Month: March 2009

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Well, it’s once again a beautiful morning in Gainesville!! I’m(of course!) relaxing at the christian study center with a delicious strawberry mocha – I’ve never tried that before, but it’s surprisingly good! It’s the start to another week and I’m quite grateful that it’s another relatively quiet one, homework-wise. I really should be doing my lit assignment now, but I just cannot muster up the enthusiasm for it! We’re currently in our “fantasy segment” of our class so I was looking forward to writing a short fantasy story or something of the like…but sadly our teacher decided to make it a visual assignment so I need to draw a comic strip instead. And…I can’t draw. So yeah, this is going to be interesting.

But besides that(since I don’t want to be thinking of my impending artistic doom!), I’ve had a quite delightful weekend!! Friday night was going to be our church camp-out, but since the weather was looking a little crazy, we decided to just go out for dinner instead. A bunch of us went to Conestoga’s, where I had quite a delicious burger. Good times were had there and then afterward we walked on over to Dan and Betsy’s house down the street(but before we got there, we were sidetracked into a coffee adventure! Deanna decided that we must try the Ivy House, a cool-looking restaurant/coffee bar…so we did and it was awesome). Anyways, at Dan and Betsy’s place, we had fun times playing games…including an epic stretch of Catchphrase. Just such a delightful night!! I love being with my friends and I love relaxing with them, knowing that they love me as much as I love them. I am so blessed!! The next day was spent in much relaxation(I slept in to almost 11 – inconceivable!) and yesterday(Sunday) was another amazing day! Church was super sweet(I had fellowship hall duty for the A/V team, so Deanna and Shari kept me company…) where we sang so many of my favorite songs(including Come Thou Fount, Amazing Grace, and Lord of All Creation) and I was just reminded of our Savior’s great love for us!! My car went to Hot Wok for lunch, which I’d been craving lately…so me, Deanna, Shari and Hope had a yummy lunch there before going home. That afternoon was just gorgeous, so I couldn’t in good conscience NOT spend it outside! So me and Deanna and Shari and Rob relaxed outside by the lake, soaking in the sun and feeling oh-so-alive in the gentle blowing of the wind!! God’s blessings are amazingly bountiful and I can never be grateful enough!

Last night was a great end to a great day! We went to church where the pastoral interns spoke their first sermons…it was so sweet to hear Dan give a sermon on Psalm 130(one of my favorite Psalms…ok, well actually a lot of the Psalms are my favorite). After talking with Dan and Betsy for a little while we went home where I got some reading done…and then promptly fell asleep. Before 11. Craziness!! But I feel delightfully and deliciously awake now and my heart is full of God’s goodness to me. I am so unworthy. And yet so loved!

Ahh, I wish I could write more, but alas, I need to probably do my lit homework. Art. Ugh. Wish me luck!! Hope everyone is having an AWESOME day!!!!

James HoganLeave a comment

I’m at the Union right now, checking my email and relaxing for a few minutes before it’s time for my last class of the week!!! This has been a rather long week, full of hours of “iPod transfer testing” for my senior design class. It’s fun stuff, but it takes way too much time. Ah well, I guess I do sort of need to graduate! I had a sweet lunch with Rebekah Hope just a few minutes ago…good times indeed. I realize that every time I talk with one of my friends how blessed I am to be able to know such godly and passionate people!! It actually makes me quite sad…realizing that I’ll be leaving them all in a few short months. I will indeed miss a LOT of people.

But…right now, I’m just enjoying the amazing times God is giving me! All glory to Him!!

And now. Class. And then, it’s WEEKEND TIME!!! Farewell, all!

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Once again, it’s a beautiful Monday morning at the christian study center!! Ok, well actually it’s sorta gray and gloomy outside, but I’m inside and drinking my peppermint mocha so I feel quite warm and content. Mmm….

Anyways, I really really really should be working on my lit homework that is due tomorrow, but I cannot get myself inspired. Oh dear. This could be a problem. Well in the meantime, I’ll just update y’all on what I’ve been up to lately! Yes, this is a great way of distracting myself!

But really, this past weekend was just AWESOME. Even if it was insanely busy and I am now recovering from a long and frenetic week. On Friday, I had my lean exam and for the first time in a little while, I feel I’ve dominated an engineering exam, YES! It was a good feeling after all my studying to know that my grade will prove my efforts! After that, I went home where I made lasagna. Lasagna is a very time-consuming process…but it’s all worth it in the end. And the reason I was doing this is because my mom and Maryanne and Laura were coming to visit Gainesville this past weekend! They came in on Friday afternoon and we then went over to the Lebos for dinner…where we had great times eating, talking and playing games…it was so awesome to be able to have some of my favorite people in the same place at the same time. After a long night there, we went home(my mom and sisters stayed at Deanna, Amy and Shari’s place). The next morning, after I got some errands done, my mom and sisters came over to my place where I had bacon and coffee ready and we had a nice relaxing morning…culminating in a delicious lasagna lunch! Maryanne helped me make the garlic bread and Laura helped make the salad…and of course, the lasagna was already almost ready since I’d made it the day before. Deanna and Rob were with us too, so we had a delightful lunch. Even though the lasagna didn’t quite stand up firmly, it tasted delicious…so I was happy. So much fun to be able to make my family my favorite meal!!

That afternoon, we all went to campus where I showed my mom and sisters all the best spots of campus(the stadium, the Union, the place where I study at Library West…wait, maybe that last isn’t the *best* spot..) My mom and sisters thought the campus was quite beautiful and the fact that it was a GORGEOUS day outside didn’t hurt! It was a beautiful spring day with a nice breeze blowing…and flowers blooming everywhere! Anyway that evening, me and my sisters hung out with Rob and had a typical college night. And by typical I mean frozen pizza and Guitar Hero and Family Matters. Yes. Oh, and my sisters helped me hang up some posters in my room, since I almost always forget to do that on my own. The next morning we all went to church, which was a great service(James Walden was back in town!) and my family got to meet lots of my friends. I have to say, sometimes I forget(how dare I!) how blessed I am to have such great friends AND such a great family…I was reminded of this as they intermingled in church!

Afterwards, me and my mom and sisters went out to Subway for lunch and after a few pictures and parting words…they left for Tampa. Upon which I promptly took a nap. It was indeed a wonderful weekend and I only wish I’d done it sooner!! God is so good to us!!!

Now I really do need to do some of my lit homework…not sure how much of it will even happen now, as I’m meeting Katie and Lars for lunch at Larry’s Subs in a few minutes. Ah well. There’s always this afternoon!! Farewell, all!

James HoganLeave a comment

Just had a sweet lit class and am now at the computer lab…where I was going to study some for my lean exam tomorrow, but decided to write a quick entry here instead!

Lit class was(as always!) most enjoyable. I had a sweet discussion with a friend there…we were just talking about the fact that we so often as people pigeonhole others into little boxes of what we expect them to be. And then we surround ourselves by others like us and think of ourselves as the only real people…while those people we don’t know are caricatures of our own design. Why do we not realize that EVERYONE has emotions and feelings and desires and ambitions and deep thoughts and deep pain…instead we think of others as two-dimensional static portraits. That makes it quite easy for us to dismiss those we sense as too different or unknowable while we ourselves are comfortable in our own little closet. Instead of pushing others away(which is all too easy!) we ought to be embracing the similarities of our own humanity and trying to find out how we can love those around us(in our ACTIONS, not just thoughts/words). And I feel that as a follower of Christ, this is one of the reasons I am on this world – to reach out and declare the love of Christ to everyone we see, not just those few that are oh-so-similar to myself.

Sorry if that was a little too much rambling there…but I just wanted to write this down while it was still hot on my mind. Just think of the fact that as we’re walking through campus or through a mall or down a busy street…every person has a unique perspective on life and has just as much emotional turmoil as you or I. And by God’s grace, I will not shrink away from the people different from myself, but embrace them!

And now I really should get some studying done. And then time for lunch with Rob and Dan! Farewell, all – hope everyone’s having a simply glorious day!!!

Future WHAT

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Had a pretty sweeeet day today, despite the mountain of work I have to do looming over me. It was absolutely gorgeous day outside with the breeze blowing slightly and the sky just the right tint of blue and the grass just perfectly green…me and Cindy had lunch at Larry’s(I had a Philly cheesesteak, mmmmm) and then afterwards just lay outside on the grass outside the Union and stared at the wondrous sky as the clouds raced by. I gotta say, makes me remember how blessed we truly are!!

I’ve felt like I’ve been in such an odd mood lately…I think it’s the impending exit to college and entrance to workforce that’s just making me realize how much my life is about to change! I feel like I’m at the center of the whirlwind…a whirlwind of fierce stars and bright fires…and I am walking in the midst of the churning seas, feeling the salt spray on my face yet not being knocked down by the waves…and I’m atop the clouds staring down at the patchwork ground beneath and leaping from the heights of jagged mountain peaks to the unknown earth below…and I’m feeling the wind of destiny in my hair and knowing that my time is at hand…and I see the miniature suns dart around me and can feel the heat of their passion and I reach out my hand…and I walk through the whirlwind…and the clouds stop their frenzied dance and I see a shred of black velvet sky and I see the stars.

And that probably makes no sense. I just wrote what I was thinking…and I guess what I’m trying to say is that I feel like so much is in front of me and I have no idea what it is. But you know what? Because God loves me ever so much…I know this….my destiny will be good. My destiny IS good. Because I have an everlasting Father. Amen and Amen!!

James HoganLeave a comment

Well, after a simply MARVELOUS spring break, I am back at school…

Actually, I’m at the Christian Study Center(AKA where-I-always-update-from) and sippin’ on my peppermint mocha and trying very hard not to study for my exam I have tomorrow. I’m currently waiting for one of the powerpoints to finish downloading and then it’s more study time for me! It’s really quite aggravating having two exams the week after spring break, but what can you do? And really, I haven’t been studying as much as I should have been(even though I got up early this morning) – I’ve just been reading and writing a lot with some studying thrown in every once in a while. I do love my Monday mornings though – not having class until 2 – because I have all the time in the world to have a nice leisurely morning…

And now it is lunch time. Yes. I will hopefully post an entry later detailing the AWESOMENESS that went on during spring break! Let’s just say this: our crew had amazing times every day, whether it was talking to various relatives or other friends…or visiting beaches and getting gloriously sunwarmed…or playing volleyball and dominating it up…or playing three disc golf courses in beautiful parks…or kayaking through calm sparkling waters…or reading through God’s most holy and inspired Word. Really. How can you get a much better spring break than that?????

And now. It really is lunchtime.

James HoganLeave a comment

It’s official, my final spring break of college has begun!!! The Great Florida Tour of ’09 is here!! We’re only one day in…and it’s already been…pure awesomeness!!! I survived my lit test on Thursday(my only test of the week – Rob had four midterms!) and so yesterday I spent some time cleaning my room before heading off to Ocala to start off our adventure with a blast!! Me and Rob and Galan and Laurie and Marianne and Katheryn and Jess T. all drove south to Ocala(stopping on the way at Payne’s Prairie to watch a most excellent sunset!). We eventually made it to Ocala where we stayed at Laurie’s house!

We had a magnificent evening of eating home-cooked lasagna and salad and good conversations before relaxing in the living room drinking coffee and listening to Rob serenade us on the piano…it was most relaxing just being with friends(and friends’ parents!) and talking and enjoying a beautiful night!!

After a good night’s sleep, got up this morning to a yummy breakfast of eggs and bacon and biscuits and more coffee and then we explored Laurie’s yard! And before you think that exploring a yard couldn’t have been that interesting, Laurie’s family has some thirty acres of property, including cows and everything! So we walked around for a while, before discovering some awesome mounds that made for a perfect mini-game of capture the flag! After we wore ourselves out playing that, we went back to the house and cooled off by sticking our feet in the pool. At this point, Mary and Allison came down from Gville and then we all went off to Rainbow Springs!

We spent a happy afternoon there playing frisbee, pseudo-volleyball, and swimming in the springs…topped off by a nice picnic lunch. Nothing better than eating outside in the beautiful early-spring air!! As the sun set, we decided it’d be good to head back to Gainesville, so we made the drive back, whereupon me and Rob and Galan discovered our apartment drastically needed cleaning…especially since the girls were going to eat dinner with us at our place! So we did a quick(yet thorough!) cleaning of our place and then the girls(Laurie, Katheryn, Mary, Allison and Jess) came back and made a yummy dinner of spaghetti, garlic bread, zucchini..mmmm!! My stomach was most impressed!

The topping off of the night was the best part…we read(well, actually Rob) the first four chapters of John(we’re going to be reading through that this spring break, YES) and then we indulged in some coffee and more good discussions. Wow. God is good. And that’s pretty much all I can say.

The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming(He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” – John 4:25-26

James HoganLeave a comment

Well, I’m at the CSC sipping on my mocha and I should be writing a poem for my lit homework tomorrow. To motivate myself, I read through all my old poems…quite a fascinating slide-show of my past! Anyway, I realized I hadn’t posted the poem I wrote for my last lit homework, so thought I’d post that now. Comments appreciated!!

I am searching for myself
in the darkness of the storm
in the riot of the trees
in the crying of the wind.
I am cold and I am lost.

I climb forever up the mount
built of fallen memories
built of fated lovers’ bones
built of bloody victories.
I rise up and I fall yet.

I seek the ever changing sky
in the sighing of the wind
in the quiet of the trees
in the starkness of the storm.
I am here and I am not.

One more cry of deepest pain
One more cry of utmost glee
One more cry in fallen rain
Why oh why can I not see?
Why oh why am I denied?
Give me now a dance to live!
Give me now a trance to love!
Give me now a chance to be.

James HoganLeave a comment

Yo, just thought I’d write a random entry…because I so feel like it. I’m at the Circa lab right now, relaxing until my energy management class in a few minutes. I should probably walk over there now, but I’m not exactly looking forward to the two hours I’ll be spending there. Ehh. On the other hand, I AM looking forward to lunch with Deanna and the voluntary bloodletting that will take place later this afternoon!

We had a sweeet lit class today where we got to talk about fantasy, yayyy! We’ve been reading this book Wizard of Earthsea. Not bad, but quite dark and thematic…it has a solitary hero who goes around by himself. And personally, my favorite books are the character-driven books that have very realistic and fun interpersonal interactions(Lord of the Rings, yes. Wheel of Time, YES). Hence, I did not enjoy the book much. But the discussion, on the other hand, was as awesome as always! And yes, I did finish my lit homework finally yesterday. I made a cool little “comic-strip” detailing the beginning of a grand fantasy adventure titled…wait for it…”Shadow of the Stars”. I think that’s pretty epic-sounding, neh?

Alright, I should maybe go to class so I won’t be late. Even though I still don’t want to. I’m actually sorta hungry too…even though I did have nice crunchy bacon for breakfast today! And my coffee was rather delicious too. Sadly I will have to wait a few more hours for lunch. Wow, this is really bad that I’m trying to think of more to say so I don’t go to class. Kids, don’t do what I do and go to class. It’s good for your health. Ok, enough coffee-induced randomness. Time to take flight and manage some energy! Peace.