Spring Break?

I am actually quite proud of this photo. So crisp and clean.

     Yesterday, we had a pretty large snowfall. Or at least large by Oregon standards. On March 21st it snowed all day and by the next morning 5-6 inches had accumulated over the part of town where I reside. I don't think that I have seen so much snow in the years that I lived here in Oregon. Needless to say I took this opportunity to take a nice early morning walk and to hopefully add some pics to my personal photography portfolio. So, on March 22nd I got up at 6:30am (an ungodly hour to be up I know, but I think it was totally worth it) and took a little stroll around my neighborhood. The simple walk that I was expecting to have turned out to be an Arctic expedition. Even though it was a partially cloudy day, the snow on the ground alone made it slow going. I did not get far from my house but, I was able to get out long enough to enjoy the out of season winter wonderland and snag several photos that I am quite proud of.
     And after my little walk My brothers and I promptly made some pretty awesome snowmen. I think it is safe to say that a good time was had by all. I hope that you guys enjoy these photos as much as I do. And with that I will bid you all a good evening and I hope that you all have a great weekend. See you all next post!

I love shots of trees like this.

My brothers' snowman: "Square by Nature"

My snowman :D

Silly old me. My inner child really came out that day XD

Just reached the top of the hill in time to see the sun rise.

  

Oregon: Where the Sun Don't Shine

     Phew! Finally, I am done with the torments and worries of this term of my schooling. It feels nice to finally have nothing to worry about needing to be turned in. Or having the pressure of 1,000 whales on your back from a piece of paper telling you what to do. With finals behind me I now have all of Spring Break ahead of me to enjoy. Or at least I think it is Spring Break. With all of the snow we have been getting here today I am not quite sure that spring will ever come. It has literally been snowing all day today and I do not see any sign of it stopping. I do like snow from time to time, but when it impedes with the natural order of the seasons and the weather associated with said seasons I tend to get a little miffed. This unnatural weather does not bode well for our upcoming summer. I swear, if this summer turns out like anything like the summer we had before (those of you who live in Oregon know what I am talking about) I am going somewhere where the sunlight is much more abundant.
     Speaking of more sun, i have found a job opportunity working at Yellowstone National Park. Thanks to a good friend of mine I was told of jobs there and how to apply. Fascinated with the prospect and possibilities of working in one of the most famous national parks in the world, I applied as soon as I got home from finishing up my last final. And today I got an email back saying that I should know whether I got the job or not in about 2 to 6 weeks. I am really hoping that I would get the job. Getting it would mean that I would be going on my biggest adventure yet! And I think that is why I really am wanting this job so much. The money would be great, but what I really want is something new to happen with my life right now. A new adventure is something that I think will do me some good. And what better place to have a new adventure than at Yellowstone National Park! :D I shall keep you updated on anything that is related to this amazing opportunity.
        Other than that, life as me has been busy with school work and as a result pretty boring. I have made some new friends along the way in school and that I am always grateful for. Oh, and I feel that I must mention this: I love Twinkies! I could take out a whole box if I had the chance! I may have a problem, but I can't help it! To me, they are golden nuggets of goodness sent to earth by God as a gift to man.
     Anyway, it has been a busy few weeks and I am glad I am able to have time to relax for a bit before I get back to the school. I am also happy that I can get back to updating this blog regularly. I never that I would enjoy writing on here as much as I do now.
     Well, I better be off. I have the sudden urge to play Mario Kart and if that desire is not dealt with all hell will break loose. Well, all hell breaks loose anyways when I play that game so we shall see how it all plays out ;) Ok, I will talk to you all later! See you next post! :D

Odd, But Good

     Well, today seems to be an odd day for me. What else is new? Not a bad odd though, this morning I found myself in a more than usual chipper mood. In fact, I still am as I am writing this post. I don't know if my coffee had an extra shot in it or my inner Oregonian is finally deciding to show its appreciation for the torrential rain we have been having lately or even if I am just glad that I am shaking off the cold I had before. Maybe it has something to do with it being the Ides of March...if that is true wouldn't it be a bad thing? Oh, geez I hope no one stabs me today O_O In any case, I am not complaining. I even was in a good mood while taking a writing quiz I had today. Again, odd, but good.
     This term is wrapping up quickly and I have already prepared my classes for next term, And to my great delight I have all history classes lined up for me :D This excites me to no end and I am very much looking forward to learning as much as I can from these classes. And even better, the classes I have signed up for all have to do with parts of history I know little or nothing about, which means I will be cramming my head with so much new information! Russian, Pacific Northwest, and Ancient history here I come! I do not think words can describe how ecstatic I am about these classes. I am a history nut and I am proud of it :)
     My search for work still is ongoing. Well, as ongoing as it can be with this huge rain cloud known as finals hovering over my head. Like I said in my last post, I really want to find something soon and I do have a deadline. I am hoping the deadline will be an incentive to get my ass into gear. I think it will work, it usually does. The ever growing need for a car also helps. I just need to keep my eyes peeled and leave no stone unturned.
    Well, I better be going now seeing as my next class starts in a bit. But, before I go I want to share one of my favorite quotes with you. For those of you who actually know me, I am sure you know why I would like this particular quote and for those who don't I think you can guess why just by reading it.   
 
 “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” -Mark Twain

     And with that bid you all a good day and hope that the rest of your week brings you good fortune.
     
     
 

Dead Week, Colds, and Cars

Holy flying monkeys, things have been getting crazy around here since I last put up my last post. I said in my last post that I would not be able to keep up with my regular blog posting schedule until after my finals (that has not changed) and it seems that finals are the least of my worries now.
     Dead Week is proving to be a little less formidable than I first thought. I think it is due to the fact that most of my classes have only essays for me to write as a final, which I actually enjoy doing. My Writing class though is not one of those classes. Unfortunately I am having to memorize a bunch of terms that I may or may not remember once I am done with the class. Plus, I am sure that I have an essay due sometime soon...I may have to check my binder and see. Anyway, school is school and I will be glad when Spring Break comes along to save me from this term.
     My plans for next term are simple; I plan to just take an online coarse, probably a world history class, and use the rest of the time I have to find work. I figure that if I do take an online class I will have more hours and opprotunites to be able to work and more hours equals more money. I just feel that it is time for me to focus on getting myself out there and finally getting some work again. Also the feeling of being a totally broke and carless young man never is fun, especially when it limits your adventures/visits with your best friend(s) to almost none. My ultimate goal is to finally get a car of my own and the way to get started with that is to find work and get money saved up. I am hoping that I will find something by the middle of next month, hopefully sooner, and have enough to by some wheels before the summer is out. However, December 31st is my dead line to reach my goal and I do intend to get there.
     On top of Dead Week I have been cursed with a very annoying cold for the past two days. And I know I risk sounding like a pansy when I say this, but really, I cannot function if I have a cold like the one I that is plaguing me right now. It being Dead Week though, I had to force myself out of my warm toasty bed and into the cold and crazy world to attend my classes. Except for the excessive amounts of sneezing, my nose running like Niagara Falls, and being extremely tired, my day at school was not too bad. Hopefully this cold will be totally gone in the next few days. Lucky for me I have been blessed with a pretty kick ass immune system. 
         Well, I better be wrapping this up. It's already getting hard to keep staring at a bright screen and trying to type letters onto it. Perhaps some time away from my computer will speed up my recovery process. Alright, well hopefully I will be back with another post tomorrow and if not, well than I ask for you good people to be patient and hope that you all understand the crazy time I am going through at the moment. I hope that you all are having a great week and that you reach the end of it unharmed. Later! :D

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen!

     Today, I thought I would share one of my favorite speeches of all time with you. This speech was given by Dwight D. Eisenhower just prior to the D-Day invasion on June 6th, 1944. It never ceases to inspire me and I hope it does the same for you too.


     Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

     Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.
But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

     I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!
Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

-- Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!!!

Hey everyone, I thought I would just let you all know that this term of college is wrapping up form me in the next couple of weeks and that I am going to be super busy during those weeks. So, that means that I may or may not be getting chances to post long and intense blog posts like I usually do. I know, it is tragic, but this crazy time should only last until March 17th, which is when fall term ends here at school. If I do indeed get a chance to write something, most likely it will be a short and sweet update of what is going on. Maybe even a mini rant. We will have to wait and see. Anywho, I better be off and get all of these essays and projects completed. I hope that you all are having a great start to your week and that it only gets better. See you in future posts!

Decisions, Decisions

     As the title of this blog suggests, I have been having to make some pretty big decisions concerning my education and what direction I want my life to be going. I am not all too thrilled about all of this responsibility and pressure that comes with these decisions, but hey that's life. I am going to have to just suck it up and choose which path to take as best I can.
     As far as my education goes, I am thinking that I may just have to ease on the gas pedal so to speak. The past several terms I have been so concerned with taking as many classes as I can to be able to graduate and move on. This mentality has both helped and hurt whatever classes I have taken in the past and I really did not think I was getting as much out of those classes as I should. Even though I was getting pretty decent grades, I just did the work and sped through the classes just wanting it all to be over. It is because of this why I have decided to drop a class from my current schedule. I figure if I am not going to get what I want out of the class then why continue, even if it would help me graduate. 
     I have also been preoccupied with the notion of getting work while taking the full load of classes I am taking now. Honestly though I do not have the confidence or multitasking talents to be able to do both, I know that some do, but I do not. I am actively looking for work now, and my search will only get more extensive once this term is over. I do not intend to just drop college where I am now, I have worked too hard to just leave it where it is now. I plan to just take one or two classes that are able to contribute to my graduation and work around that schedule with any job that I may find willing to do so. I feel that speeding through my schooling will do me more harm than good, so I will take it in sips rather than big gulps.
     On a related note, I engaged in some pretty deep conversations concerning how I view humanity, race, spirituality, religion, and life in general. Yeah, I know. Pretty heavy stuff to be just bringing up in an everyday conversation. But, in this case the one I was having a conversation with was asking me questions for a class and thought I would help out, not initially knowing how detailed they would get with their questions. Had I known I would have said no in a heartbeat. Needless to say, I was extremely emotionally and mentally drained for the rest of the day. I had no motivation whatsoever and it didn't help that I had an essay due the next day. All that to say, I won't be talking about discussing anything too heavy on here or anywhere else for a little while.
      I am at a cross road in my life and I intend on going one way or the other. Which way I go depends what going down that road will do to me the further I follow it. I am hoping that I have the wisdom to choose the right one.