Sun and Done

Today I went to pickleball. I played about three games of singles with a new guy, trying to pass on some tips and tricks I have learned over the years. This afternoon, I finally finished reading a book I started before I left for college. Afterwards, I took a nice nap in the sun on a hammock, it was quite nice and I can finally start reading a new book.

Shopping Trip

Today I went to Olympia with my family on a shopping trip. It was fun hanging out even if we didn't end up really buying anything. There are some things money can't buy such as good times with the family.

Picnic and Ping-Pong

Today my family went to a picnic at some family friend's house. There was lots of good food. Both my mother and my father worried me a bit during ping-pong matches, they have skill. We need to set up our ping-pong table.

Party

Today my sister had her graduation party, and man does she know how to throw a party. It was a nice party. I enjoyed my job of cutting up the watermelon, a bit too much as I ate quite a bit of it. I also had the job of frying the onion pancakes. Overall, it was a nice party with nice people. The food was good, too good.

Marathon Day

Today was a bit of a marathon. I ran 15 miles this morning. I passed some jelly beans someone left on the ground three different times. The first time, I was disgusted by the thought of eating them. By the third time, I was very tempted. I think it was due to a lack of water. Around mile 13, I ran into the local library, not for a book, but for some much needed water. This afternoon, our family was busy getting ready for my sister's graduation party. Quite a bit of work was done.

Sore Loser

Today I went to pickleball. "The Man" challenged me to a game of one on one. I was ready for a game, but what ensued was madness. I don't know how many games we ended up playing. I do know they were all hard fought battles, with every point hard to come by. I think he won three games and I won two.

After well over an hour of facing off, my legs were about ready to give out, but I still didn't want to give in. Rather fittingly, painfully and slowly, after losing the last game to "The Man", I had an hour walk home and it was raining. Thankfully, the rain stopped and I made it home eventually and that one lady didn't run me over, but not thanks to her actions but luck and my new found car avoidance capabilities. I can't wait for the next face off.

Airport Adventure

Today I drove to the airport to pick up my brother after his trip to California. The parking was a bit of an adventure, but eventually we were able to pick him up. It is nice to have the entire family together.

Reading and Writing

Strangely enough, I have been getting up earlier during the summer than I did while at college. It seems every morning, my internal alarm wakes me up at same time within five minutes. I have also been chipping away at finishing a book I started reading when I first went to college. Hopefully, I will finish it soon so I can move on to the next book. Today, I was inspired to start writing a book of my own, but I doubt it will ever be finished. Even if it never gets very far, it is fun to be writing.

Fence Finish

Today I went jogging. Yesterday I clocked a route I take at five miles, so it is nice to finally have a rough idea how far I go. I have a little over two weeks before I run a half marathon, so I need to keep logging the miles. This afternoon, my grandpa and I finished his fence. It looks good, and was a neat experience to build with and learn from my grandpa.

Dad Day

Today is Father's day. And while I don't need a special day to realize it, I have a great father. He is kind and caring. He is a hard worker, and an excellent example of someone who works hard to provide for his family. He is a great man, father, and friend who I look up to and a role model of how a father should be. Thanks for everything Dad.

Party Party

Today I went to two graduation parties. They were nice parties for nice people. Congratulations Eric and Lauree, good work thus far and have fun in college. It is time to start thinking about getting ready for my sister's graduation party in one week.

Nice Work Sister

Today my sister had her community college graduation. I am proud of her and her accomplishments. It seems weird to think of how I went through the same ceremony only one year ago. I can't wait for her to join me up at Western. Nice work Sarah.

Fresh Man

As 'promised', now that I have been home for a week, I will reflect upon my first year at college. I don't exactly remember what I thought when I first got to college. I believe I was both excited and overwhelmed. I missed my family, it took awhile to adjust to living away from my family at college in the dorms.

Slowly, I started to like college life more and more. I had a daily routine, and tried to stay busy. Classes went alright for the most part all year. I declared political science as my major and have enjoyed the political science classes I have taken thus far. Final and midterm weeks were crazy and stressful, but that is to be expected. Through diet and exercise, and lots of it, I was able to lose almost 50 pounds while at college.

The highlight of the year was getting to know some really cool people and making new friends especially through CCF (Campus Christian Fellowship). Unfortunately, I waited toward the end of the year to do this. Next year, that won't be the case. I feel like I changed a lot my first year at college, mostly for the better. In the end, I liked the college part of school better than the school part of college, but a balance between classes and recreation must be maintained.

I am happy for summer break. It is nice to be home with my family. I do miss college at times, mainly my friends from there. It is nice to enjoy both my time at home and at college. I can't wait for next year at college, especially with my sister joining me up at Western.

*pictured: my good friend Thomas from college

Hello Summer

Today I went on a jog in the morning. There was a drive-by water balloon incident, but the person needs to work on their aim.

This afternoon, a good friend of mine from college visited and my roommate and I showed him around the town. It was a great time.

This evening was the 11th annual 'Hello Summer' party for our neighborhood. I was in charge of the bubbles, but it was a bit too windy for much success. Overall, it was a great day filled with good times with good friend and good food.

In a Pickleball

Today I finally got to play pickleball. It had been quite some time since my last game, and at first it showed. Eventually, I got warmed up and played fairly well. "The man" wasn't there to challenge, but maybe next time. Tonight I went to a birthday party for my great grandma. It was a nice family gathering. Happy birthday great Grandma.

Fence Fun

Today I helped my grandpa work on building his fence. There is more left to do, but so far it looks nice and is well built. I went for a jog around town tonight. I'm excited to play pickleball for the first time in quite awhile tomorrow, but not quite as excited that it starts at 8:30am.

Different Days

I am still in the process of adjusting to being back home for the summer. I almost feel like I have jet lag and culture shock. Maybe that is just because I have never truly had either. It is not like I changed time zones or anything, but my sleeping habits have changed. It is weird to go to bed and wake up in an hour like I have just taken a nap. My family is great and I enjoy being with them. However, and hopefully understandably, I miss my college friends. It is just different being home, but not in a bad way. Even the food is different, much better, but not unlimited like at college. I am glad I can love my time at home and at college, it just takes time to adjust to the changes from one to the other.

Cleaning and Cluttering

Today I had to unpack all the stuff I brought home from college. While doing this, I was cleaning my room as well. I spent hours cleaning space in my room so I could unpack. It is still a work in progress, but at least my stuff isn't in the living room any more.

Sharing at Sharis

Today my sister had her high school graduation ceremony. I am proud of her, she worked hard to graduate from high school with her AA degree. It will be sweet to have her up at Western next year. The ceremony was nice, and it was even nicer to be in the audience. After taking pictures, we went to Sharis with our grandparents. Great times were had sharing food. Everybody had a little piece of what everybody else ordered. I don't think I've ever ordered an entire pie before.

Home

Today I came home from college. Thanks for the ride father. Packing was a bit crazy, I didn't know I had that much stuff at college. Some day soon I will post more about my first year at university, but need time to reflect and recoup.

No Final Day

Today was my last full day at college. I didn't have any finals to take, but turned one in. I tried to run a sub five minute mile, but didn't quite make it. I guess I will have to wait until next year to achieve that goal.

I also went down to the bay with some friends and played some volleyball. Tonight was the last day late night was open, and also the first time I went. Now, I need to go to bed and 'prepare' for my 8:00am racquetball final.

Finals Taken

Today I had my only in class final. It was at 8:00am, which wasn't fun after not being able to fall asleep last night. The final was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be. I have no clue how we were supposed to know some of the stuff that was on it. Regardless, I didn't need to do exceptional on it to do well in the class.

I also finished my take home essay final today, and just need to turn it in when the professor gets back from Florida. Unsurprisingly, I passed my jogging "final" of a 12 minute jog. Now, I only have a racquetball "final" on Thursday before I am done for the summer.

Ready for This

Today was spent studying for tomorrow's final. I feel about as prepared as I can be for it, and am just ready to get it over with. After hours of studying, I admittedly went a bit overkill in the dining hall. Food is not the answer to problems, more of a cause of one.

Rough Drafting

Most of today was spent working on my take-home essay final. I was able to finish the rough draft. It isn't due until Thursday at 4:00pm, but the sooner I finish it the sooner I am done with the class. That being said, it is important that I do a good job on it, so it can't be rushed. Tonight, I went on a nice walk with my roommate down to the bay while the sun was setting. It was nice to take a break from working on/preparing for finals.

Summer Starting Stopped

Today it quickly sunk in how much work I have to do before this school year is over. It may feel like summer break started already, but it definitely hasn't. I need to continue to study for my final Tuesday and start my take home essay due Thursday that the teacher gave us today.

Finally Finals

Today I didn't have any classes. With my spare time, I went jogging. I also finally started studying for finals. It needed to be done.

Done and Run

Today was my last day of classes of the school year. It feels good to be done, but now I need to start thinking about finals. It might not having been the time I was shooting for, but I got a new personal record in the mile this afternoon. I also jogged down to the bay to witness a beautiful Bellingham sunset over the bay tonight.

Early in the Morning

Today I only had my 8:00am jogging class It would have been nice to skip it and sleep in, but I had to turn in my jogging journal. I am actually glad that I went, because I ended up running the fastest mile of my life. I wasn't planning on setting any records, or even trying to at such an hour. It just happened. Perhaps next time I want to run a fast mile I should wake up early and run on little sleep.

Great Day

Today started out with a great racquetball game. Thankfully, there were no face shots today, given or received. In my Western Europe class, we concluded our government coalition formation simulation. Even though my party was excluded from the eventual government, it was fun to watch the bargaining process. This afternoon, my bible study group had an end of the year picnic at a park. It was a great time, with a great group of guys with great food. It put the dining hall food to shame. Overall, today was great.

Run Man

Today I decided to go running. I plan to run a half marathon this summer, so I wanted to see how far I could go. I didn't really have set destination, distance or time in mind. I ended up running to a sewage lagoon, which was about a 15 mile round trip in two hours and 15 minutes. I was very thirsty, and near resorting to questionable measure to get some much needed water.