I spent $1500 on this. It's my new baby :-). all that's left it to get insurance on it tomorrow and I can start riding.

Well, I've studied all I can handle for now. I've studied for 2 days strait and I'm finding myself staring blankly at my book. I'm exhausted and overworked. I'm going to study more tonight, but I probably won't be able to study much without falling asleep.

I don't know if it's a consolation or not to know that this is going to be the best I can do.

I'm almost positive I'm going to bomb my Old Testament final.

The last test took a HUGE amount of time to study for and it was only over 70 pages. This one is over ~250 pages. I can't afford to devote that much time to it because I would sacrifice my other tests for this one.

If I make below a 65 I fail the class, if I make a 92 I get a B.... This test matters a lot
I'm stressed.

Me and Adam were amazing once again :-)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y9udd0coilc

So, the beginning of the semster was really rough and I was worried about some of my classes. I was actually worried about failing one of them, and then just having low grades in some other.... I decidied that dropping classes wasn't an option so I started do a pretty insane amount of study for some of my tests.

This is what I was worried my grades would be:
Psych-     C
Old Test- C or D
CIS-        B
Algebra-  F
Eng-        ??? no idea

Now this is what I think I'm going to end with:
Psych-     A
Old Test- B
CIS-        A
Algebra-  B??
Eng-        ??? no idea

I don't know about english because she litterally hasn't taken a single grade yet.... she has a weird grading system, so I can't even guess what I'll have in there, but I'm thinking maybe an A or B (hopefully). With my tests I made a 95 on my last Algebra test and a 100 on my last Psych test. I'm waiting on my old testemant test. It's not at all because these classes are easy, it's cuz I'm stuyding my butt off for these tests. So I was worried, but I'm doing well now. :-)

So, the beginning of the semster was really rough and I was worried about some of my classes. I was actually worried about failing one of them, and then just having low grades in some other.... I decidied that dropping classes wasn't an option so I started do a pretty insane amount of study for some of my tests.

This is what I was worried my grades would be:
Psych-     C
Old Test- C or D
CIS-        B
Algebra-  F
Eng-        ??? no idea

Now this is what I think I'm going to end with:
Psych-     A
Old Test- B
CIS-        A
Algebra-  B??
Eng-        ??? no idea

I don't know about english because she litterally hasn't taken a single grade yet.... she has a weird grading system, so I can't even guess what I'll have in there, but I'm thinking maybe an A or B (hopefully). With my tests I made a 95 on my last Algebra test and a 100 on my last Psych test. I'm waiting on my old testemant test. It's not at all because these classes are easy, it's cuz I'm stuyding my butt off for these tests. So I was worried, but I'm doing well now. :-)

So, I bought my first tool the other day. I bought a Dremel Tool and it's amazing:

It can drill, grind, sharpen blades, cut, clean, polish, sand, rout, carve, engrave, and do the same job as a RotoZip. It came with a good range of tips allowing me to do most everything, and only specailized areas(such as engraving ceramic.... and stuff like that) were left out.

The reason I bought it:
I am currently building an iguana tank for Lee's science department. While they are paying for the materials, we lacked the tools to do the job. I thought about it and decided that it would be something I would use in the future as well so I bought this tool. I am using it to cut wood and tile, clean the glass (because a scraper wasn't working), sand, and cut screws off (some are sticking out of the wood here and there). It can do it all.... and if you don't have the tip you want for it then the tips cost about $2-$5...

I'm pretty excited about it. I've been messing with it all afternoon.
----------------------------------------------
On another note, I got a 95 on my last math test :-)

Life has been amazingly busy lately, but not without a measure of fun. Here's the story.
So I've been loaded down with homework, and fighting to get it done
and when I look ahead I realize the work has just begun
I took a test in math today, my head almost a-splode
but it didn't quite get that way for I've been able to unload
You see my v-day stank, I had study, I had school
But I thought of something clever, I thought of something cool

ok... enough rhyming. :-)
I planned an awesome weekend, and luckily I didn't have much homework this past weekend so I wasn't crazy stressed to do it. For v-day (even though it wasn't on the day) I took Courtney to Gatlinburg for the day. We left at 7am and got back at about 1:30am. We went to the Mirror Maze, the aquarium (which was REALLY exciting for her because she loves that stuff [she's a bio major and aquatic animals are her favorite. She was identifying parts and stuff all day... she was really happy]), and walked around looking at shops and stores for the afternoon. That night was the big treat. We went to the Dixie Stampede dinner theater. It was way cool, and I should have some pics up soon.
Then Monday me and Adam had the pretty amazing idea of going skiing. So we left at 7am and got back at about 2:30am. We got to ski from 12:30-10 with a hour and a half break. It was really cheap too.
So yea, it was amazing, but don't think I've been slacking and living the good life. Those 2 days come after several weeks of constant study, homework and stress. Sometimes we need a day or two. It prevents mental breakdown. But now that this week is in full swing I'm right back into my studies with the test I took today, project I turned in to day, paper due tomorrow, and large paper due Tuesday (plus whatever is assigned tomorrow)

I don't think I've posted about this so here's something new:
I've been going to the chiropractor lately. Several years ago a friend of mine picked me up from behind and squeezed really hard. I felt something in my back pop and it has had a catch in it ever since. Well, at the start of this semster-ish I noticed it becoming much much more painful. So I made and appointment to get the x-rays necessary to have chiropractic work done. The x-rays show that I have "separated rib heads" meaning that where your ribs and spine (I think it's the spine, but I know it's at least close to the spine) meet in the back several of them had come severely out of alignment, almost like a dislocation. Because they had been like this for a long time my spine had also slightly started to twist. It was just now really starting to cause me pain though. So I've been going nearly every day for a few weeks now and my back feels WAY better. Tomorrow he's taking more x-rays to see if we still need to align them more or if they've gone into place.


Well that's life. I'm going to go back to writing my paper now.
--oh, dad(bill). If I get done at a 1/2 decent hour I'm planning on doing those receipts tonight.

I must be short. I've worked 2 days strait on homework and I'm still far from done. I have class in 5 minutes. I've had little sleep and am very hungry right now, but I have no time to stop. If I can push through till thurday night I'll be ok. That's my update. I'm to busy to tell more right now.

I haven't been on for a while. Lets see, what's up with my life.
School- I'm still taking core classes except for one this semester, and so far it looks like none of them are going to be classes I dread. I'm taking: Message of Old Testament, Intro to Comp-Bases Systems, Rhetoric&Research, College Algebra, and Psychology.
Relationships- I basically hang out with 2 people. Adam (who you all know) and Courtney. As a lot of you probably don't know, I'm "casually dating" Courtney. I know that there are a lot of nosey people here, so I'll do this... I'll post 2 pics of her, and if you ask anymore than that I will be tempted to eat your first born.
Fun- I've played ultimate frisby, watched movies with friends, and hung out in Chatanooga (there's a 98% chance that that's misspelled, but I don't care enough to go look it up)

That's basically my life :-)

Ouch

It was my guitar juries. This is where a panel of judges watches me
play guitar and critiques/grades my performance.  I’ve never played
those pieces worse…. I was REALLY bad.

:-/ wow I was bad.

Well, I took my first final today....

I would be surprised if I made under a 95%.

I owned it..... pretty hardcore. It was music theory. I had to know:

• 
  terminology-things like "alla breve" and "ana crusis" and
  stuff like that... there's a lot of it.


• 
  Scale formulas- For Major, Minor, Melodic Minor, Harmonic Minor, Pentatonic
  (both forms), Chromatic, and Whole Tone scales.


• 
  I had to know note names in solefedge (Do, Re, Me) and know them as
  "tonic, supertonic, subdominant, mediant" and stuff like that.


• 
  Intervals-I had to be able to listen to notes and tell what interval was being
  played. Some were played at the same time and some at separate times. The
  intervals are like "Minor 3rd, Augmented 4th" and stuff like that.
  There are 13 intervals that I have to know by ear.


• 
  Chords- I have to know how to construct chords, and identify them by hearing
  them. The chords are stuff like "Augmented, Diminished, Major, and
  Minor".


• 
  Dictation-My teacher played a song and I had to write what notes were in it,
  along with the rhythm that was played just by hearing it twice.

I win! Now I have a paper to finish, Guitar juries, and take one more final. Then my semester is over.

Skillet's new cd is AMAZING!
The old skillet cd's are decent at best.... I didn't really care for them that much, but the new one blows my mind!
Adam was listening to some of the songs from it the other night. The next morning I went and bought it. It's one of the best cd's I've ever heard.
Wow.... it's worth the money. Everyone needs it.

God-

It's cool getting closer to God. I've heard him clearer in the past few
weeks than I've ever heard him before. I've seen prayers clearly answered right
in front of me. I've felt his spirit, and I've known his will. I'm excited. The
closer I feel myself getting to God the more excited I get. I don't understand
people who live without God. He's so amazing. It's also encouraging to see confirmation
about my decisions and thoughts over and over again.

School-

I'm changing my Major. I'm going to be a CISS major. That's Computer
Information Systems. It's a business major with a computer emphasis. The
business part gives me classes like: accounting, business law, marketing, management
and that sort. The computer part is classes like: database design, network
design, program development, and software/hardware concepts. I'm excited. I
really think this is the direction God is sending me. I still intend to take
guitar lessons and probably choirs and stuff in the future.

I feel very content with where I am right now. But I'm excited to see where
God's taking me. He's taking me there fast. I can feel it.

Humph!!!!!!!!
My computer is freeking out!!!!
This is frustrating. I don't know what's wrong with it, but it keeps freezing. It started doing it and my thought was "time for a format/reinstall" so I did. Even right after I formated it started again. So I'm 90% sure it's not a software issue. Plus it is getting more frequent. Jonathan suggested that heat was the issue so I installed speedfan. I left the graph on my screen and the temperature stayed pretty constant for over an hour and then my computer froze. I think my temp was between 33 and 36 (if I remember right). So it's not software and not heat (as far as I can tell). Right now I'm running my comp with the side off the case to see if it helps any. All my fans are working, and I haven't moved around any hardware in months so it's not some connection. Could something be dieing?
This is dumb. I'm REALLY thankful for my laptop right now because I can't do anything on my desktop with it freeking out like this.

So, I've been giving a lot of thought to my music major status. Where will a
music major get me in life? I could teach private lessons, I could teach at a
school, I could play in professionally bands. That's about it.

I am going to be a music minister in a church some day (that's what God has
called me to do). Yes, I need to know music, but do I need to know it as
extensively as a music major does? Wouldn't a minor suffice? I do go to a music
minor instead of major then what would my major be? I've always enjoyed the
sciences, and I like math (not as much, but I enjoy it). I want something in
the computer field, but Lee doesn't seem to offer courses for that. I feel that
I should stay at Lee though, so I will pick a major they do offer. So where
does that leave me? I've spent hours going through Lee's book that talks about
all the majors and minors and the requirements and what they prepare you for. I
have to make a decision soon. Registration is on its way fast. I'm nervous.
What if I mess up? What if I pick something and struggle financially for the
rest of my life because it was a bad decision. Or what if I hate my job once
I'm done here? What if I completely miss God's plan because I'm to deaf to hear
it. I have to make a decision soon.... I'm nervous.
---------------EDIT---------------
I just located some computer-type majors. I'm REALLY interested in those. I'm researching them now.

1st the pics of that ninja guy/girl are because they're dressed up as characters from the show Bleach. I love that show which is why there are so many of them. The guy is Adam's old roommate from last year. I just posted the pictures of mine and Adam's transformation on my website so check it out HERE

I had the most amazing Halloween ever. It was an open dorm (meaning that girls could come in our dorm fo the first time this year). The 1st floor of hughes did a rave, the 2nd floor (my floor) did an amazing haunted house (complete with smoke machine, scary sounds, strobe lights, and scary people jumping out and making girls scream). 3rd floor did a salsa party (and had a live band). For Halloween I dressed up as Adam and Adam as me. It was sweet. On our wall we made a 5 picture transition from adam to adam-dressed as me and then a 5 pic one of me to me-dressed as Adam. See the pics HERE

You know, it's times like these when my prayer is something like
this: "God, right now life is sucking but you said that you work all
things for my good. Please show me that you're still in control."

I've
had several things happen recently, and here's one of them. So last
night I'm driving back to Lee and suddenly my RPM's jump from about
2,500 (normal) to about 7,000 (my car's red line). I quickly hit the
clutch and try to change gears, but I can't get it to go into any
gears. It was locked as if the clutch wasn't separating the disks in the
transmission. My car also gave off a REALLY bad smell.

That's the bad news, but there is a God part to it (as there is in most
things in life, you just have to look in the right direction). I was
1/2 an hour in the direction of Lee and remembered that I had to get
into Chris's dorm room tonight, but he's staying in the boro tonight.
So, I turn around and go get his key. They my car dies 2 minutes from
my house. Dieing 1/2 way to Lee would suck, but I was brought back :-).
before it happened

A friend is someone who will do what is right for you, even if you don't think it's what you want.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/09/27/audi-r8-2007-2008/

So, the other night after curfew my RA has
everyone meet in our hallway. It’s been raining really heavily all
afternoon and everything is extreemly saturated. So we decide to sneak
out and go play in the rain… yea, the entire 2nd floor snuck out. So,
we get out there and I know what you’re thinking, “they’re gonna go
play in the rain? that’s a girly thing to do”. Yea, until you factor in
that we are playing tag…. tackle tag… If you get tackled you are it.
Guys hit hard. I didn’t make many tackled, but there’s no doubt I
earned respect, taking hard hits from 200 pound guys. We then played
smear the queer. For those of you who don’t know what that is, we tied
a shirt into a ball and threw it up in the air. Whoever catches it has
to run… everyone else is trying to tackle him. When he gets tackled he
throws it up int he air and the whole game starts over . It’s a man’s sport.

I love Lee

In other news, I’ve been playing alot of ultimate frisby. I’ve been playing raquet ball and volleyball and DDR.

A girl let me borrow a saxaphone that she can’t play. It turned out
to be a nice one so now I’m teaching myself to play again (I used to
play in the 8th grade. Violin is still coming well.

Well, I am now an official student of LEE and a member of the school of music. No longer without responsibility I think that makes me cool, but I'm not sure. I am taking 15 hours and Ihave 2 classes that  I don't get credit hours for (it's a music major thing). Plus on top of that I'm suposed to practice 5 hours a day on each instrument of my focus. That includes Piano, Vocals, and Guitar. I have a busy semester, but I think I'm up for it. It will definately be a growing experiance.

I love music. While I was getting my schedule strait with my advisor
I heard a girl auditioning for the school of music. She had a vocal
emphasis. All she was doing was singing Amazing Grace to a simple
piano, but it was so amazing. I just sat there trying to keep my mouth
shut because it's was so awesome. I love music. The purity and emotion
of it.

I'm going to like LEE.

Getting settled in. It's exciting and stressful. All my stuff is in
my room and I'm getting things organized and settled. I went through
most of freshman orientation today. I have just a little tomorrow I
think. I found something out, I think I am basically going to have 3
instruments of study. Primary is guitar, Secondary is Voice, and Piano
is required. That is exciting because I didn't think I was going to get
to do voice stuff but it looks like I will! I think I'm going to like
it here. I'll let everone know once I'm registered and stuff. I don't
know my classes yet.

 I auditioned for the School of Music
yesterday. I think I did ok. I probably made it in on probation meaning
that if I do well over the next semester I can re-audition and probably
be accepted fully next semester, and they would credit me the first
semester as a music major without any loss for not being fully in at
first. I will know monday if I made it or not. I register on Tuesday.
Classes start Wednesday.

I'M AT LEE!!!!

I took a MOTORCYCLE SAFETY COURSE this past weekend and learned how to ride a motorcycle. There was a test at the end... I passed, and did well. It's funny going from losing contole while walking a motocycle across a parking lot (letting it idle and 3/4 pull you) to taking a 135 degree turn at 15mph and only having a 2 foot path to travel and nailing it, and all this in 2 days (which isn't that easy).

I learned a LOT. Anyone considering getting a motorcycle or who is
interested SHOULD take this course. It's amazing. I think I've decided
to get a Honda Rebel. It's a smaller bike, but after riding 250's for
the last 2 days, I'm sure the Honda Rebel 250 is not short on power. It
can go interstate speed for somewhat limited periods of time (like
maybe out to the Jensen's kind of riding). This bike is $3000 new, so
I'm hoping to pick up a used one for much cheaper…. If anyone knows of one let me know.