Dear Houghton Friends

I have tried to find you all and wish you well.  If I did not find you, I am sorry.  It's not for lack of trying.

Last night after Senior SPOT I wandered across campus, looking for any of you.  I discovered a quiet desolation.

It may seem strange for this quiet, surly kid you've known for four years to say he's broken up about the end of the age, but I am.

I am an introvert.  When I first meet someone I am loathe to speak, and slow to be friendly.  But as time goes by and I become familiar with people, I come to the point where I will fight for them with tooth and nail.  What I mean to say is that friendship for me runs deep.

What surprised me last night, as I wandered around the quad, was how widely it runs.  I realized that I love you all.  For all my scoffing eyebrows and grimaces of distaste, you are all dearer to me than I can say to your faces.  I am—after all and as I said before—an introvert.

As I climbed the hill back to my apartment, I found myself wishing I could give you each something to commemorate this bond I feel to you.  A piece of my soul as a brand of light, or something similarly Romantic and abstract.

I don't have a physical representation to present to you, except perhaps the pixels on the screen you're using to read this.  All I have, I suppose, is my word.

So here it is:

God bless you, dear friends.  You have meant more to me than I know or could turn in a phrase. I look forward to our next meeting, and pray it is sooner than I fear.  You have become brothers and sisters to me, and I would not have traded the last four years for all the riches or glory or any other joy life has to offer.  You have been God's light on my path as well as my traveling companions.  I know that as you go on you will light the paths of others, and make new dear friends to travel with.  I will not forget you.  I ask you to share my diligence.

Go on and stand tall, knowing I have your back, even if we are a world away.

Go Outside

This is probably the last chance I'll get to blog.  There's too much going on these days for me to have much to say.

Let this suffice:  my world is rapidly changing, for better or for worse.

As a side note, Letchworth Park continues to be an exceedingly beautiful place.  If you're in New York State, visit it.  It's worth your time.

Godspeed.

Good Luck Charlie

I'm graduating in six days.  It's kind of intense.  I'm excited.

I really don't know what to talk about for this blog.  Like really, really don't.

I'm watching Good Luck Charlie.  I like it a lot.  Why?  It's funny, it's family, and the girl who plays Charlie is deadly cute.  Seriously.  If you watch any of the weird shows on Disney channel, watch Good Luck Charlie.

Anyway, I don't have much else to say.  There's a thing I like, and a thing I'm thinking about.

-shrugs-

Phineas, Ferb, and Avatar

I'm in the same state as yesterday, only with one exam down and more desperate need to finish my manuscript.  You know what's a good show?  Phineas and Ferb.  I mean, its cartoony goodness doesn't hold a candle to Avatar, whether we're talking the Last Airbender or Legend of Korra.  Not if we're talking theatrical releases.  Merf.

Phineas and Ferb is extremely formulaic.  The same basic story is told in every episode.  But that allows them to make a new song or a new twist that makes for great entertainment.  It sort of proves a concept that you don't have to reinvent the wheel to do something good.  I wouldn't call the cartoon art.  But I think the same applies to that, too.

It's not just people who reinvent the English language who do great work in it.

Those are my thoughts for the day.  Yes, it's another one of those days where I don't talk about much.

-shrugs-

The Oncoming Storm

So there's gonna be a thunderstorm.  I was gonna save this blog for later, after I'd done a good bit of writing, but I might lose my chance if I wait too long.  So here it is:

As of today I know it's over.  The big projects I was worried about are finished.  There's only one thing left to do, and that's writer's workshop.  The part that I love.  I have a story to finish, and I don't know that I'll sleep till it's done.

I keep using language like that, even though I still have two exam periods left.  Honestly it doesn't really matter to me.  What matters is this story, and I want it done.  My vision's tunneling.

I'm a writer.  It's what I am, deeper down than a lot of the things I could say I am.  If I was terrible at it, and could never write anything that meant anything for anyone other than myself, I think I would still write, and profusely.

It's been written into me, so to speak.

What's on my mind is also what's on the mind of most of my friends.  We're graduating in a little over a week.  The thought is enough to drive me bonkers.  I'm terribly excited.  I'm paralyzed with fear.  Job?  The end of general education?  The full weight of responsibility?  Student loans?  Apartment-hunting?  There's an awful lot to worry about.

Which reminds me of the scripture, which tells us not to worry about what we are going to eat or wear or how we will be sheltered, because God is with us.  I guess the best I can do is to trust him.  Not that I'm gonna bury my talent.  I know how stupid that would be.

I really don't want to spend any more time than I already have on writing that isn't related to Fairies and the torment of the sons of Naris, so I'll leave this post where it is.

It's been a ride, guys, and it's only just started.

P.S.:  If you can spot the Doctor Who reference, you win.  Not, like, a prize or anything.  You just win, because Doctor Who.  Yes.

Bread-making and a New Month

Today, Rachael stood on Shakespeare and the Lord of the Rings to make some homemade bread for us, some of which was then converted into delicious grilled cheese sandwiches/paninis.  That's the big event of the day.

In other news, I finished that paper I needed to write, and now I'm just a take-home, a couple of one page essays, and two finals away from finishing school for good (ish).  Except, you know, finishing the story for Writer's Workshop and printing out my portfolio.  Oh good, there's still a lot more for me to do before I'm done.

I apologize for the lack of real content in my blogging as of late.  There hasn't been a whole lot for me to talk about and I haven't had much time to do so with all the work I've needed to be doing.

As it stands, I plan to keep blogging daily through the month of May as I did through April, if I'm able.  Maybe I'll devise a different punishment for myself, just in case videos of face-punches start getting old.  Any of my readers have feedback on what I might do instead?  Go ahead and post a comment.  I'm open for suggestions.

For now, though, I'm off to work.

Shrug out.

Hamlet

There are no more classes.  There is only the work to be done.  Time to be spent.  Papers to be written.  Friends to miss already.  Foods to eat.

Hamlet to watch.

I guess I've never mentioned David Tennant.  He's super awesome.  He's a good actor, and so is Patrick Stewart.  And together, they are the respective protagonist and antagonist of a production of Hamlet.  It is a glorious thing.

He also happens to have played the Tenth Doctor on Doctor Who, which is also a thing.  And by a thing, I mean a thing that you should watch, because it's good.

This morning I played the last of the Guild Wars 2 beta up to three in the morning.  It was excellent.  There were terrible giant fiery moa birds.  We died a lot.

That's about it for today.  Talk to you tomorrow.

Manic Monday Morning

Last day of GW2 beta.  It goes till 3:00 in the morning for me.  MUST PLAY.

MUST WRITE PAPER.

MUST DO ALL THE THINGS.

Church this morning was good.  That was a thing.

Um....?  Finals week starts Wednesday, and I have till then to get it all done.  Life is good.  The Legend of Korra is a good show.  You should definitely be watching it.  But only after you've watched Avatar:  The Last Airbender.  Because that show is pretty much the best thing.  Do those things.  That's my contribution for the night.

I really don't have much else to say.  Sorry to be lame.

-shrug-

A To-Do List and GUILD WARS 2

So here's what I have left for this semester:


English Grammar:  One eight to ten page research paper, and one take-home final exam due Wednesday morning.

Pres. Speaking:  Two short papers analyzing speeches due Thursday morning.  Exam 8:00am.

New Media:  Exam 4:00pm Monday, May 7.


Writer workshop:  Finished manuscript and a portfolio of my finest writing due during Finals Week.

It's the final stretch.  And yes, this is what's on my mind today.  This, and

GUILD WARS 2 BETA EVENT.  A little less than two hours from now, the floodgates will open, and I will... be in a meeting with some peers about my writing.  Then!  I can come home and log in. Maybe.  If my wife isn't buried in it on my computer.

At any rate, I am ridiculously excited about this.  Maybe I'll take some pictures or something.  Yes, I am blogging now so that I don't have to do it while I could be playing Guild Wars 2.

BIRTHDAY FEVER

So it's my birthday.  I was born twenty-two years ago today.  This is probably the first birthday I will spend not anticipating some sort of party, or some other shenanigans.  I feel like being a mature adult and just kind of going on with my life.

There's a sullen pit in there, somewhere, that wants nicely wrapped presents.  Maybe an iPhone or something stupid like that?  Video games.  The point being there's some part of me that wants stuff because that's what I got every birthday for a lotta years.

I don't particularly like that part of me, though I have come to terms with the fact that giving and receiving gifts is one of the languages that speak to me.  So I guess I'm actually spending quite a bit of this nonplussed at myself.

I'm also spending it reading Homestuck because HOLY CRAP HOW AM I NOT CAUGHT UP YET.

I am about to commence with feverish writing time for Workshop, then feverish bored/anxious time while I listen to speeches, and then feverish dishes-doing, and then feverish meatloaf eating, and then feverish I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO WHERE IS MY LIFE.  The latter will likely take place in my office, and I will probably be doing it late into the night.

So I guess, maybe, I have birthday fever?

I miss home.  I miss my college friends already.  Life is a weird thing.  I'm not even very unhappy.  Just a jumble of annoyance and excitement and contentment and discontentment all rolled into the semblance of a guy who needs to shave.

I'm gonna go write now.

-shrug-

A Series of Thoughts

It rained today. Pretty hard. Hard enough to knock the cable/internet out for a few hours. Thus the post-10pm blog post today. I'm determined not to punch myself in the face again.

Last night I finished one big project. I've plenty more to go, but it feels good to have something (almost) done. I do still need to present, but yeah.

You know, what I really want to do is drop everything and write. I guess that means I'm a writer, right? I have this project for Senior Seminar, and it has captured my imagination. I like to describe it as taking inspiration from the Iliad, Arthurian legend, Roman history, and Germanic folklore. I won't say any more in case I want to publish it at some other point. Maybe I'll talk more about it later.

I finished watched that playthrough of Kid Icarus today. It was pretty good. The ending could have been better if you ask me. I think my favorite part was the music. There was one mission near the end that had glorious scoring. It was awesome.

Today's one of those days I feel the coming of graduation rather sharply. It's probably only going to get worse the closer we get, too. I think it's all gonna be okay. Just gotta stick to it, you know.

Anyway, that's all for today.

Graduation and Sharp Things

A month from now I'm graduating from Houghton College. Which will be awesome, because I'll be done with school. It's also terrifying, for reasons I've already discussed a few times on this blog. So there's that.

You know what else I thought about today? What happens on the microscopic level when you cut something? Actually, the whole idea of sharp things and cutting stuff just sort of weirded me out for a bit today. Is it the hard molecular bonds driving a wedge into and through a malleable substance, dividing the bonds?

I mean, when I cut my finger, at what level has my skin been cut? The cellular level? If bigger than that, does that mean some cells in the line are cut in two? I'm almost positive my confusion is through sheer ignorance. It's not like I'm suddenly a schism skeptic or anything. It's just weird.

Anyway, I think that's all for today. My internet's been a bit rough and I want to get something posted before it forces another face-punch video.

Crunch Time

Four large school projects.

Three major personal projects.

Two volunteer projects for friends.

A job search.

A grad school search.

Two Dungeons and Dragons campaigns.

Moving across three states—again.

The last month of college.

Bring it.

Hereafter

He is Risen, praise God!

Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, whatever day you want to call it, Christ has Risen and lives today, and He's way better at living than I am, so I think I'm gonna try to follow His example.

Later today I'll be back with my other family, and then tomorrow I'm driving the rest of the way back to college, where I'll spend a month laboring the final stretch until someone hands me a piece of paper and it's time to drive all the way home again.

What really strikes me is that I'll be leaving behind a load of good friends when I leave school again. Yeah, I've got Facebook and Twitter and Skype and Steam to keep in touch, but it's not the same as seeing them in person. I've got so many good memories built up from my time there, and it will certainly be a sad thing to go away knowing there are some of them I'll never see again, barring class reunions. I ought to think of some way to let them all know how grateful I am for the time we had.

I'm a writer, maybe I can think of something.