staties

Most people get nervous when they get stopped by a single state trooper on the side of the road. The trooper talks with you, informs you of the error of your ways, and that's about it.

My Friday morning began with me being flanked by two state police officers in a tiny room asking me the most ambiguous questions I've ever heard. Not always how you want to start your non-weekend.

Nine and a half hours prior to previously stated tiny room, I got in a car with my roommate. He proceded to drive the nine hours to the State Police Academy in Hershey. I77, while not the most boring strech of highway, can definately is up there on the "longest stretch" list.

I think it's the pause between my first name and my last name that sent chills up my spine. Alright, here it is: what you've been sweating for the past week. Thoughts ran around my head as the first trooper shakes my hand and I follow him to the basement dorm where my interview was conducted.

15 minutes into the 30 minutes alotted for the test, I finish. 10 of the most ambiguous questions I've ever answered. I shake both troopers hands and head out. Exiting information includes that the class I'm applying for is the June 2008 class and that if I passed the interview, I've got the PFT in January.

I drove the 9 nine hours back to SC. I couldn't contain the thoughts that filled my head. Is this right? Should you take this job? Heck, one thing at a time: did you even pass? You sure could have answered those questions a lot better. What the heck were you thinking? Almost two hours were spent in silence. Thinking. Wondering. Praying. Thinking some more. It seemed so much of a waste. Time. Money.

Sha[c]k[e] on the La[c]k[e] was again, awesome. The quiet was needed. Realizations included: peace is something that I needed and that the stars at night are beautiful. Shooting stars are cool.

Friday continuted to come to mind. House of Prayer was, well, perfect, but I couldn't stop thinking about my test or anything else.

That's what house church was for. The story of Lot leaving Sodom and Gomorrah is one that many many people have discussed, but it has never hit in me as it did Tuesday night.

Plans. They're God's, and they're perfect. Even when they seem to grab your hand.

thankyou. somuch

[i shouldn't be worried about the future]

[i shouldn't be worried about friday]

(iam)

midnight run

The cool night air rushing by. Silence; only the sound of rubber abrading on asphalt fills the night. The quiet hiss of breaths being taken. The darkness ushering people into their dwellings; the streets and sidewalks empty, the oddities of civilzation abandoned. The burning sensation in the muscles that are used every day.

This is my favorite time of the day. This is my favorite time of year.

a vision of students today

how far we've come

Advisement was yesterday. More terror.

The last advisement of my undergraduate career. I think my adviser was aggravated at me at first when he asked what I wanted to take next semester and I replied, "I don't know." It took a little bit, but I found out that I only need to take four classes next semester to meet my program requirements to graduate.


115 hours in the books. That means I'm only one lab and a P.E. class away from attaining my bachelor degree.


I remembered my first advisement in the same office three years ago. It seemed like there was so much time in front of me and that it would take forever to graduate from university. Now I look back and realize how naïve I was.

It still scares me that in seven months, I leave this place and enter the 'real' world somewhere.

we might be just a little fuzzy 'bout it later tonight

BAM! And one week is gone.

I remember this time last week. I was sleeping on my couch. Relaxing, looking a frantic week in the face.

Then came 6pm. Mid-term exam, which didn't last too long. And then, the long expected/planned-for road-trip.

Driving 1,783 miles and spending roughly 33 hours in a car is only one thing: AMAZING. Granted, it was tiring. But it was also fun. The best part of the trip was the 9 hours between Suffolk and Binghamton. While interstate highways are fast and efficient, there was something about driving on secondary roads that I enjoy. Not that there wasn't other fun, such as driving around a roundabout four times, learning how midgets are formed, acquiring new appendixes (appendices?), and lighting a birthday cake with a blowtorch. The mayhem continued with rivers, small villages, and of course, Dunkin Donuts and Wawa[s]. All the excitement I had prior to leaving was not unfounded. It was the best way to spend the two days off of school.

Then I got the letters from my test yesterday. I passed the written exam, and now have to go for the oral examination. I'm nervous about it. I really don't know where I'm going to be in eight months. It's slightly frightening.

Yikes.

Dear Blogger,

Thank you. So very much. I can't begin to express my gratitude for you. I mean, if it weren't for you, I would be finishing my paper right now. But instead of doing school work that's due tomorrow morning, I'm writing about how I waste time and not writing my paper. It's such a relief to know that when I finish this post, there's still school work waiting for me. There's only one of these that is important, and I'm glad that I'm writing in the one that matters.

Thank you,
Danny

The Procrastinator's Pledge:

1. I believe that if anything is worth doing, it would have been done already.
2. I shall never move quickly, except to avoid more work or find excuses.
3. I will never rush into a job without a lifetime of consideration.
4. I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect from missing them.
5. I firmly believe that tomorrow holds the possibility for new technologies, astounding discoveries, and a reprieve from my obligations.
6. I truly believe that all deadlines are unreasonable regardless of the amount of time given.
7. I shall never forget that the probability of a miracle, though infinitesimally small, is not exactly zero.
8. If at first I don't succeed, there is always next year.
9. I shall always decide not to decide, unless of course I decide to change my mind.
10. I shall always begin, start, initiate, take the first step, and/or write the first word, when I get around to it.
11. I obey the law of inverse excuses which demands that the greater the task to be done, the more insignificant the work that must be done prior to beginning the greater task.
12. I know that the work cycle is not plan/start/finish, but is wait/plan/plan.
13. I will never put off tomorrow what I can forget about forever.
14. I will become a member of the ancient Order of Two-Headed Turtles (The Procrastinator's Society) if I get around to it.

exhausted

i need more than 4 hours of sleep per night.

5 days to go. i think i can make it.

Catskills bowling league

After spending hours working on a paper early into the morning, I didn't think class today would be bearable without some sort of stimulant.

Fully equipped with my coffee mug in one hand and my draft in the other, I walked into class.

Ironically, we talked about probably the worst subject ever. At least, the one I didn't want to hear about. Rip Van Winkle. 20 years of sleep.

And at that moment, it didn't sound so bad.

And this looks like fun:
"Total approximate distance: 1,769 miles
Total approximate drive time: 32 hours 42 mins"

Three Rivers Greenway. Schuylkill River park system. I don't care where in the country it's located. I love all of these river systems.

As I climb out into the river, onto the rocks, the water's edge beckons to me, drawing my imagination back in time. Back to the days when Europeans were discovering these natural wonders for the first time. Back to the Revolutionary War battles fought on the banks. Back the the Civil War's crossing points.

I love it.