Tag you're it...NOT

I, like many other’s in this little blogging circle, was going to ignore Bridget’s attempt to make me write about Christmas.  Then Kenric tagged me too.  Then my own wife tagged me!  Thank God it stopped there.  After being tagged three times (which is just too much touching by the way) I realized I couldn’t ignore it anymore.  So of to blog land I went, to read what everybody else wrote.  To my sheer horror, several people sarcastically mocked this Christmas gift blogging game taking away any real validity in my doing the same (I would be just another copycat).  So, does that mean that I have to actually do this?  NO.  Because, unlike many others who read the same blogs, I’m not going to Chicago with you.  So I don’t have to put on a pretty face and play along. 

Of course, I am not a complete Scrooge.  I would love to tell you what I got for Christmas (don’t worry, it won’t take long because I didn’t get that many things (but they were great things)).

The one present I asked for, and got…a new electric razor.  I got one of those ones that you put on the base and it charges and CLEANS itself.  Love it!
I also got a $25 iTunes gift card.  I’ve never been into buy music online, but it’s been fun.  I’ve already spent half of it.  (weirdest song purchased, Tubthumping, by Chumbawamba)
Of course there were the stocking stuffers…Rolaids, a toothbrush, WD-40 (in a pen), a gnome ornament, Propel drink powder, and an awesome ice scrapper (its like a scrapper attached to a mitten.  I never wear gloves to work, so if I have to scrap the windows my hands get cold.  Not anymore!)
Christmas was very nice in the Hardenbergh home.  Cat’s parents came and stayed with us.  It was the first time in our 8 Christmases of marriage that we actually spent Christmas (Dec 24, 25) with her parents.  It was relaxing and we had a really nice time.  Of course Christmas is really a 12 day event not ending until January 6.  So we continue this weekend when my family comes for a visit.  My mom and dad and my brother and his wife will be coming on Saturday and staying until Monday.  We haven’t seen them in a long time, so it will be really nice to have them here.  David and Kellie (my brother and his wife) have never been to our house so that will be nice.  They did come to visit a few years ago, but we were still in the apartment then, and that was when Cat had her gallbladder problems.  Pray there are no trips to the ER this time around.  Since the fam will be here, we will once again have Christmas morning, just held on the 31^st instead of the 25^th.  It’s kinda fun to get to do it twice!
Oh, I forgot the big present.  Ok, its not really a present, but it’s being delivered this weekend.  A NEW CAR.  Ok, a newsed car.  My Grandmother, at the young age of 86, has finally had to give up driving (she has macular degeneration, and sever other eye issues causing her to not be able to see well enough to drive).  Since she can’t drive anymore, she had to get rid of her car.  So…she sold it to us (at a very reasonable price).  Now, in our 7 plus years of marriage, we have managed to get along with one car for most of it (we had 2 vehicles for all of 4 months, yes just 4 months out of 7 years).  With me going back to school, and Cat having meetings and stuff in the evenings, it is becoming more and more difficult to work out the vehicle situations.  So another car in the family will be greatly appreciated!!!

Ok, this was supposed to be a short post and it’s not….so I’ll end it now.  Please notice that I did buck the system a bit, because I didn’t write about the things I didn’t want, nor will I “tag” any more people.  The cycle has to end somewhere.

 

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.

Why I'm such a Humbug

I don’t like Christmas!

Most people who know me realize this. I’m always getting asked if I had some childhood trauma at this time of year that I don’t want to remember. But that’s not it. Christmas was always filled with family, joy and happiness. I just don’t like it! Catherine came up with a pretty good theory.

Christmas makes people happy
Rob doesn’t like being happy
Therefore, Rob doesn’t like Christmas

That’s the closest reason that I have ever heard for my Yule Tide Scrooginess. But that still isn’t it. Its not that I don’t like to be happy, or that I don’t want others to be happy. Happiness is something that is not natural during the holidays, for anybody. You have to fight crowds, deal with pushy people at the store. The traffic is terrible, and in the UP the snow has just recently come down, so people aren’t used to driving in that yet. You end up spending lots of money on things you can only hope the recipients will like and/or appreciate. If you are lucky enough to have guest for the holidays, you have to spend countless hours cleaning the house. There are the cookies to bake, and if you didn’t know it Cat and I don’t really cook well together. We both have our ideas of how things should be done, and they’re not the same ideas (this reasoning goes for house cleaning too). You just know you’re going to gain 10 pounds, even if you don’t eat a thing. Of course there is the incessant music. I don’t have a problem with Christmas songs, but when you think about it, there are only like 10 or 20 of them sung a million different ways. It grates on you after a while. I am also not one to like surprises. So wrapped gifts under the tree get to me. Just open the damn things already (or don’t put them out until Christmas Eve).

So the way I figure it, I’m living the holidays the way everybody would if they didn’t feel they had to put on a brave face. 99% of us have a Scrooge being repressed out of fear that people will think badly of us. I don’t care what people think so…….

BAH HUMBUG

By the way, I don’t really hate Christmas.
I love it, I just despise the commercialism and the stress that comes with it.
Plus I love to bitch about things!

Merry Christmas

The walls are coming down

Ryan’s blog is back.  Thank God, because I was missing my regular dose of sarcastic humor and whit!

Speaking of Ryan, he has offered to help with the next big project at the Hardenbergh house.  On Saturday we are tearing down the shower.  The tiles are buckling and practically falling off the wall.  I’m sure that the walls behind the tile are rotting or at least mildew encrusted.  So…the tiles are coming down.  We are going to replace the drywall and put in a shower surround.  It will involve demolition and construction.  It will mean getting dirty, working with power tools and all around being manly men.  Cat is scared though.  She has no confidence in me.  She thinks I have no idea what I’m doing and that once we start we will be without a shower for a month and a half.  I have confidence in myself though and I know that God is on my side (really he is).  The shower will be up and running by Monday morning (or we’ll really start to stink!)!  Honestly though, it won’t be that hard.  It might take a day or two, but everything I’ve read and all the people I’ve talked to say it really isn’t hard to do.

Is anybody else sad the Ogre completely erased his blog?

What’s up?  I wanted my fix of sarcasm and list making and I can’t get it!  Apparently Ryan has very little self control, because his blog is completely gone.  Not just not updated, but actually gone.  I’m sure it will be back, but what am I supposed to do in the mean time?!

Gimmie a P, Gimmie an E, Gimmie an I, Gimmie an F

Saturday morning, 6:30, the alarm goes off and I have to go and shovel the sidewalk.  The first official shoveling has come and gone.  I have been trying to get up earlier each day because I can’t roll out of bed at 7:55 and get ready to leave at 8:15 (which I can definitely do) if I have to shovel 6 inches of snow first (granted, there was just under an in this morning).  This is why I really don’t like winter!  Why do I live here again?  Oh yeah, I love it (I know, I’m going schizo on you).

Any who…After shoveling, I had a hot cup of coffee and got ready to head off to the PEIF, you know that place with the gym equipment.  Oh that’s right, you don’t remember it, because you haven’t been there.  At the beginning of the semester Dan, Andy and I decided to work out EVERY Saturday morning (except the one weekend a month I have to work).  That went well for 3 weeks, then Andy fell of the face of the earth (he had a rough semester, so I’ll give him a slight break, though I think he could have spared an hour).  Our group of 3 grew to 7, 8, 9, even without Andy.  Then all of a sudden, BLAM it’s just me and Kaitlyn.  Don’t get me wrong now.  Kaitlyn and I have a blast playing racquet ball, and I love telling her how much I hate her when we do ab workouts.  But what happened to the camaraderie, the group encouragement, the commitment to your friends?  I leave the comfort of my warm bed and my loving wife to subject myself to hard physical punishment (that I enjoy, but that’s not the point).  The point is this was supposed to be a time not only to better ourselves physically, but also to strengthen our fraternal bonds.  We were supposed to have fun, hang out and in general have a good time.  For most of you, that went by the wayside.  I can think of a few explainations.

1. You are lazy.  You can’t bring yourself to get up at a reasonable hour (8:30) on a Saturday to do something that benefits not only yourself, but your friends as well.
2. You don’t like me.  I offend you, or I’m too old or not cool enough or something.  I understand, but you could at least be honest (by the way, this better not be the reason!)
3. You are lazy.
4. You don’t value your health enough to stay physically fit
5. You are lazy.
6. You can’t spare the time because you have to study.  (come on, its an hour and a half that you would spend sleeping instead anyway)
7. You are lazy.

I sense a theme here.  I really do think that it comes down to not having the gumption to get out of bed.  But I find that to be a rather poor excuse, because I’m the guy who slept through Christmas morning gift opening one year because I didn’t want to get out of bed.  If I can set the alarm, crawl out of bed, brush my teeth, throw on some gym clothes and head out the door, you can too.  So next week (the last of the semester) I better see you there!

 

Now after belittling the majority of my readers, I have to give props to two people.  First to Cat, who got up this morning and came to workout with us.  She has had this chest cold all semester and the doctor told her not to go, but she’s feeling better and came to punish herself with me (that’s love)  Second to Kaitlyn.  She got me playing racquet ball again and I love it.  We have tons of fun.  She also makes me push myself into doing things I normally wouldn’t do.  Those crazy ab workouts suck, but I know I need them.  She has also been there faithfully every week, and I stopped counting how many times it was just the two of us.  She doesn’t get paid for it, but she makes a pretty good personal trainer for me.

That’s all for now.  Dodge Ball tonight!!!!!!!!  Watch out, my “Inner Bridget” might show up!

You know its the end of the semester when...

…I update my blog more frequently than everybody else!

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the real semester starts.  Its time for last minute paper writing (or last minute tweaking of long since finished projects), spending every free moment studying, ignoring your friends for the sake of grades and generally panicking about your future.  The world comes to a halt and the only thing that remains are your class, and the glimmer of hope that is the minute after your last final.  Thank God that I don’t have to worry about that.  My prof quit teaching weeks ago, and he’s contemplating not even having a final!  I know, you are all jealous and are harboring thoughts of killing me, but that’s something I’m willing to deal with.

I would like to wish everybody well going into these last weeks of the semester.  And if I may offer just a small piece of advice…acknowledge your friend’s existance, and take at least a little time to hang out and relax.  Too much stress is not good for you!  Good Luck.

A Day Off

It is Wednesday night and I’m at home with nothing going on!!!!!

 

The students are off for Thanksgiving break so we don’t have CCM tonight.  Cat didn’t have any meetings this week either, so for the first time in a very long while, we’ve been able to spend three consecutive weeknights home alone together.  Gotta tell ya, its been nice.

Tonight consists of doing some much need laundry, a little backing for our trip this weekend, and relaxing.  I am currently having a beer and flipping between “Show Me the Money” (which is a pretty odd show) and the Madonna concert (which is pretty odd too, but in a completely different way). 

Tomorrow we head to Iron Mt. to spend Thanksgiving with the in-laws, and then on to Wasaua for the weekend to spend time with the entire in-law family.  It will be nice to see everybody (except that I have to share my Godson Christopher with everybody, and I want him all to myself!) (side note…seeing William Shatner dancing with a large black woman and a bunch of skinny models is way trippy) Ok, back to reality.  (wait, another side note…the Shat just got jumped by a very large, very very large, black woman who just won $720,000.  Very Very Very Trippy.  I think I need to drink more to watch this show) Ok, really, now I’m back.  All of Cat’s brothers and sisters will be at the hotel this weekend, which is the only time each year they all get to be together, and the only time each year that we get to see some of them.  It’s nice to play cards and visit (and dinner at Tony Roma’s isn’t bad either).  It’s also great to get away and have some good quality alone time with Cat, when we don’t have to worry about anything.

Ok, so I have to go get the laundry, so I’m outta here!

Unleash the Inner Bridget

I came to a realization today.  We all have an inner Bridget, some more than others.

Bridget is one of the most competitive people I know.  Of course there are the games of foosball, and who can forget they way she gets while playing Catch Phrase!  But Bridget can make anything a competition; obviously her school work, but also things like driving, pumpkin carving and even eating.  Don’t even joke about challenging her unless you are ready to put your money where your mouth is right then and there.  But I digress, this blog isn’t supposed to be about Bridget; it’s supposed to be about me. 

I have always been a competitive person (just ask my wife).  I like to win and I hate losing.  I have always had that little monster that comes out when I’m competing.  This morning Kaitlyn and I went to play racquetball.  We have been several other times, but Kaitlyn was just learning so we never played an actual game.  We started out just hitting the ball around and having fun.  Then we decided it was time to actually play a game.  The instant Kaitlyn served the first ball I could tell something was different.  I no longer wanted to have fun, I wanted to crush her.  I wanted to win.  I started hitting the ball harder, running faster to return it, slamming into the walls and generally becoming more and more competitive.  My inner Bridget had been unleashed! 

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

On another note…Dan and I have been talking about the climbing wall all semester.  Today we finally went.  Ben, Kaitlyn, Dan and I went to the wall after racquetball and got belay trained.  We learned how to tie the proper knots and how to keep each other from crashing to the ground.  It has been 8 or 9 years since I last climbed and I forgot how hard it is.  I was the only one of the 4 of us that didn’t make it to the top of the wall.  I guess that just means that I will have to keep going back and practicing!  Perhaps I’ll have to let my inner Bridget out on the wall!!!!!

 

Vote to have younger volunteers

I VOTED

 

Has anyone ever noticed how all the workers at the polling place are old and cranky?  Well, not all of them.  The guy at the first table where you fill out the little card with your name and address on it was actually funny.  He we teasing us (Cat and I) and joking with us.  Then we went down to get “checked in”.  The old women there were cranky and very unhelpful.  Two of them actually argued about “when” they could give Cat her ballot (apparently if there is a line you aren’t allowed to hold a blank ballot, or something like that).  Perhaps spending all day at a desk helping people perform their civic duty is more than a 70 year old woman can handle.

Anyway, I just thought I’d complain about old people.  I haven’t had a real good experience with them this week (insert work story that I’m not allowed to talk about because of confidentiality).  Let’s just say, this week OLD PEOPLE SUCK.  They don’t always suck, just this week.  Next week I might love them.

Ok, I’m out. 

Isn't it too soon for Christmas?

Ok, Halloween happened less than one week ago and already Christmas has begun to invade my house.  As I write this Cat is digging through the movies so she can put one in.  The selection…Christmas Vacation.  Ok, Chevy and the gang is really one of my favorite movies but shouldn’t we wait until Thanksgiving until we start digging out all things Christmas?  The reason for the movie, Cat has begun to address our Christmas cards.  It is always our (i.e. her) goal to have them out the first week of December, and that requires writing a letter to put in them and addressing them all before Thanksgiving.  To Cat’s credit, the decorations haven’t come out yet.  They are still safely packed in the attic (and will stay there for some time if I’m lucky).

Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t really like Christmas.  I’m sure there is some psychological repression of something in my past that I can’t get over that makes me dislike it so much.  So the fact that the “season” has begun this early in November (and will last until mid-January) is like torture.  Ten weeks of Christmas is like 9 weeks too much.  There are some things about Christmas I do like.  I like the movies (Christmas Vacation, Christmas Story, The Grinch (the cartoon)).  I love the food, but then again who doesn’t.  And I do have this weird passion for our Department 56 North Pole and Elfland Village (it’s the one thing I really get into.  If I could I would let it take over every surface in the house, but Cat won’t let me go that far).  Even then, I can really only handle two weeks of Christmas Cheer without goining into “Bah Humbug” mode.  So, fork over the Prozac so I can make it through the next two months.

Merry Christmas, or something like that.

Preparing for All Hallow's Eve

Tomorrow is Halloween. The one day a year where it is perfectly acceptable to dress like a freak. It is also become on of the major holidays at our house. We have almost as many Halloween decorations as we do Christmas decorations (ok, not even close, but it does come in second place in deco department). The decorations go up as early as September, and will probably stay up until the week before Thanksgiving.

One of the most important parts of Halloween is the carving of pumpkins. That ritual usually takes place five or six days before Halloween, but we have been really busy this year. We got our pumpkins from the Garden Orchard at the beginning of this month. They have the biggest, best pumpkins and they are so cheap. Since they arrived at our home, they have been residing on the back porch so they didn’t get stolen or smashed. Now, the night before the ghouls and ghosts arrive, we are set to carve.

Can I tell you something about big pumpkins? They are a pain to carve! The one benefit is that you never have a problem fitting your hand inside to scrape the guts out, but the walls are so thick that it’s close to impossible to make them easy to carve. Of course it doesn’t help that I always pick the most difficult pattern to carve. I think is has something to do with being manly. Those small intricate patterns are such a pain! But I love doing them. I will admit, I have become more lax in my carving. I used to make sure every line was perfect and that there were no straggling bits of inside showing. Now, not so much. Get it done, and make it look presentable, but perfection is not necessary. The pattern I used this year took about 45 minutes to carve (not counting gutting time). In the past it would have taken me at least twice that. But is still looks awesome.

Rob and Cat's Pumpkins

A Closer Look at Rob's Work of Art

"Igor's Brew"

Well, hopefully we have a quite devil’s night (I don’t want to have to clean up any rotten eggs). No, I’m not dressing up tomorrow, not because I don’t want too, I just don’t have a costume (plus I can’t wear one to work) but Cat is (some sort of circus act I think).

Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!

God, Late Nights and Racquetball

One Hope – an interfaith meeting to promote unity among the various Christian organizations on campus.
One Hope – the chance that I might get sick and die and not have to go to One Hope.

Why would I think that way? Well for starters, I’m Catholic. Contrary to popular belief, that does not make me better than everybody else, it makes me scared. What is often deemed by other religious groups as Catholic arrogance, I believe, is really Catholic fear. Fear of being persecuted, of being made fun of. Fear of having to go outside my comfortable little traditional Catholic prayer box.

Fear is a tough thing to overcome. But this is a group promoting unity to all Christians, and we were invited and even asked to present, so the persecution factor is out. I am not usually prone to being stuck inside the box. I am a very outside the box kind of person, especially when it comes to church. But praise and worship music is one thing I have never gotten the knack for. Loud, mediocre bands’ singing songs with impossible melodies (and 400 different harmonies) just doesn’t do it for me. I knew that a big part of this event would be P&W. I knew I would have to suffer.

Let me tell you, I still don’t like P&W, especially after almost two hours of it. However, I did have a great time at One Hope and I came away with an awesome attitude. The message of the evening was definitely one of UNITY. The first “teaching” was right on. I never thought I’d hear an evangelical say that we got evangelism wrong, but he did. He said that evangelism isn’t about bringing people to church, like so many are trying to do. It’s about bringing church, God, to the people, where they are. Bringing Christ into your everyday environment and your everyday actions! Now that isn’t new to me, I’ve been taught that for years (Cursillo and Youth Encounter teach that), but to hear someone else say it, someone outside the Catholic church, was AWESOME.

The second “teaching” was even better. Bishop Sample was asked to speak on “The Body of Christ”. He wasn’t given any direction, just that topic, and he hit it out of the park. He talked about all of us being the “Body of Christ” and that we need to strive for unity. But within that body, we are all different. No one is more important than anybody else. Everyone has a duty to fulfill and a mission to accomplish in the church. We may all be one, but we are all different and we need to respect the diversity that comes as part of our unity. He was very moving, and even got some “Amen’s” from the crowd (at least 7 that I heard). I have never been more proud to be a Catholic, to be a Christian, than I was that night (even if I did have to sing for two hours).

………………..

After One Hope, one of our students asked Cat when the party started at our house. Had that question been asked of me, I would have laughed and made some smartass comment about that student not being on the guest list, but Cat, my dear Cat, thought that might be fun. Let’s have six students over our house at 11pm (which is already past our bedtime). She told them to give us a half hour to run to the store and by some goodies. So we did, and by 10:40 we were at home waiting for them to show up, trying not to fall asleep. Trying to figure out what in God’s name made her think this was a good idea (not that its all her fault, because she did ask me if it was ok). 11:00 rolls around and pizza and movies arrive, with students in tow. Wow, it really is going to be a late night.

I must tell you, I really did have a good time. Wait I sense a theme. Things I do reluctantly and then enjoy in the end. We had pizza, cheese and crackers, chocolate, chips and dip, pop, and fun. We watched “What about Bob” which is one of my favorite movies. I thought everyone on the planet had seen this film, but there, in my living room, were three people who hadn’t! We watched, we laughed (at the movie and at the reactions of those poor souls who had never experienced the comic genius of Bill Murray and Richard Dryfus). Shortly after 1am we shoed the last person out the door, cleaned up and hit the sack about 2am (WAY PAST MY 10:30 BEDTIME). To make matters worse, I had agreed to teach Kaitlyn how to play racquetball at 8am, just six hours from then.

……………

7:00 am, the alarm goes off. Normally I wouldn’t roll out of bed until 7:50 to make it to the PEIF for 8, but I had some things to do (not that I enjoyed getting only 5 hours of sleep). I decided that I need some wind pants, because it is starting to get too cold to ride my bike to the PEIF in shorts. Plus, I didn’t have any racquetballs. So, off to Wal-Mart I went. Once I got home I had to rummage in the dark to find my PEIF pass and not wake up Cat, who for what may be the first time ever, got to sleep in later than me.

Once at the PEIF we went to the desk to get a court. The girl looked at us like we were nuts. Who plays racquetball at 8 am on a Saturday? Apparently us. Kaitlyn had never played before, so I gave her the basic rules and we just started hitting the ball around. I haven’t played in more than 7 years, and in that time I had totally forgotten how much work it is to play this game. After 5 minutes I could barely breathe! At about 20 minutes we took a break, got some water, and some fresh air (those courts get kinda stuffy!). Then back in to hit the ball some more. We were having a lot of fun (I know I was, and I assume Kaitlyn was because she kept giggling, thought that my have been more because of how ridiculous I looked playing racquetball). Before we knew it, it was 9:00 and we had to run off to meet everyone for our regular Saturday workout. NOBODY SHOWED. It turns out that we got dissed by everyone. There are like 8 of us who work out and not one of the others showed up! We decided that we didn’t want this to be a waste of time, so we went to work on our abs. I hate ab workouts! I HATE THEM! But, they are good for me, and I really do need them!

...............

Again, that theme comes back to haunt me, things I do reluctantly and then enjoy in the end. Must be God trying to tell me something. Like, you’re a lazy, antisocial bum who needs to lighten up and get a life! Or something like that.

Shouldn't you be doing your homework?

My life is back to normal!  Or as normal as I can be.  I got my project done and my final taken.  I did well.  I know that I got a 92% on my final, and assuming I get an A on my project (which I’m told is hard NOT to do) then I will be getting a big fat 4.0 in my networking class!!!!!  One class down one to go (for this semester at least).

            Going back to school isn’t as hard as I thought it would be.  Studying and homework do take time away from the things and people I love, but that sacrifice is one that I am willing to make.  I will admit that I screwed up royally when I had my first shot at college.  Skipping class seems like a harmless thing, but all too soon you seem to have missed most of the semester and you end up dropping the class, or worse yet, flunking because you managed to not only ignore class but the drop date as well!!  This is the first college class that I have taken that I didn’t skip a single day.  I made it to every class, even when I didn’t want to go.  Wisdom seems to have come to a bit more in my old age!

            So, if you are reading this and you should be studying, GET BACK TO WORK.  Even though going back to school isn’t as hard as I thought, it sure would have been easier to do it right the first time!  That’s all the parenting I’ll do for now.

The End of the World

Today is officially the end of the world (at least until Thursday afternoon)!  Let me tell you why…

I am taking a class that only meets for half a semester.  From day one my instructor has been saying that our final exam and project are due on the last day of class.  The date he specified, Thursday, October 19, 2006.  That seems appropriate.  We have a 16 week semester and the 19^th is 8 weeks in, half way.  So for five and a half weeks we have been hearing “Don’t forget, your project is due on the 19^th.  Remember, the exam is on the 19^th.”  Even after years of schooling, you tend to think that the professor knows what he/she is talking about.  Apparently not!  Last Tuesday, a student walks into class, has a semi private conversation with the prof at the front of the room, and sits down.  The following statement occurs…

“Excuse me, I need your attention.  It seems we have a small development.  I don’t think you need that extra week to finish this ridiculous project I assigned you.  I’m going to make it due next Thursday instead of the week after.  I think I’ll make the exam that day too.  Why you ask?  I’ve been intentionally lying to you, leading you to believe that our class lasted a week longer than it actually does just to screw with your heads.  I know that none of you have lives, so you will devote yourself to my class, this measly two credit class that you have to do six credit worth of work for, in only half a semester, well actually 44% of a semester.  Good luck.”

Of course that wasn’t really how it went, but he did admit he miscalculated and we really did have one less week than we’d been told.  He told us he would work out the details of how to handle the project and exam and let us know two days later at our next class session.  I had no hope that the exam would be any other time than on the 12^th.  After that a new session started and we couldn’t just take the exam with them all sitting there.  I did however think that he might allow us to turn our projects in on the 19^th like we’d been told.  It seemed like the fair thing to do.  He screwed up.  He misinformed us.  Yeah, none of the 27 people in the class caught it for 5 weeks, but he’s the prof, he should know better.  It was the only just thing to do.  So two days later we were informed that EVERYTHING was happening on the 12^th.  No extension, no leeway, no justice! 

So, I spent Thursday night working on my homework until 2:00am.  I got up early on Friday because we were leaving at 10:00am to go on retreat for the weekend.  This meant rest, relaxation, prayer, no homework, no computer, STRESS, TURMOIL, PANIC.  That was going to be three days I now needed to make up for the 7 that were wrenched from my life!  I didn’t let that stop me though.  I had a wonderful retreat and I only thought about that damn project once, and then only for a fleeting moment.  But now I’m home.  Now the work begins.  I will spend the next four nights trying to cram 11 nights worth of work into them.  All the while, I need to be alert and with it during the day so that I can go to work and do my job, the job that pays for my class, the job that I can’t do homework at.  So I’ll stay up until midnight or later and ignore my wife.  I’ll be sleep deprived and cranky with my coworkers (they may not notice the difference).  I’ll become addicted to coffee and Mountain Dew, and relive the heyday of my college days 10 years ago.  I don’t think I’ll make it.  Yeah, I’ll get the project done, but I’m too damn old to pull all-nighters.  My body, my mind, my spirit can’t take it.  It will take me three weeks to recuperate.  Yes I truly believe that I will need 21 days to make up for the next 4 days of hell.  I know, you have all done it before and will do it again, I have too!  But I’ve got 9 to 12 years on you guys and a 30 year old is not designed for that kind of punishment!

To take a cue from my friend Ryan, I’m at CONDITION ONE.  If I survive, I’ll see you all on Friday!  If not, you can come visit me in the psych ward sometime next week, I might be ready for visitors by then!

Homework?

I realize that for some of you, homework is something to be done in the wee hours of the morning (and something that encompasses your life like Bridget and Ryan).  But the fact that it is 12:35 Tuesday morning and I just finished working on some homework is crazy.  I’m not 20 anymore.  Now that I’m 30, I just can’t stay up late like I used to.  So the homework I stayed up to work on tonight will cause me to fall asleep during class twelve hours from now.  The worst part was that I was done with the part that is due on Tuesday by 10pm.  For the last 1:30 hours I have been working on my project that is due in 3 weeks.  Which ultimately means that I didn’t have to work on it tonight, I could have gone to bed and done it later.

I know I shouldn’t whine.  Some of you have no time to do anything but homework, but I need my sleep or I’m even crankier than I normally am (that should make Ryan happy!).  So now that I’ve wasted valuable sleeping time bitching about homework, I’m actually going to bed. 

Addiction!

I’m not sure, but I think I’m addicted.  I’m not addicted to alcohol, or tobacco, or drugs, or even sex.  I think I’m addicted to exercise.  This was the fourth Saturday morning in a row that I have gone to exercise with “the gang” (which started with three and was up to seven today, even Cat came with us).  We were at the PEIF for about two hours today, and got a pretty good work out.  Now, this doesn’t make me an addict.  But I think this might…

This afternoon Cat realized that she had left the power supply to her laptop at work and her battery was dead.  She isn’t feeling to well (I think Dan gave her his cold), so I told her I’d go get it.  Normally I would drive the 0.6 miles to her office to get it.  But today I decided to ride my bike.  Not only did I ride there, but I actually took a bike ride first.  I went down to McCarty’s Cove and then to her office and then home.  The total mileage of this trip – 4.2 miles.  Now, this may not seem like much to some of you, but I’m not a bike rider.  I’m an around the block kind of guy.  So this was big.  Making it bigger was the fact that it was raining.  I voluntarily subjected myself to physical exercise in the rain.  So that either makes me crazy or addicted.  Although I am occasionally crazy, I don’t think that’s it because even crazy me doesn’t like to go out in the rain (the sugary part of me melts you know!), so it must be an addiction.  Plus, I enjoyed it.  I’ve never actually been “high” so I can’t compare, but I think I was on an exercise high.  After I was done, I had a ton of energy, which I shouldn’t have had, and I felt great.  So there must be something to it.

I don’t think I’m an exercise junkie, because I have no desire to subject myself to it all the time, but I do like how I feel when I exercise.  Cat and I have even talked about trying to get to the gym at least one other time during the week, if not more.  Maybe my brain just realized that it was time to get my fat ass off the couch.  Maybe turning 30 while feeling like I’m pushing 40 has something to do with it.  Maybe I just want to be in shape so that when we have kids, they won’t run me into the ground.  It doesn’t really matter what the reason is, I’m doing something and enjoying myself.  I guess some addictions can be good!

I hate homework!

Ok, when I was in college the first time around, I didn’t like homework (which is obvious, since I didn’t finish my degree).  But now I like it even less (though I am much more apt to do it now then I was then).  Let me explain…

Ten years ago I went to class 16 hours a week.  Ok, I had class scheduled 16 hours a week and I went, what, half that.  I worked 20 hours a week.  I slept 70 hours a week.  That left about 8 hours a day for parties, friends, a social life, excitement, and of course homework.

Now I spend 4 hours a week in class, 48 hours a week at work (gotta count lunch hour), 50 hours a week sleeping.  So far, that gives me 4 more hours a week (do the math if you don’t believe me) but I have more now.  I have major volunteer commitments that take up at least 10 hours a week.  I have a wife that I have to spend time with if I want to stay married, which I do.  I have chores around the house (in college I just let things pile up) and other various things that take up no less than 20 hours a week.  So mathematically this leaves me an average of 5 hours a day for friends, excitement (I don’t get much of that) and homework.

So when it comes right down to it, homework takes valuable time away from me spending time with the people I love (or Lost and Grey’s Anatomy, which are more important than everything, except my wife).  I manage to get it done, but I don’t like it.  Of course, now I’m more committed to doing it than I was when I was younger, which makes it more bearable. 

Now that I’ve gotten that out, let me give those of you on your first college go round some advice.  Just suck it up, go to class and do your homework.  It’s much easier to only have to go to college once!

Am I too nice?

Ryan informed me this evening that I was too nice.  I believe he said something like “You’re too nice, I miss the old Rob!”  Perhaps he was smoking something he shouldn’t have been!  Ryan and I have a lot in common.  We are both VERY sarcastic and tend to see a lot of negative in things.  I don’t see this as bad, because I don’t think I’m bad.  This is the way that I have been for most of my life (my mother seems to think I was cute and sweet when I was young, but I don’t remember that).  I must admit, that I have been becoming more and more “nice”, so-to-speak, over the years.  I credit that to the influence of my wife.  I have learned to follow her example of politeness, honoring and general nicety.  I have also learned because of her bitching about how mean and sarcastic I am (see, even now I can’t stop at just saying she’s a good person, which of course she is).  I can also credit that to my ever growing faith.  Church seems to take the edge off of you after a while.  Something about loving others as you love yourself.  So maybe that’s it, perhaps I’ve learned to love myself more over the years (which I think is actually true, but is a whole different topic I don’t want to discuss with the masses). 
So what makes me different to Ryan now as opposed to four months ago?  I hang out with a lot of infectiously “nice” people.  Most of my coworkers are “nice”.  As mentioned previously, my wife is “nice”.  The campus ministry gang just oozes “nice”.  There are people who love to dole out hugs, people who see the positive in everything, people who will do anything for you just because, and people who generally just can’t help being “nice” (I won’t mention any names, but you know who you are).  Of course there are others, like me, who throw in a healthy dose of sarcasm so as keep “nice” at an acceptable level so everyone’s heads don’t explode.  I suppose, the more “nice” you are around, the more it starts to soak into your being.

Now, I’m not going soft.  I can still give out back-handed compliments and roll out a guttural “baaaaaa”.  I still don’t think the glass is half full (and if it were, I’d drink it so that it was more than half empty).  Sarcasm is in my blood, and I don’t think it’s ever going away.  So Ryan, I may be a bit more “nice” than I was last year, and that’s probably a good thing, but I’m still ready to dish it out with the best of them!

I'm Hans, and I'm Franz, and we want to Pump you Up

So today was the day.  Dan and Andy and I went to the PEIF to work out.  Let me start by telling you that at this moment the only part of my upper body capable of moving are my fingers.  I haven’t lifted weights since I was, I don’t know, 22, and since I am now 30 I am quite a bit more out of shape.  Don’t get me wrong, I had a good work out, and a good time, but it didn’t come without a few surprises.  I thought Dan would be Mr. Load up the Weights and pump until we die.  I thought wrong.  Yeah he’s good the goods, but watch out for Andy!  Dan and I had no clue.  Follow this conversation…

Dan: So you want 25’s?

Andy: Na, (yeah he’s going lighter!) put on the 45’s (crap, he want’s to show Dan up).

That’s how we started.  Andy muscled right through that (135lbs) and each set we ADDED more weight.  By the third set Andy was up to 205, Dan had to stop at a close 195, and I was left back at 115.  At this point Dan had christened Andy as “A Beast” and I am feeling more and more doomed by the second. 
In the end, I got psyched up enough to get the job done (mostly out of not wanting to be laughed at) and I pushed myself, but only as far as I could handle, as we did incline benches, tricep curls and a bit of an abs workout.  It really was a good workout, even the part where I decided it might be fun to jog home.  So, we jogged the 3 blocks to my house and I collapsed on the porch in sheer exhaustion. 
When my arms regained enough strength to pick up the laptop I did.  Now I have to put it back on the table, though I don’t know if I have enough strength to do that.  I have one week to recover until I dive back in and punish myself again. 

I love freshman classes

Technically, I am a senior.  I have accumulated enough credits for NMU to think that I am somewhere in the vicinity of graduation.  This can’t be farther from the truth.  I have started taking CIS (computer information systems) classes at the request of my employer.  These classes are very far removed from the Speech Communication classes (and other various botched attempts) that make up my credit list.  So, I have to take the lower level CIS classes to “get up to speed”. 

 

One class in particular, Intro to networking concepts (note INTRO) seems to be aimed at even the lowliest computer users.  Yeah you have to want to take this class, but if you do, you already know most if not all of what we have covered in the first two weeks of class.  Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining.  My senior status speaks nothing of my GPA which is not all that high (note the previously mentioned “blotched attempts”) and a class like this can only help bring it a little higher.  So today we had a quiz.  This was not a pop quiz, the instructor told us we were going to have it at our last class.  Here’s the kicker…We spent the first half of class going over, in detail, the review questions in the book.  Now, the quiz questions weren’t directly from there, but they were pretty darn close.  The prof walked us right through the answers.  He even gave us “tips” on how to study and retain this information.  I am not saying that I aced the test, but I’m sure I did pretty well.  But I guarantee that there will be at least one person in this class (probably a freshman) who didn’t read and didn’t pay attention as we were handed the answers on a silver platter.

 

Anyway, for me, I gotta tell you, I love freshman classes!!

Making the Flab list

So Ryan has deemed me Flab.  First of all, I was unaware that I was required to declare my blogging intentions to him, or anyone else for that matter.  Second, and I apologize for this, I improperly named the link to his page, which is worth being upset about.  However, when I added it, it was very late and I was tired.  Plus, I FIXED IT.  So, I may be on the Flab list, but I don’t really care all that much.  I could be upset about it, but the fact that I made Ryan’s page at all is sort of honoring (in a sick, demented kind of way).

 

 

 

I've been kicked out!

Ok, I just posted a new entry and discovered that Cat has changed all of the information to be all about her.
I must go back a bit.
Cat jumped into the world of blogging and I refused. Some time later I thought I'd try it. So I used her blogger login to create my blog. We shared very nicely for some time, until today. Today she decided to update the profile and she pretty much got rid of me. Now my blog was signed Cat and all the info is about her. I guess she didn't want to share anymore. So I'm leaving her behind and creating my own blogger profile. So if you want to read my previous blogs just go here. As part of the settlement she has to keep the old ones!!!