This past weekend was probably my best all summer – I went up to Gainesville for Brandon and Diana’s wedding and had a lot of fun hanging out with people I haven’t seen since May. It started out on Friday afternoon driving up Gainesville through some horrendous rainstorms. For part of the way, could barely see 10 feet ahead of the car! Finally made it to the Lebos’ house, where Rob was already waiting. I learned how to play Axis and Allies, an extremely awesome war game. It’s sort of like Risk, except it’s set in WWII and it’s ten times as complicated.

After a round of that, it was getting late, so me and Rob went to his Uncle Charlie’s house. That’s where we stayed the couple of nights we were there. His uncle and aunt were pretty awesome, giving us all the donuts and food we could eat. The first morning, they got us 2 dozen donuts. Needless to say, we didn’t eat them all right away.

Saturday, Rob and I played raquetball with Charlie – it was my first time playing and it was loads of fun. Trust me, it’s extremely therapeutic to smack a rubber ball all over the place. After five games of that, we went back to the house and me and Rob played a bunch of Lego Star Wars, the video game. That game was so much fun – when the characters die, they fall apart into Lego pieces. 😀 And in one room(on Kamino), when we lit up all the floor tiles, it turned into a dance floor and the Kamino people started dancing to this funky Star Wars music. Most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen.

Later that afternoon, me and Rob went over the Lebos’ house again and we played some frisbee golf(my first time at that, too!) and it was awesome! Even if I didn’t ever make par, I still enjoyed it a lot. I wouldn’t mind getting better though.

After dinner at the Lebos’, we got dressed for the wedding and drove over there, picking up Liz on the way. The wedding was at the chapel on Lake Alice – awesome view of the lake out of the back of the chapel. The wedding went beautifully – Brandon was smiling so much and Diana looked gorgeous. Don’t brides always? It made me so happy – I think weddings are one of the most happy events to go to. Afterwards, we went to the Hilton for the reception. I wasn’t expecting a fancy sit-down reception, but that’s what we got! They had some exquisitely good food(like this GIANT roast beef)…too bad I’d already eaten. Anyways, there was that food, and music, and dancing…just a wonderful time. It was great to see Brandon and Di sitting together looking ever so happy! I also loved seeing all the Creekside people I hadn’t seen in so long.

Wow, this entry is so long already and I’m not even done yet! Well anyways, after Brandon and Di left(around 12), me, Rob, and Liz also left. There were some suspicious people hanging around Liz’s apartment, so we made sure to escort her up…the next day, she found a bunch of beer cans and the like scattered on her car.. But anyways, after that, me and Rob went back to his uncle and aunt’s place and we were going to just go to bed…until we decided we wouldn’t mind some more Lego Star Wars. After playing that for another couple hours, we finally got to sleep around 2:30. It was worth it though!

The next day was church, which was really sweet. Seeing people again, hearing James Walden speak…it was too long since I’d been there. After church, me, Rob, Liz, and Steven went to Nero’s for pizza with Rob and Liz’s aunt and uncle – good times there, talking and eating. Finally, Rob drove me back to Tampa. He stayed at my house for a little while so we could watch the end of the World Cup Finals…woooooo, Italy!!!! My parents had made a spaghetti dinner with salad and garlic bread, so of course, he stayed for that too! Eventually though, he left to go back to Tally.

All in all, a great weekend…a nice midpoint to summer, hanging with people I’ve missed too much(yeah, that includes you, Liz and Steven) and just having an all-around good time.

And I apologize for such a looong entry, but I thought my faithful readers deserved it since I barely ever update anyway.

Hope everyone’s having a great summer!!

Swingin’ round the maple tree
red leaves soar passionately down
and I grab my girl’s hand
and we dance.

Laughing all the morning
we share our song
yellow leaves float gently
and we dance.

Singing at the stars above
joy fills our hearts
the brown leaves fall
and we dance.

Lying on the damp grass
I meet her sparklin’ eyes
honeyed pools of sweet delight
and they dance.

Wow, I just noticed that I haven’t updated this since I’ve been back in Tampa. Well, it is truly great to be home. I love Gainesville, but sometimes, a break from school and studying is sorely needed. Huzzah for summer!!

Still, it’s not like I’m slacking off now, either…working ~40 hours a week, waking up every morning before 7…not so fun. But the knowledge that I will have money in my pocket when I go back to UF in the fall keeps me going.

Today after work went to a Memorial Day BBQ with a bunch of people from church…much fun!! I ate way too much good food. Indian-style chicken(yummy hotness), pork chops, hamburgers, sausages, strawberries, peach pie…you better believe I felt good after that. After that, some of the little kids there persuaded me to play cops and robbers with them…I must admit that it is very fun when you’re twice the size of everyone else, muahahahaha. Now, I’m really tired and probably should get some sleep. Maybe I’ll write another entry soon about my grades from last semester…we’ll see.

I had my last exam on Monday morning at 7:30…but I had studied so hard for it, I was ready. It was my physics exam, so it was my hardest one, but I was so pumped I was singing in the shower before I went in for it…and God helped me dominate that test! I did well enough to get a B in the class, which made my whole week!! I seriously considered dropping the class after the second test, but I stuck with it, and I’m glad I did. So after that test, I slept for a little while(’cause I didn’t get much sleep the night before) and then went out to lunch with Rob and Dream at Chick-fil-A…last lunch together until next year. Because after that, I helped Dream move out. I swear, it seems that girls have three times as much stuff as guys. Sorry, ladies, but it’s the truth.

Later that night, we had a awesome cookout at Steven’s place to celebrate the end of physics’ cruel reign. Me, Rob, Liz, and Steven chowed down on steak and chicken…I don’t think I’ve had a more enjoyable meal in quite some time. You know, there’s nothing better than the sweet taste of victory…mixed with the sweet taste of steak. 😉 After that, I went over to Chris’ place to watch Reservoir Dogs…pretty interesting movie. Great finally being able to hang out with Chris and Andrew without having homework/study hanging over my head.

Tuesday, I totally enjoyed myself sleeping in…having lunch at Broward and then just hanging out with Andrew for a while. Last night, had dinner with a bunch of people from BCM, including Justin, Sweens, Lindsay, etc., etc. I felt bad for the waitresses, because there was so many of us…we blocked off a whole section of the restaurant(Steak ‘n Shake). After I got back, me and Rob were going to go to Southwest(the giant gym here at UF) to play some basketball, but oddly enough, they were closed when we got there(around 10). So we had to walk all the way back to campus(ok, only a half-mile)…then we just sat in the stadium for while, watching people play man-hunt while we watched the stars. Another great end to another great day.

And today was no exception! Got up early to go tubing…went up to these springs and had a purely awesome time tubing down the river. The water was SO clear. For a while I just floated along staring through the water at the fish swimming past…or looking up at the sun through the branches of the over-hanging trees. I do so love being outside in this beautiful world..:) After that awesome time, I read for a little while at the Union – I finally have time to just pick out a good book and read it! Then a few of us got together to play some sweet Risk. It was Star wars – Clone Wars version, so it was really interesting playing it for the first time. And now…I’m just relaxing in my room, having all the time in the world.

Sorry for this long post, but I just wanted to write about these last few days…and the great time I’ve had sharing it with my friends…I love you guys. There is just nothing better than having no cares in the world, no exams to study for…no homework to do…no classes to go to…no work at all. Just time to spend with your friends and do whatever you feel like doing. Sure, I’m sort of looking forward to going back to Tampa for the summer…but I’m enjoying myself right now.

Ok, long post over. Sorry about that, and and thanks for reading!

It was so beautiful walking to class this morning…a slight breeze in the air, the sun peeking through the clouds…all of us students walking sleepily towards our classes…it was so quiet. I was able to just hear the wind whistle through the trees…and marvel at the beauty of the day.

…just reminded me why I love being alive.

We are the champions…

National champions, that is. The Florida Gators, newly crowned NCAA basketball national champs!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m still finding it hard to believe, that we’ve just won our first basketball title, and in such an amazing fashion! Now I just have another reason to always remember my freshman year here…

Monday night/Tuesday morning was one of the coolest times EVER…it all started when I went to the Jungle(apartment at Lakeside, for you uninformed people) for a pre-game cookout. Actually, first me, Javier, Nicole and Alicia went to Publix and got food first, after which we did some awesome cookout action. I think I had about 6 hotdogs…

After that, it was time for The Game. It started awesomely, as we took the lead early…and we never turned back. Every couple of minutes, me and Javier would look at each other and say, “Man, we’re up by 16 in the national championship!” And then, with about four minutes left in the game, it started to dawn on us that we were GOING TO WIN. We counted down the final seconds and then the Jungle erupted…National Champions, Florida Gators! We ran out to the car, yelling and screaming along with the rest of Gainesville as we made our way to University Ave. and when we got there…wow. There were a LOT of people just crowding the street. The police had the road blocked off for quite a ways, and they had horses! But nothing got too out of hand.

We were screaming, cheering, singing(“We are the champions, my friends…”)…there were people climbing the lightpoles and throwing toilet paper over the traffic signals. There was such a bond between all of us on that street…it’s funny how victory causes such unity! It was pure awesomeness. At about 2, we tried to go to Steak ‘n Shake to further celebrate, but they were lame and insisted on not cleaning their tables and on having an hour wait for milkshakes. So that idea didn’t work out…but we sorta chilled there for a while anyways.

Finally, tired, voices gone, we retreated back to our dorms…me and Javier figured that it would probably be a good idea to get some sleep before our 7:25 lab. I definitely only got an hour or so of sleep, so was DEAD in lab. Surprisingly, most people showed up…and thankfully, Rob knew what he was doing because I sure wasn’t a lot of help. All day yesterday was sort of a haze…it was funny walking around campus, because everyone looked tired…but with smiles on their faces. I wanted to get a championship shirt, but $20 is a bit steep…my mom said she’d pick one up in Tampa.

Now, here’s a bunch of pictures, courtesy of Nicole and Alicia…


Mmmm, hot dogs.

Cookouts rock.

More grilling action.

We’re ready for the game.

More than ready!

V for Victory!

WE WON!

University Ave.

That horse was very close to running me over.

Lots of people!

Yay toilet paper.

It’s GREAT – TO BE – A FLORIDA GATOR!

Someone’s more than a little happpy…

Number One, baby!

Oh yeah.

The Gators of the University of Florida are in the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament!!!!!!!

WOOO!!!

It was so awesome watching the game last night…and even more fun going to meet the team at the airport at one in the morning. Our team is so awesome!! Pictures forthcoming..

In other news, since we didn’t get back from the airport until 3:something(stupid ineffecient ticket system), I stayed up all night studying for my physics test today. I’m writing my formula sheet for it now. Wish me luck!

One of my favorite passages:

Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to His own town. Some men brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” Then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”

And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

-Matthew 9:1-8