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Right now I’m chilling at the Christian Study Center enjoying a delicious mocha…and just reveling in the beauty of the day!! Cold weather has arrived again and I absolutely love it!! This morning I woke up feeling quite cold and after my shower, I enjoyed the most amazing mint-flavored hot chocolate..mmmm…

Later, I went over to the Lebos’ place for lunch and then a sweet game of disc golf with Mrs. Lebo, Laura, George and Becca. I have to say, it was PERFECT disc golf weather…or really, it’s just perfect weather to walk around outside in!! Now I have one more class(senior design) before my academic day is over. I probably should start walking there now, but I’m enjoying sipping on my mocha and looking outside at the bright blue sky and palm trees slightly dancing in the breeze…

Hope y’all are having a great day!! And now, I’m off to class.

James HoganLeave a comment

Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men
and knowledge to men of understanding.
It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with Him.
To You, O God of my fathers,
I give thanks and praise,
For You have given me wisdom and power.
-Daniel 2:20-23

I have quite a nasty headache right now and still feel like I’m in a peculiar mood…but…I rest in the Lord.

James HoganLeave a comment

I am in an odd mood. You know the kind of mood where you’re depressed and don’t know why? Well, that’s how I feel and it’s rather annoying. I first thought I’d try writing something(poetry, etc.)…but that didn’t work – my muse is utterly absent tonight. Then I thought I’d watch a movie. None of my movies appealed to me. Then I thought I’d read a book…but all the books I have that I haven’t read are for my adolescent lit class. Reading those would not help my mood any. So I made mac ‘n cheese for me and Rob for dinner.

I probably should eat that now, since it is much past my dinnertime.

But nonetheless, I am in a weird mood and I don’t like it. Maybe you don’t like reading this random personal feelings stuff…but I claim journal privileges. I shall write what I wish. Maybe I should not even post this, yet I think I shall. This is a rather interesting stream-of-consciousness writing…and while I don’t think it’s really helping me, it’s sorta fun to write something, even if I can’t be creative tonight and write something original.

When any of you(those of you that have made it this far?) are in weird spontaneous depressed moods, what do you do? It’s weird because I’ve had such a sweet day and past week and past month. I should not feel this way. I should not feel that I’ve just had a meeting with a lancer who left me horseless and bruised and bloody and dazed and confused because I didn’t even know I was in a war. Or better yet(or worse depending on your point of view), I feel like I’ve had a crossbow bolt shot through my extremely dented and faded armor which failed to protect me from the enemy who was hiding in the trees and shot me before I was even aware of his existence.

Ok, I don’t know where all that came from.

I really should end this post before I say something I regret….so end it I shall.

It’s time for dinner. Or shall I say second-dinner. And then I will pick up my sword and continue the fight.

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Last night in Tampa….for a while. While I miss everyone crazily up in Gainesville, I’ve had such sweet times with the fam over the break that I’m gonna be pretty sad to leave again tomorrow…and I’m also a little excited/stunned/sad to be starting my LAST COLLEGE SEMESTER this next week. WHAT. I sorta want to write a longer entry detailing some of my deeper thoughts about the past year, but I am rather tired now…had an awesome time watching Bourne Ultimatum with the fam(even though the Bourne theme is now stuck forever in my head after half of my family has been humming it for the past week…) So now, despite my valiant efforts, I am falling asleep. Think I’ll get some reading done and then sweet pillow awaits. G’night all!

Another survey…what.

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I’m having a most relaxing Saturday morning drinking coffee and chillin’ with the fam…maybe later I’ll post a deeper entry. We’ll see. Anyways, survey time!

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Worked a regular 8-5 corporate-type job…weird and great experience.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions for 2008? Will you make more for 2009?
I don’t know if I’ve EVER made New Year’s resolution.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Um…no. What’s weird is to think that in a few years that’s all gonna change…everyone’s getting married, eeek.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5. What countries did you visit?
Um…does Texas count? It’s sorta like another country!

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
I honestly can’t think of anything in 2008 that was lacking. Is that bad? Maybe more discipline. That’s never a bad thing.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Oh boy…too many to think of. Spring break awesomeness in Sarasota. Hiking in the Panhandle with Rob. Two of my top moments from a year full of ’em.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting my first job offer. And becoming more like Christ. Not in that order.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Mmm…can’t think of anything groundshaking, but I wish I could spend quality time with all my friends all the time…it’s something I’ve come to realize just isn’t possible though…

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not really. I’ve been remarkably healthy this year!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Um…my new laptop? That was actually near the end of last year, but I think it still counts. Can’t think of any other big purchases I made.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My whole family, just for being awesome.

13. Whose behavior made you mad and ill-willed?
It’s hard to think of any and even if I could…would I write it here? No.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Haha, food? Yeah, probably food. Oh, and car.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Hangin out with friends this last year of college, ahhhh!

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Stealing from Kady…”Low”…I got addicted to that song this year. And “Violet Hill”/”Viva la Vida” by Coldplay..

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder?
Mmm…probably both actually. Happier because this past year has just been awesome and I have a job to look forward to. Sadder because I know I’ll be leaving basically everyone I know behind when I do start my job.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Prayer, probably. I could always do more of that.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Dwelling on what cannot be. Thinking about the future when I could be living in the present. Very vague responses I know…;)

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Spent time with the fam…ate cinnamon rolls…enjoyed life.

21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?
Started it on St. Joe’s Peninsula hiking with Rob…finished it in Ormond with some of my best friends partaying it up around a bonfire.

22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Nope…I’m too young for such a thing! Hehehe…

23. How many one-night stands?
None, thankfully.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Lost…YES.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Um…I don’t hate people. At least I try not to. It’s counterproductive.

26. What was the best book you read?
Mmm…I just started the “Wheel of Time” series by Robert Jordan…that whole series has been awesome…and I’m almost done with it now. *sadness*

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Coldplay. I always figured that since they were popular they couldn’t be any good. I will admit, I was wrong.

28. What did you want and got?
I don’t understand this question…a job, I guess? Good times with friends?

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Mmm, two answers. The Dark Knight for pure awesomeness. And Death Race just because.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 21…whoa. And I spent it with my fam. Nothing better.

32. What’s one thing would have made 2008 immeasurably more satisfying?
Nothing. 2008 was what it was. And what it was was awesomeness.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Um…jeans and t-shirt? What it always is? I don’t really have a fashion concept. I wear comfort.

34. What kept you sane?
God. As He always has.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Haha, probably the different situations in Israel. They always get me the most passionate…oh and the whole little Russian invasion into Georgia. That was sorta interesting.

37. Who did do you miss?
My friends from high school who I don’t to see half as much anymore…it makes me sad.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
I met lots of cool new people this year…so no comment.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
I’ve learned lots this year…maybe the biggest is just to enjoy life in the present instead of worrying about the future.

Man…2008 was a good year. 🙂

Time for something a little different…

James HoganLeave a comment

Stolen from Kady…and I also didn’t want to try and list 30 bands so I’m also using last.fm for my 30…we’ll see how this turns out, since I’m not as big a music person as some people….hehehe.

List your 30 favorite bands/musicians (in no particular order) without looking at the questions, and then answer the questions using your list.

01. John Williams
02. Relient K
03. The Beatles
04. Trans-Siberian Orchestra
05. Hans Zimmer
06. Green Day
07. Muse
08. Blue Man Group
09. Howard Shore
10. Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori
11. Queen
12. They Might Be Giants
13. Switchfoot
14. Flogging Molly
15. Dropkick Murphys
16. BBC Big Band
17. Keith Green
18. Stratovarius
19. Blink-182
20. Lost Prophets
21. Kelly Clarkson
22. The Postal Service
23. Rhapsody
24. Nightwish
25. Jeremy Soule
26. The Royal Philharmonic
27. Coldplay
28. The Doors
29. Frank Klepacki
30. Apocalyptica

1. How did you get into 29 (Frank Klepacki)?
Haha, actually I think I deleted all of his songs(command and conquer soundtrack music) a little while ago…but I started listening because I got the soundtrack music from my friend Andrew. But on one of my random iTunes cleaning binges…he went bye-bye.

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22 (The Postal Service)?
No idea…probably The District Sleeps tonight…but I heard them before I ever had their music, so not sure.

3. How many albums by 12 (They Might Be Giants) do you own?
Hm, well I don’t actually own any of their albums…but I have four albums on my computer.

4. What is your favourite song by 5 (Hans Zimmer)?
Probably the beginning battle music in Gladiator. Either that or the Pirates of the Caribbean theme music.

5. What is your favorite song by 15 (Dropkick Murphys)?
Hm, good question. Either “Do or Die”, “Heroes from our Past”, or “Amazing Grace”. All great songs.

6. Is there a song by 6 (Green Day) that makes you happy?
Haha, lots of Green Day’s songs makes me happy…but I’d have to say “Time of our Lives” simply because it brings back great memories of high school….

7. What is your favourite song by 10 (Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori)?
Seeing as they’re the Halo soundtrack composers…probably the main Halo theme. It’s pure awesomeness.

8. What is a good memory you have involving 30 (Apocalyptica)?
Hmm…just any time I’ve watched youtube videos of them and seeing my friends’ reactions to a metal cellist band…people get quite confused, hehehe.

9. Is there a song by 19 (Blink-182) that makes you happy?
“First Date”…so light and care-free and happy and awesome!

10. How many times have you seen 23 (Rhapsody) live?
Never. But…they would be one of the bands on my list I’d most want to see live. So that would be sweet if I ever could!!

11. What is the first song you ever heard by 26 (The Royal Philharmonic)?
Probably “1812 Overture” or something…I was actually sorta surprised they made it on the list…

12. What is your favourite album by 11 (Queen)?
A Night at the Opera. Definitely my favorite sound of theirs by far…

13. Who is your favourite member of 1 (John Williams)?
John Williams(Hehehehe…)

14. Have you ever seen 14 (Flogging Molly) live?
No, but it would be sweet!!

15. What is a good memory involving 27 (Coldplay)?
Writing my finance paper the day it was due listening to them the whole time…great fuel for the mind. That was also the day I first discovered their greatness.

16. What is your favourite song by 16 (BBC Big Band)?
“I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo”…very fun song!!

17. What is your favourite album by 18 (Stratovarius)?
Had to look up their albums on my itunes for this one…but definitely Dreamspace. Some of my favorite songs are on there..

18. What is your favorite song by 21 (Kelly Clarkson)?
Hmm…I don’t know if I have a favorite…probably either “Addicted” or “Behind those Hazel Eyes”…and yes, Kelly Clarkson is on my top 30. Nothing wrong with that!

19. What is the first song you ever heard by 25 (Jeremy Soule)?
He’s the composer of the Knights of the Old Republic soundtrack…so I guess the theme song from that game? Yeah, sounds about right.

20. What is your favourite album by 2 (Relient K)?
Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right…But Three Do. Great great album with tons of solid songs. Mmhmm is pretty awesome too.

21. What is your favourite song by 3 (The Beatles)?
“Here Comes the Sun”. Don’t think I’ve ever had another favorite!

22. What is your favourite song by 8 (Blue Man Group)?
Probably either “White Rabbit”, “Drumbone”, or “I Feel Love”. Yummy songs all!

23. How many times have you seen 17 (Keith Green) live?
Never…I think he died before I was born. 😦

24. What is the worst song by 12 (They Might be Giants)?
Umm…I can’t think of any of their songs I dislike!!

25. What was the first song you ever heard by 28 (The Doors)?
Um, not sure…but the one I always liked the most when I first heard them was “Riders on the Storm”. And I still do love that song…

26. What is your favourite album by 7 (Muse)?
Black Holes and Revelations. This also happens to be my favorite album of all time, ever…so…yeah. Awesomeness.

Fun survey time! Now maybe I should actually get something done….

James HoganLeave a comment

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Might we always worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with this spirit of awe and adoration!! Think on this glorious thought: To save us from all our trespasses against Him, God was born a man on this very earth…inconceivable. Amen and Amen!!

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Hmm…I just realized I haven’t posted in here since I was in Gainesville!! Well, I most certainly am not going to say I’ll post every day for a week again, because clearly I’m incapable of remembering to do so! I can’t even blame business, because all I’ve been doing for the past few days is relaxing and having fun with the fam!! Today is Christmas Eve, so I finally got all my presents wrapped(ok, I actually started wrapping them today…) as I rocked out to TSO. I like TSO almost anytime, but it’s even better when it actually is Christmas time!!

Today has been pretty relaxing besides the Christmas wrapping(ok, ok, I guess that was relaxing too)…I woke up early to take Laura to work at Wright’s, then had a nice relaxing morning with my coffee and reading. Now I’m listening to beautiful Tallis Fantasia as I type this, waiting for the yummy dinner of steak and fettucine, mmm…and speaking of yummy, I just made the salad for tonight and I just could not resist eating the lettuce as I went. The steaks are almost done and it’s almost time for dinner! And since I didn’t post all of my poems last week, here’s another one, written on December 10th, 2008 as I sat on campus enjoying an absolutely marvelous day:

The water ripples
before the unseen breeze
and the leaves come
floating down.
And the campus quiets.
The clouds swirl in
awe and wonder
and the leaves come
tumbling down.
And the campus stills.
The grass quivers
in joy and light
and the leaves come
dancing down.
And the campus bows.
To our King!

And that is the end of my recent poetry spree – most of it was pretty spontaneous so I hope you weren’t expecting anything of technical genius, but writing them encouraged my heart. And now, dinner time!! Merry Christmas Eve to all!

James HoganLeave a comment

Well, I’m now making my last bacon and coffee breakfast of the year here in Gainesville! Around 2 today, I’m off to Tampa!!! And again, I know I was supposed to post in here every night…but I forgot. And was sorta busy. So I thought I’d post now while I’m getting breakfast ready. I can already smell the bacon frying, mmm….

The last few days have been super sweet!! Not much better than chilling in Gainesville with no cares in the world!! Yesterday I slept in and had a nice relaxing morning before running some errands on campus…then last night consisted of awesome times at the Lebos’ house!! Much ping-pong was played and many good times were had by all!! Liz and Steven were there too and Becca is back from college(up at PCC), so it was so much fun just hanging out like old times! No better way to end the semester…I’m truly grateful for all the sweet times we’ve had there! And after that, me and Rob and Galan came back to our place…Rob still has to finish his paper(actually, he’s writing it right now while I write this), so while he wrote that last night, I kept him company by playing some classic Battle For Middle Earth…brought back old memories indeed!

And now the bacon is about done, but I still need to post the poem for today(or I guess it’s technically last night’s poem)…this is a very free-form one…one that I enjoyed writing a lot:

In the end
when there’s nothing left
but me and you
and the armies of darkness
I will fight
and throw myself down
for me and you
and for the banner of light
in the black
when there is no sight
just me and you
just our undying love.

James HoganLeave a comment

Ok well, I know I promised to write in here every night this week…but let’s just say last night was spent studying madly for my circuits exam which was 7:30 AM. Ugh. Terrible. And the exam was actually not that bad…because out of four questions, I know I got at least 2 right!!! (For circuits, for me…that’s very impressive. I may pull out a B after all!) Anyways, after that, Katie, Corey, Trisha, Rachel(all peeps from class) needed to just forget circuits…so we went to Einsteins and got breakfast and then ate it in the stadium in the beautiful early-morning Florida weather!! It was sooo fun…and also sorta sad because today was Katie’s last exam EVER!! She graduates on Saturday. I’m gonna miss her…

But off that subject, after that I picked up my voucher for my ticket to the BCS TITLE GAME IN MIAMI THIS JANUARY WHICH I AM GOING TO. And yes, that deserved all-caps. Florida vs. Oklahoma, winner take all! I CAN’T WAIT!!!!

Anyways, back to today…following my ticket pick-up, had a sweet disc-golfing adventure with Deanna, Shari and Jamie…such awesomeness!!! It was the perfect follow-up to terrible circuits…just walking around on the beautiful course at Northside Park. Yes. Incidentally, I also had one of my best rounds ever. Not that I’m bragging or anything….ok, maybe I am a little. But hey, I’m allowed to do it. On my own journal!

Again, coming back from off-topicness…once we got back from disc golf, Mr. Lebo and George came over for our epic Finals Week Risk Tournament Extravaganza. And yes, it was quite epic. We started the game around 2:30 and didn’t finish until 10. PM. Ridiculous. We did take a break for dinner(me and Rob made chicken parmesan, which was DELICIOUS…we made two whole pans and we still ate all of it). The game(LotR Risk) was awesome but as always, I ended up getting bored and just going on a rampage of which the end result was me being the first to be eliminated. Ah well. Rob got out next(serves him right for killing my best armies!) and Galan eventually ended up winning…

And now, I’m quite tired. But it is time for the next poem in this week’s series. Enjoy.

The lake, it beckons to me.
Darker than night,
devoid of light,
the lake, it whispers to me.
Unbroken glass,
forgotten past,
the lake, it croons to me.
Burning with fire,
lighting my pyre,
the lake it dances for me.
Oh, I want it!
Oh, I need it!
And I stare into the lake.
For all it wants is to take
my soul.
No!