"I'm outside your house, 2 a.m. it's dark"

Last night, I tried to stop by and see Rogers and she was scared to death, when I had to sneak up to the window to wake her up. I didn't want to wake her mom, so I had to get to her quietly. Her dog went crazy and she couldn't see me so became very scared.

Today was Memorial Day. We kind of celebrated my birthday since it is later this week. It was a nice day. Lisa and Noel seemed to have a fun time playing together. Fun enough, in fact, that Noel said "Lisa" when running to her this evening. Quite an accomplishment for a little girl who only says about three words that 80% of listeners would agree on. However, everyone agreed that it was a resounding "Lisa." It was very cool. She's such a cute little girl. I should post some pictures sometime.

Song of the Day: June - Pete Yorn

"We rely on something more than this"

Tomorrow's Memorial Day. A holiday I don't really observe except for a cookout usually. I don't really think about the soldiers who have died in honor of our country. I am certainly grateful. I respect and admire our soldiers. Perhaps tomorrow I will think about the Holiday a little more than usual. Think of it as more than just a day off of work.

Two concerns. Lisa and I are both sort of messy, and we both suck at saving money. The messiness we can deal with, but we're going to have to learn how to save if we want to be millionaires by the age of 30. Okay that may be a little unrealistic, but I would like to be a millionaire at some point. I believe that money has power and with great power comes great responsibility. I feel like I already am a greatly responsible person, so I'm just going to reverse the equation meaning that I should have great money. Great meaning Mucho!

Honestly though, I do believe that money can be used to accomplish great things. It is not essential, but it makes life easier. I recently read an article that made a good point: The good Samaritan would not have been nearly as good if he had no money. Sure he could have taken the guy to the hotel, but without money to pay for a room for the guy he wouldn't have had what he needed to heal. He would have been left on the street outside of the hotel instead of left on that wide road that was heavily traveled by robbers and priests.

Song of the Day: I Feel Good Again - Pete Yorn

"I don't need a better thing, I'll settle for less"

Today was a relaxing day with Rogers and then a relaxing evening with the family at home. It's Memorial Day weekend. The time has come to relax. It seems like summer won't be half bad. I don't mind working all day. And it's nice to set my own hours. It's really exciting to be a part of the Falls School of Business right now, since there are a lot of cool new things getting started up, like the Micro-Incubator that will allow any student with a decent business idea borrow money to get it started. It could be anything from selling t-shirts on campus for a few hundred bucks to starting a real long-term business for a few thousand bucks. It should be pretty cool.

Tomorrow: church than golf. Lisa and I went to the driving range today. That was pretty cool. We're both just beginners so it's pretty fun.

Song of the Day: Lose You - Pete Yorn

"One more murder in this town"

Zombiethon was the campy horror movie of the week. A strange, disjointed tail of zombies chasing people. Overall, some hilarious parts but thumbs down. A terrible movie.

Also went to the Mongolian Barbecue tonight, which was very tasty.

Looking forward to the Memorial Day weekend and only a few short days until my birthday. Hip, hip, hooray!

Song of the Day: All the Way - Frank Sinatra

"I love the sweetest thing"

A Fort Wayne day for Rosenberg. It's shaping up to be a busy summer. There will be a lot going on between working 35 hour weeks, SIFE, and other work at the FSB. It should be fun though.

I'm looking forward to it.

We got our Softball schedule. Looks like it's going to be a busy season too. I think we have about 11 games or something.

It's quiet around the Lounge these days, what with Phil and George being gone for the time being. Ricker works most evenings leaving the fairly large house frequently barely occupied. The Lounge has seen more active days and she certainly will see more in the future.

Song of the Day: The Sweetest Thing - U2

"Love made rookies of us all in our finest year"

What a great line from the song, Our Finest Year. Finally, an appropriate time to use it as a title. Really, tonight I feel like love has made a rookie of me in my 6 and 1/2 year, and I also think that this could go on to be our finest year.

That's the nature of it I guess. Every once in awhile in a relationship you get to the point where you feel like you've hit rock bottom. Sometimes it's because things seem like they're going bad for awhile. Sometimes it's because one or the other is disatisfied about something with no easy answer. Or sometimes it's a whole bunch of stuff rolled into one crappy bunch. Although some people seem to have perfect relationships, they will hit these points somewhere along the way. That's just the nature of it.

Lisa and I don't pretend to have a perfect relationship. Outsiders probably wonder how we make it work. Sometimes we wonder ourselves. The good thing is that we know the secret to making any relationship work: God.

I've been spiritually apathetic for most of my college career. I hate that, but it's true. I've been completely aware of it and at times have tried to curb the trend. I'm judgemental of others. I feel fake at times. I lust. I am basically a Sunday morning Christian. I know this and I would like it to change, but until now I have been unwilling to put the effort in.

Last week I began to pray again. My prayer life in the last few years has been non-existent. Tonight it became evident that I have also let our relationship falter because of our lack of spirituality. God can make everything new.

Song of the Day: Pretty Good Year - Tori Amos

"Walk in the sun once more"

The 2005 SIFE National Exposition was an exciting time for Anderson University SIFE. Out of 165 schools at the competition we emerged in the Top 12 in the country! Less than 30 hours ago, I was hoping we would be in the Top 60, and we came out in the Top 12! It was awesome.

Heading into the competition we knew we were in a tough league. We were competing against a team that was supposedly about sixth in the country last year. Then on Sunday night we found out that two more of our competitors were named #1 in the country for specific criteria (they were the best in the country at about 25% of what we are being judged on).

Nevertheless, out of 8 teams in our league, we hoped we could be in the top 3. When they called our name it was a relief. We went onto the stage where 5,000 people may be in the audience at any one time. When they announced Pittsburgh State was the 2nd Runner Up, we were pleasantly suprised. When they announced the "C" in California State University at Chico for 1st Runner Up we let out a huge scream and went crazy because it meant that we had beat a team that expected to be one of the best in the country. It meant that we were in the Top 20 for the country. It was a Big Deal!

The rest is less exciting. We presented again and were pleasantly surprised again to be 3rd in our league in the Semi-final round. Drury University was in our league. They later became #1 in the country.

It was a very fun time. Strengthened and develope friendships, had a good time, worked hard, got up very early and had an all around great time. Now to bed I must go. We got up at 5:45 a.m. this morning so that we could practice our presentation one more time.

Song of the Day: Let's Get this Party Started - Black Eyed Peas"

"I might leave toward the sky tomorrow"

Tomorrow I head to Kansas City. I'm not sure if I'm going to Kansas or Misourri. Maybe we'll be in both a little bit. I'm still not feeling too great, but I've got a bunch of different pills and stuff to take. It looks like a sinus infection. I haven't been sick for quite awhile. Probably because I haven't eaten much yogurt since school ended. I always attribute my health, in part, to yogurt. I took a nice nap today.

It's going to be a busy summer, workwise that is. I'm ready to hit it hard when we get back from KC. I am getting a new car. Due to the hood not opening on the Acura a new car is in order. It would have been $750 to get a new hood. Well the trade in value of the car was $800 so definately not worth it. Instead I'll be riding in style in the near future. Hopefully, this one will last awhile.

Song of the Day: I have been Born - Madison Greene

"Catch me on a better day"

Sickness! Allergies tear through the body of Andy Rose even as SIFE teams across the country prepare to compete in a mere 48 hours. Five presenters will gather from various parts of the country in Anderson. Another will meet the team in Kansas City as final preparations are made for the ultimate showdown.

In other areas of Anderson, Jason and Wilbe prepare to golf tomorrow. Andy must decide if he should clear his mind of allergies and preparation and undertake the task at hand. A decision will be made that could change the fate of the galaxy.

Work has returned to the forefront of everyone's minds. As the daunting task of making money, yet still enjoying their summer haunts their every turn...

"Wouldn't it be something if everything changed"

I feel pretty sick for me. I have a head cold of sorts - seems sort of like allergies. But it makes me feel like crap and just want to lay around. Today was a good day. Work, dinner with friends, Pacers game and some Halo.

Reggie Miller's career is officially over. Tonight the Pacers lost in game 7 of the second round of the playoffs against Detroit. The good news. The guy went out on top. Reggie scored 27 points and had 4 three pointers including one with less than 2 minutes to go that brought the score to within 3. They couldn't pull it out though. Reggie has provided countless thrilling moments for us over the years. What a great career. I was so glad he had a classic Reggie game as he retires. Many people in the crowd were tearing up as he waved goodbye for the last time.

Peter Lyon has been coming over quite a bit since school's been out. It's been nice to sort of reconnect with a childhood friend. We used to go to each other's houses and things like that in elementary school and perhaps some in middle school, but as the years went by we sort of lost contact. We had a class together last semester and worked on some projects together. Since then he's come over to the Lounge quite a few times to watch Star Wars or the Pacer's games. It's been very nice.

FLL: Jason is discussing David Copperfield shows.
Jason: Did you see the one where he walked through the great wall of China?
Lisa: What's the Great Wall? Like the Restaurant?

Song of the Day: Sunday Morning Song - Howie Day

"I can't do this all on my own, cause I know I'm no superman"

Good day - Bad day
My new job went well. More on that later.
The Star Wars movie was awesome. It may be my favorite of all 6. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
My Droid costume was a big hit at the Premiere!
The Pacers last playoff game may be tonight.
I will (most likely) never see a new Star Wars movie.
One of my friends is really going through a hard time...a really hard time.

Song of the Day: Lampshade Girl - Mike Garrigan

"Who will pick you up when you stumble"

Tomorrow I get to experience two new things: a new job and a new Star Wars movie. I'm a little more excited about the latter, but I am also excited to get my new job underway and hopefully begin earning a lot of money for the summer. Money I need.

I forgot to mention yesterday that I was able to eat lunch with a Mayor, a Congressman, a Judge and a Lieutenant Governor. It was very exciting. I was representing SIFE and it went very well.

The new job starts bright and early so goodnight!

Song of the Day: Automatic - Collapsis

"Underneath that August sky wondering what went wrong, counting all the ways that I have grown"

The first musical album I ever bought was The Bodyguard Soundtrack. I couldn't get enough of I will Always Love You sung by Whitney Houston. It was a cassette tape and I bought it at a music store in Chicago. I must have been eight or nine at the time. The A side had a few Whitney Houston Songs while the B side had some other stuff, Aaron Neville, I remember specifically. And another song called What's so Funny About (peace, love, and understanding). I still have the cassette under my bed at my childhood home or "Home Home" as I refer to it these days. When I'm at Home Home I call The Lounge home. The subject of homes is for another day.

At the beginning of the Free Willy videotape Michael Jackson sings You are Not Alone. The song is on the soundtrack and when I put in the VHS, I was hooked. The first cassette single I ever bought was that song. I'm not sure, which came first the single or The Bodyguard Soundtrack, but growing up I usually bought singles: Take That, Bon Jovi, Goo Goo Dolls, the Gin Blossoms - a lot of the songs I would buy and eventually end up getting the whole album.

I wasn't given a lot of music as a child. I remember liking the Beach Boys and being given a tape of Hermans Hermits. Instead of The Beatles, my parents gave me Herman's Hermits. I still prefer the music of the Hermits today.

It wasn't until Christmas 1995 that I bought my first CD after getting a CD player for Christmas: Blessid Union of Souls - Home. A good album with a few great songs. It wasn't long before I was hooked. I bought a few more albums over the next few months that I specifically recall: Elton John - Believe, Natalie Merchant - Tigerlilly, then in the summer at Myrtle Beach, Deep Blue Something - Home. I could probably still sing the entire Deep Blue Something album by memory although I've only listened to it twice probably in the past five years. There were undoubtedly a few more sprinkled into the mix in the first six months.

Ten years later I have over 200 albums. I never got into downloading music, so I've continued buying albums all along. It averages out to an ablum every 2.5 weeks or so, I suppose. I love music. Anyone who spends anytime with me, could tell you that I rarely do not have music on, when it's available. I love listening to it, reading the lyrics, supporting my favorite groups, sharing it and going to concerts. Live music is like a drug to me. After a good night of live music, whether it's Dave Matthews Band with 17,000 other fans, or JEM at Birdy's bar with 100 other people, a good show leaves me feeling wonderful, waiting for the next.

Perhaps its the untold story behind songs, the application I make with a song, the ability of the song to put me to sleep in an instant or wake me up feeling happy. Perhaps it's the feel of opening up an anticipated album and playing it for the first time, not wanting to be interrupted. Just wanting to enjoy the music. Perhaps its the feeling I get when I play a song that instantly brings me back to a place and time. In my dreamlife, I would tour the country playing music for a living.

I would rather be blind than deaf. I can't imagine life without music. From the first (The Bodyguard Soundtrack) to the last (Dave Matthews Band's latest: Stand Up) and 200+ albums inbetween, I'm 21 years old with a lifetime of music ahead of me.

Song of the Day: November - Mike Garrigan

"You're like my best friend after a good good joke"

Tomorrow I will go to a dedication and eat lunch with the leuitenant governor. It should be an interesting time.

Jon Ross is home from battling in Iraq for a few days. It's good to have him back, even though it's just for a short time. One full week gone in summer. So far, so good. I hope the fun and relaxation lasts all summer long.

I cleaned up my room some today. It was getting pretty messy and it feels good to have a slightly cleaner room as I go to sleep tonight.

Yesterday I watched a sci-fi movie about people having implants in their heads at birth that record everything they see and hear throughout their lifetimes. Then when they die, a "Cutter" edits the life down to a couple of hours and families and friends gather to watch and remember. A very interesting concept. An average movie "The Final Cut"- but the idea was very intriguing. What would it be like to see the world through another's eyes after they died. To see themselves in the mirror at 10, 20, 45, 70. To see the same face looking back in the mirror as we do every morning, but aging. Instead we age gradually then look at ourselves closely one day and think 'where have the years gone?'

Song of the Day: Old Dirt Hill - Dave Matthews Band

"I don't need reminding by the ghost tonight"

Best Day Ever: Indianapolis Indians game and a trip to the much-hyped yet elusive Thirteen Graves. Both a fun time.

We traveled north for about an hour and finally found a creepy road that took us by a graveyard and into a field. We parked and searched for the 13 Graves. It was scary simply because it was dark. If we had run into anything, person or animal it would have freaked us out.

The ride home consisted of talking about Makeout stories from our past. It was a very good time. One of those times that you'll think back upon when you talk of the good old days. The College Years. The Happy Days. The Best Days of Our Lives. We'll see how that turns out. I do look forward to marrying, working, having children and living--hopefully changing the world for the good along the way. Nevertheless, the days will come perhaps every few months or perhaps every few years or perhaps several times a day when my thoughts turn to these days and my high school days, the days that will undoubtedly be remembered as the Best.

This journal is to help me remember, when I need to the most.

Song of the Day: Tripping Billies - Dave Matthews Band

"The first time I kissed you I lost my legs"

The first Friday out of school and it wasn't too much different than a normal Friday. Brian - B'Nasty - Roberson was nowhere to be found as he is back home in Cincinatti. I'm sure going to miss him next year. We went to the Macaroni Grill and Coldstone and had a nice time. Then we watched Hallows End - a terrible B Horror Movie that wasn't that scary or funny. Either makes for a good horror movie in my book.

Next Wednesday I start my new job, which will be closing in on the real start to summer. I realized today that 1 year ago on the Friday in the second week of May, I was watching Troy in Lithuania by myself. One week in, I headed to Troy immediately after school got out. I hadn't really made too many friends yet, so it was a great option, even if I was by myself. An average movie, an above average country. I'd love to visit Lithuania for another few weeks someday. Unfortunately, I doubt it will happen.

After I went to Lithuania I journaled for really the first time since High School. I think I wrote about 13 pages on the way home. The lost journals. Sometime I'll have to look them up and either post them or put them with my old high school journal.

Song of the Day: They - Jem

"Everybody loves to love you when you're far away"

Tonight marked four nights in a row of watching a Star Wars movie: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace. I have only seen it once before, I definately enjoyed it more tonight. It did help watching the other three immediately before this. Next Attack of the Clones, then on to Revenge of the Sith.

The Pacers won against Detroit yesterday. Our satellite went out in the 4th quarter so Peter Lyon and I had to quickly drive over to the College Retirement House to catch the ending. Reggie had 19 after a couple of games in a row with less than 10.

So my week of freedom is coming to an end. Next week I start my summer job, and I should be much busier. It was great this week. Sleeping in and working just a few hours a day.

Garage Lounger Philip Patrie is visiting New York City for the first time this week. My first trip to New York was about 1 week after I graduated from High School. I could almost recite our itenerary word for word, if I thought about it hard enough. My Dad took me, our first trip as just the two of us in a long time. (There was that trip to Orlando when I was really young and The Beach waterpark when I was given the "Sex Talk"). The trip ended up being full of unbelievable fortune. For absolutely free in New York City in about four days span I saw the Dave Matthews Band live on Carson Daly's late night show, an Alicia Keys concert, and got Jason Biggs, Alicia Silverstone and Kathleen Turner's autographs after one of their broadway shows (The Graduate).

Then for a great deal of money, we also went to the Blue Man Group, Noises Off (starring Peter Gallagher), and ate at a bunch of good restaurants. That's not even mentioning the tourist attractions: Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, etc. What a great trip. I love New York and would go back in a heartbeat. I would like to live in New York for about a year. Just enough to look forward to slowing down, but still fall deeply in love with the City.

Song of the Day: Stall - Better Than Ezra

"I've got stains on my t-shirt"

Today was softball practice. It got a little boring until the end, but I think it will be fun overall meeting some new people and spending time outdoors. Lisa and I aren't among the better half of the players, but we're going to be on the B Team so that's okay.

It's hard to be productive when you don't have to. I don't have to get up early tomorrow, so I'll probably sleep in for a long time. I also stayed up late for that reason. Hopefully, I'll get in a good summer routine sometime soon. Maybe when I start my new job on the 18th.

The fourth season of Scrubs ended today. It was an okay episode. Not as good as usual. Tuesday's are always great during the school year because no matter what's going on I'm going to spend a couple of hours with Rogers eating pizza or Chinese and watching Scrubs. I'll miss these days someday. For now I'll do my missing as I go to sleep.

Signing off.

Song of the Day: Autobiography - Ashlee Simpson

"And what I chase won't set me free"

Josh and I watched Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope tonight. In a little over a week Episode III will be released completing the six movies. Episodes IV through VI make for one of the best movie series ever made. So far I and II have not impressed me all that much. I have only seen them once however. Perhaps whenn the six are complete they will all fit well together.

Time to go to sleep so I can get up early to get my car fixed. The hood won't open. Makes it hard to get the oil changed. Pacers lost their first game in the second round pretty bad. But I wouldn't count them out yet.

Song of the Day: Sympathy - Goo Goo Dolls

"This blessedness of life sometimes brings me to my knees"

While Thursday was my first day off of school, this weekend it really started to set in, when for once I didn't have to worry about homework. I could enjoy the weekend, relax. Take a nap if I wanted to because I had nothing hanging over my head like usual. It's a great feeling. It really is.

I'm a little tired so not much to say. Mother's Day was today. The Rogers and Rosenbergs went to the Grandview Restaurant to eat lunch, which was nice. Then later the Roger's gals and I went to Hacienda for a late dinner. Tomorrow is the beginning of summer school for some of my friends. I feel bad for them. That would suck.

I hope I find a job someday that doesn't involve taking work home.

"Cut to an anterior view"

Best Day Ever: Date night with Rogers-Chili's and Coldstone before returning to watch 24 Season III. Combined with the Pacer's smashing the Boston Celtics in Game 7 to buy Reggie Miller at least 4 more games makes this the best day ever.

I am broke, broke, broke. I added up today a total of about $1,000 in funds that didn't arrive happened this Spring. Starting with $600+ in lost revenue when In Business magazine shutdown in January and about $300 in lost revenue for not starting my new job for another 10 days. However, I also was offered some temporary work (like trimming the hedges) at my Dad's office. So that will help. Anyway at this stage in my life an extra few hundred dollars missing hurts quite a bit. Hopefully by the end of the summer I'll have my debts paid off and a few hundred dollars saved. We'll see how that goes.

Lisa and I had a nice time on our date. Although we hang out a couple of days a week we rarely do anything that resembles a date. Our normal weekends consist of hanging out with friends or hanging around La Casa de Rogers so it was nice to get out. We had a good time.

Graduation was today. In one year, many of my friends and I will be graduating. That will be an interesting day. Sad, exciting, relieving and joyous all rolled into one. I have not attended a graduation ceremony since my sister graduated a year or two before I got to AU. Hopefully, 11 months from now I'll know what area of business I'm headed into.

Happy Mother's Day all you mom's out there, including I learned a couple of hours ago Jennifer Garner, the star of Alias and Ben Affleck's girlfriend. Congratulations. Although Ben Affleck has not made any movies of high quality recently, I've always liked him. He comes off as a guy's guy. One who likes Poker, sports and girls. As much as J-Lo tried to take that away, he's maintained his image in my book.

Song of the Day: Daylight - Coldplay

"And even the finest things are leaving you hollow"

Best Day Ever: Dinner at the Nile with Brian, Parliament, and Rogers then off to House of Wax, which did in fact turn out to be the Best Movie Ever. The magic formula was accurate.

I've never been to the Nile restaurant before although I have been an Andersonian all my life. The food was great, the dancing was interesting and the woman at the table sitting next to us who was telling the waiter what specifically she was doing wrong was entertaining. Later according to our waiter's away message (lisa is friends with her) the Kitchen calls that patron Dr. Bitch.

House of Wax was a very entertaining film. I had high expectations, and it did pass. The first ten minutes did not look to promising, but it ended up being a fun campy horror movie that was scary at times, grotesque at others, laugh out loud funny at other times and shocking a few times. One sequence made me jump more than I have ever jumped in a movie. I actually tried to dodge something that the Killer threw towards the camera. Part of the fun was the atmosphere of the theatre too. A few girls in front of us all screamed in fear in unison at one part. Parliament broke into laughter many times, Brian repeatedly questioned what we got him into (since we told him it was a Comedy because he doesn't like scary movies) and Lisa peaked through her jacket during the scary parts. Overall a great time! A small group of friends, a good group of friends.

Tomorrow night may be Reggie Miller's last NBA game. So many memories. Let's hope they win game 7! I'm going on a date with Lisa and taping the game. Then precisely at 11:00 I will watch the game uninterrupted. Let's hope the plan works.

Song of the Day: Hollow - Better Than Ezra

"You were gonna be a doctor, movie star, a poet at a nobel seminar"

Best Day Ever: Poker with the fellas, smoking two cigars. Free movie at Applewood: Crash - A pretty good tale of twenty-five racist people of varying races who all discover their own racism throughout the film. Actually it was a pretty good, interesting movie.

The Pacers lost tonight in Overtime. Reggie Miller may have one game left in his career. By this time 48 hours from now, he may be officially retired. I hope they pull it out on Saturday. It would be a great way to win: game 7 on the road.

So far: two A's. If I pull out all A's that will be the 3rd Semester in a row with no A-'s. A good achievement in my book. However, grades aren't nearly as important as I make them out to be. They are important to some degree. For instance: if my sister did not have a 3.98 GPA I doubt she could raise her daughter as well. Obviously, that was sarcasm. But it's true. She did have a 3.98 and, as of now, her plans are to raise four kids. A truly worthwhile goal, however her grades then were not necessarily worthwhile, besides the fact that she was trying her best, which (in my opinion) is always admirable.

Little Known Fact: Andrew scored a 150 on a 5th Grade IQ Test by answering 72 out of 72 questions correctly. I don't know what that means... If the test had 73 questions would Andrew have been rated a 152 IQ? (That last question was working under the assumption that Andrew would have answered the 73 question correctly).

Little Known Fact #2: Andrew missed two questions on another similar IQ test a year or two later, making his IQ 135 or so.

Little Known Fact #3: If Andrew's IQ continued to drop at this -10% rate, now 10 years later, he has an IQ of ZERO.

Crap.

"Come back racing through my mind"

Another year of school is officially over! Three down, one to go. It was a good year. A fun year. Perhaps the best so far, but really each year stands alone.
It hasn't really sunk in that I won't have homework for a few months. That's really the best part. I'll still be busy and have to get up and stuff, but I won't have any homework.

Now, I'm watching Some Like it Hot. I watched about 5 minutes of it yesterday, before I fell asleep. Over the course of the year I got in the habit of falling asleep to movies. I'm not sure why I like doing that. My futon is comfortable, but the two times I've slept on it overnight I was left with a sore back the next day. I just found out how to turn it into a bed though so that may help in the future. Some Like it Hot starring the timeless Marilyn Monroe...

Song of the Day: Come Back Down - Lifehouse

"All of the air I breathe has aftertaste"

When I was a child, one of my friends had some baseball cards that he showed me. He gave me some Manager cards. I immediately wanted more baseball cards. I was probably five at the time and I became interested in America's Favorite Pastime.

My parents were kind enough to buy me cards while I was growing up. I collected baseball cards for awhile and my family went to some professional baseball games. I got a ball and got it autographed at my first ever game. I still remember my dad reaching over to catch the ball that Lonnie Smith from the Atlanta Braves threw up to us after I asked him during batting practice. Then after the game, Pat Perry a no-name Cubs pitcher signed it. I later got a Pat Perry baseball card and put together a little display. Another time we went to a game in Philadelphia and Terry Muhulland happened to throw a no-hitter. At another Cubs game we Shawn Dunston hit a grand slam. We were lucky fans, I guess.

I played baseball for 7 years. 1 year on Xerox in Coaches pitch, 3 years on UAW in the minor league and 3 years on Pepsi in the majors. I made the All-Star team one time: when I was 10. My teams were never all that great, but overall I enjoyed the sport. Just not nearly as much as I did basketball. Eventually I found it boring and I became afraid of the ball.

Now at 21 I am playing organized softball on the church team with Lisa. Today was our first practice. I had a fun time. It'll be nice to meet some new people and have a good time. Get some exercise and enjoy the nice weather...when it gets here. We'll see how it goes. This could be the beginning of a 2nd Baseball Career. Only this time it's softball.

Song of the Day: All the World Tonight - Graham Colton Band

"Wasn't it just like swimming out on the lake"

It's a shame more people don't know the rock group Better than Ezra. They are really missing out on some freaking good music.

Their new album comes out on the 31st and I predict it goes double platinum. If JoJo who is 14 can sell two million albums then so can BTE. "Double platinum?" you ask. "But Better Than Ezra hasn't sold more than 500,000 copies of anything in like 8 years or something."
You have a good point, anonymous asker. However, there last two albums did not have record label support, a key ingredient for getting your music distributed and played on the radio, internet and tv. How Does Your Garden Grow? was released when Elektra was pretty much through with BTE and it was not promoted for long.

Closer was released and Extraordinary (perhaps their worst song ever) was played on the radio for awhile. But their label went bankrupt before their second single could be released. What would it have been? A Lifetime. Now four years later A Lifetime is being rereleased on Before the Robots and it is currently at #26 on Adult Contemporary Charts. Plus VH1 is playing it. This album is so freaking good. There could easily be four hit singles on it, if A Lifetime continues to grow. Thus, I predict Double Platinum. You will all hopefully, soon be hearing the band on the radio and you will understand why I love the Rock Group: Better Than Ezra.

Tomorrow I will be going to Softball practice. This will be the first time I've gone to a practice involving a baseball mit since I was 12. It should be interesting.

Most Anticipated Movies of the Summer in My Book:
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
War of the Worlds
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Kingdom of Heaven
and of course: House of Wax (not because I expect a good movie, but because of Paris Hilton and Elisha Cuthbert) see below

Quote of the Day: "In 12 hours I will be done with school for the semester."
-Andy F. Rose

"In the darkest hour of the night"

Jason Clodfelder while trying to describe a huge number: "You know numbers with commas...there was like 4 of them (commas)."

Playing poker tonight from 1:15 to 3:00AM was very fun. Unfortunately I have to study for a test tomorrow. We had a good, funny time though. Today was the 2nd Annual Rosenberg Steak Cookout. That was a good time as well. 12 guys came over. It was very nice. They're a good group of fellas.

So it's 3:20 again. Another weekend has come to an end.

Today I joined some groups on The Facebook. Specifically a Saved by the Bell group and a Paris Hilton group. Both good choices, I think. I also posted House of Wax's secret formula for success on the Paris Hilton board:

Paris Hilton + Elisha Cuthbert x Scary = Best Movie Ever
That's the formula. It works everytime. This is just the first time they've tried it. Soon the world we'll see and a dozen movies will begin pre-production casting Elisha and Paris and coming up with scary titles like "House of Wax 2: The Melting Candle" or "House of Wax 4: Waxing or Waning?" Then finally, they'll make "House of Wax 9: Paris' Wax Nipple" The last one will probably be just be straight porn. It will still be scary though, because Paris will be 40 years old by the time they get around to HOW 9: PWN and no one will want to see Paris' wax nipple.

Nipples are funny. Every human being except for those suffering with the rare Benundiles Condition has a nipple. In fact, everyone has two unless they suffer from Benundiles or Unundiles, yet it still seems like a dirty word. Something that is semi-awkward to say in front of your parents or other respectable adults. Why is that? It shouldn't offend anyone except for Unundilites and Benundilites, but it still seems like it does. I love nipples. I'm happy to be the proud owner of two nipples. If you ask nicely, I just might show them to you.

Song of the Day: You and Me - Lifehouse

"Funny how the opposite was true"

The first day of school I always had my picture taken when I was growing up. Every year, I would get dressed, eat breakfast, pick up my bookbag and pose for a picture. The years certainly go by fast. I suppose it's a theme of my blog to think about the passing of time. I seem to think of it often as I type at 2 or 3 or 4 in the morning. I guess I'm glad to be aware of the passing moments as they pass.

Funniest thing I've heard in the past week:
While discussing my parents stict stance on secular music while we were growing up...
Julie (my sister): "It really didn't upset me until you took away my MC Hammer tape that someone gave me as a gift."
Mom: "Well he's terrible."
Julie: "Mc Hammer?!?"
Mom: "Oh, I thought you meant Eminem."
At least it seemed funny.

Amount of Halo played this week: At least 20 Hours.
Classes left for the semester: 3 (two tests and one presentation to sit through)
What I'm looking at right now: Molly Ringwold on my Breakfast Club poster.

The official start of summer is Wednesday, well at least that's the last day of school. It doesn't quite have the same level of excitement that it did from 1st through 12th grade. Now it's more of a "man, the semester went fast...shouldn't I be really excited now that it's over? I guess I should be, but it doesn't seem all that exciting...." feeling.

Amount of Video Game Systems I have hooked up to my TV right now: Five.

FLL: After I tucked her in...Lisa: "I'll walk you to the door."

Song of the Day: Belle - Jack Johnson