schedule the entire day. Then I still have to do homework. We work a lot of hours as students. However, we do have a lot of fun as well. Overall the lifestyle is pretty good. But homework definately sucks. Now its time to get started.

Song of the Day: Jolene - Ray LaMontagne

"Ruby red, her lips were on fire"

I decided to go skating last night...then a group of us went to Stake n Shake where I enjoyed a nice "Sippable Sunday" with caramel and hot fudge. Very tasty. Overall it was a nice evening with friends. I was sorry Lisa had to miss Cheap Thrills since it was so good.

Angie is in town for the wedding, so I spent the day with the Rogers ladies. I did go home to play with Noel for a few hours. A very nice Saturday. Tomorrow is the Superbowl. The yearly event when Americans all watch tv at the same time.

Now I'm watching Risky Business and getting ready to go to sleep. I got Risky Business for $1.50 at Dave's video. I now own over 150 movies, I think. I've gotten about half of those at Dave's video for 2-3 dollars a piece. New technology always makes yesterday's technology so much cheaper. That's how I got over 100 nintendo games, too. Man, I have a lot of crap.

Song of the Day: Lay it Down - Aerosmith

"If you'd just be kind to me"

I'm about as depressed as I get right now...which basically means I don't feel like being around people. I just want to sit in my room and watch a movie and go to sleep with no one around. The problem is Novus Dux is having Skate Night right now, so I'll probably go. The best Cheap Thrills I have been to just finished. Very entertaining.

Lisa's dad got married tonight. It was a nice, small wedding. Her dad's a pretty cool guy. I can't imagine what it would be like to see one of my parents get married to someone else. I can't imagine the thoughts he was thinking. Do people who are remarrying recall their first wedding during the ceremony? Are they forced to think about it, even though that's the one thing they don't want to think about? It is a very sad thing to see a family crumble. I hope it never happens to my family-the one I was born into or the one I help create. I'm sorry for Lisa that she had to go through it. It was a bit strange to see a fifty-year-old father of two awaiting his new bride. Divorce, I suppose offers a rare chance to start over in life. A chance not desired, but when forced upon you, you try to make the most of it, I guess.

Thank God it's Friday. I couldn't imagine having to get up and think tomorrow. Instead I get to spend the afternoon with my baby niece, Noel. I love that little girl. I will enjoy watching her grow up.

Song of the Day: Hannah - Ray LaMontagne

"The ocean of our lives is fading"

Today I took a 2.5 hour nap. It was supposed to only be an hour, but I woke up only to reset my alarm for about 15 minutes later. The next thing I know it was another hour and 15 minutes later. I love napping though. There is something comforting in the feeling that the next 15-60 minutes will be spent laying down relaxing when you could be working or doing something else. Sometimes you dream, sometimes you pop in relaxing music. Very few things beat a nice nap.

My best naps are the ones that are 20 minutes long, but I wake up and feel like I have been sleeping for hours. Every once in awhile this happens to me and it is a strangely wonderful feeling.

The special olympics chapel was today and we got tamborines and streamers to play with. Also the White River Boyz played a few songs. The White River Boyz are a very talented group and although I know very little about the music industry, I think they could make a living playing Bluegrass. A few years ago the O' Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack was the top selling album in the US, so the audience is there. Plus they are young guys who offer a very entertaining live show that is fun for all ages. Their style allows the opportunity to reach non-traditional bluegrass fans as well. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be interested in a mass-market longterm approach. I really think they could make it though.

Although I doubt I will ever be in the music industry it is something that intrigues me. I think I would really enjoy managing a band or working at a record label.

Song of the Day: You don't Know what Love is - Chet Baker

"Here listening to the silence"

All day I have been exhausted. I dozed off in three of four classes for at least a few minutes and then a little bit during the Phantom of the Opera movie I went to with my dad and grandma.

So I came home and skipped my nine o'clock small group to take a nap and work on some homework. But after 1/2 hour of thinking and listening to David Gray softly in the background, I realized I wasn't sleeping at all. The worst part is that I have to be up at 6:30 tomorrow morning for a SIFE meeting.

Classes haven't been going as well as I had hoped. I always worry at the beginning of the semester that I won't be able to pull off all A's, but I always manage. I hope that's the case again. There's a lot of work ahead though.

Part of my sleeplessness consisted of me being in that dizzy state when you're really tired and you feel like your kind of out of your body. My thoughts turned to death. I wonder what my funeral would be like. I think my loved ones would be proud of the life I have led. I think God would be sad at all of the opportunities I failed to take advantage of. I need to step it up a notch in the "least of these" part. Anyway, I like the feeling that I get when I realize that I am ready to die anytime and God will bring me home. Sure I have missed some opportunities, but I know where my home is and whenever God wants me I'm ready. I don't think my work here is done quite yet though.

Song of the Day: All I ask of You - Andrew Lloyd Webber

"We can fall into the endless sea"

Our intramural game tonight brought out only 4 of our 10 players. We played anyway and quite well. We ended up losing by 10, but had it tied with about 5 minutes left. I played terribly, but it is still good to play.

I suppose journaling is a good thing to do. I am glad that I am doing it. I really did journal throughout high school. Not so much thoughts as it was more of what my days consisted of.

I also wrote a ton of poems in high school. I wrote an entire book of poems for Lisa. I've always been proud of that. It seems like an accomplishment to have written an entire book. There is about 80 poems in it or so. I was writing one or two a day that summer. I was inspired, I suppose.

Anyway, I've always kept my high school journal under my bed at home, and I realized recently that my mother was probably reading it. She's a great woman of God, but is also nosy when the opportunity arises. I hope there was nothing too embarrassing in it. Anyway, maybe she didn't read it, but it wouldn't surprise me. In either case, I wouldn't blame her too much. I think it would be hard to not be very interested in your child's life or thoughts.

As I write these things, my mind just goes and goes. I have a spring of words within me just waiting to come out. Nevertheless, I try to keep them short and not too all over the place.

Song of the Day: In this I Suffer - Madison Greene

"Someone out there's listening to the same song"

At Dux tonight we had a very nice worship time. There is something about music that I really really love. I'm glad that I'll get to hear and participate in it for eternity and heaven.

I think if I was paralyzed or somewhere where I was all alone perhaps music could keep me sane. A song can hold a memory. A song can make you happy, sad, inspired, excited, or relaxed. A song can put you to sleep or wake you up.

I think I would rather be blind than deaf. I would rather have music than movies. I just love music. Jazz, pop, rock, oldies, classical, worship, techno and even some rap.

That is why I pick a song of the day. That is why I title my posts from song lyrics. Someone out there probably is listening to the same song, feeling the same way I do.

Song of the Day: Waiting for the Light to Change - Tonic